Smoky Mountains

We LOVE the Smoky Mountains so decided to head up to the Mts for our anniversary!!  Usually we are in Brazil on this special day but since we are here this year we decided it would be fun to go to one of our favorite National Parks!!  It was only 150 miles from home which was great and a short trip!!

How do you explain the Smoky Mountain National Park??  You will just have to come up here to experience it…we couldn’t believe all of the liscence plates that we have seen in the last couple of days…..Connecticut (is Connecticut co??  no, I think that is Colorado…anyway), NY, PA, WI, MI, WV,VI, GA, FL, AL, LO, MS, TX, OK, IN, IL, OK, NC, SC,AK,KY and of course Tennessee…….what fun to see so many people from all over USA enjoying something that GOD created and it is SO awesome!!

We were there between 3:30 and 5 and the bears were OUT along with deer, wild turkeys and then a deer with a fawn in the water…whenever we saw cars stopped in the road we knew that they were looking at something.  The first time they said there was a momma and two babies but we didn’ see them but later saw the mama with 4 babies.  By then people were OUT of their vehicles walking around and toting their cameras.  I saw her kinna walk up the hill toward one man and then she just stood there and looked right at him…..BELIEVE me he turned around and walked the other way.  Once she saw that he was leaving she proceeded to run back down the hill with her 4 cubs in pursuit.  It was adorable….one little guy was trying to climb a tree too.  We then saw 4 or 5 more and right before we were leaving the cove….we saw one on my side of the van…..and he was walking toward the van.  I quickly grabbed the cell phone camera but then saw him coming right down toward the van so I of course….had a FIT and didn’t get my picture.  He crossed over in front of us to Dad’s side and then saundered into the woods.  Dad got a picture that time.
 
All this to say, I LOVE the SMOKY Mts and it is so incredibly BEAUTIFUL during the summer, with wild flowers all over, animals and then the human critters all over!!  We are only 150 miles from home too and guess what????  I am going to want to come BACK again soon!!  Maybe next time I can have some of my grandkids with me, wouldn’t that be fun!! 

I haven’t even mentioned the river where you can go tubbing or even white water raffting…(NO I’m NOT planning on that one)  The water is so crystal clear as it goes rippling over the rocks and the sound of it is so refreshing.  We got out our chairs and sat by the river as we had our picnic!!  One thing that we HAVE to remember is totake food with us as sometimes you are OUT in the park for hour and hours as we just couldn’t leave when the bears kept showing up for us, could we??

God certainly made beautiful things and HE takes care of each of them.  It was a GREAT reminder that HE does care for too.

I am looking forward to tomorrow……what fun!!!

Driving around the Cove (which is an area that was settled way back in the 1800 and still has some houses and churches standing)

My Dad

Today is father’s day and I have been thinking about my father….who is now living in heaven!!!  I know he is still having a good time, smiling and enjoying every minute of his time there  but I MISS him!!

Dad was so much fun and  when I was a child he was the greatest!!  He loved the Lord, loved my mom and his family!!  Time after time he would surprise us by taking us to a restaurant or he would spend his last few dollars on an ice cream cone YUM,   …we would get home and my practical  mom would smile and say, Donald!!    He would take us to the beach, get all excited about the surf, jump,the waves with us and always made me feel very safe!!  We would build castles in the sand and then watch them wash away with the surf.  I have so many fond memories of our time at the ocean.  Thanks, Dad for teaching me to love the ocean.

Our kids still remember the times he took us to the zoo, to Coronado Island, and then walk into the hotel and act like we owned the place…Dad, I LOVED it!!    He would tell us that we were children of the KING and that we owned any castle we came too so we could just walk in and enjoy!!

In 1951,  my parents decided that God wanted them to go to Brazil as missionaries so off we went…..Dad knew that somehow God would provide for us…and HE did!!   He made sure that we were normal kids and made us feel secure by showering us with his love.  I am sure he had times of worry  but as far as we were concerned we knew that God would provide!!   As I look back over the years of growing up I saw God’s faithfulness to us over and over and over again!!  We left CA when I was six years old (yes I am the dark haired little one on the right) heading for Brazil and on the way HE provided as we stopped at Winona Lake.  I am so thankful for my Dad, he taught me how to love the Lord and also to trust in HIM for all of my needs!!   Time and time again we have seem HIM undertake in sickness, health, travel and finances.

I have Dad’s journals and what a priveledge it is to read them, they are full of  his favorite verses and wonderful ways the Lord has answered prayers for our family, mom and for Dad’s ministry.  Maybe someday I will get them all into the computer and then get them published!!!  His dream was to write a book someday!!   Heh….I should work on it for him!!   Dad was  amazing and is still amazing!!  

So on this fathers day I am thankful for my dear Dad…..thanks Dad for everything!!

God undertakes once again

I wrote about our trip to the Northwest….we flew on our frequent flying miles, thanks Delta!!  But didn’t have the money for all of the extras along the way….like the rental cars, motels, etc but somehow felt like God wanted us to GET on the airplane and trust HIM!!     We have been in mission work for over 40 years and have had to just rely on HIM  over and over again for all of our needs but for some reason this time I wondered how in the world were we going to make it financially, we definately didn’t want to go in debt and wondered how God  was going to provide???

After all the economy isn’t the best at this time, so many people are out of work, our monthly support has been lower the last few months, some of our faithful supporters have had to drop their support altough our GOD has NOT changed  sometimes have wondered how is HE going to provide??

B UT we got on the plane and just trusted HIM to undertake…we arrived in Sacramento, saw the kids for a couple of days, picked up the rental car and  drove up to WA   Dale’s brother had arranged for us to have a service in  a small church on a Wednsday night and had a wonderful time with old friends and making new ones.  At the end of the service GOD started providing for us….the pastor decided to take a love offering for us and in that one service we were given almost enough for our rental car…..WOW!!  God did IT….time and time again as we traveled HE provided.  We were away from home for 6 weeks visiting prayer partners, churches and family and once again we were amazed at HIS faithfulness.

So even though the economy is bad, people are out of work, we don’t know when things are going to turn around but we do know ONE thing GOD is still in CONTROL and HE answered our prayers as we met others and told them about our ministry, what a blessing!!    I was once gain reminded that HE does undertake and does answer prayer!!

What an awesome trip!!!

Spending time with my sis, Donna

Time with our California grandkids, Shane & Braden

The Northwest

I wrote this a couple of months ago but didn’t get it posted…..but here goes!!  

Lake Coeur d'alene, Idaho

 We are in Coeur d’Alene, Id where I met my wonderful, marvelous husband over forty years ago….(would you believe it has been that long??)  We LOVE coming back here, visiting old friends and seeing the places where we dated and lived.  Dale lived in a little house and yesterday we found the little house but it has been remodeled and is up for sale.  I wonder how much they want for it now…..he paid around $2,000 for it back then!!

Seeing old friends has been alot of fun, the area is incredibly beautiful with the mountains around it which are covered right now with just a little skiff of snow!!  They say they have had a hard winter in this area and are glad to see it melting each day.

We always LOVE our time in Idaho and seeing ole friends.  From CDA we drove down to Portland and traveled along the Columbia River….WOW…I will have to post some pictures!!  Multnomah Falls is so gorgeous too and we took the scenic route (which means you leave the freeway for a few miles) 

 

 In Portland we were able to spend a couple of days with my sisters.  Donna drove up from the Medford Area in her little “cooper”  and we both went to visit our sister Joanna!!   It was fun to re-connect with family!  Thanks, Donna for the wonderful time….I LOVED riding in your little car and I couldn’t believe how comfy it was to ride in.  Thanks also for the yummy meal at the restaurant in Portland!!

My sister and I with the "cooper"

 Leaving Portland we drove to Eugene for a few  special days with my dear “folks” …they have moved since we last saw them but are getting settled in their new place.  I just had to drive by the old house, just to see if the flowers and yard looked the same……I had my hubby drive around a few times but that was the wrong idea….as the new owner came out to take a picture of this car that kept driving by slowly.  Honestly, we weren’t planning on breaking in later on that day!!  Sigh….so my sweet hubby had to stop and explaing why we were looking at the house…..YIKES!!  He seemed to understand once Dale mentioned my parents name!!  Guess we won’t be doing that again!!

From Eugene we went to the Medford area and had a good visit with my sis and her family….finally we got back down to CA for our visit with our kids…..what a wonderful trip!!

Our new president

Since I was born of the 4th of July ….I am very patriotic!!!  Just ask my kids and they would tell you that I am a little NUTS!!  My house is all decorated with American things…..Eagles, Flags, more eagles, just about anything imaginable with the colors of america…I have it, thanks to family and friends!!

We have also been overseas for quite a few years so have missed inaguration day, fourth of July and all kinds of holidays so I feel I can YELL and HOLLER when we have a very patriotic day like today!!

I didn’t vote for our new president but I am going to pray for him and for his sweet family.  Those little girls are so beautiful and seem so well behaved.  They all do need our prayers and so does America!!  God bless America and also our new president!!

After being overseas for so many years in Papua New Guinea and Brazil ….I count it a HUGE blessing to be born in the USA and to be able to worship in a free country.  We have countless blessing and need to remember all that GOD has done for our country and also for each of us!! 

God is good and HE can continue to undertake for all of us!!

Don’t you just love the way thousands and thousands of people are in Washington DC today.  It looks like a sea of people and when all of them started waving their flags….I wanted to wave my flag and ….oh I want to be there too.  We were in DC in the fall of 2007 and how I loved being there for just a few hours!!   My sweet hubby served in the army and in Oct.  some of his army buddies want to have a reunion in DC…..and we DO want to GO!!  I think it will be a wonderful time for all of those guys (OLE army buddies) to be together in DC…..after all they had a small part in protecting the USA!!  I am proud of my sweet hubby!!

Let’s PRAY for our new president and let’s pray for America!!  God BLESS the USA!!!

My youngest Grandaughter- Lilly #9

I have written about  our first three  grandkids but am going to jump to number 9 because she is at such an amazing age!!!  Today she told me she was 2 and also said, “Nana, Daddy said Hi Mom!!!”  She continues to amaze us at her vocabulary.  Every day she comes up with more and more words and sentences.  This child pronounces every single word distinctly and clearly.  Uncle Stephen isn’t Uncle Nana anymore nor is he Uncle Nena but now she can almost say his name except for that S at the begining of his name.  Every time she sees him she squeals with delight and runs to him for a hug or just to tell him something.    I think he is really enoying this little niece as her little face and those dark eyes light up when she sees him.

She loved being with her “cousins” and especially loved having her big cousin, Brittany carry her around.  Lilly Grace has absolute no fears and will climb on and even at a playground you will find her up way too high….smiling down at you…

She has such a joyful spirit and is so much fun!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year    and God bless YOU in 2009!!  He will go before us as we look to HIM.  Last night we had three of our little grandkids sleeping over.  They always LOVE being here at Nana’s house.  After getting them tucked into bed the 7 year old decided she was hungry so YOU guessed it…they all got a bowl of cereal!!!    I

Then Katie, the 7 year old didn’t want to stay in the dark room with the spooky shadows.  So she ended up on the floor in the front room and we listened to songs and talked.  I told her that when I get frightened  I think of something that I love ….like the ocean and  ask Jesus to help me calm down.   She then said, But Nana there are sharks in the ocean, I saw them at the Atlanta Aquarium…so I reminded her of the dolfins, whales etc.  She LOVES the ocean so that helped her a little bit.

We looked up a verse in the Bible about fear and found this totally cool verse..

Isaiah 41:13  “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

We both held up our right hand for God to hold!!  She loved that verse but after a few minutes she said, But Nana what happens if they are left handed??  Her little sister, Lilly who is 2 is left handed!!!

She did finally go to sleep but it was a good reminder to me that GOD is in control of 2009 and we just need to hold his hand and HE will go before us and help us!!  It maybe unemployment, sickness, financial struggles and a thousand other things but HE doesn’t want us to fear and wants to HELP us.  So keep holding HIS hand!!

 

All to Jesus I surrender

I need to write about all of my other grandkids and will but today we just returned from Fairhope, AL.  We were there for 2 1/2 weeks with our wonderful daughter, her hubby and 4 wonderful children.   We went down there to help put on a roof and a huge porch/veranda on her house.    Since she lives in the south and on a river we decided that it was a veranda!!  I am going to have to post pictures of the project.  Wow!!!  Anyway……we left early this morning after fun, fun fun….we went to the beach, navy museum, the pier at fairhope, watched Brittany play volleyball, the girls ballet classes, went shopping and somehow the guys still were able to get the job almost done.  They worked while we played but did make it to few of the above things.

I woke up around 4 AM and dozed until 5:20 and we left at 6.  For some reason this song started going around in my head….

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

All day long as I thought about leaving the kids and heading home and then thinking about the next year with a trip to Haiti, a trip out West, finances etc.   So many times I feel like I am a fish out of water, do you ever feel that way??   On the way home  the Lord kept reminding me of this song!!  

 We arrived home around 8 only to find out that our water pump on our house isn’t pumping water like it should…..we have a well and right now the water goes in spurts.  At least they are long enough spurts that you can get soaped up, then stand there and freeze until the next spurt.   So guess I just have to surrender the water pump.  We need to surrender ALL as the song says, so many times we just think of this song at invitation time but it should be a daily thing in our lives.  All to Jesus I surrender….

Nana’s ANGELS

Brenden with his mom peeling apples

I was able to have all 10 of my angels here last week….what fun, joy, laughter and craziness all in one week!! We have a 13 year old down to a 6 month old.  Brenden, Brittany, Stone, Katie, Shane, Alyssa, Justin,Braden, Lilly and Luke…gifts from our heavenly father!!!  We are BLESSED!!!

 It was wonderful to spend a little bit of time with the 13 year old who is now over 6 feet tall and so reminds me of our Bryan when he was that age….tall, lanky and Hungry most of the time!!  He is a special kid who has such a kind heart for all of the younger kids.  He made a fort out of woods and was “the monster” for their play time out there.  He loves to read and was reading a Louis Lamour book when he came so I showed him our old Louis LaMour book and he read 4 more of them during the week.  He is alot of fun and I enjoyed watching him interact with his cousins, aunts and uncles!!

Then we have Brittany who is 11, she too  has grown alot during the last few months.  She is such a sweet child and always willing to serve others.  She loved taking care of Lilly and Lilly loved having her cousin take care of her.  Brittany is our ballerina and is a joy…she has a way of getting into her Nana’s heart by doing sweet things like writing me a goodbye note!! 

Britty & Lilly doing ballet

Then there is Stone who is 8 and so very, very brave!!  He brought up his new skate board so we could all see it and could even do tricks on it.  He and his cousin Katie who is 7 were the best of friends.  Stone is very kind, shy and sweet at the same time.  He conquered the highest peak at Grandfather Mountain and let me tell you that was some FEAT for that little boy!!!   It was the scarriest, coolest thing he has ever done!!

Stone isn’t in the following picture but he is in the video that Popo took.  We are proud of all of the guys as they climbed that mountain.  Life is like that, isn’t it?  There are times when we are in a mountain and then the valley comes but praise the Lord HE is with us in the valley as well as on the mountain peaks!!  I will stop for now as I still have 7 more grandkids to talk don’t I??

Be unto your name

We are a moment,
You are forever.
Lord of the ages
God before time

We are a vapor,
You are Eternal
Love everlasting
Reigning on high

Lord you are holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
So worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Let the highest praises, honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name

We are the broken
You are the Healer
Jesus, Redeemer,
Mighty to save

You are the love song
We’ll sing forever
Bowing before You
Blessing Your name.

For you are holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
So worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Let the highest praises, honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name

Holy, holy Lord God Almighty
So worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Let the highest praises, honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name

This is such a cool song….what a blessing.  Now I just have to find it and get it downloaded.  It is awesome!!