Surprise! Papa's here!

About 2:15 Wednesday morning, Papa came to visit!  Total surprise to me!  I had absolutely no inkling that I would walk downstairs to see his luggage in the living room and then have him pop around the corner!

He came because he missed me, of course, but he was really hoping to see his new grandbaby while he was here.  But, I guess the baby didn't realize that, so Papa had to go back home without meeting him/her.

On Friday, the day before he left, we went up to Estes Park for a family outing and to walk Serena.  Grammie (Serena's mom), Papa, and I explored the town with the grandchildren while Josh and Serena went "hiking". 

As you can see, we have an extra couple of kids.

I brought Meg along and Emily brought her other grandson.

The more, the merrier!

Before we all set out, though, we had a picnic.  We found this lovely little spot next to a church.  It even had a little creek.

Shallah and Papa sharing cookies.

Shallah and Papa have a special thing going.  Before he came, she acted like she loved me.  But one day, I went to get her out of her crib and she hugged her arms around her and said, "I want Papa."  Oh, well.  He's gone now.

Aquarium, Part 1

For Christmas last year, we gave our grandchildren a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to be taken in family groups (minus the nursing babies and without parents).  Due to busy schedules and other stuff, we are just getting around to making good on our gift.  We took the Abdelaziz children last month and are scheduled to take the Gombojavs next month.  Hopefully, the Correas will follow soon. 

The Aquarium is an awesome place where it is very easy to spend the entire day and still feel like you haven't seen everything to your satisfaction.  My only complaint is that there were too many political displays.  I don't like being bombarded with political agendas while trying to enjoy the wonders that God has created.  However, it is a great place and they do a lot of good for the ocean and its creatures.

It is about two hours away, so we left early and had to stop for lunch.  We wanted to eat before we went in and the only place we saw was here, a place I haven't been to in ages!  But, what child doesn't want fries?  And a chocolate chip cookie for dessert?

Here we are walking from the parking garage down Cannery Row ready for our adventure.

I certainly cannot do justice to the sea life, so I won't be showing a lot of "fish" pictures, but since this is definitely Abishai's favorite, it must have its place in this story.

Jael was very conscientious and took little notes about everything that interested her.  She brought little slips of paper in her pocket.

The children loved all the hands-on learning.

Standing under a wave is exciting even if you know it's coming -- since you've stood here wave after wave. 

So, the girl on the right is the same little girl on the right in the picture below. 

How time flies!

(Meg, Izzy, Jael)

The boys have a fascination with all the snails in our yard, so they loved these little vests!

They have something for every age!

Okay, there's a story behind this picture.  Papa had the camera most of the day and realized that he wasn't getting in any of the pictures, so I took the camera for a bit.  After I took this picture, he took the camera to peruse the pictures.  (Isn't digital great?)  So, when he saw this one, he started laughing.  I looked questioningly at him.  He asked who I had taken a picture of.  I still didn't get it.  So, after a few comments and questions back and forth, I finally understood.  He thought I had taken a picture of some stranger just to make him think it was him!  He doesn't think it looks like himself.  I think it looks exactly like him.  I still don't get it.

As gorgeous as those jelly fish are, these handsome men surpass them!

They weren't standing up and they weren't laying down.  They were on a slope staring UP into an amazingly enormous tank with sharks, tuna, sunfish, and other huge creatures.

Leaving.  Can you tell the sun was in our eyes? 

We did a better job this time.

One last stop on Cannery Row before getting to our van.  Dippin' Dots!  Papa's idea, of course. 

The whole day was absolutely wonderful.  Not a stressful moment.  Pure unadulterated enjoyment.  I'm not sure if we gave our grandchildren a gift, or they gave us one.  As with Dippin' Dots, good to the very end!

Shallah's Dedication

Shallah and bow!

My youngest grandchild, Shallah Rianne, was dedicated to the Lord by her parents on Valentine's Day with her Papa officiating. 

Nana loves her Shallah!

Grandpa, Grandma, Grammie, Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Shallah, Papa

Levi, Ezekiel, Abishai,Jael

Godparents, Dan and Erica Hall, were not able to make the trip from Colorado.

He is actually the sweetest little boy, but that look wouldn't let you know!

Josh has written a song for each of his children for their dedication.  Always wonderful, often prophetic.  This time, though, was a bit different.  Intense.  Not necessarily something my Nana's  heart would want to hear.  But, we were here to dedicate her to the Lord, not to ourselves.  She belongs to the Lord; she has only been lent to us to train up for His glory.  Here is her song.  Oh, and you need to know that Shallah Rianne means "River of Grace".

Grace to stand in the midst of the pain;

Grace to walk right through the rain;

Grace to give in spite of the hurt;

Grace to live beside the poor in the dirt.

Grace to hold those that no one will touch;

Grace to love even when it hurts too much;

Grace to stand to make right what is wrong;

Grace to go even though the journey is long.

Grace to count the cost everyday;

Grace to give your life away;

Grace to accept those that all would despise;

Grace to work to make it right in His eyes.

May His river of grace flow through you;

May your hands hold the broken;

May His river of grace flow through you;

May your life touch the nations.

May there be peace and joy through all of your life;

Despite the pain that comes and the tears you cry;

May your life be filled with the presence of God;

May His grace be what keeps you strong.

By Daddy

You can see it impacted Papa.

As is my tradition, I give a reception for each of my grandchildren on the day of their dedication.  We had a lovely lunch after the morning worship service to which the whole church was invited.  I served Italian Drip Beef, Asian Noodle Salad, Vanilla Almond Punch (my new favorite punch and the easiest ever!), and these lovely little desserts.  Unfortunately, those were the only things photographed during the whole reception.  Some of us were too busy to think of a camera.  Some of us were having too good a time, I guess, to remember to take pictures. 

Adapted from here where there are directions on how to make the candy cups and the little hearts.

Aren't they just so cute?
Yeah, but still not as cute as Shallah.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jael reading the Christmas story to her siblings and cousins one night during the Advent season:

Merry Christmas to you and yours from us and ours!

For a child has been born—for us!

the gift of a son—for us! . . .

His names will be: Amazing Counselor,

Strong God,

Eternal Father,

Prince of Wholeness.

(Isaiah 9:6 The Message)

Thanksgiving 2009

We trade holidays with our children's in-laws and so, this year, was Thanksgiving at our house! I just love having everyone here! And I think there are a million pictures in this post, so those of you who aren't madly in love with my family will just have to bear with me!

First of all, I need to get this out of the way. See this beautiful pie?


Upon completion of baking time and staring at it for awhile, I dumped it all in the garbage. Yep, the garbage. Well, almost all of it. After about four of us tasted tiny little bites of the crust. And then had to go eat some garlic chips to get the AWFUL plastic taste out of mouths! I am supposing the organic shortening had become rancid. But, it was the worst taste ever! Now, I think I'm going to have to bake an apple pie just because. Just because it doesn't seem fair to go through all this trouble and not have pie to eat!

Okay, I've got that confession out of the way, let's get on with the rest of the celebration!

Before everyone arrived, I covered the back french doors with construction paper.


Then, when all the kids got here, they colored pretty pictures for me. I loved the extra decorations. And I really liked the idea that no one could see out into the still unfinished patio room with the big ol' pool table in the middle. Just keeping it real, I guess. Second confession and I've hardly shown you anything!

Honestly, I think this was one of the BEST Thanksgivings ever! It was a wonderful day. Being in the kitchen with my family is always wonderful to me.

Daja, my mother, and our friend, Ariuntuya, from Mongolia

We had a Scarecrow theme this year. Three of 'em greeted you at the door.

Sarah-Kate did our tablescapes. We had one l-o-n-g table in the dining/family room and two little tables in the living room for eight of the smaller kids.

She started with brown postal paper.

Added our Thanksgiving leaves. (All of our homes had little leaves on which we had written lots of things we were grateful for all month. Then, we brought them and used them for the table.)

Added the cutest little scarecrow place cards.

Meanwhile, Papa was out back deep frying his turkey. I had one cooking in the roaster inside. (Yes, we had two large turkeys!) He has deep-fried turkeys before, but this year he bought an infrared fryer. I think I liked it much better. And it is so much cheaper because there is no peanut oil to buy!

Pretty, isn't it?

Daja was in charge of hors d'oeuvres. Yes, even though we were planning on eating by 1:30, we HAD to have food to tie us over!

Ariunna, Meg, Serena

(and my mother's back, once again)

Sarah-Kate was also in charge of entertaining the children with crafts. She had several projects for them to do. And she loves giggling with them, too.

Saraa and Daja

Mr. Cool, aka the Dov

Luc

Belgee

Sarah-Kate

I'm not sure what Levi is thinking! Or preparing to do!

Shallah and Ariunna

Ezekiel, Caesar, Diego, Abishai

Happy Saraa

I think we all ate too much turkey!

Jael, Meg (in matching dresses from Grandma), Israel

Levi

Titi and Jael sharing some lovin'.

Watching television in Grandma's room while playing with her vintage Noah's Ark.

Oh, I forgot about the food!

Carrot souffle, which was introduced to us by Daja, who made it in Mongolia when she couldn't find sweet potatoes. It is now an absolute must-have at our Thanksgiving table. We just don't seem to be able to make enough!

A new dish this year. Marinated salad.
In my new $5 Wal-mart leaf-shaped bowl.

I saw a similar one in a shop downtown. For over $100!

Another new one. Brussels sprout slaw.

The table starting to load up. We kept the mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes warm in crockpots.

After dinner, before dessert, and before the sun set, some of us went for a walk down our lane. Those of us who still could.

One big happy family. A love-filled holiday. *sigh* Life is good.