Releasing Our Children

"Moses' mother loved him enough to release him into the sovereign care of Jehovah. She had done all she knew to do for as long as she could for her baby, and then she had to trust God to do His part."

Patsy Clairmont, Under His Wings
(someday I'm going to get this book...love her quotes)

InstaFriday snapshots

Well, I'm attempting to link up with Jeannett and her InstaFriday. Wish I had an IPhone, but I'm finally figuring out my phone some and can at least send my pics to Picasa and share here.

This week we were driving around and saw this ... Beaches...one of the first restaurants we found in Manhattan Beach. It was a nice place with good food and reasonable prices. We've been there a few times. It is now being remodeled and is going to be a totally different restaurant. I'm actually pretty sad about that.

We drove to the beach earlier this week when it was windy and cold. The beach was still a beautiful sight.

Tonight I really felt like having fish and chips. So we decided to head to Hermosa Beach Pier and see what they had there. We ended up at Hennessey's Tavern. Then we walked on the pier. If you look closely to the right of the sign, you can see the rooftop of the restaurant. We sat to the right facing the beach. I took the sunset picture from our seats. Then we walked on the pier. Like the Manhattan Beach Pier that has AVP plaques of champions as you walk the pier, Hermosa Pier has 'Surfers Walk of Fame' plaques. I've actually heard of some of the surfers.

I was sitting on my couch the other day and this caught my eye. For some reason I thought it would be a cool picture.

I bought the candle holder for my daughter, thinking she might want to use it for her wedding with rainbow candles. She said she had enough stuff and didn't need anymore. So, I decided to keep it and bought some candles at aunaturelle. Ordered three sets (rainbow colors) with three different scents. And I only light one or two at a time for a little while. So nice and smells wonderful.

Treasured Tokens Thursday

I really need a reminder. :)

Today's tokens are people. I treasure these three so much!

I didn't know Dan growing up. We met at Grace Church when he moved here from Yuba City. We hit it off right away and became good friends. We were in Sounds of Grace and Youth Group, then on to the College/Career Group. We had a great group of friends we hung out with and we grew closer. And the rest, as they say, is history. We've been married over 32 years ... and counting. :)














My firstborn. She just turned 28 two days ago!!!! One thing that I treasure about this girl is her love and care for people. It was evident even as a baby. My dad was sick and I heard he was in the hospital. We traveled up there (2 days in a Honda Civic with a 2-month old) and were there till my dad passed away. When we got home (we were living in Montana at the time), we got back into our routine. I was blessed I didn't have to work. But there were days I just wanted to sit down and cry. Elizabeth would crawl over to me and just place her head on my lap as if to say, "It's okay, momma. I'm here." She is there for her friends just like she has been there for me when I've had my own sad/crying times. I love you, Liz. (You'll always be Elizabeth to me).












Now to my youngest, who is now 26!!!! She was a handful, but a fun handful. I didn't always handle our battles very well, but, Praise God, she has grown into a beautiful and still fun and funny young woman. She always made me laugh with her random thoughts and sayings. She also scared me as she seemed to be heading down a path I didn't want her to head. I thank God that He protected her and that she is now a more responsible person and figuring out that life is hard, but you just keep going the best you can. I pray for her all the time, especially that she would seek God more in her decision-making. She is getting married and will have an instant family, but she seems very well suited for Lily, who will be there, hopefully, often. The baby picture was taken by Jeanne Thwaites Photogaphy in SLO. I don't remember Danielle being in a dress since those photos....Oh, yeah, Liz's wedding. And she will be in another beautiful dress in October in her own wedding.

I had to add this. We were in OR on her birthday and we went to Red Robin for lunch and she got a sundae for her birthday. She still makes me laugh.

The wedding pictures were taken by Judi Peet. Thanks, friend.

Who said she could turn 28 years old?

You can see Liz's story and some pictures from here. I loaded more pictures (which I noticed have some duplicates) on FB since it was so much easier. Enjoy!

Being Spontaneous

This was all last weekend (I didn't get time to post till now) Our weekend starts on Thursday at 1:00pm when I get off work. We decided to go to the Dodgers game.

Thursday, April 14 vs. St. Louis Cardinals - 7:10 p.m.
Fans at Thursday's game will receive Purple and Gold LA Caps as the Dodgers pay tribute to the Lakers. NBA Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Sharman, who also played in the Dodgers' minor league system in the 1950s, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Long-time Lakers anthem singer and good luck charm Jeffrey Osborne will perform the National Anthem and God Bless America.

 LOVE my hat and my new shirt (Alyssa Milano fashion). It was a fun time even though they lost.

 Andre Ethier is up at bat.

On Friday, we met with some missionary friends, Lloyd and Pamela, who were here for his dad's memorial service. We met at the Blackboard Bistro in Seal Beach (a few blocks from where they were staying). I enjoyed French toast, scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon and 2 pieces of turkey sausage.

 

Then on our way to San Pedro to do car shopping, we stopped at 7Eleven to get a soda. We were handed flyers for “free Friday” entrance to the Long Beach Grand Prix. We had never gone before, so we decided to be spontaneous. Ooooo....so, we went in and enjoyed a time of car racing…even though it was only practice, qualifying and celebrity driven races, it was still fun to sit and watch and hear these cars racing around. DEFINITELY needed the earplugs. They helped so much and my ears didn’t feel like they were going to burst.

I loved this car: Disabled Veterans of America.  SEMPER FI

And here are a couple of videos...quick as they are...of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti (grandson of Mario). I don't know how everyone finished since we were only there on Friday, but it was just fun to be there. And then there were the celebrities. The cars went around so fast, I could only get a couple of cars with my little digital. I clicked about 200 times and got these.

 Brian Austin Green (Desperate Housewives)

 Djimon Hounsou (Amistad)

Mike Sullivan (owner of Toyota of Hollywood and Santa Monica)

So, Saturday ended up being a relaxing day after the two active days. We didn’t get the chance to look at cars, but we need to do that soon. I’m housebound and I’m getting Spring fever/cabin fever. I can only walk and bike so far and if I need to buy something, I can’t carry it all the way home. Well, I guess I could learn. But we are trying to make our weekends more fun than work/laziness, so it was fun to get out of the house and do some fun and spontaneous stuff. I will definitely start planning some fun things for the future (any suggestions?).

Treasured Tokens Thursday

I was so excited to go to the Dodgers game last Thursday, I must have forgotten to do a TTT. Oops! Well, today I'm sharing something special I received from a student (who is now married) I was mentoring at Grace Church. Kayla is a very special young lady. I never dreamed I would be a part of her life other than just seeing her at Youth Group, but God had other plans.

 We were preparing for our Youth trip to Mexico and Pastor Ken told the students to find someone to mentor them. I wasn't sure I could be a mentor, or meet with someone one-on-one, so I prayed, "If You want me to mentor a student, I will, but someone needs to approach me." Pretty selfish, huh?

Well, one Sunday, while walking downstairs to Youth Group, Kayla "happened" to be walking down with me. She said she had a question. "I've been thinking about someone to mentor me and I really want you to do that." WHAT? Of course, I coudln't say no. One, she's just such a sweetheart and so cute, but then, I did promise God I would do it if someone asked me.

So we met every week, went to Mexico, and then we came home. And to my surprise, I asked Kayla, "Do you want to keep meeting? We don't have to quit just because we're done with our trip." And she said yes. So through her High School years, we met every week. We had some great times of studying different books of the Bible, different subjects, and just praying and talking together. I was sad to end our time together when she graduated and went to college in Santa Barbara, but we keep in touch and I continue to watch her grow into a beautiful woman of God who is married and trying to be the Godly wife she is meant to be, learning to love and respect her husband more each day, learning to cook, and just loving being married and a "mom" to their dog, Beckett. :)

All this to say, that the treasured token this week is a cute little container that she decorated with the word "believe" and wrote a sweet little note on the bottom. I love this girl, and I continue to pray for her and Andrew. I love how God answers our selfish prayers. Remind me never to do that again - but just step out in faith and do what I know He would want me to do and "believe" that I can do whatever task He gives me because He is with me and will strengthen me and give me the tools I need to finish.

 

Favorite Devotional of the Week

I think I'll try something new...as I read devotionals, I'll post my favorite of the week. And if I have a couple of favorites, well, I'll post one this week and one next week. So what will happen is, I will probably have a whole bunch saved up and share them in the next few weeks/months. Anyway, I use the Women's Devotional Bible 2 (NIV) and there are devotionals for the week/weekend throughout. I also read Our Daily Bread sometimes and have found some pretty cool ones that I've already posted (or at least "shared" from their site). I have a couple of other devotionals I like to read, too, so there's no shortage of great reading. 

But I finally decided to go through the Bible in a year, although, I decided I would go through it and go at my pace (of course, part of my pace is skipping a day or more, unfortunately). But I was determined to go through the whole Bible for once. I realized I'd never done this because I've been reading things I don't ever recall reading before. So here we go:

"City Lights" by Cynthia Culp Allen

A week after we moved to Los Angeles from northern California, I stepped into the backyard one evening for some time alone, Looking up at the night sky, I couldn't see even one star!

"I know the stars are up there, " I said. "This is the same sky we looked at last week in northern California. The stars are there, the lights of the city are just obscuring their light."

This realization made me think of the huge city with it's many distractions: streets lined with shops and businesses; fast-food eateries and restaurants; theaters; schools; and flashing neon lights everywhere urging people to stop at every one.

Life everywhere, not just in Los Angeles, is full of distractions that block out God. Yes, he is still there - always the same, unchanging, steadfast. But we are unaware of his presence because of everything else competing for our attention.

Still searching the sky for stars, I prayed, "Lord, you have brought us to this place through your clear direction. Please keep us committed to daily quiet times with you. Help us to practice your presence in the midst of the city's distractions. Let us shine with your light here in this darkness of unbelief."

Just as I finished my prayer I saw one tiny star blinking way up in the yellow sky.

Lord, we lived in L.A. for over a year now and our lives are still bright with you. Thank you for being faithful. The city's alluring distractions don't satisfy as you do. Keep lighting our days with your truth. 

Key verse: Micah 7:8       Passage: Micah 7:1-11

And if you know my situation, this is exactly what has happened with us. We lived in San Luis Obispo and I figured we would live there for the rest of our lives. You can read what happened here and here and here. Okay, just read from July 2008 on.... But this devotional caught my eye because Cynthia did the same thing. It was encouraging. We've been here two years now. Time flies. :)

Favorite Family Photo

 (Amber, Liz, Gregg, Danielle, me, Dan)

This is one of my favorite photos where the four of us are actually in a pic together. My girls are grown and gone, but we still get together now and then. My youngest lives in OR and this is in when she came to visit. Her best friend (our "adopted" daughter) also came to visit and our son-in-law is also this family pic (doesn't happen often enough). The "kids" surprised Dad with a surprise lunch and dessert in Huntington Beach. This is taken after we had dessert - Dad having his favorite dessert...tiramisu. Great time with family.

Linking with Jeannett

 Well, I don't have an IPhone, but I do have pics on my MyTouch phone. Got it on Ebay and I like it so much better than my previous phone. Though, one day I may have to get the IPhone for whatever reason. Anyway, here are a couple of pics from the phone.

 

 

Dan had just picked me up from work and we decided to head to the beach. We stopped at Dockweiler Beach. It was a cool day, but there were still a few brave souls out there. There were a couple of surfers, too. This is part of his bike ride home on the Strand. Not a bad place to bike, if you ask me.

 

Can you see it in the distance? Even through the ugly brown smog, we could still see Mt. Baldy all covered in snow. Taking this in the car, though, may not have been the best choice, but we can't stop in the middle of the 405.   

 I have been looking for shoes to go with my Mother of the Bride dress and I found these. What do you think? If the guys can wear Converse, why can't I wear these? My dress is platinum (Danielle wanted us in gray or silver and we found hers and my dress in Drain, OR at this cute little bridal store). I found these shoes at Macy's. I didn't buy them. Soooo tempted, though.

And finally....he was not amused. Sorry he's blurry.

Treasured Tokens Thursday

Well, I'm late for this, but it's still Thursday for now.

My co-worker and Friend, Paula gave us these for Christmas a few years ago. And I'm sorry to say I don't remember what was in it. Candy? Tea? Well, I love it. It's small, but it holds my Stevia/Splenda packs really well and it's so cute. I'm sad that when I washed it, the glitter started to come off. Duh! But I do miss working with Paula. She came to work in the office a couple of years after I began working there. She is the Graphic Artist and she taught me so much from the beginning. When I started working at Grace, I didn't know much about the computer...just what I taught myself at home. I learned a few things from a couple of people who passed through the doors through the 13 years I worked there. Kari helped me with Publisher and Paula helped me with the different programs we used for the graphics for the worship folder/bulletin. It was good to know these things so she could take time off to be with her family. If no one else knew that part of her job, she would not have been able to take the time off that she has been able to take. Cross training is a good thing. :)  And now her daughter works there...I'm jealous. Working at Grace was the best job I ever had and I miss it still.

I love Paula and her family. I've had the pleasure and privilege to go to her house for youth group activities, DWAPs (Dessert with a Purpose - Missions activity), and just to watch some Lakers games (which always became a time of anxiety for Tom, Daniel and me - haha - when the Lakers did silly stuff to almost lose the game). She is very hospitable. Loves her family. And her kids are great! I miss this family, but I'm glad to have this little porcelain jar to remind me of them and to pray for them.