it must be in the genes

this morning Hannah and i prepared the egg casseroles for tomorrow's brunch... Richard is cleaning up the fall havoc, Brian and Kennetta are in Point Reyes and then on to San Francisco for the day - the cooks (Hannah and I) will work on the hot dogs in grape jelly and chili sauce (an old favorite of Brian's - trust us Kennetta it isnt as odd as it sounds!) this evening after we return from Micke's Grove zoo and a quick stop at the local for the stuff overlooked & last minute... i'd love to stay and chat but my favorite granddaughter awaits her grandmanana....

oh that tender sorrow

zipped up to the Pioneer Cemetery this afternoon to place some flowers at my mom's grave - it was a lovely drive - the colors of autumn are rich bold hues and the sky was a striking blue contrast - brushed off her headstone and arranged a nice bouquet of rust button mums, saffron spider mums, peach daises and sage green eucalyptus then stood back to admire the pleasant hillside in this city of stone houses - suddenly it occurred to me that my mom would not be there for Brian & Kennetta's wedding and the tears sprang up - i wished Richard had been there with me - he is such a rock to me in times like this - "in all things praise God" - so i did and once again became aware of His authority over all - headed for home in the face of a brilliant fall sunset - ahh yes thank you LORD - for You have given me a husband who loves & cares for me, You have done amazing works in my son, You made a way for me to bring my mom to the Truth, and You took hold of a broken woman and gave her hope beyond the brokenness of this world... Amen

getting old is not for the young...

so when i was doing the invites to the after Thanksgiving brunch for Brian, Kennetta and Hannah i posted the wrong Saturday date... after the first invite i corrected this followed it up with phone calls and personal conversations (sorry Michelle for no "bc"ing the email invite) and put no more thought or energy into it - yesterday (the wrong saturday) i worked on getting our home ready for the big week ahead and Richard pitched in after his Harley run to Jackson (where btw he took a brand spanking new Fat Bob for a ride and came home trying to talk himself out of trading in his for the new ship of dreams- no thanks to Pastor Kevin) anyway @ 11:30 i was still in my jammies and definitely needing a shower when one of my favorite families showed up for the brunch! we invited them in to show the house in chaos and assure them that it is next Saturday and i recruited Lucy and Kayla to come early to help in the kitchen - such are God's blessings! her husband Rodney shared fish tales with Richard and off they went leaving Lucy's purse on the couch... later Richard and i zipped into town to see The Quantum of Solace (hang on while i get a handle on my vapors) - this is a must see - very fast pace, and the way i had always imagined James Bond to be - roughly manicured, volatile energy contained in a handsome vessel - got to talk with Kennetta for a bit yesterday and they are looking to a March 2009 wedding - i have no doubt that those two young folks can pull this off - we have enjoyed heat from the wood stove all weekend - how great is our LORD who gave us this home!!

Brian and Kennetta

yesterday on our 9th wedding anniversary Kennetta accepted Brian's offer to become his wife - we have no doubt that God chose these two to come together according to His good will and for His glory - these are photos of them just after Brian proposed (in a helicopter).

yipppeeee finally another girl in the family!

Kennetta said YES!

hearts aflying....

to God be the glory!! at this very moment in Missoula Montana Brian is landing in a helicopter to pick up Kennetta and ask her to marry him! dear friends have prayed for clear and calm skies on a day when all weather men have predicted rain - this is a picture of this very moment in town! check out the skies... oh the power of prayer on the heart of our LORD - so now we all wait to hear that her answer is YES!

weddings past and future

big doings in the works today!! please pray for God's mighty hand in on all of the plans to undfold according to His good will before the end of this day which btw is the 9th anniversary of our wedding - yes 9 years have flown by - God who drew us to Him has blessed us in this marriage as Richard and I draw closer to Him - how great is our LORD!!!

catching up...

hmm where to begin - okay i've got it... in July my baer and i traveled by car (2008 Accord - love it) to Missoula Montana - spent the first night in Rigby Idaho at the Blue Heron Inn - and then zipped on up to Missoula Montana where we spent a week getting to know Kennetta, fussing over Hannah and enjoying time with Brian - Papa and Grandmanana as Hannah has christened us spent a day of spoiling - we took her to Phillipsburg - After lunch at Doe Brothers Soda Fountain we stepped across the street to the Sweet Palace - we were in sweet tooth heaven and were challenged to keep our choices to a minimum (ha!) - Richard and Brian golfed several times and went fly-fishing... while we were there Peter (my mom's husband) passed thru on his way to Yellowstone - we had dinner at Higgins Alley which has always been one of the high points but this time the service was miserable and we left disappointed - to send the scales in the other direction we enjoyed a meal at Ciao Mambos (did i spell that correctly?) and loved every bite in particular a nacho dish made with fried lasagna noodles and alfredo sauce - i still have dreams about this... richard and i spent a night at Goldsmith's B&B - the walk across the bridges, along the river and downtown was one of our favorite evenings - Brian (full) and Kennetta (half) ran in the second annual Missoula Marathon - they both did very well and we enjoyed cheering them on - as Brian was running by us he picked up Hannah and ran a short distance with her then put her down and she ran along side him for a few moments - it was a tender thing to see - of course time flies - after attending Missoula Alliance church we headed off to California - Richard drove straight thru and we arrived home to cats with attitude at having been "abandoned" for 10 days -

well it seems i have let this business of blogging fall away which was not my intention so off my fingers fly trying to bring this little place current - but first where to begin? and then how to carry on? seems ages ago since my mom went on into the presence of our LORD - in the weeks that followed i caught myself sending her emails - i am grateful for her husband Peter who understood how much i was missing my mom and simply deleted these from the inbox - it is still hard to fathom that she has left but the edges are no longer so raw...
more on all this stuff later>> in July Richard and I drove up to Missoula to spend a week with Brian, Kennetta and my sweet little Hannah -during that time Richard bought a new truck without physically seeing it first...August brought me into a consuming time of training and preparation for BSF... September brought Burnie and Pop (and Lucy) to visit us for 2 weeks while Pop remodeled our bathroom - we hosted a lovely bbq for family and friends while they were here...we took a breather in October and now are sliding furiously through November - so here's what i think i will do> i will do my best to give a go at this in little spots of time until i am truly current and then i might pop in when there is something to share - now is time to catch a wink of sleep as Tuesday is reserved for BFS sleep catch-up night - sweet dreams to all and to all a good night - until i blog again may you be keenly aware of God's mighty hand of love and mercy over you - stacey