Oh no! Oh yes!

Oh no! Well, the expression on K's face says it all! We are very disappointed that our Vikings lost their chance at the Super Bowl this year. The game was a nail-biter for all of us, until the OT, then it turned into agony. So now we will get to hear over and over all week about the "missed opportunity..." that our team had. Well, now the season is over.

On the "yes" side- We were able to go to Pasadena again this afternoon and got to spend an hour at the hospital with Emily Grace. She is back on the SiPap again because her breathing was unstable during the night, but is doing well after her procedure yesterday evening. We also saw one of the nurses that works in EG's unit that I actually met last year at our women's retreat. In fact, she slept right below my bunk, so we spent 2 whole days together! It was great to see her again and know that our little Emily is in her capable human hands. We continue to pray that God will heal her precious little body.

 

And yes, it was wonderful to spend several hours together with these dear family members! Thanks to Chuck and Penny for opening their home to our precious kids and caring so lovingly for them.

And of coarse, it is always an "oh yes!" to see this sweet little face looking eagerly at us when we arrive! These little ones have blessed our lives so much and we are so grateful to the Lord for them!

of promise

On Friday evening our heavy rains ended. This was the rain guage for that day! We received about 6 inches of rain in those 5 days, and feel rather water-logged! But now we are anxious to see everything green up again. There is more rain coming our way next week, but it doen't sound like we will get the massive amounts that we have this week. For now, we will enjoy the beautifully, washed-clean air and look forward to the verdant growth that will result from God's blessing of moisture.

 

When I was growing up, I remember a song that I often heard on the radio. These were some of the words:

Everytime I see a rainbow, shining in the sky above,

I remember God's great promise of His faithfulness and love.

 When there's a rainbow in the sky, the clouds around go smiling by!

There's a promise written there, of our Father's love and care;

When there's a rainbow in the sky.

What a blessing to know this wonderful Father who cares so much for us!

One of the truly great things about rainshowers in the LA area, is the clean air that comes afterwards! And we love seeing the snowcapped mountains that surround us.

This is also a favorite scene, as we drive up the street that leads to Chuck and Penny's house. This majestic church in the foreground, with the mountain range in the background is so beautiful!

We enjoyed an afternoon walk with B&K. It was rather chilly, so K was toasty warm in her pink snowsuit! She loved being outside again (as did all of us) after being cooped up indoors for the past week.

We loved seeing all the old elegant houses in the neighborhood.

This little girl loves my phone!

Texting?

Who can resist that smiling face!

The greatest highlight of yesterday was getting to meet Emily Grace! Unfortunately, the first time I (Marilyn) got to see her, they had the larger breathing apparatus on her face.

When we went back again in the evening to meet with the eye surgeon, EG had a much smaller oxygen cannula, so I could actually see her little face. (Alas, the camera was back at the house with a charging battery!) It was just such a blessing to be able to see her and touch her and even hear her tiny little cry!

 I was blessed this morning with these words from Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord.

I will praise the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

Don't put your confidence in powerful people;

There is no help for you there.

When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,

and all their plans die with them.

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

He keeps his promise forever.

He opens the eyes of the blind.

We praise God for Emily Grace and pray that He would continue to heal and sustain and grow this little one into a woman who honors and loves Him.

of relaxation, rain, and new homes

This last weekend we were able to go to Palm Springs for a bit of relaxation, reading and re-coop.

It is always so relaxing to get away for the weekend together.

Most weekends include a chat with family back in the midwest.

After K's birthday party on Sunday, we stopped by J&K's to see their new home. The kids have done such a beautiful job of decorating. It looks so inviting and lovely.

Jayden had to show us his cute new bedroom. He is so excited about the Mickey theme.

Even Ya-ya the fish survived the move! (just barely...)

The family is happy in their beautiful new home; congrats!

The rain continued again today. The ground here is saturated with moisture and water is standing everwhere. We have had close to 6 inches here in the past 4 days. Fortunately, we do not live in an area where we are in danger of mudslides, but we know friends who do. Continue to remember the folks here in your prayers. Many people lost property during the fires last year, and now they are in danger of losing even more. Thanks for your prayers.

Happy One Year Old!

This past weekend we were able to take an extra day off and attend our grand-daughter's first birthday.

We stayed overnight on Thursday with M&B so that we could help with some cleaning and preparation for the party on Sunday. Since we needed to keep K occupied while we were cleaning (and because this grandmother couldn't wait until Sunday!) we let K open her birthday present on Friday morning.

 Although the gift was fun for her later on, the paper and sticky scotch tape was also very, very fun!

On Friday evening, after cleaning inside all day, we finally got to raking the back yard. K had fun on the little slide. It is so much fun to hear her trying to "chatter" and her sweet little giggles warm our hearts!

Sunday afternoon was party-time! The little birthday girl loved to carry her birthday bear (singing "Happy Birthday to you!) almost everywhere she went. K looks so grown up now as she toddles all over.

The birthday girl also took a ride in her pink Corvette! But she started to look around for passengers...

She even let her cousin take the car for a spin!

The dads were very excited because the Vikings had won the game that day- Go Vikes!

Since the kiddos were too young to play games, the men were coerced into playing "Place the butterfly on curious George's nose" It proved to be a rather interesting spectacle.

 Then it was birthday cake time...

and then time for presents! It was especially fun to watch how much daddy enjoyed the new toys!

The little princess even enjoyed this curtain that mistakenly got mixed into the gift packages. She loves "bling" and certainly is all-girl. What a cutie she will be when it's time to play dress-up!

Oh what joy our children and grandchildren are!

Firsts

Because this blog has been dormant so long, I had to look back and see all the major events that I've not posted! That's when I discovered that I had not posted alot of "firsts." In October, we took our grandson to the beach for the first time!

He loved the feel of the sand on his bare feet...

We didn't realize that it was also the first time we had taken Jared to our favorite beach!

Uncle Jared had not been able to see his nephew for a long time, so it was fun to to see them together for the first time in almost a year!

Then Uncle Mark arrived also! This was the first time he had come back home this year.

The happy newly-weds, their first time in our home as husband and wife!

(what?!?..)

love at first sight

His first birthday as an engaged man!

the brothers

The first time little J got to pose for a picture with the big boys!

Meanwhile, little cousin K discovered Grandma's mirrors for the first time!

His last day here, Mark wanted to go to the beach. That was the first time that we have been at Laguna Beach when it was so foggy!

But it had its own mistic beauty

A few weeks later, Jim was together with a bunch of his cousins for the first time in years. They gathered together to help prepare their aunts' home for sale. It was a great time of memories and hard work!

While he was in Montana, he visited Jared in his new home for the first time. (It was also the first time Jim had seen snow for years!)

He visited Jared's coffee shop,

and enjoyed his time together with these two "snowbabies!"

Last fall, our good friends C&J took us to downtown Disney for the first time!

We ate at the Rain Forest cafe,

heard these "long horns" being played for the first time,

heard a Dulcimer being played for the first time,

and ended the evening enjoying ice cream in front of the fireplace in this magnificent hotel lobby.

Little did we know that just a couple weeks after this picture was taken, this couple would become first-time parents of a micro-premie baby girl. We praise God that little EG continues to grow and mature in spite of her difficult beginning!

And we are so thankful that M&B made a special trip to visit us so that we could see K take her first steps! What a blessing to live close enough to see these little ones so often, and enjoy some of the "firsts" in their lives!

And, since we are still in the first month of this new year,

Happy New Year to all!