Friends Retreat - DeRoche, BC

Another "Friend's Retreat" has come and gone. It was a beautiful overnight stay at DeRoche Retreat near Mission, BC. The weather was snowy & blowy so it was super cozy with the fireplace being well fed by a few gals who know how to keep a stove hot. We filled the two days with games, a walk, foot baths, bible study and just great conversation. Here's the gang once again - love these ladies!!

Happy Anniversary to us - Nov. 18, 1989

Our anniversary passed by without much fanfare - except I did get beautiful roses from hubby. Breakfast was on the table with this large card and some favorite treats from the kids. We decided that celebrating when Lorelle comes home would be a lot more fun so we'll wait a few weeks. The day was almost as white as our wedding day - and very cold and windy!!

My first 5K Run

Today I ran my first ever 5K Run - one that was put on to benefit the local Girl Scouts. I have been inspired by Jocelyn who has chosen as her Senior Project to prepare for a Marathon as well as to organize a local race to benefit the Mexico Mission Team she hopes to be part of in August 2011. I've only practiced for about 6 weeks & up until today have survived a one mile run. Well, my body is telling me I've pushed it to it's limit. My time was 34 min. 1 sec. - I know for you avid runners out there that's nothing to brag about but my goal was to finish and not be last. I definitely accomplished that as there were many people who finished behind me. I'll keep this post short as I'm really lacking in energy - I'm going to join Hannah in the hot tub to soothe my aching bones...

A visit with Jan Brett

This past week I accompanied the first & second grade kids to Village Books to see Jan Brett, one of my favorite children's authors. The day was beautiful and we were able to get an excellent photo standing in front of her bus which had been totally decorated to advertise her tour and especially her latest book "The 3 Little Dassies". Jan is an incredible artist and she spent some time showing us how she drew a dassie and talked to everyone how she came up with the idea for this new book. We waiting in line with some of the kids for her to sign their books. I bought her new book to add to my slowly growing children book collection.

Grow where you're planted... or not?

This past week has been busy and I've tried to find time to clean up my veggie garden. This summer has been the first summer where I can honestly say I was a failure at gardening. Everything I normally plant and harvest in abundance would not grow this summer. The only thing that I can be proud of is the carrots - and I put those seeds in just to get rid of them. We don't really like frozen carrots but I guess we'll learn to love them because that's about all I will pick from my garden this year. I finally had a day to putter around the house last week and I walked past this lonely sunflower growing in a pot that was supposed to be empty... Not sure what that tells me - it's contrary to the saying "grow where you're planted".

This past weekend I went to a Women's Retreat in Agassiz, BC where we had a wonderful time together listening to the wise counsel of Joyce DeHaan. It was good to be reminded of the lies we believe about ourselves and how God made us and loves us regardless - God's grace is enough. It was encouraging to listen to her and be with other wonderful women striving to live lives to God's glory!

What's New?

Well it's been a while since I last posted. I don't have any photos to upload but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to write about. Since returning from our trip to Ontario the kids enjoyed the Western Washington Fair. Hannah was enrolled in a few 4H projects and that kept her coming back most days. I tried not to go unless I had to - things don't change much from year to year. I must say it is fun meeting people, looking through the entries and watching shows. After the week was over Jocelyn went to Police Academy in Sunnyside, WA. We opted to pick her up so we could spend Sunday together and attend worship services at the URC in Sunnyside. The following week was also the last week of work for me at the campaign office as Paul did not make it through the primaries. He set up a non-profit organization and I'm able to spend a few hours still working. The following week Lorelle drove her car to Iowa with Dad. She's hoping she'll be able to find part-time work there while she's in school & we keep praying that something will fall into place. There are a couple rest homes where she can use her experience as NAC - hopefully there is a need. The following week our younger kids went back to school. It's now the second week of school, it's raining, and it certainly doesn't feel like it's still August!! Here's hoping for a little "Indian Summer" as we called it growing up.

50th Anniversary at Sandy Bay Cottages

The highlight of our trip was a week long stay at Sandy Bay Cottages, near Peterborough, Ontario. It was an amazing time with so many people to talk to and so many activities for both kids and adults. We will never forget our time together. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this great family as well as blessed our parents with 50 years of marriage. (The only thing missing here is our entire family photo. That was quite something to pull off & in the chaos I didn't get that one on my calendar. Once I get that that one I'll post it later....)

Birthday Lunch with the Ladies...

While I was in Ontario I had my birthday. It's become a bit of a tradition to go out for lunch with all the sisters, sisters-in-laws, and married neices for birthdays. Here's a few shots of us out for lunch - at the end of the table was the youngest grandchild Ryeanne as well as the first great-grandchild Tyler - both got lots of attention from the ladies... So cute!!

25 Years Ago...

Last week we returned home from a family trip to Ontario. During that trip I was able to get together with some high school friends (and elementary...). We went to dinner at Milestones and had a nice time catching up. Much has changed but certain things never do - we can still act like kids when we get together!

Birthday Month!

July is a busy month in our family as far as birthday's go. Jocelyn's was last Friday & unfortunately I didn't get any photos. She had some friends over from Langley on Friday evening and then a big surprise birthday party on Sunday evening. It was fun to see her face as a huge line up of cars came down the road - honking their horns. First a look of confusion - after all her birthday was over - and then a realization that the fuss was about her. Lots of good fun. Hannah had her friends over on Saturday evening and I did get a few photos. This was more because I was proud of my new skill at decorating cupcakes. I went to Michael's and bought this cute cupcake holder to display them - I think you'll be seeing this again at future birthdays!

Weekend on the Peninsula

This past weekend we took a motorhome (rented/borrowed) and went to visit a friend's (parents) cabin on lakefront (Timberlakes) property near Shelton. We had such a wonderful time getting to know their extended family. We did tons of fishing, sitting around, badminton, eating and, did I mention eating? We also enjoyed a fabulous 4th of July fireworks show - the entire community around this small lake goes all out and puts on the most amazing show we've ever seen. We almost felt bad that we hadn't paid to be there... Here's also a few pictures of us in Bremerton - three of us toured a retired battleship and we all enjoyed the aircraft carriers that are docked at the base there.