Celebrating 

❤ Valentine's Day ❤ 

by...

Giving Thanks !

Enjoying God's surprises in the morning.

And a funny !

(Susan Branch)



❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lighting

It's Autumn!

I watched the storm come in.

And came, it did!

The picture below is our backyard,

 showing you our Peach Tree. 

It's blurry because of all the rain.

Lots of hard rain.

Then the wind came! 

The next picture was taken just 20 minutes later,

after the wind had stopped.

And just as fast as the storm came in, 

it moved on.

Our poor Peach Tree didn't know what hit it!

Then the sun came out!

 I know where all the leaves went.

The wind blew them onto our patio!

Only a few leaves made it into the yard.

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

The other day, Levi (our oldest grandson) 

was over to help Papa

 with some "boy type" jobs.

Fence needed fixing.

And the lawn needed mowing.

Hey Levi!......

Come on back!

Help Papa pick up all those leaves!

~~~~****~~~~

Then He said to His disciples. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

Matthew 9:37

In The Mean Time...

We have a new surgery date for Nathan!

AUGUST 15th

So many of you have showered us with
 your prayers and it has warmed our hearts.

We will be going back to Salt Lake City.

But in the mean time...

Trey 6 yrs.  and   Scarlett 3 yrs.

Tom and I are going to Seattle to see these two 

cuties and meet their new brother!

Baby # 3 (we call him Rockey),

 due July 21st. 

Stephanie (daughter-in-law) and Todd (son)

have asked me to be their Doula, again!

This will be our 9th grandchild  

and I have been a Doula

 for all of them, so far.

Truly Blessed!

Not knowing when Nathan's rescheduled surgery would be,
I wasn't sure where I'd be...

Seattle or Salt Lake City!!!

Now I know ...BOTH!

But we did have another surgery!
It was
Ila May.
Here she is leaving hospital.

 It was Lulu's turn to help Ila, recover.

The picture, below,
was taken when Lulu had her surgery,
 a few months ago!

♥♥♥♥

So, I'm resting up for a power packed
 end of the Summer.

In the mean time...

I've visited my girlfriend, Didi in McCall...

Spent time in the pool...

Admired my roses...

Watched clouds...

Enjoyed looking for funny signs...

But best of all,

I've spent time with my very funny, husband, Tom.
You never know what he will do next.

This morning I looked up at our kitchen table and
he was ironing a pamphlet that was wrinkled.

Thank you. ALL,
 for supporting our family
during this season of surgeries!
You never know, until you go through something like this,
how much it means!


~~~~****~~~~

"Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but to the interest of others."

Philippians 2:4 

Deleted Blog Post

I deleted my last blog post. 

(Apologies to Cathy and Cindy)

I'm going to try to remember what I wrote.

One beautiful Spring day, while in the backyard,

 I saw a bunny rabbit

 jumping across the sky.

Cloud watching is one of my favorite things to do.

White Bunnies remind me of Lulu.

She loves her white bunny, Snowball.

Speaking of Lulu. she is doing better and better.

The first week back home was

 difficult for everyone.  

Sleeping and schedules were all mixed up.

So Tom and I had several grand kids over, to help

relieve some of the work load,

Some kids, for the day.

Some kids, over several nights.

Some kids, for both.

We love having them over!

Papa BBQ'ing with the  bigger boys.
Isaac watching Papa mow the lawn.
Ila May dressing up.
Papa teaching Levi how to tie a Bowline Knot

Isaac playing
Ila May designed a town on our bed.
Levi took apart a scooter and put it back together.
Silas helping with dinner.

EASTER

 Mark and Kimmy had their annual Egg Hunt in the backyard.

Lulu joined in the fun!

Papa was her assistant. 

He picked up the eggs she found.

Another successful Egg Hunt!

~~~~****~~~~

It's A New Year

It was the start of the New Year, 

 I went for my annual morning walk.

Only today, it was January 1st.

Burr it's cold out!

The sky was unusually weird.

This cloud hoovered over my path. 

Off in the distance

you could see the sun peeking through.

It didn't last to long.

Long enough to wonder if I would be

"Going Home" soon!

I did make it home but not 

the one I was thinking about.

~~~~****~~~~

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

Matthew 24:36

More Fall !

The sunsets have been unreal!

If you were driving, you HAD to pull off

and check it out.

As a church, we have started our

Bible Study.

Another sure sign of Fall.

I volunteered to bring treats.These were such a hit, that

I have included the recipe at the end!

And yes, Tom was my willing

taste tester!

This picture was taken in the

Walmart parking lot.

The greeter at the door stopped me and told me to check out the sunset.

No kidding!

God sure know how to paint the BEST pictures.

And now....
Grandma's  brag book.

 Kimmy and baby Nathan (one month old)

~~~~****~~~~

"Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."

Romans 12:13

Soft Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 ground cloves

1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup butter, soften

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/2 cup  (1 stick) softened butter

1/2 cup softened cream cheese

2-3 cup powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla extract 

For  Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

     Combing flour , baking powder baking soda, cinnamon nutmeg, ground cloves and salt, set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and egg, vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until well combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients, Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls, flatten slightly with floured fingers. ( dough will be sticky) 

3. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are set and just turning golden.

For Frosting:

1 Cream butter and cream cheese together. Slowly add powdered sugar and mix with an electric mixer until thick and creamy Add vanilla and mix on high.

2. When cookies are cooled, spread frosting on to with an knife.

Vacation Time

Tom whisked me away to Cannon Beach.

If you know me,

this is just a small, handful of places,

anywhere in the world,

 that I love to visit.

 

 

We arrived to Picture Perfect weather!

 

 

A room with a view and nothing obstructing it.

And a friend, too!

 

During our 6 1/2 hour drive to Cannon Beach,

 we talked a lot about

FISH & CHIPS!!!

And we knew where we were going..

 



 

How could we go wrong with a name

like this!

 

 

We knew just what we wanted!

 



 HAPPY!
 

Tom surprised me with a room that had a gas fireplace.

(It was lit most of our stay.)

 



 

The first morning we walked the beach,

even before the sun came up.

 It's a mile down to Haystack Rock,

which looms in the distance.

 



 

On the way back, the sun was coming up.

 



I had to take a picture of this fort.

It was a work of Art!

 



On our way back to our room, 

we stopped for one more cup of coffee.



 

The evening news reported that we were in for a

huge storm!

This was going to be the BEST vacation,

I think!

 

 

We could see the storm brewing and
 getting closer.

 

 

At the height of this storm, it was going to be
 High Tide!!

 



 

And it got higher and higher!!

 



People were lined up all along the bulk head

taking pictures, Tom and I included!

These pictures below were taken from our room!
 





 

 

The waves came up over the bulk head,

over the grass lawn, right up to the deck of our room!

We watched with excitement!

 

And then the tide started heading back out.

What a thrilling show, God put on for us!

 

After the tide was way out,

I went for a walk on the beach

 to see what I could find.

 

Nothing but Sea Foam and weeds.

 

 

This is looking back at where we were staying.

 

 

My friend was watching me and

 kept me company.

 

 

It looks like waves, but it's all foam!

 

 

Back in our room, we watched the sunset,

along with my faithful friend.

 

 

Our last night dinner at the beach

has always been, Dungeness Crab!

 

 

 

It was a GREAT vacation!!

 



If you ever get a chance to

visit the West coast,

you can't go wrong stopping and staying

at Cannon Beach!

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

 

 

"The Lord is my strength and shield;

My heart trust in Him, and I am helped.

Therefore my heart exults.

And with my song, I shall thank Him."

Psalm 28:7