THANKSGIVING AND A WEDDING

First I want to ask if anyone has any Cherimoya seed to spare?

On Thanksgiving day my daughter's kitchen was packed with helpers
Our feast consisted of
Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes & turkey gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato surprise, buttered corn, creamy fruit salad and rolls, sausage and cheese, coffee, hot spiced cider and punch.

Here's some of the family enjoying dinner.


I like this picture of missy Madalyn doing some dessert dreaming. We had pumpkin pie, and a BIG bowl of real whipped cream, apple and peach pies, cheesecakes and apple crisp, oatmeal carmelitas, scotcharoos and I can't remember what else.

I caught Miss Julia off guard in this picture. She didn't have time to pose.

A very handsome Dylan observes the goings on of his 9th Thanksgiving. I think he will make a good supervisor!

Here's our little miracle, Ethan at play. Thank you again to all who prayed for him. He is totally healed of the seizures and is a very smart and beautiful baby boy with a smile that will melt the heart of everyone.

Our Buggy Babies, Princesses Victoria and Madalyn had lots of fun pushing the doll buggy up and down the hall. Aren't they cute?

Ok, we all know what this is. TURKEY HANGOVER!!!

The kidlet's rested in the family room watching a movie while the 'big-people' cleaned up after dinner.

After dinner and dessert, we had a wedding. Congratulations to my grandson and his new wife.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as special as ours.

God bless all and please remember to pray for our country, her leaders and especially our brave troops who give us so much to be thankful for.

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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

In 1621 the pilgrim's celebrated their first successful harvest by inviting the wamoanoag Indians of Cape Cod to join them for a celebration which would be a time of sharing food and giving thanks to God. They knew that if the Wampanoag had not shown them how to grow their own food they would not have survived. They had become good friends. It was fitting that they should share with them.

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Chief Massasoit came with some of his men bringing deer to roast for the celebration. Venison was one of the Wampanoag people's favorite foods.

Foods served by the pilgrims were Cabbage, squash, onions and corn. We don't know what else they may have served but they did not have pumpkin pie because they had no flour or other ingredients needed to make one. They also did not have cranberry sauce as we know it, if they had it at all.

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Aspinet, Chief of the Nausets who were a branch of the Wampanoag tribe was also present at the first Thanksgiving.

He was my eighth great grandfather. His daughter married Robert Wixon who immigrated to Massachusetts from England on the ship Fortune when he was just a boy around six years old.

Genealogy research is a fun, exciting and rewarding hobby.

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When I think of all we have to be thankful for I realize how truly blessed we are. We have a roof over our head, a warm place to sleep, love, food in our tummy and a God who

adores us. We are so blessed.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

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PRAYER FOR STEVEN

This is Steven and his bride Britney.

Steven is my second cousin. I have never met him but know about him through his great aunt who I found while doing Genealogy research. They live in Nebraska.

Like so many of us Steven and his family are Christians whose lives are centered around Christ Jesus.

In May of 2002 at age 17, Steven began having hiccoughs that wouldn't stop. Eventually tests showed that he had Medulloblastoma Brain Cancer.

He had two surgeries that year, radiation and Chemo and the cancer was gone.

In September this year, it returned and he is now undergoing treatment again.

Steven is married and continuing to live his life for the Lord, trusting Him for his healing.

You can read about Steven here

http://www.caringbridge.org/ne/steven/index.htm

Thank you all for your faithful prayers.

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ALL AROUND ME

I took this picture from my front deck.

See the little house closest to the road and take away the buildings in back of, to the right and the left and you will see the little house where I grew up. Well at least I thought I was grown up when I married at 16, left my family and made my own home. The one lane street is where I learned to ride a bike, play kick the can and later drive a car.

The wooded hillside in back of the house was my sisters and my playground. And what a wonderful place it was. Dad made a long swing from a tall maple that entertained us for hours.

We went up the hillside to the large sunny field above to pick wildflowers for mom pick blackberries and mushrooms too.

This brave little Nasturtium is so bright and feisty. It has already survived a couple frosts, a treacherous windstorm and heavy rain. 'Lord help me to be so strong!'

A sure sign of fall. This mossy tree is cradling some fallen leaves.
I think the color contrast is nice with the patches of blue-gray lichen.

I was surprised to see this fallen tree along side the road as I was walking my dogs. The trunk was totally covered with moss and hundreds of these little striped conk like fungi.

This late blooming Anemone looks as if it is saying, "I think I can-I think I Can." I hope it does!! It needs sun to open fully.

A "last rose of summer" is always so special. I love them all season but there is something about the last one, Like a promise from our Creator that Spring will come again with all her loveliness.

This dear little Rose Campion has her petals curled up at the edges as if she is trying to keep warm and I don't blame her. When I go out side I sort of curl up at my edges too, It's cold around here.

Some people like their Sunny Delight in the form of orange juice. I get my 'sunny delight' from pretty yellow flowers like this happy looking calendula.

This sweet fuchsia blooms late here, but isn't it a dainty little flower? I have had this growing in my yard for over twenty years. It's one hardy plant.

A little worse for wear, the Snow berries aren't as white and spotless as they once were but the birds will feast on them just the same. These bushes grow wild here in Bellingham. I was sure surprised when I found them for sale in a garden catalog several years ago.

I want to let everyone know that my niece Teresa is still doing good. It takes time for the blood clots to all dissolve but I hear she is breathing better and that is a very good sign. Again my thanks for your prayers.

Please don't stop.

God bless you and yours.

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There seems to be some confusion. This piano belongs to my son in law and daughter. They are the ones who had it restored and it is sitting in 'their' new house.

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HEIRLOOM'S

My son in law inherited a ranch in Canada of over 100 acres with an old ranch house and several other buildings which had been constructed of logs. The old buildings were wonderful to look at but what was inside them was really fascinating. Many antiques had been stored over the years, and probably even forgotten. There were two rooms inside the house that had been locked up years ago with a multitude of treasures inside. Boxes of old photographs of my son in law's ancestors, old documents and his grandpa and great and great great grandparents treasures were packed and stacked in the rooms leaving only a tight path to walk through. We couldn't find the key to the upstairs room and it took a few trips to to the ranch before it was discovered. When the old, worn, wooden door creaked open on the rusty hinges, pulling cobwebs away from the entrance, eyes at last, darted around the crowded room at a magnificent array of ancient belongings.

This treasure was in the living room of the old ranch house. The finish had turned black with age and the ivory's were worn, broken and some were missing. Some of the keys did not play at all and many of those that did were flat. Some of the pedals were not working and there were a few burns on the keyboard cover. It seemed as if this old piano had seen it's day and should probably be left behind for the new owners of the ranch to dispose of.

Then I was invited to go up to see the ranch and when I saw the old piano I told them they should bring it home and get it restored. First of all I should tell you that I have always had a deep love and great respect for any and every piano I have ever seen, and I couldn't imagine leaving this dear old once loved instrument behind.

The kids fought with the idea for over a year during many trips to the ranch to sort and clean over a hundred years of collection from the property and prepare it to sell.

I believe it was on one of the last trips that they brought home with them the old piano and also an ancient buffet that was in poor repair but held promise of once again becomming a lovely piece of furniture. Both were huge, heavy and hard to load but thank goodness they managed.

The Hutch was sent to be refinished first and came back just gorgeous. I will post a picture of it soon.

Then came the piano.

Here she is!

Solid walnut, made in the late 1800's by the Weser Brother's. She has a new finish and her key's replaced. Notice this piano has five pedals which is rare, one for soft, one sustain, one for honkey-tonk sound and one for harpsicord and I can't remember what the fifth one is for. I'll have to play it more to find out.

It was costly to have it refinished but worth every penny. I can just imagine my son in law's mom, grandma, grandpa, and even great and probably great-great grand parents playing this piano. The old piano stool that goes with it is still being refinished. It is very ornate and they will look perfect together.

Heirloom's are wonderful, not so much for the monetary value but for the connection they give us with those who have gone on before us.

While this one was sitting in the shop where it was refinished, the shop owner had an offer of $18,000 for it.

Of course it is not for sale.

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CLOUDY DAY ON BELLINGHAM BAY

I went across town yesterday to visit with some of my girls. As I drove down Harris avenue at South Bellingham (Fairhaven) I got a good look at the bay which was covered with whitecaps due to the high winds. I couldn't resist driving on down to the waterfront and getting a few shots.

This friendly seagull watched me closely, so sure I had a handout. "Sorry sir Seagull, no treats today." How does he stay so white and pristine looking?

Can you see the rainbow ?

This tree stands so proud and brave, even though the wicked autumn winds have stripped her of her beautiful green gown.

The strong branches are still lovely in the nude and resemble a many limbed ballerina as they sway in the wind.As the clouds grew darker, the bay also held a gloomy hue as the sun tried desperately to shine through and bless us with the bluest sky.

Believe me when we get blue skies here at this time of the year it's something to dance about! And that's just what Crow Crawford did!

"You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about...........

I had a fun day with Sir Seagull and Crow Crawford, then a nice visit with the girls where I took pictures of my daughter and son in law's restored heirloom piano. I'll be posting some of those shots soon.

Keep your focus on our creator and remember He is in control of everything.
Aren't we glad!

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TRUST AND OBEYNOOKSACK RIVER

For several weeks during the late fall and early winter months of 1997, I kept feeling the urge to go to the headwaters of the Nooksack river and pray. I wasn't sure exactly what the headwaters were but thought it must mean where the river began. With many feet of snow on the mountain I knew we couldn't go that far so tried to ignore the urgings.

As most Spirit filled Christians know, when the Holy Spirit is doing the urging they become stronger as time passes until you have to act, so I told my sister about it and she agreed we should go. We prayed for guidance because we felt there were things we were to do there besides pray.

We set a date and she invited a friend to join us. We drove as far up the mountain as we could and still be able to get to the water. Once there we prayed, worshiped and did the other things we felt led to do which included pouring a small bottle of anointing oil and wine into the river as we prayed that everyone who would be touched in any way by the waters of the river would recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of Almighty God and our Redeemer.

The water in the rivers and every body of water is taken up into the sky and returns to every part of the earth. So in essence the river water we annointed and prayed over up near Mt. Baker, is possibly sprinkling on you or your house, perhaps watering your garden right now as mercy drops and showers of blessing.

Do you think this is a far fetched idea and maybe I have lost my marbles?

Nope. I have learned to know my Father's voice.

In 1999 I had similar urgings when I could feel the Lord saying, "meet me at the river." My daughters and I went and yes, He was there. We prayed and praised Him.

I spoke to a lady a few years ago who lives in the county next to mine. I had never met her before and was fascinated to learn that the Lord had given her the exact same urging. To "go to the headwater of the Skagit river and pray."

God bless you all and may your relationship with our Lord grow by leaps and bounds.

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BLESS THE LITTLE CHILDREN In the evenings while watching TV I used to grab a crossword puzzle book and work those things until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I didn't really learn anything and after a while they were all the same. BORING!

I remember a story I heard my grandma tell about a lady friend she used to visit. Grandma asked if she read her Bible often and she told grandma that she learned a lot from doing crossword puzzles. Grandma asked, "what have you learned dear?" The lady thought about it for a few minutes and finally said, "well the only thing I remember is that onnager (spelling probably wrong) means jackass in Spanish." Grandma laughed for a long time about this.

I finally realized that too many crosswords are a waste of time and having loads of yarn cluttering up my little house I decided to do something constructive.

I'm crocheting baby blankets. Eight done so far and a ninth in the making. I use easy patterns and pray as I work for the mother and the baby. A stitch and a prayer.

No, we don't have nine new babies coming. LOL

I'm doing these blankets for a pregnancy clinic in town where girls are counciled to know their options. Each girl who has a positive pregnancy test is given a gift for her baby. Something tangible to hold onto that will make her baby seem more real to her. My prayer is that she will not abort her child.

They are all in different colors and the eight here are all the same easy pattern. The one I'm making now is a different pattern, more time consuming but pretty.

I've attached a handwritten note to each blanket with my name and phone number incase the girls need help they can call me.

God save the precious babies and give their mommie's courage to give them life.

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