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Gratitude … for a hot-dog/s’mores party at my daughter’s!
Last night hubby and I were invited over to our daughter’s place for a hot-dog/s’mores party with her friends. It was so much fun! Our daughter has a fireplace where she lives, so after a cozy fire had…
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A bowlful of buggy apples = begging deer!
The apples are ripe. I have been picking apples and making applesauce. The deer also like the apples! They come around regularly looking to see if any have dropped on the ground. So, every time I go out…
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What people will remember
Hubby and I participated in a Forestry Field Day this past Saturday. It was terrific fun! On our way driving to the event Saturday morning, hubby asked if I thought our Forestry professor, from our Forestry class last…
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Families … are like salsa!
I made salsa for dinner last night. And as I was getting ready to do so, the thought occurred to me that families are like salsa! But not just families … this could also apply to friend-groups, or…
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Marriage is … unity.
A wedding is taking place in our backyard today! It is very exciting! All this week leading up to the wedding God has given me the most beautiful picture of what unity in marriage is like: Hummingbirds do…
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Marriage is … like a candle.
Someone very special had a birthday this week! For today’s background photo you can see the birthday gift I selected for this very special person. This is my very favorite brand of candles, sold in a specialty boutique…
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Thursday Throwback … Irises!
I have a special fondness for irises. When I was a young girl, a small patch of yellow irises used to grow at the corner of my front porch. Years later, when I was a young newlywed and…
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It’s graduation time!
This weekend our dear friends had a daughter graduate from college! This week, as I’ve perused the photos of “This day in history”, the photos which have been showing up are of my own two kids graduating from…
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What love looks like …
Midway through the morning a call came in from the specialist’s office: “The high-end specialist (who is booked out clear into April) just so happens to have an appointment available this afternoon. If you can make it in…
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What does love look like?
It had been freeze-raining all morning. And the weather forecast was calling for snow in the afternoon. Sure enough, around 11am the freeze-rain turned to snow. There were a couple of really important medical appointments that afternoon. …
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Lessons from the ER – What love looks like.
One of the awkward things about being in the ER is that each small claustrophobic bed-space is separated only by a thin fabric curtain from the adjacent space. Hence … the occupant in the adjacent bed (only…
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Lessons from the ER – Feeding the hungry.
In Matthew 25:34-40 Jesus gives a picture of what love looks like: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and…
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Lessons from the ER – Love is sacrifice.
What is love? Is love a festive heart-shaped pillow? Is love a sparkly box of delicious chocolates? Is love a sentimental greeting card? What does love look like? Love is taking the only free day that you…
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Lessons from the ER – Love in the waiting.
Throughout my life I have had practically no experience going to the ER. My only perspective of what the ER is like has been based on what I have seen in movies and TV shows. In my mind,…
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Hidden, inner “song”
As I have been “connecting” to my different plants, in order to listen to their hidden, inner “song”, it has occurred to me how strikingly similar it is to the way we each “connect” to each other in…
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Marriage is … like Hot Coco Bombs!
I was at Costco picking up a few items when I came across these Hot Coco Bombs. In a blink I thought: “That’s just what marriage is like! The happy newlywed couple definitely needs these!” So, into my…
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The Holly and the Ivy
The day before the wedding, hubby and I, along with our two kids, spent the morning having brunch with the groom and his family; after which, we spent several hours setting up the rehearsal hall. We had an…
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Marriage is … like a puzzle!
Here you can see the puzzle hubby and I put together the weekend before Thanksgiving. I am quite fond of this puzzle because it was a birthday gift to me from my son’s girlfriend. And also, I love…
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Christmas Cactus Garden!
One of the highlights of my Christmas last year was going with hubby and our daughter to a Christmas Cactus Garden. I had never been to a Christmas Cactus Garden before. It was a lot of fun! If…
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Marriage advice: Always hold hands!
In the wedding speech I gave this past weekend, the piece of marriage advice I shared with the happy couple was this: Always hold hands! When hubby holds my hand, as we are out and about, he can…
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Marriage is … like a warm winter coat!
The day of the wedding was pleasant, with temperatures hovering somewhere around 50* … which was good, considering we were outside quite a bit without a coat, going back and forth, to and from the sanctuary over to…
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Marriage rule #1: No masks!
Hubby and I, along with our two kids, have just flown back from a wedding. On our way to the wedding, as well as on the way back from the wedding, there were many people in the airports,…
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Marriage is … like a fabulous culinary creation!
My wedding speech is in hand … and I’m ready to go! Whoo Hoo! (and in case you were wondering, no I’m not using the song I shared in yesterday’s post – Ha!) As I’ve been pondering, over…
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The mess is beautiful!
Today’s background photo is from a few weeks ago, when the leaves were still falling. I had just been out on the back deck the day before, sweeping all the leaves off … and the next time I…
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Grocery store joys! #3
I headed to the grocery store to pick up the items we needed for Thanksgiving dinner: * a small bag of potatoes … for fluffy Thanksgiving mashed potatoes! * a small bag of cranberries … for the cranberry…
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November joys … Thankurrito!
My son went out to lunch with his coworkers … and he sent me this photo of the menu board from the place where they went out to eat. A Thankuritto! That’s awesome! I would definitely try that! …
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November joys … Beanbag chairs!
My daughter is having a spa party/movie night at her place! And she invited me to come! I’m so excited! I’ve never been to a spa party before! We’re all going to munch on tacos, make raspberry Italian-cream…
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November joys … Great new music!
One of the great joys in my life is when my kids share with me their favorite new songs which they are listening to. My kids have completely different musical artists whom they enjoy listening to, so it’s…
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November joys … Glorious sunrises!
I was sitting here typing up yesterday’s blog post, when I noticed the darkness of the early-morning sky beginning to turn gorgeous crimson and orange and purple! I had the fleeting notion of getting my coat on and…
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Mom Umbrella
I was walking loops for exercise around my front drive when it began raining. Normally, people in Seattle do not use umbrellas, because it only ever lightly sprinkles. We just pull the hood of our jacket up and…
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November joys … planting tiny trees at my son’s house!
Last Saturday hubby and I went over to our son’s house to hang out together and help with a few house fix-it projects. While hubby and my son were crawling around in the attic fixing bathroom ventilation fans,…
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November joys … Sunday-evening hangouts with my daughter!
Near the end of October, as cold weather was approaching, I tidied up the garden and got it ready for its winter rest. In the process I gathered the few remaining pumpkins … although two of the little…
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November joys … Nature Challenge!
The guys were busy doing manly things. So, my son’s girlfriend and I decided to take a walk. The morning had been thundering and dumping rain, but now the sky had cleared, and the sun was coming out. …
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Scratching each other the wrong way
I was sitting here typing up a blog post when the “dogs” started barking on my phone. (it’s my Ring driveway camera notification) Amazon deliveries don’t usually come at 8am … so it must be a deer … …
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Just a stop along the way
Last Friday evening hubby and I were headed up to Worship Night at church. As we drove across the wide broad Sammamish Valley there were hundreds upon thousands of birds getting ready to head south! The tilled farm…
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You forget about it … it goes rotten
I have in my home a cold-box. The former owners actually built the house. And one custom item which they specially built into the house was a cold-box. Here you can see our cold-box. It is basically just…
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What footprints are you leaving behind?
This past summer, hubby and I, along with our two kids, were able to travel to a small island in the North Atlantic. This small unassuming island is a place of amazing, jaw-dropping beauty! Throughout the years, this…
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Gardens into graves
A few weeks ago hubby and I had our septic system pumped. Regular maintenance of a septic system recommends having it pumped every 5 years. This summer was the time to do such a thing. Here you can…
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Sunflowers in the storm
A thunderstorm moved through the area last night. It never thunders here … so it was particularly impactful listening to the power of the thunder rumbling throughout the skies! The downpour was intense! Around the time the sun…
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What people will remember …
Today’s Word of Wisdom is also a tribute to our dear friend Lloyd, who recently went home to be with Jesus. “People will forget what you said People will forget what you did But people will never forget …
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The valley of the shadow of death …
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4 Have you ever had the…
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A soft squishy “hug” from Jesus!
The UPS truck showed up and deposited a box on my front porch. I wasn’t expecting anything. I wondered what it could be. I stepped out onto the front porch to retrieve the box and noticed that it…
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Daddy-Daughter Cake Bake
Yesterday’s blog post was about how parenting is similar to being a “soaker hose” … as we faithfully and continually “pour out” for our kids … so that they, in turn, can be a “soaker hose” to “pour…
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Parenting: It’s like being a “soaker hose”
Hubby and I recently set up a soaker hose in the garden. We have it on a timer, and every morning the soaker hose comes on and does its thing. As a result, the garden is healthy and…
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This moment in time …
This photo popped up on “This day in history.” It left me feeling very weird. To you, it is just a normal ordinary river … just like any other normal ordinary river. But this river no longer exists.…
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Parenting: Children are like green bean runners
As green beans grow, they stretch … and they reach! The stretching, growing, reaching end of green bean runners are very tender and pliable. This gives them the ability to twist, bend, curl, and wrap around things ……
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Gaining independence
Last night as I was in the kitchen fixing dinner, little Jr. deer came wandering by. He is definitely in the adolescent teenager phase! The last few times I have seen him, he has been venturing off on…
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God has given you the “land” …
This week’s Daily Audio Bible reading has been in the book of Joshua (chapters 15-19) about the Promised Land being divided up among the 12 tribes of Israel. What struck me as I was listening was how specifically…
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Pain … and Healing
Life is messy. When we pour ourselves out to love and care for other people, it will be messy. And in the process, we will inevitably experience some pain … and some hurt. That’s part of being in…
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Bird Babies on a Bright Bulb
Last Spring I wrote a blog post entitled: “Bird Babies on a Beam.” I would like to present to you version 2.0 – “Bird Babies on a Bright Bulb!” After the bird babies from last summer had…
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You never know what’s under the surface.
The past two mornings we have woken up to snow covering the ground. Here you can see a photo of our front flowerbed. It looks pitiful … three small rhododendrons and a few small lavender plants … all…
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It’s ok if it’s not perfect
I wrote to our Compassion kids last week. I was so excited to tell them all about the daffodils blooming! It has been such a long cold winter that our daffodils are just now beginning to open ……
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Smoke in the house!
We woke up this morning to 23 degrees. Brrrr! I opened the firebox door to get a fire started, and a cold draft rushed down the chimney and into the house. “That’s going to be a problem,” I…
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Covered
I woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain falling on our roof! The wood-box on the back deck is empty. I need to refill it this morning … so that I can have wood to…
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Projections
I was just now in the bathroom putting my makeup on when my attention was suddenly caught by a bug on my shirt! … immediately I instinctively smacked it!! (after all, I had just been outside getting another…
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Wobbly Stacks
I was out in the woodshed gathering more firewood to take around to the back of the house, to refill our wood-box storage-bin on the back deck. With each piece of firewood I removed from the stacks, I…
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Love Sound
I was enjoying a chocolate bar given to me by my daughter, when I noticed on the back wrapper, in small print, a statement that this chocolate bar was infused with a 528 hz love sound frequency to…
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I was only joking
Today’s background photo is a selfie … taken in the mirror. The fire was going good yesterday morning and I was in the process of adding more wood to the firebox when my arm accidentally touched the side…
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“Cutting Away”
So, I have an update on the saga of one of my cactus plants. Perhaps you might remember it. My daughter had this little cactus plant with a beautiful red bloom on the top. It grew fabulously ……
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Kindling for the soul … the little things matter!
Last week, with all the upheaval caused by the snow, the “wood-box” of my soul was beginning to run empty. I could feel my patience wearing thin. I could feel frustration rising. I was worried I might accidentally…
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All I can carry is a little load of firewood
I want to circle back around to the topic of bearing one another’s burdens. A few years ago, a friend of mine went through a devastating tragedy. Her burden was very heavy! I wanted to reach out to…
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Empty wood-boxes
Yesterday’s blog post was about empty wood-boxes … and how everyone’s soul is so empty right now! As I stated yesterday, the fire in our woodburning fireplace heater is a lot like each person’s soul. And the firewood…
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Bear one another’s burdens
It is 26 degrees this morning. It’s dark, cold, the hummingbird feeder is frozen solid … and the wood-box is empty. So, I pull on my coat and boots and trudge out through the snow to the woodshed. …
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The Holidays … and hard relationships
The Holidays bring up a lot of pain when it comes to hard relationships. We’ve been heating our home with a wood-burning fireplace heater. This requires me to constantly be adding wood … all day long. Giving and…
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A grounded kite
In today’s background photo you can see hubby and me, as I am trying in vain to get a kite into the air. It was Thanksgiving week, so the thought of “relationships” was on my mind. Probably most…
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Life lessons learned … enriching the soil for others.
Throughout the month of October, we’ve been discussing the topic of marriage and dating. I began our discussion on marriage with a photo of this Big Leaf Maple in our backyard. It is a great illustration of what…
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Marriage is a garden
This past weekend hubby and I pulled up the last few remaining bean plants and tomato plants. It’s November and time to prepare the garden for winter. Marriage is like a garden. Our garden plot (which you can…
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“Poverty Rock”
This past Sunday hubby and I were given last-minute tickets to the Seahawks game! Whoo-Hoo!! On our way down to the stadium, we drove I-90 across Mercer Island and into downtown. Mercer Island is known for being where…
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What to do with the hard times??
Marriage is like “building-out” a flowerbed of life together. The original lay of the land, and the plants which had previously filled up the “flowerbed” of singleness are “dug up” and “rearranged” … and together, a new “flowerbed…
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Flowerbed “build-out”
Today’s background photo was from this day in history two years ago. As you can see, at the time hubby and I were in the middle of “building-out” a new flowerbed. When it comes to marriage, each person…
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Building a life … it takes a team.
Building a life is hard. This morning I felt overwhelmingly exhausted as I watched hubby’s headlights back out in the cold darkness, and as he drove away to face another grueling day of work. It’s the exact same…
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Building a life … two visions = division
Perhaps you might be in a dating relationship, and perhaps you might be wondering: “Is this person ‘the right one’? Should I get married??” As stated yesterday, the first thing to consider is: How has God called you…
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Building a life … what about the “what if’s”?
Perhaps you might be single and asking the question: “Should I get married??” The first thing to consider is … God has called us each to “build a life”, regardless of whether or not we are single or…
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Building a life … whether single or married
Hubby and I are embarking on a new endeavor. We are going to build-out a room in the workshop. The winter rains have arrived, and it is now dark and cold and rainy … all the time. No…
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How do I prepare now for the character I need for marriage?
Today’s question regarding marriage is: “How do I prepare myself now to grow the character I should have then?” While pondering this question, a documentary came to mind – “The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.” …
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Rushing into Marriage (part 3)
The question which we are discussing: “A lot of people rush quickly into marriage thinking it will solve their problems or give them things they’ve always wished for. As such, a lot of marriages don’t succeed since they…
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Rushing into Marriage (part 2)
The question which we are discussing: “A lot of people rush quickly into marriage thinking it will solve their problems or give them things they’ve always wished for. As such, a lot of marriages don’t succeed since they…
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Rushing into Marriage (part 1)
Today’s question for discussion: “A lot of people rush quickly into marriage thinking it will solve their problems or give them things they’ve always wished for. As such, a lot of marriages don’t succeed since they don’t have…
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How do I know if it’s God’s plan for me to get married or not?
Today’s question for discussion: “How do I know if it’s God’s plan for me to get married or not?” The background photo for today is a screenshot of my weather app from Wednesday of this week. The smoke…
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What does Godly dating look like? … finding the “perfect one.”
The background photo for yesterday’s blog post was the sweeping view of the Snoqualmie Valley from the 4-million-dollar “Open House” which hubby and I happened across. When it comes to dating and finding “that special someone” … we…
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What does Godly dating look like? … the modern dating scene.
Yesterday I made the point that Godly dating is a lot like going through “Open Houses.” Just as going through an “Open House” gives a potential homebuyer the necessary information regarding a potential home purchase, so also “going…
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What does Godly dating look like?
I recently put forth the question to a group of Young Adult Professionals: “Do you have any questions about marriage?” Today’s question for discussion is: What does Godly dating look like? Since I used the illustration yesterday of…
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Modern marriage scene
I recently put forth the question to a group of Young Adult Professionals: “Do you have any questions about marriage?” Today’s topic of discussion is regarding the question about the modern marriage scene. Everyone everywhere is moving in…
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What surprised you most about marriage? (part 2)
I recently put forth the question to a group of Young Adult Professionals: “Do you have any questions about marriage?” They responded with some wonderful questions … which has given me much to ponder. Yesterday’s topic of…
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What surprised you most about marriage? (part 1)
I recently put forth the question to a group of Young Adult Professionals: “Do you have any questions about marriage?” They responded with some wonderful questions … which I’m really looking forward to exploring in the next few…
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One is all you’ll ever eat
On my way back from going to get the mail I noticed this mushroom alongside the road. My very first thought was: “I wonder if you can eat it, or is it poisonous?” It brought to mind some…
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Steady and Constant
The hummingbirds have been coming like crazy to the hummingbird feeder! Winter is approaching … and the hummingbirds know. Some will be leaving soon to head for warmer climates. But others will stay through the winter. For those…
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The sound of the crunch
The leaves are finally starting to fall. There is no color this year … all the leaves are dry, parched, and brown, with ugly black splotches. As I was going to get the mail yesterday, I was fascinated…
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Keep the “Bat lights” on
When we bought our home three years ago, the former owners (who were also the original builders of the house) informed us that there were “Bat lights” up underneath the roofing tiles. They told us that it was…
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Be careful with your garbage
It is Monday morning … garbage day. Our next-door neighbors (to the right side) have not been careful about the items they have been placing in their garbage bin. Lots of various takeout containers … covered in plenty…
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Marriage Level-set
Yesterday’s blog post dealt with the importance of having regular “marriage check-up” discussions. Talking through what is working in our marriage … what’s not working … what is “messy”? Exactly how messy is the “messy”?? Do we need…
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Drain Back-up
Our shower drain is backing up. Bit by bit, each day it’s been getting worse. Cleaning the hair and gunk out of the shower drain isn’t exactly a fun project. And it’s certainly not something to be done…
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Constructive Criticism
Yesterday afternoon I went out to the garden to see if the tomatoes were getting ripe (they aren’t). I did discover, much to my surprise, that the beans are still producing … in fact there were just enough…
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Manage your fights
I stopped by the library last night and picked up a book on hold: “Indians, Fire, and the Land in the Pacific Northwest.” The summary on the back cover reads: “Instead of discovering a land blanketed by…
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Do What You Can with What You’ve Got
Yesterday’s background photo featured hubby’s chainsaw sitting atop the stump of one of the massive hemlocks we had taken down this summer. If you take a second look at that photo you will notice the huge stump dwarfs…
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Chainsaw Burnout
Yesterday’s blog post dealt with fights in marriage. Disagreements, misunderstandings, miscommunication, annoyances! When it comes to marriage … and to any relationship for that matter … forgiveness is the “oil” which keeps the relationship running smoothly. This…
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First Fire
Hubby and I recently had a wood-stove insert installed in our fireplace. We are venturing into the new realm of using wood to heat our home. In the past, having a fire in the fireplace was something to…
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A Picture of Marriage
I was sitting in the beanbag enjoying my peanut-butter-banana smoothie for lunch, while absentmindedly staring out the window … when it suddenly occurred to me how the enormous Big-Leaf Maple in the backyard is a remarkable picture of…
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Patience to break through the “Freeze”
I was walking circles around the front drive for exercise when I noticed this little green caterpillar in the middle of the road. Obviously, it had just fallen from the trees above. Immediately it began inching its way…
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Shed the baggage
I had a “PCC nightmare” the other night. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve had a “PCC nightmare.” Hubby and I attended a very “militaristic” college which had lots and lots of rules! … most of which…