Grrrrrreat!!!

The best part of visiting California has been seeing the Great Grandparents!
A week ago I took the children to visit my Grama and Grampa H. and we had a blast! Unfortunately I forgot the camera that time, so we'll have to go again armed!;-)
This week we called on my Grama and Grampa F. How wonderful was our time there as well!
I will post more Great Grand-pictures later, but for now...

These pictures are of Granny and Great Grampa L.


They live in Watsonville and called last Friday to say they'd be arriving in the afternoon (a good five or six hour drive!!!) What a treat!
These two dearly loved grandparents are past their late eighties, yet just watch the stamina they still have - and I mean to tell you, five children wear ME out!!!
I could not believe my eyes when I looked out the window and saw the image I captured in the video (bottom). And Great Grampa was pushing children in swings like their was no tomorrow!
(Everyone hated it, of course;-))
AJ was out of town, yet Granny and Great Grampa came all this way to be with us. Read to the children, chase, swing, talk with, and listen to. LOTS of listening to! There was a din that surely left a ringing in their ears. i bet it was a sleepy ride back to Watsonville with all that quiet!

Thank you Granny and Great Grampa! You blessed us more than words can tell. We love you!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Three years ago today...
Olivia Honor - born in a hurry! She didn't give me any breaks in between contractions, but at least labor didn't last long:-) Grama and Auntie Hannah were at her birth, and I was delighted to meet this new little daughter. Since that day she has been nothing but a pleasure! A sparkle is our Olivia, a bit mischievous and sneaky, but always the charmer with her "You're the best momma in the WHOLE world Momma!" or her "You're FUNNY Daddy!"













We make birthdays a special occasion starting with breakfast and gifts in the morning. Daddy got Olivia a back pack, and the brothers and sisters contributed to filling it with treasures.































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DID complete O's skirt, and found a few purple accessories to go with it:-)

























Daddy and I took her out to lunch, and this evening we had the strawberry cake she asked for, except that Olivia ate the strawberries and cool whip, but never got down to the cake!
Such is the life of a birthday girl. When you've had enough, I guess you know it was a good one!
Thank you to all the precious family who called to wish O a happy birthday - you made our day that much more special.

And She's Finally Mobile!

Forget Him Not

My! How the Lord has been placing people on my mind and heart one by one, and at the oddest times and hours. I am so thankful to Him for all the precious people in my life - some close friends, and others whom I know not as well. Each of you has touched my life in ways you'll never know the reach or magnitude of.
As my wise and Dear Neighbor said to me (and I think she stole it from her friend Pamela):

"Your sphere of influence is greater than your circle of acquaintance."

It's so simple I don't know why it sounded so profound when I heard it! I have been chewing on it ever since, and will let you draw what you will from it. I only know it to be true, and where MY influence is called into question, it rather concerns me.

Of all the undesirable attributes I wish to purge from me, selfishness is what I would choose if I was limited to only one. I think that one probably rids me of most (if not all) the others anyway. I definitely need more of Jesus!
And that brings me back to you.
As I sit at the sewing machine, or stand at the ironing board, or am in bed after everyone is asleep, yet with my own eyeballs wide open and my little mind running on and on and on...
The Lord shows me His most wonderful and glorious character through the rays of His love that shine out from your lives.
YOURS Courtney, Jenny, Kathy, Kelli, Deborah, Grace, Sarah, Jana, Jess, Kim, Morgan, Mom, Char and Hannah, Em, Melissa, Shauna, Diane, Moll, Grace, Rashel, Heather, Lauri, Katrina, Kelly, Shannon, Beth, Janice, Ashley, Andi, Janelle, Deb, Angela, Rachel, Heidi, Faith, Suzanne, Edna, and on and on goes the list of people who's influence is greater than their sphere of acquaintance.

And it touches me, all because of Jesus in you. I am honored to sit and basque in the warm ray of light and His love because you love and follow Him! Thank you.

I discovered this patch of Forget-Me-Nots in Mom's yard. They usually sprout up in front by the pathways and driveway and front porch and door - an easy place to enjoy their sweet faces and as their name says "forget me not!" they seem to call out.

Not so this year. I found them in a less conspicuous place humbly residing by the back walkway, down on the bottom story level where the garage is... and the pile of firewood, and the lawn mower. At first I thought their picture would be a perfect heading for a post reminding my far-away friends not to forget me;-)

Alas this post developed instead and I find myself thinking of YOU instead of me. That is good. That is some of the selfishness being purged I think, and perhaps I too am learning to humbly reside on the lower level by the back door - there IS a lot of action there you know!
So much serving happens at the back door; Dad drives off to work and back again, Mom brings home the groceries, Dad hauls in firewood, and both of them mow, and weed, and stack rock, sticks, and yard trash.
That is the spot where Granny and Great Grampa park their motor home when they visit - not up by the front door, and guess what view they get to look at out their window? That humble patch of tiny blue Forget-Me-Nots.

They no longer proclaim their presence at the front of the house, but they make every chore delightful at the back:-)

Tonight I am thinking to remind myself "Forget HIM not, Analene. Forget Him not."












Remember HIM, my friends.
And I'm thinking of you too.

Birthday coming up!

Well... it's either blog or sew.
I hate to be torn, but Olivia's birthday is on Tuesday, and I don't relish the thought of an obligatory all-nighter hours before all that action.
I don't know about you gals, but I prefer to stick at a project for a few hours rather than fifteen minutes here and thirty minutes there. It's just enough to get everything out, make a mess, and pull out some hair (and usually some seams too)!

So sorry, but tonight I sew.

Do you have any great ideas for little gifts to fill a purple back pack with?
Olie will be turning three! ;-)

I asked her what she'd like for dinner on her birthday and she replied "cake!" (I could have answered that - my brain cells must be dying off faster than I thought!)
So I said, "Okay. For dessert. But what do you want BEFORE cake?"
To that (and without skipping a beat) she replied "CANDY!"

Spring At The Sewing Machine, and More...

Carolina joined me on a trip to my favorite quilting store this week: Honey Run Quilters. They are located downtown in an old Victorian house, and they do a fabulous job of stocking every nook and cranny with the beautiful designer fabrics you can't quite touch and feel and smell online. I like that "touch" part:-)
Anyway, they have a way of making you drool so badly over their desserts, that when you drop sixty dollars on fabric, you feel you bought only enough for a taste tester!





















My inspiration is a birthday gift for Olivia. A "twirly" skirt for dancing in. A wing-it operation that (I hope in the end) will resemble my friend Jenny's Strip Skirt by Pink Fig Patterns - SO CUTE!!








Here's some of the material I splurged on, and to put in a good word for JoAnns, I picked up a good bunch of these colorful fabrics from there to fill in the cracks.























You know how it is... you have to have a little plain Jane to set off the foofy patterns!

Also, I know you are just longing to hear something more personal right? I mean, you don't visit my blog JUST to see the most darling little persons or hear about their most silly antics and amazing feats. Right?













Rrrrriiiiiiiiightttttt....... That's what I thought. I'm going to pretend you didn't say that so I can talk about myself without feeling bad about it.

So ANYWAY... today I had the privilege of gathering with some ladies who have taken the roll of the Titus 2 "older women" and for several years have been sharing their wisdom and experience with some younger momma's (like me). My dear friend Deborah hosts this once a month fellowship, and opens her home to every age and stage of woman, all our children (which are at times fairly numerous), and welcomes fussy babies and know-it-all gals (not volunteering any names here, but you may know her well;-)) with grace, hospitality, and the biggest cookies I have rarely seen!

My times there are always refreshing, often convicting, and inspire me to rise the the honorable privilege of being a wife, mother, and friend. Today was no exception. My children have been looking forward to this get-together for over a year and played hard (eating some of those BIG cookies I mentioned). The gals talked about raising boys, and my precious friend Shannon shared some of her herbal knowledge and gave us some tips and recipe's for making natural facial scrub, hair care, and tooth paste!
I had the opportunity to see some lovely mothers that I admire and rarely get to visit with, to meet some new babies, and to find out who is in the family way again:-)

I have been feeling emotional lately, and wanting to hide under a rock. I am so glad I ventured out today, and I'm also pretty glad I didn't burst into tears for no reason. I prefer not to do that in public. I hate to ruin that spotless image of strength and stability - HA!

It was a lovely, lovely day. I am very blessed. I can ask the Lord for more, and I may, but I am sure that I have already seen more than three lifetimes of blessing!
I am content.

Idaho Snow, Spring at Gramsie's!

This is the snow that was yet covering Marvel Hill two weeks ago.


















This is Gramsie's yard:-) Her flowering magnolias and blooming "Grandie" garden!

Precious Times

Friday we drove our favorite I-5 stretch between Portland Oregon and our California home. It was the most beautiful day for driving; the view starting with Mount St. Helen's, and ending with a fully snow-clad Mount Shasta at dusk. If I hadn't been the one driving, I would have taken some pictures (and to be fair, AJ would have taken some if I hadn't packed the camera in the duffel which was later packed in the farthest regions of tha van.)
We arrived in town after dark but it's really truly Spring here (the kind with GREEN grass, and flowers) and we could roll the windows down and take in the cool air scented by Almond blossoms and new oat grass. Yes, it was very hard to take! ;-)

We were able to join my brother Charlie and his family for dinner at their place yesterday evening, and that was a pleasure I will enjoy for some time to come! I hope some of you may meet Charlie and Hannah one of these days.
I'll call this post good with some pictures from our time with them.

Love to you,
me

I Am Alive...

And I tried to post tonight, but am having a sloooooooow computer, and it's not getting all my pictures up.
Since it is now "tomorrow" I should probably go to bed and fool with it tomorrow (I mean when it's daylight again).
Thank you for your prayers. I can't wait to get back in to the swing of blogging and posting lots of pictures!

Love,
me

A Letter

Dear Grace, Jenny, Lauri, Courtney, and anyone else who would wish to know...

We are currently resting in Battleground Washington (just over the river from Portland Or.). I can't tell you how good it felt to be on the road, and I wish I had taken a picture of the piles that AJ somehow managed to fit into our van. It was truly impressive! We left slowly on the day we intended, although not until noon, we did leave peacefully and with grateful, happy hearts:-)

We made it to Idaho and stayed with our precious new neighbors for several days. That was a lot of fun, and I am sure we broke each other in in that short time! There was quite a bit of snow on the ground yet, though it was melting steadily creating mud and more mud. We got to pile all thirteen of us and a dog into their suburban and drive up to Marvel Hill. There was a good two feet of snow on the ground (and deck) there, and no mice or water in the house. Everything was as we left it, and frankly I was tempted to stay excepting the outhouse issue...

Sadly there was not enough time to visit other loved ones in the area since we were on a mission. Once completed, we headed southward towards our native land and are now in route to California. Tomorrow we make the last leg of our journey for a lengthier rest with beloved family and friends, and perhaps the completion of some sewing projects I want to finish. I hope. Maybe.

I miss you dear ladies and am so delighted to get your emails and read your blogs! I miss you, my family, at home and can't wait to see you! And to each of my friends on the road, what a pleasure and privilege to visit with YOU, and I can't thank you enough for your gracious and generous hospitality!

All my heart,
Analene