40 Years

How do you sum up 40 years! A lifetime! Does it really seem possible?  Who are these kids in these pictures?

Time is a peculiar thing. Does it not seem like forever ago, and yet seems like no time at all?  40 years ago these two children pledged their lives before their God and family to be faithful to Him and faithful to each other. A huge commitment. Did we understand the commitment? Do you see all that lays before you? The answer obviously is no, how could you.  But one thing I will say from the beginning, He was faithful to our commitment to Him.  He has carried us through the life that lay before us. He has been faithful to keep us faithful to Him and to each other. He IS faithful! He deserves the praise!
What fun we have had! Living from paycheck to paycheck. Moving from Bakersfield and back to Bakersfield, and from Bakersfield and back to Bakersfield. From life with each other, to life with one child and another child. To life with 2 children to life with one child and life with each other. Life with children in law, first one child married, to another child married. Life with each other, life with married children, to life with one grandchild, to life with two grandchildren and then a third. Life moves forward. Blessing upon blessing, each stage unique and different and full. Moments to savor and replay in your mind, fun times, hard times, great family times, great times with friends.  Friends have played an important part in our married lives. In many ways our friends have been our family. Great friendships, based on our mutual love for our Lord.  Church, Bible studies, and eating together, late nite card games, raising children together, weekend trips, vacations, stops at Denny's for strawberry pancakes, singing with the guitar, laughter and crying.  In 40 years there has been crying, how could there not be. Illness, and surgeries, death of family and friends, broken relationships. Life includes those hard times.  But really! 40 years! Really!! 

Hanging with the Henry

Begin forwarded message:

Sent from my iPhone

It was suppose to be a family trip to Pismo, to start the Thanksgiving week! But with Brother and Mommy sick, it was a perfect day to hang with my Grams! Do you like my glasses? We went to see a 3D movie, and I got these cool glasses, which I only wore part of the time during the movie, but worked great as sunl glasses when I played at the park. I bought Grams popcorn for the movie, which, I think she ate most of it, but she bought me chocolate ice cream, which we ate by the fountain! It was such a fun day! I didn't want to go home.

Saturday two

Our previous Saturday whetted our appetite for a re-do of Santa Barbara. Besides our grandkids were camping in Carpenteria! Another excuse to make a trip to Santa Barbara. Surprise the grandkids was the order of the day, so what to fill the rest of the day. Saturday one,the visit with my folks, to my step dads house had taken place without a single picture taken! Bad children we were. Besides, Paradise was calling us back.
We drove out to the house and snapped the pictures, the day was beautiful, breezy, balmy, without being hot, and clear. A perfect day to enjoy a picnic lunch under giant old oak trees. Besides, we were on a mission to only spend $20 dollars for the day!

It was quiet, the sound of the breeze through the leaves and the occasional wood pecker working on the trees. Made my 'love the outdoors' heart smile. The thought of a hammock passed through my mind!

We still had lots of time to spend before we headed to surprise the grandkids! What to do, what to do...driving back to town, we were ooohhhhing and aahhhing over all the buildings.(shocker, I know) we decided to visit the courthouse. In all the visits through the years we had never toured the courthouse. Renowned for it's architecture,

registered on the historic buildings registry. What a treat it turned out to be. Of course, this is what we enjoy. The docent at the info desk was more than encouraging of the different floors to visit. Filled with wonderful Spanish architectue, ceilings, and floor tiles, and murals, the second floor of the clock/bell tower is completely covered in wall murals. As we stood taking it all in, a guitarist began to play...absolutely delightful!

Hmmmm....could have spent the rest of the afternoon soaking it up. But, I would have missed the top! 360 degree view of Santa Barbara! A-Mazing! Ahhh...Santa Barbara....majestic hills on one side, the Pacific blue on the other!

Our goal to spend only $20 was thwarted at the campout entrance! Not realizing we could have parked outside the camp, we paid the hefty $10 fee to surprise our kids at their campsite, hopefully! With 200+campers just from the church, trying to find them was a challenge! We stealthy walked down the beach until we were discovered! Fun! So worth the surprise!

Hmmm...beach air, campfire smoke, the voice saying, hey grams...it doesn't get any better!
Happy heart...

And then there is this.

One Saturday turned to two

Moments happen, when you just wish you could freeze frame the moment. A trip with my folks to Santa Barbara, to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary, or at least that was the excuse we used. Ahhhh...Santa Barbara, if only I was monetarily rich...where the 'haves' live on a sliver of land between the rugged oak covered mountains and the blue ocean! Ahhh...Santa Barbara....
We enjoyed lunch on the pier; shrimp cocktail and bowls of clam chowder, though our window view table only allowed somewhat of an ocean view through the not completely burned off morning fog.

What was there to do after lunch. My step dad isn't up to walking very far, between the wobbly legs and the oxygen tank, and add a fall the week before, needless to say walking anywhere was not an option. Somewhere in the middle of lots of conversation, reminiscing about all the trips they had made to the Santa Barbara, and Mac's years as a child living in Paradise, off the old stagecoach route, it was decided to see if we could find the old house. Though it had been 70-ish years since he lived in Paradise, he had made a trip out that way about 25 years ago, and his memory took us right to the not so bad looking house. Nestled in the old oak trees, a table and chairs on the front porch, the house has had some 'add ons' which made it seem all pretty inviting.

He talked about him and his sister and mom, how they would make the weekly trip into Santa Barbara, he and his sister to the Granada theater for a movie, while his mom would do the laundry. The return trip home was rewarded with a stop at the Cold Water Springs Tavern, where they would buy a coca cola, for a dime!
We drove the old stagecoach road, paved these days, but Cold Water Springs is still a stopping spot, the mode of getting there is changed, and you have to purpose to turn off the highway, but from the fragrance of wood smoke in the air, and the smells from the 'restaurant' would tempt me. The drive back into town, coffee and a 'sit a spell' time, a slow drive down State Street and homeward bound we were. But it just whetted Duane and my appetite for more of Santa Barbara.

Fall fun-ness part 2

Autumn brings my mind to cool weather and leaves turning from deepest dark greens to yellow golds and reds to purple and brown. I think of cool breezes and pumpkins and spiced apple cider, and of course football, but that's not included in this post! Grandad and I had our time at the pumpkin patch with two cute little pumpkins, Henry and Ben. There weren't cool breezes or the fragrance of spicy pumpkin pie baking. No, it was warm, not hot, but definitely not cool or breezy!
Today,the adventure was the apple orchard! What more could two boys want to do but have permission, even prompting to pull things off trees! Add a few of your cousins and it made for a near perfect day. Not quite perfect...no cool air, and we missed the fragrance of apple crisp baking, but nonetheless, the reward of a bucket full of tasty apples!

A snooze was needed first in order to attack the apple orchard!

Oh some swing time as we wait for mom to take pics of the cousins.

Finally apples!

And of course I made a new friend!

Fall Funness

A lovely autumn afternoon, leads to a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Henry and Ben have been every year, but this was the first for a grandad and Grams!

Day! Beautiful

The fragrance of mulberry and eucalyptus trees, the roar of the jet overhead, cotton white clouds, cool air, birds singing...ahhh...the first fall of leaves from the trees...the leaf blowers from the gardners, traffic whizzing past...ahhh...yes...beautiful, all of it!

Three Little Men

Henry

. Benjamin

Wyatt!

And then there were three!

A truly bless-ed event!  The birth of a new grandson!  Welcome Wyatt!  and congratulations to mom, Jill, dad, David and new grandparents, Oma and Opa Smith!! 

Summer reading

Car trips, plane trips, and lazy poolside days allow for good reading. And a few IBooks which are rather difficult to photograph! Agnes grey, and Jane Eyre and just completed Sarah's Key.

Summer Days

It feels like the end of summer, though we still have several weeks of actually summer, and the month of September, which never is able to make up it's mind whether it wants to still be summer or give way to fall.
But tomorrow begins the week before school at our house. And though I'm not a teacher, my husband, Duane is a full blown professor! So, tomorrow the week of meetings and school prep begin. So, in recap, as the assignment from teachers on the first day back to school, write about your summer. ...May

DISNEYLANd....we took Henry for the day! Very Fun!

And painting, took my first of a few painting lessons, from the Master!

And June...a girl trip to Texas! Lorie and I flew to Texas to shower Jill with baby to be love! Which also, gave me the opportunity to see extended family!

And some gardening...

Travel Log Continued

Though Seattle is a great vacation destination, there really was purpose to go to Seattle. A wedding! Carissa and Robert tied the knot on Saturday July 9th. Carissa being born on her grandpa's birthday, chose to be married on her grandparents wedding anniversary!

There was the usual pre-wedding activities, lots of food, and family times, laughter, great conversations and just hanging as a great big extended family, and as most families, from all parts of the Country!

Chuck and Chris's were the greatest the host and hostess and their lovely home perched on a hill overlooking part of Puget Sound and Vashon island, gave the perfect setting to pass the time, gazing at the ferries crossing back and forth across the water. It was mesmerizing!

And of course the paint brushes had to come out!

A little jogging fun! A little photog fun! And even some street fair fun!