My Week in Review

Genesis 9:12-17 Verse 17: And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Sorry about the power lines in the picture, but I could not avoid them from where I was, and did not want to take a chance of moving and it being gone.

Signs of Spring. My Honeysuckle

My Wisteria

My Hydrangea

A surprise in the mail from my good friend Karin.

The beauty that surrounds me. Whitehorse Mountain to the North East.

Mt. Rainer to the South. I wanted to get a shot of Mt. Baker north of me, but it just was not showing on this day.

More knitting for my Tanzanian project.

A special order pair of socks.

Jesse #6111 helping his dad tear a wall out of my laundry room

There was just a door here. It was next to impossible to reach my dryer. We will put bi fold doors in the opening.

Slated for demolition in the not to far future.........the stairway wall you can see in the picture with Jesse. This will open the foyer up a little more and make the staircase not seem like a tunnel. First though, we need to finish some of the already started projects.

A New Blogger

She is almost like a daughter. She has been a part of our family since she was about 14 years old and she and my daughter Angie became friends at school.

So please hope over to Favorite Pastime and give Marian a great big hello and welcome! Look closely at the pictures and you will even see a basket of my knitting there. If you ever make it to our neck of the woods, we will go down and visit her store and then stop for lunch.

Another great contest going on over

at Meet the Falkers.

Much as I hate to send you there, you know it makes my chances of winning a little less. But Lindsey is my real life friend. She lives in my town and we met a few years ago at a new little church that was just being formed.

Go on over, take a look and leave a comment. Well you know the drill, just be sure you tell her it was me who sent you and remember if you win, I still want a cut! I really can't see how we can share this cute little pendant though, so if you win, I will just have to let you have it all to yourself.

Knitters

and others who may be interested.......have you found this amazing blog? It is called Chicken Stitches.

It belongs to my friend Henya, pictured above, who is an immigrant from Russia. She is an amazing knitter and also an amazing story teller.

Much as I hate to, I must direct you to her blog. I would rather wait until her contest is over so I have a better chance of winning, but this is one of her rules.

She is having an amazing give away to celebrate her first year of blogging. Now do not just go over and sign up to win her contest..........you have to read her stories too. Especially the ones about life in Russia. Be sure you tell her I sent you too. It will not make a difference in my chances to win, but humor me and tell her anyway. If you win, I expect a cut in the bounty, cause if I had not told you, you would not have gone there, and I would have had a better chance. Now hasten your little selves over and leave Henya some Bloggy Love!!!!

"Gramma"

"Mmmmm"

"I'm a very Blessed little girl."

"Yes you are darling, but what makes you say that?"

"Gramma, didn't you hear that in a land far away there was an earthquake and lots of children cannot find their mommies and daddies? That is why I am blessed."

Gramma to self, "Oh my gosh!"

Olivia Marie # 3317. Five years old.

A Special Order

Headed to St. Louis Missouri this week:)

Thank You, my dear friend.

IN THE MAIL TODAY JANUARY 27, 2010

I received

An e-mail today telling me my good friend Pastor Mwenebolongo is very ill. The e-mail says it looks bad for him. This dear man has dedicated his life to proclaiming the word of God to every person he ever meets. If he does go home to the Lord, there are so many people who depend upon him for everything. His home is filled with people who would otherwise be homeless. His wife is ill and unable to care for herself. The rest of their family is living in refugee camps or have already been sent back to Congo. They are living in Dar es Salaam under special permission. Please pray for them and for God's will in what ever happens. Pray for wisdom for those of us who know and love him. Wisdom to understand and accept God's will if this is the time he chooses to take him home.


My friend Macinda who is pictured in the above pictures wrote me about our dear Pastor. He also asked for prayers in finding a place to teach the children. Macinda is a French teacher who is also being allowed to live in Dar es Salaam because of the need for teachers in the city. The children shown above cannot attend the schools because they are refugee children without papers that would allow them to attend.

For myself, I also ask for prayer that I am able to continue with my knitting marathon and that it will be richly blessed. It is the way I know I can make a small difference in the lives of these people. I truly left a piece of my heart there and wait the day I will be allowed to return.

Thanks to each of you for your prayers.

What!!!!!!!!

Was a gramma thinking? But he sure did have a good time and was so proud to take his dinasaur home to show mommy and daddy.

More knitting

I am selling these little socks for $7.50 a pair. The first pair match a hat and mittens I posted a while back, the middle ones are actually purple and the little red ones have hearts knit into the heel. Remember proceeds over and above the cost of the yarn goes to help build the church for Pastor Mwenebolongo in Tanzania. I am making slow progress, but God has assured me that the church will be built and I am to remain faithful to his promise.

Red socks sold, but will take special orders if any one else is interested.

I got new windows for my house!!

REPLACEMENT WINDOWS

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house, with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind. Well today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them..

Well Hellloooo!..............just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid.

So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!

Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him.

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back.

I bet he felt like an idiot.

January Sky

Looking North from my backyard at sunset.

What better way is there

to spend a Friday night than being entertained by there Grade School's production of Jack and the Bean Stalk, put on in by Missoula Children's Theater.
It helps if some of the performers rank high in your favorite list. Above is Elizabeth, in the blue who played the part of an acrobat and Abigail sitting below her playing the part of a ballerina. Looking a bit like a disgruntled ballerina here.
Also featured was Caleb, in the middle with the blue scarf playing the part of a farmer.
Missoula Children's Theater is a non profit theater that travels to schools around the world. They hold auditions on Monday, (trying to find a part for every child who auditions) and performing on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. This was a very well done production with a twist on the story I had never seen or heard. Lots of singing and dancing and definitely a great opportunity for all of the kids. And to think I could have stayed home and blog surfed or played games. So glad I did not!!

Do you want to help with relief to Haiti?

If you do, take a look at this blog. Be sure to check out his work, Marshall is amazing with a camera.

I know Marshall and Julie personally and can assure you this is not a scam. This is their way of helping and you getting something in return

Julie also blogs under the title Journey to Family. Be sure to check her out, her blog is a delightful journal of her and Marshall's life together with their three amazing children.

You might tell them I sent you, if you go over there.

Another blogger, Bluepittbull just posted this site. You may want to check them out also.

Even though we have been home for a few days,

I want to take this moment to say thanks to Pete and Napua. They are great friends and we are so blessed that they have been a part of our lives for so many years. Napua is the woman one would wish to model herself after. Loving and caring. Her God comes first in everything followed by her husband, family and friends.

If ever you need help with anything, Pete is there in a nano second. He is continuously working on something and dedicates his time now to helping to keep the church grounds in order.

This picture is taken at the Church Camp. It was at one time operated as a camp, bring children from as far away as the mainland for instruction in the Gospel and fellowship with other children.

The church in my header, is one that Napua's great grandparents were instrumental in forming. It is over 100 years old. It is located in the town of Hanalei on the north end of the island.

For my friends who know Pete personally, and even those of you who do not, he is not feeling too well. Just before we got there, he had spent a week in the hospital with pneumonia. Please pray for him and his health.

Again, Pete and Napua, thank you so much for your love, it is so appreciated.

I got this from a friend a few days ago. Makes you want to go call someone.

We were sitting on a beach

On the Western Shore of Kauai, near Poipu as the sun began to set. It was a cloudy day, so

I was not sure how good my pictures would turn out, but I started to shoot.

As I shot, I walked down the beach and closer to the shore to try to catch the sun as it dipped

below the horizon. It was only a matter of minutes before it had disappeared

But it is a memory that is etched in my mind forever.

As I was returning back to where Stan was sitting, I turned to the North and took this picture with the reflection of the sun in the clouds.

One Word Comment

Let's see how forthcoming my blog buddies are. Leave a ONE word comment that you think best describes me. It can only be one word. No more than one word. Then copy & paste this post on your blog so I can leave a word about you. This should be interesting...

I saw this on both Therese and Sara's blogs.

Now it is time to really tell me what you think of me, but it has to be done with just one word.

Last night we asked Napua

to tell us the difference between a Coconut Tree and a Palm Tree. She looked at us like we were nuts and said

"The Palm Tree doesn't have nuts!!"

We discovered another difference today.

No one parks under a Coconut Tree!!

Wordless Wednesday-Relaxed and havin fun

Just some pictures.

While I was waiting to catch my first Hawaii Sunrise, I was playing with the settings on my camera. This one is a tree in the yard. Just took it in Sepia. I love sepia, maybe not for scenery, but I really like the effect.
The moon was to the west of me, over the top of the Condo's while the sun was rising to the east.

The view from our balcony, just before sunrise.
The same tree as the above one, taken from the other side.
These pictures are actually in order, I was also playing with the light setting. You can see the color beginning to show in this picture and the next one.



Really, there are not words to express the beauty. Wish I could really "live" here for a while, just to experience more than the tourist aspect of the life. The people are amazing, the island is amazing and I am relaxed!!!!