Nicki

I have wanted to blog about this since last April. Some pretty amazing news!!

I have done a couple Bible Studies series with Beth Moore (video), Breaking Free and Revelation. Last Oct. when I heard she would be in town for a conference (April, 2011) I was excited. I figured I would double up with some of the women in our church, but then I had a very strong feeling that God was saying "No, you will take Nicki." So I told my husband that God wanted me to take Nicki, my eldest sons girlfriend. So I asked her when they were here in Nov. if she wanted to go with me, and she said yes. I felt that God wanted us to go together and not with anyone from our church, so I purchased our tickets online.

I was willing to drive 3 hours to pick her up at her parents house, but our son picked her up and brought her to his place. So we only had a 2 hour drive up and then 2 hours back to get her, and yes my husband did go with me. This was the Friday of the conference that night, April 1, 2011.We got back to the house in time to relax and have some food before the conference.
We enjoyed the music and Beth Moore that night and went home to prepare for the next day.
Sat. was a big day, especially when Beth Moore asked people if they wanted to come forward, during a break time. I went to get Nicki something to eat and drink and pick up a book and DC I wanted. When I got back she had gone forward. I went down and joined her. During this time (before I joined her) she had personally seen and talked with Beth Moore and they had prayed together. BM had gone back on stage and I remained with Nicki and the woman she was talking with, not really listening to what was being said on stage, more paying attention to the current conversation. Nicki had given her life to Jesus, what a Blessing!! We went back to our seats, talked and listened to the rest of the conference, purchased a couple more items and went home. I told her it wasn't going to be easy, especially as she has a very powerful testimony that Satan does not want out.
She wanted to be baptized, so I called our pastor that afternoon and related her story. Eric came up that night after work, so he was there when she was baptized. Our pastor said something that I had to pursure finding out about. And that was: what we did not hear, during the conference when we were up front was a comment BM said to the audience "6,500 women came to this conference and only 1 came forward, and her name is Nicki." Yes God will do that.

She has her struggles, and it's not easy for her. Her parents are not believers, so I ask who ever reads this to pray for Nicki and her parents. Nicki is adopted and is a drug baby and has bi-polar disorder, so she has struggles that many of us do not have.
We bought her a Bible and several other study aids to help her along. She does not live close so it is not always easy to communicate. Yes we have phones and internet but it isn't the same as being there in person to talk.

God Bless

Exciting News!!!

A week ago out son proposed to his beautiful girlfriend, Liz, and she excepted. They are scheduling their wedding for next Sept. 8, 2012. As with all our children we have prayed for the one they would wed, not knowing who. God knew, so the prayer was put in His hands and for His will for whom they would marry. She is a beautiful woman and Christian. We are excited to welcome her to our family. Now we will have a daughter named Elizabeth and a daughter-in-law named Elizabeth. That could get interesting, but not a problem.

Willing to try new things, this is her first time behind the boat, and she had a blast.

We are excited, as is her family.

Life Happens

This has been a very interesting week.

(1) I found out on Sat. that my SIL has stage 4 breast cancer. Not at all a nice thing to find out. She is fighting it, but still. There is no cancer in her family. There will be future visits (she is about 3 1/2 hours away)

(2) Sunday I get a call from my niece, my husband's youngest brother passed away that morning . Just turned 55 in July. I am not a fan of getting up early (got up at 3:30), but we had 3 1/2 hour drive to San Francisco Airport so Dan could meet up with his oldest brother and the 2 of them flew to Ohio for a week, to help settle their younger brothers affairs and be with his daughters, ages (almost) 16 and just 20. Yes there is a mother, but he was a single dad, he raised them. They are with their mom now and that is where my husband and his brother will stay.

(3) My youngest son broke a bone in his hand and today it was put in a cast of sorts. He is unable to ride his motorcycle at this point. He is off work for 3 days so is coming up tonight. However, not quite half way, he believes the head gasket on his truck blew. He will eventually show up with his truck behind a tow truck--- which he did at 1:20 AM. Considering I had gotten up at 3:30 the morning before I was very ready for some sleep.

What can I say except that life happens. I can just thank my heavenly Father He is there, for all His amazing grace and power and for all He is!!

"When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made one as well as the other." .....Ecclesiastes 7:14

Have a Blessed day!!!

A bit behind!!!

We had a great visit with our daughter and her family in June. It wasn't long enough for us, but they were visiting different family and friends at different places, so I think by the end of their trip they were ready to be home. I know that feeling.
Above is Caitlin in her "twirly" skirt.

Brandon was making a "mask."

Once they found out they were "big" enough for our pool they were in it everyday. The pictures are out of order, we boated then they went into the pool.

Because the lake we go to is a reservoir the water fluctuates during the summer. We try to stop at the same 'beach' when we go out. It is nice (for a reservoir). The tree in the water is the tree Brandon built a "fort" in last summer. B explored the beach, however, C found some goggles in the boat so she and grandpa played in the water.. The water has been higher then normal because the snow at Yosemite was quite a bit above normal.

C loves the cats and loves to climb the cat tower. It was a great time with cherished memories.

Visits

I noticed I have not blogged for almost 2 months. I also have noticed I have several drafts I have started, I probably will go back and finish them up. We went to Santa Barbara the end of May to visit Keith and go to Yorba Linda, to visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. The only ones in California are Nixon and Reagan. The next closest are in Texas, there are 3 and so on to the other states.
Probably will not visit any others, unless we are in the area on a trip. It is well worth the time to visit one.

The water fountain in the parking lot.

Going inside.

A moon rock from an Apollo mission.

The garden area, which was very nice and relaxing.

Sad to say, Elvis actually visited Nixon to help with the war on drugs. We all know how that ended for Elvis.

A replica of the Lincoln room, which (according to the information there) was Lincoln and Mrs. Lincolns favorite room in the White House.

This room was very interesting. There are 10 life sized figures of influential world leaders during Nixon's presidency. They were wearing actual clothing that was sprayed with some kind of coating to harden then the same as the statues.

The actual house his father bought (from a catalog) and built. Where Richard Nixon was born.

When we toured the house (with a guide) we were informed that over 80% of the furnishings are the actual ones. The only surviving son (out of 5) still lives. He was very instrumental in obtaining actual furnishings from and for the house during it's restoration back to the original. In an area back of the house are the grave sites for Richard and Pat Nixon. There were many different rooms and things to see while there. I spent little time in the Vietnam room and the Watergate room, but enjoyed all the other rooms.

Another view of the garden area. I have many other photos, but way to many to post. It was a pleasant visit. My goal was to go "before" school let out or wait until the fall. Anyone who has ever driven in any of the Los Angeles area during the summer understands. It is bad during school time also, but not as bad a summer traffic.

We invited Liz (Keith's girlfriend) to go with us. She was able to reschedule some work and was able to come.

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Keith found a bearded dragon on the side of the road, a month or so ago. Here she is on my arm, as you can see she is a fat bearded dragon.

He does have a plexi glass container for her, a large one, but you can see that she does like to go out in the sun.

We spent some time at the beach. You cannot go to the ocean side and not visit the beach.

This tree is a Moreton Bay fig. Imported from Australia by a little girl in a tin bucket and planted around 1877.

www.beachcalifornia.com/sbtree.html

It is one gigantic tree.

Behind us you can see the roots.

We spent a couple days there and had fun. The pelicans on the wharf, I am sure, thought the fishermen were there just for them as they waited for some free fish.

We had an enjoyable time.

Yesterday

There has been so much going on here, I don't know where to begin. We are again down to just the 2 of us. Not a bad thing, since we do enjoy one another. We do miss the kids and wish we could see 'all' of them a little more often. Our youngest son is the one we probably see the most, as his girlfriend lives near here. Thus saying, he comes up at least 1-2 times a month to visit with her, us also. We understand. I have more to post, but that will wait a few days until I get it organized in my brain. Dan & I planned a trip to Yosemite a couple months ago. We wanted to see the 'frazil' ice, but we missed it by at least a month. The weather kept getting in the way (we have had a abundance of rain~~which we do like), then the family visits~~which we enjoy. Next year we will put it on the calendar and go rain or shine. We have lived in the snow and do have cables for the tires. We did go yesterday. We got up early and made a picnic lunch to take. It takes us about 2 hours to get to Yosemite Valley. We knew that rain was forecast in the evening (it didn't arrive). The weather was nice, in the middle 60's and a mix between some light clouds and sun. We watched a coyote cross the road and walk in the direction we were at. One could tell it was forging for some food, and occasionally it would stop, stick his head down and then looked as if it was chewing sometime. You could tell that it was used to people because it wasn't the least bit concerned with anybody.The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite is beautiful. However, it cost per night a little steep for us, but we do like to go in. The workmanship is gorgeous. Some parts of it remind me of the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, OR. Close to the same time during construction, with a rugged look. I love the stained glass windows. Each window has a unique design.

It is interesting, some of the paths to the falls. I love the boardwalk around this boulder as we went to Lower Yosemite Falls. Much easier to make the boardwalk around the boulder then try to move the boulder.

I saw a special on the Chapel in the valley on TV last fall. I understand that there are many weddings there every year. My sister-in-laws niece was married there many years ago. It is a beautiful setting. This picture of Upper Yosemite Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls was happen chance. I saw the view as we were departing the park. Dan pulled into a parking lot and I got out to snap the pic. However, I had to walk the side of the road to get the picture..

If you're not looking out the window you will drive right by the view without even knowing you missed it. Glad I saw it.

Then again, a little family history at the park. so I just had to take a photo.

We we first entered the park it was cloudy. Not knowing what the day would bring we snapped took pictures anyway. As the sun came out the brilliance began to show so we repeated some of our sights and took more pictures.

Bridle Veil Falls. We walked to it in the morning, but it was cloudy and lots of mist from the falls, but lots of water.

As the day progressed more people came into the park. We saw many campers with tents, moterhomes and campers. It is the beginning of Spring Break for many families.

Now a new problem, my closet bar broke this morning, and now that it is fixed I need to go and rehang my clothes.

Home

Elizabeth & Ryan left S. Korea on the 26th, for good. They flew into SFO on Sat. and his sister picked them up, they spent the night there, it also gave them some good visit time. We went up Sunday and picked them up. They have been able to get some business done via the DMV with registration and license's. They were introduced to their new dog, Guiness. He has taken well to them, especially Ryan, which is good as it is his dog. Guiness was then introduced to Winston, Elizabeth's puppy. Winston is very excited to see Guiness, on the other side of the glass door. He is taken outside and held as they investigate one another. Guiness is a year and half, so he has a lot of puppy in him still, so not a good idea to leave them together. You can see the difference.

Winston is 5 months old, and will grow a little more but not much. I managed to get some fun pictures today just before their walk.

They went to Ryan's parents yesterday, and took the dogs. However, as you see, they gave him a bath first. He did really good in the tub, but it took the 2 of them to bathe him.

Winston is a cutie. He loves playing with the cat toys and is curious about the cats, as they are him. I am guessing they think he is an annoying little thing running around.

He sleeps in the bathroom, with his piddle pad, food, water and bed. Enough on the dogs.

We are thrilled the kids are back in the states. They will be here until Sunday, when they will head to Fort Bliss, Texas, where they will be until early next year when he gets out of the Army.

They will be driving back with the 2 dogs. Winston has a small carrier they can put him in when necessary, not the same with Guiness. We pray God goes before them, keeps the way safe and they can find lodging with no problems. I did get them maps and tour/guide books for the trip.

We want to plan a trip to Colorado to visit with our oldest daughter and family. We hope we may be able to plan it so Elizabeth and Ryan can come up also, but that remains open. We have suggested it to them. We were hoping to drive, but with gas prices we'll see. When we drove to New York we were able to make it into Colorado the 2nd day, west of the Rockies. We are thinking fall sometime.

Last Fri., Sat. and Sun. we have had a special speaker at church. An Islam/Muslim converted to Christianity. All I will say is it was very interesting. There is much to say, I just need to think and pray about it.

Foster Dog!!

The latest news is that our youngest and her husband are going to Fort Bliss, Texas. There he will finish out his time in the Army, which will be early next year. They will be arriving in San Francisco on the 26th of this month. They will be leaving S.Korea around 5:26 PM on the 26th and arriving in SF around 11:20 AM, gaining back the time they lost when they went over. They will stay here around a week, visiting family, friends and taking care of business. They need to register and insure his truck and motorcycle, then they will drive to TX.
Her Christmas present was a chihuahua puppy and his latest acquisition is a boxer. This is Guinness, a year and half old boxer (we believe purebred~ no papers) We picked him up Monday evening for them. We will keep him here until they leave for Texas, he will go with them. We got no papers, etc when we picked him up. All we knew about his physical health is that he had his first set of vaccinations and he had parvo last summer and almost died from it. Thus he had a vet check-up yesterday, got his boosters, rabies, tested neg. for heart worm and is now on meds for heart worm. Our vet did say that he will have a lifetime immunity to parvo now.
We walk him twice a day and are trying to get him to play with some doggy toys. We were told they didn't spend much time with him. I know they had to have spent sometime with him, he rides well, and he walks well. We had no problems at the vets. There was a young mother with preschoolers there, he was well behaved. They couple we got him from had a 2 year old.

After having my mom's dog put down last summer, due to very old age and all the issues that go with it, I am not ready for another dog. However, we will foster Guinness until the kids get here. Actually, I do not want another dog at this time. None of my family live nearby so we have to travel to visit and it is easier without a pooch. Thus is our saga of our foster dog.

What I want to say, also, is I am glad they are leaving S.Korea, because they are really close to Japan. Even though they are not at risk, the nuclear plants are still not under control. But more on that later.

God Bless

About Time!!!

I just love being retired. Not having to get up and go out in the gray fog, cold, windy, rainy or whatever the weather is during the morning commute.

We had our (oldest) son's girlfriend stay with us from the end of January to the first 2 weeks in February. She had carpul tunnel surgery on her left wrist, she is left handed, so there were somethings she could not do (like cut her meat at dinner). Her left foot/ankle was also in a cast. She had reconstructive surgery on her left heel last fall, and while it was healing alright the nerves became inflamed and the doc. put her foot back in a cast for healing. Whenever we would go out people would ask if she had been in a skiing accident. Kinda funny but not really. Anyway, she was here for recovery, as her parents house had stairs and it was difficult for her to go up and down.

Last week, we moved some furniture around. We have a 4 bedroom house, and it is just the 2 of us, most of the time. We maintain 2 of the extra rooms as guestrooms and the 4th we have turned into my craftroom, and the kids room. The kids, my grandchildren, use the room for sleeping (on airbeds) when they visit~~ plus we have books and toys in the room for them. We recently sold a small desk our son no longer wanted and put a larger vanity, from the middle room in it's place. We moved our son's hutch out (his place is way to small for it and he wants to keep it) and put it in the middle bedroom. We also moved a bookcase from out of the hall space (between the 2 spare rooms) into the craft room. During this move we have sorted and gotten rid of things. The hard part are my children's books. Alas, I am a collector of children's stories, and have several 1st editions and signed editions of which I will keep. I have so many books because of teaching for over 2o years. I love the classics and so many more. Sorting is hard, most of the time. Then again there are some books I glady will put in the yard sale. I want to keep the timeless stories, by great authors and illustrators. When the sorting is done, we are planning a yard sale around the end of March beginning of April, or possible May. I will make a flyer and send it to my former supervisor in the local school district, and she will send copies to the other supervisors and to her staff. I will have big books and many books with the stories on CD's that I used at the listening center. I taught prekindergarten, so there are many wonderful stories for language development. There is so much more, going through my supplies. I do not need to keep everything, but sometimes it is a struggle and other times I just want to let it all go.



We are looking forward to our daughter and her husband coming back to the states. They will be leaving S. Korea the end of March and heading to Fort Bliss Texas, where he will be until he gets out of the army early next year.

I will be starting a new quilting class next week, we will meet once a month working on a quilt called "The Underground Railroad". A friend will be taking it with me, so I am kind of excited. I also have been shopping, and have material to make my granddaughter 3 dresses and 2 nightgowns, so I had best get busy working on those.

That is all for now
God Bless

Time out!

Christmas came and family came. We had a wonderful but short time/visit with our daughter's family (which include our only grandchildren at this time). Our oldest son and his girlfriend (kitties included) were here, also, so we had a houseful. Our youngest son did not get Christmas off, so we had a mini celebration with him and his girlfriend. We made him a Christmas dinner to his liking a couple days before. Of course our youngest spent her last Christmas in S. Korea~~ as our son-in-law is being stationed at Fort Bliss, TX in the spring. When everyone left the house seemed so empty, as it always does. We do miss having family close by, but we also understand that their reasons for living where they do. Job's took us away from family when our children were young, also. Living by family is such a blessing, but unfortunately life does not always give us those choices. Dan and I enjoy having family and when they are gone we enjoy each other and do many things together. We stay involved in activities at church, which has recently started doing a homeless ministry. He stays involved in the men's Bible study and I will start in the women's study in a week or two.


When my mom moved in with us, her dog was not to friendly to the cats, thus our cats became house cats. We will start letting them outside when the weather warms in the spring, now that we no longer have a dog. The cats are banned from the bedrooms, however, Chloe still likes to bring us "treats" during the night and day. We heard her one morning~ early~ around 3 or 4 and you see when she left in front of our door. The mouse I understand~~she likes to carry it around~~ but I am still a bit puzzled as to why the dinosaur? She has done this during the day also, the dino and mouse. She stand there so proud of her "prizes".

Our oldest son had reconstructive nose and throat surgery, specifically a septoplasty and uvulopalotopharyngoplasty, (for sleep apnea) a couple weeks ago. He came here for recovery, along with his girlfriend and 2 cats. He left today for home, as he will return to work next week, his cats stayed.

Josephine, seen here under the Christmas tree, will be 16 years next month. She is doing fairly well for an old lady. She is showing slight signs of kidney issues and has been put on a special diet and supplements (which she doesn't care for much). She is also going into the vets next week to get 2 teeth extracted. Once the bad teeth are gone we are expecting to see an increased appetite as her teeth won't hurt anymore. And the other cat is still a kitten.

Pumpkin is a 5 1/2 month old kitten full of energy. He will go in to the vets a week after Josephine to get fixed. In the meantime, he is funny to watch, chasing the other cats. He just wants to play! They need their exercise anyway.

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I checked out a gym about 3 miles from us. The gym that was close by (walking distance) closed last Feb. I miss working out, it made me feel better. Even if Dan doesn't want to join, I think I will. The gym is busy, but there is plenty of equipment and a pool. That is my other thought!!!!

God Bless for now