My Girl

I had some fun with some photos that my friend Selina took of Mary and I when she was up for a visit. I used an oil painting effect on the pictures. We had so much fun that day! Have a blessed weekend!

Two Peas in a Pod!

Need I say more? lol

Somebody Loves Animals!

On Saturday we went to my sister's house for a lovely chicken dinner with fresh corn on the cob out of their garden. Mary loves their little dog, Blondie. Blondie is the sweetest little dog. She is 14 years old so she sleeps a lot. Mary just loves following her around the house talking to her and petting her. At the end of the evening my sister and brother-in-law loaded us up with lovely produce from their garden, tomatoes, green grapes, zucchini, and eggplant. That night when I was saying my prayers with Mary we thanked the Lord for the day and all our family and asked the Lord to help us to be good. Then I said, "Amen." There was a little bit of silence and then Mary said, "And bless Blondie."

Here is a video of Mary riding her bike and petting the neighbor's cat.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the link to the video: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=bfdb92cfec6bc98b8e6976&skin_id=1602&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

I am so glad my little Mary girl loves animals. Have a blessed day dear friends!

A Sweet Visit

Here is a slide show of all the pictures my friends took while they were here. My friend, Selina, does such a great job and I am so thankful for all the shots she got. It really captured our visit and how sweet it was to see them again and have the time to visit together.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the link to the slide show: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=c01c8adaf7a6c91b8b81c9&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Through the Years...

When I was young my mom often told me things about her mom, who had died before I was born. On one occasion my mom was telling me about grandma's view on friends. My grandmother was a very godly woman and had many acquaintances, neighbors and family members. She had one friend who her kids affectionately called Aunt Libby. Libby was older than my grandma and lived on the next farm over from her when they were growing up. They had a special bond as they were friends all their lives. All the important junctures in grandma's life was always shared with Libby. I have a letter that Grandma wrote to Aunt Libby telling of her engagement and wedding plans to grandpa and how grandpa's proposal happened and all the events that transpired during that time. Libby kept that letter and gave it to my aunt years later and now I have it. Having that letter just spoke to me how these ladies had a true bond of friendship. After they grew up they lived in different parts of the country but they always kept in contact and shared the special moments of their lives. Grandma told my mom that if you have a friend like that, you are truly a wealthy person. That impressed me so much as a young person and thought I would love to have that some day. In 1992 I met some wonderful gals at the church I attended in Southern California. Within a few months we knew that this was something special God had done. They became my lifeline during the years that I was single in my 30's and so lonely. God provided warmth and friendship in my life when things were cold and bleak for me. I know the same was for them. We shared in our joys and sorrows and that time that we had, we will never forget. Since then things have changed, our jobs, the age of our children, some of us getting married and some moving far away, like me. I was the tag along in the group in that I married last and I had kids last. But one thing remained, we always kept in contact, not always real regular but we have thought of each other often and remembered the times we had together during those years in the 90's. I feel like the person grandma spoke of by being wealthy because of these friends. Just this last week two of them came to see me. They drove all the way from Southern California to spend time with me and my family, no family along the way, just so we could be together again and catch up on news and they could see my daughter Mary. That is real love. I am very happy in my life now. God has blessed me with my wonderful husband and I love my little girl to pieces. I love Oregon and the church I attend. But I left a part of my heart in Southern California as I left my dear friends there. It is easy to get caught up in our lives and our things we are doing but I am so glad that we are all still friends and God has blessed that! Mary had so much fun spending time with them and affectionately calling them Aunt Selina and Aunt Kathey. Her little heart was sad as was mine when they left. Mary told me that some day she will have friends I like have. I hope she does, as she will truly be a wealthy woman.

Mary with her Aunt Selina and Aunt Kathey at the Harry & David Store.

Here is a slide show of us gals in the 90's having a whole lot of fun.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is tje link to the slide show: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=7d803de40a90fde64c5bb8&skin_id=1602&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Marcos

First off I want to thank you all for the prayers and well wishes for my husband. After 5 days of feeling really bad, he is much better and almost free of pain. We are so thankful to the Lord for that!

We have had the privilege of supporting a young boy in Bolivia for 9 years. He is in the 8th grade now and is doing very well. We help him get an education through World Vision. Part of the money we send also helps the community with things to help better their lives and brings them the Good News! Here is a recent picture of him and a letter he sent. We get 2 or 3 a year from him. We send him letters to. It takes a long time to get to him as he lives in a small town up in the Andes Mountains. It has been such a joy to see him grow and know that he is getting a good education and that he knows the Lord. If you would like to sponsor a child you can go the the World Vision website and sign up.

This letter has been translated into English at the World Vision office. Marcos can only write in Spanish.

Dear Sponsor,

I thank you a lot for the letter and photo of your daughter. I thank you for the coloring sheet and stickers of Spider-man.

I am the 5th child in my family. I'm between my brothers, Alvaro and Gustavo. I have 3 younger siblings and 4 older siblings. I want to tell you that I have my older sister and she already had her baby called Luis Zandro and his sister, Melisa, who is was born and she's 3 months old.

I went to parade on August 6th because it'll be the Independence Day of Bolivia and all my classmates parade all together in the square.

I really like soccer but I'm also a good swimmer, my friends and I play a game called "look and seek".

I thank you for everything dear sponsor. Well, that's all I can tell you, I finish this letter now.

Sincerely, Marcos

Crafts

Mary and I have been making some crafts. The last couple of days we have been staying close to home because Rich has been having trouble with chest wall pain. He develops this condition from his job when he has to do ladder work and strenuous tasks. That is why we are starting our lamp business because he cannot take the strenuous work anymore. He has to take Aleve and rest for several days so that the pain goes away. Here are a few shots of Mary and her crafts. She sure loves making them and so do I!

Mary found this pine cone at Indian Mary Park and I helped her turn it into a turkey. We plan on using it on our Thanksgiving table this year.

I glued on the beads to this little bird house and Mary colored it.

Indian Mary Park

We went to a beautiful park on the Rogue River. It is a lovely park with many trees and lawns. It is a little bit of a drive from our house, so we made it an all day event. The last time I was there I was in my early twenties. I was with my church for a family camp there. I just remember how beautiful it was and I was not disappointed when we went there on Saturday. There is a huge pic-nic area and they have tent and yurt camping and an RV section. The breeze was so lovely coming off the water. There were a lot of rafts and kayaks going down the river enjoying some of the white water along the way. It brought back many fond memories of all the rafting trips I took on the Rogue when I was young. I was able to do something new on this slide show. I learned how to record my voice and I put a short commentary on Indian Mary Park at the beginning.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the link to the slide show: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=bdff1cfbfbeb140367feea&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day!

A Royal Birthday!

Today was my wonderful hubby's birthday. I love you so much Honey!! Mary wanted to make him a King Daddy cake. So we had a lot of fun doing that. Here is the video:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the link to the video:http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=bd777dfff0c4973e5334b8&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

A Blast from the Past

My brother e-mailed me the other day and told me about a web page that one of our former grade school teachers had posted pictures from his teaching years at our school. He had been the school photographer for many years so he had a lot of pictures to post. I looked through the late 60's and early 70's and found a few of me when I was in the third grade. The pictures were from a Christmas play that we did that year. I was in the choir. It won't be hard to find me as I am head and shoulders above every kid in class. I was a tall kid then and I am tall now. I am 5' 10". I remember the sting of disappointment when they were asking girls if they wanted to be one of the ballerinas in the play that brought the gingerbread cookies to life. Several of my little girl friends were going to be ballerinas so I excitedly told the teacher that I wanted to be one, in all of my 8 year old excitement. I was told that I couldn't be in the play because I was too tall. My heart fell and I was sad that day. I never told my mom about it for I know she would of had a thing or two to say to those in charge. I did enjoy singing in the choir for the program that year. That experience did not leave a permanent mark on me because my folks were such great parents. My mom was tall too and she always encouraged me to stand up tall and be happy. She told me all the benefits of being tall like reaching high shelves in the kitchen without needing a step stool, being able to see in a crowd, being able to wear clothing well, how models are always tall because they are always graceful when the walk. I loved my mom so much for that. I went through my teen years feeling awkward at times because of my height but I did stand tall and as my relationship with the Lord grew, I thanked him for making me tall. The Lord blessed me with a tall and handsome husband with a beautiful heart. Rich is 6'3". Now my baby girl is tall too. She is already getting comments on how people think she is older. But just like my mom, I will encourage her have a happy and thankful heart for being tall. It says in Psalm 119:73 "Your hands made me and fashioned me." We are the Lord's workmanship both physically and spiritually and we are to rejoice in that! Here are the pictures that I found of me, Christmas 1968 in the choir that performed for the holiday program that year.