HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI ...50! WOW!! Wish I was still 50...oh, but that was so LAST YEAR Have a great celebration with your family...stay cool

Angie, Ron and I spent most the day walking the dogs at the river yesterday. Then Angie and I went to the park for an outdoor free concert put on by a steel drum band made up of local junior and high school kids, about 40 of them...WAY FUN...they sounded amazing. There were probably 200 folks there, nice...we arrived there a little after they started and still got parking and good spots on the grass...in California we need to get there at least an hour early and sit with several thousand people for free concerts in the park....of course that is way fun too...and of course "professional" entertainment.

MICHELE Did you see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? All the kids must be excited with that and Harry Potter book coming out at the same time, I know Angie is

GRAPHIC GODDESS What's on your and Joe's plate for the week-end? Something with your friends if I remember (YEA RIGHT! ) right? Hope your weather holds out for you..very pleasant here right now...but it will warm up soon.

I may have given you gals the wrong impression on talking with my kids.. when I said FINALLY talked to my kids...I meant we had ~free minutes~..they call me every day...sometimes my daughter just relays messages from my son (as he sits and relaxes in MY RECLINER!)...but my daughter calls me at least once every day....what I meant was finally the month changed and we had more minutes! and they were calling after 9 o'clock and no more roaming charges. So if you wanna.. feel sorry for me, feel sorry for my bill...

Actually I called them while they were at the Raskell Flatts concert...so they could hear the steel drum music from our concert here that was to get back at my son for his wasting MY cell minutes dialing Angie, his sister and me and having us listen to his Elton John concert a few months back

Well, gotta get ready, Angie is walking the dogs on her morning 3 miler...then we are heading to a farmers market in town...

HAVE A GREAT WEEK-END LADIES...Gary

Here are some pictures of the house. They are BIG, I realize, but I am still trying to figure out how to use Photobucket.



As you can see, furniture and decor is at a minimum. We still have plenty of time for that.

THANKS, EVERYBODY!!

Thanks for all the Birthday greetings! Look at my siggy!! Sunny made it for me and I LOVE it!! THANK-YOU SUNNY!!!!

My birthday was awesome! There were around 20 people out at mom and dad's (family and friends) - the day was hot and muggy, but we still had a great time! Had something happen that made 3 of us DETERMINED to lose weight! My dad has a pontoon boat that seats quite a few people. Well, my friend and her hubby were in front on one side and they are large and the other side were some friends that are not really large. Anyway, the door flew open by where they were sitting and I got up from the back of the boat and went to close the door. Well by that time a huge wave came up at the front of the boat and with my added 310 pounds up there the front end sunk UNDER WATER!!! It was so scary! The water actually forced open the front door and poured in!! Luckily it's next to impossible to sink a pontoon boat but my son, Michael, was driving the boat and the rest of the people were guests - my dh and dad were not on the boat and they know more about boats than the rest of us do - OMIGOSH - my friend and I decided to DEFINITELY keep trying to lose this weight! She doesn't even swim and was scared to death!

The boat dried out and we were all fine except for an adrenaline headache - sigh - we will ALL remember this 50th birthday! My poor son was yelling, "Mom!! Too much weight!!"

Well, tomorrow we bring Abbi to Bible Camp that is 2 1/2 hours away. She can't wait!

Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI!!

I'm happy to hear you had a good birthday even if you had more exitement than you had anticipated. Someday you'll laugh at it.

Gary: It's great to hear from you again. I do look forward to seeing those pics. They didn't come through for me. Glad to hear you're able to communicate with your kids and not have it cost you so much. You have a great relationship with them and it's plain to see that they miss you too!

Michele: You and my future DIL have Harry Potter in common. She went out to buy the book this a.m. and we haven't heard from her since. She's in her apartment reading. WIth it being so hot and humid out here these days it's the perfect activity.

Sunny: How was the wedding? I too feel bad for them when it's do hot and humid out. It's that way here too. At least when our kids get married it'll have cooled down a little. They want to take pics outdoors so hopefully it'll be a nice day for that.

Thanks to those who were praying for me last week. My week at work went pretty well. Next week will be just as bad so I covet your prayers for then. I am short 3 employees so it'll mean extra jobs for me to do so I'll be at work really early. My inlaws are coming on Monday for a visit so I have the extra stress of planning meals when just a sandwich would do me. They are easy to have here but it's still extra stress.

Today was a really nice day. DH had been gone all week so it was great to spend time together. We cleaned up a bit in the yard and got rid of some stuff around the house that we wanted to give away. Then I got some things ready for next week for meals. It was a nice day.

This evening we went to visit an old aunt who has just this week been placed in a nursing home and is having trouble adjusting to the change. She was so glad that we had come.

Tomorrow we have church and then in the evening we will be visiting with DH's cousin who is home from Spain where she's a missionary. It should be a good time.

Have a great night!

oops...not sure what happened to the pics...ANGIE SAID SHE PREVIWED THEM AND THEY WERE FINE...oh, well...maybe later..

Lori--A BIRTHDAY YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!

GOOD MORNING!!

I just love all you guys! I feel like I'm home when I'm here! Thanks for all the sweet words about our scare on the boat. But we are all laughing about it already! We decided that it's too bad we didn't have a video camera rolling because we may have been a finalist on Funniest Home Videos!!

MITCHYPOO: DEFINITELY Praying for your friend, Charlie. May our Lord heal his wounds and give him Peace.

SUNNY: The siggys are DARLING! I LOVE them all! THANKS so much!! And thanks also for the prayers to lose weight - I miss out on so much and my kids are so young to not have mommy participate in things - I KNOW with God's help I CAN conquer this!

GARY: I noticed you are from Calif. but get the impression you are not there now. Are you on an extended vacation somewhere? Just curious!

WILMA: Have a GREAT visit with your inlaws!

We are off to take Abbi to Bible Camp! She will be there until next Saturday! Hope she does okay! She's somewhat of a mama's girl, so we'll see!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Love,

July 17


2 Timothy 2:5
And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.


Susan lay looking up at the ceiling in her hospital room. She couldn't believe everything had turned out as it did. Jill had promised the pills were safe and that she would lose weight fast. All the pills had done were to make her violently ill and land her in the hospital. Shortcuts are not the answer. God has given us willpower and a miraculous body that repairs itself if we give it the chance. Dieting doesn't require chemicals or radical exercising. Dieting requires mastery over our base desires and our selfish natures. Rely on God. We need nothing else.
Today's thought: God can do more to help me than anything else I could find!

July 17, 2005

Forgiven


Read:
Psalm 130


There is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. —Psalm 130:4


Bible In One Year: Isaiah 31-33

God is highly dangerous. We are sinful and He is holy. Sin can no more exist in the presence of God than darkness can exist in the presence of light. To stand before Him in self-righteousness would be to invite our destruction. The psalmist wrote, "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Psalm 130:3).

In a cemetery not far from New York City is a headstone engraved with a single word: Forgiven. The message is simple and unembellished. There is no date of birth, no date of death, no epitaph. There is only a name and the solitary word forgiven. But that is the greatest word that could ever be applied to any man or woman, or that could be written on any gravestone.

The songwriter said, "There is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared" (v.4). That refrain echoes in both the Old and New Testaments. God is honored and worshiped because He alone can clear our record.

If God could not forgive us, we could only flee from Him in terror. Yet the God whose holiness threatens us is the God who through Christ redeems us. This dangerous God offers forgiveness for all our sins. We only need to ask Him.

Are you forgiven? —Haddon Robinson


How blest is he whose trespass
Has freely been forgiven,
Whose sin is wholly covered
Before the sight of heaven. —Psalter

Sin invites judgment; confession ensures forgiveness.

GOOD EVENING LADIES

Boy it is hot here ...fixin' to turn on the air conditioning. We are not sure how $$$$ it is costing us...we don't have air in Oceanside...would only use it a few times a year...it is in the high 70's there today...we beat that by over 20 degrees Of course my daughter was yp at a tennis tournament in LA..much hotter there she said.

Went to church, took the puppies over to the area next to us that they will be building homes on....after the streets and utilities are in...it is pretty much 100 feet from my front door, over the paved trail and canal...then....miles of open land...er...dirt for them to run wild...they were tired...but happy

We went and saw CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY today too. I enjoyed it and so did Angie and Ron. I don't remember much about the first one other than the general idea...Angie has read the book too and had no complaints.

Angie is still trying to figure how to post larger pictures and why her's disappeared. Tomorrow for sure (?)

SUNNY Sorry about the wedding. I hope you had the energy to get to the BBQ. Where 'bouts in California is Joe's family from? As I get older I sure see how the weather can zapp our energy. Prayers for your health!

MICHELE PRAYERS for your friend Charlie! So sad I hope you liked the movie too!

WILMA Here is an easy and good recipe for you to make your in-laws:

Take chopped onion and garlic and saute...(we use 1 onion and LOTS of minced garlic)

Add fresh chopped tomatoes and fresh chopped basil and cook just enough to warm through..(we use about 4 roma tomatoes and a small bunch of basil)

Add this to a pound of cooked linguine and mix

Add 8 pieces of chopped bacon (we use turkey bacon)

Then add (your desired amount of olive oil) and mix through

After dishing on plate add your parmasean cheese

ENJOY...a great light...yet MEATY... Gary and boys~~bacon!


GALS this really is quite a quick, tasty and easy dish for that summer heat

LORI Abbi will be fine!! But will you? OK~ Here is my story...I live in California, Oceanside...about 40 miles north of San Diego...Angie and I had a house built in a development in Kennewick, Washington a few months ago. We came up for a few months this summer...I was possibly going to stay...NOT NOW...and Angie was going to go home for another year of teaching and her daughter graduates high school this year...our 14 yr. old nephew will go wherever we do as we are his guardians...my kids....son 24 and daughter 22 are staying for now in our home...both have good jobs and don't intend to move with us...I am probably going back home next week or so and go back to work....I decided before I left home a little over a month ago that I won't stay without Angie and the kids. Then our plan (as of the moment) is to come back up next summer...stay for 2 years and decide if we want to relocate here.
We love the are and people so far...our concerns of course are the winters, although they are mild for most folks...it is alot colder than we are used to...and of course I might not be able to be away from my kids...Angie's daughter wants to live in Germany so for her (if she does), it really doesn't matter where we live. $$$ if it works here we are better off...could be our BIGGEST MISTAKE ever...we shall see...

SPROUT I hope all is well.

Well, off to walk the mutts again...

Havew a great week ladies...Gary

I am trying once again to upload pictures of our house. Don't know what happened last time - everything looked fine when I previewed my post

front of house


kitchen


view of fireplace and dining nook