Just Day-to-Day Stuff

 Good morning,

 

I'm writing this on my day off so it is actually morning! There's nothing major going on around here just little, normal day to day stuff.

 

Allison made crepes for us on Mother's Day, she did such a great job! She and Sharaya had sliced strawberries, blueberries, nutella, chocolate chips... everything was so good!

 

 

The girls went together and got me a print that reads The Anderson Family and it's got all of our birth flowers. I haven't hung it yet but it's going to go great in the dining room. I love it.

 

After lunch we headed outside for some pictures. Always my favorite part of the day!

Sharaya, her daughter Allison, Me and Beth

 

 

Look at her! She's almost as tall as Sharaya!

Diana's family is on the East coast but she sent me this one. Peter took it of her and Adelaide. So cute!

 

 

After Sharaya and Ally left, Chuck, Beth and I went walking up at Hickman Park again. We drove there and started walking together but then we each ended up walking at our own pace. Separately but together. It worked out really nice. I think we each did 4 laps around the park. 

 

 

I don't know if you can you see Beth in this picture. 

Sort of the middle right, above the bicycle. She's wearing a red shirt.

 

Beth and I did our usual grocery shopping after work on Thursday and when we got to our meeting spot she showed me that she only had two things of junk food: one package of licorice (last week was two) and one share size (not family size) of M&Ms. I told her I was so proud of her and that she had made some great choices. You could tell she was excited.

 

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, our church is gearing up for our Pentecost Sunday celebration. We have a lot of people born in other nations that will carry their flag in a 'parade' through the Sanctuary. One by one they stand at the microphone and declare that their nation "exalts the name of the Lord!" It's pretty emotional when you realize this is what heaven will be like! Every people, nation, tribe and tongue will spend eternity worshiping the Lord together! (No judgements, no hate.) After service, we're having 10 food trucks in the parking lot serving food from China, Mexico, Thailand, India, Sweden... It's one of the biggest celebrations of the year for us!

 

I don't know how many nations will be represented on Sunday but the flags wrap all the way around the foyer!

 

 

 

That's about it from here. I'm picking Ally up from school today then will head to Penney's to return a pair of jeans, and maybe do a little shopping at Kohls. Have a great weekend!

Crumbl, Sneak Attack, and Worldwide

Have you ever had Crumbl Cookies? Oh my these things are so good! The girls bought some a few months ago and now they check the menu weekly. We usually get some about once a month. These things are so soft and the selection is so unique... seemingly infinite... and the options change every week. They have the usual's like chocolate chip, peanut butter, but they also have -

Cotton Candy

Carmel Apple

Biscoff Lava

Raspberry Cheesecake

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Berries and Cream...

 

 

 

And they're huge! We'll sometimes buy these on family game night and then cut them into fourths so we all get to taste a few of them. We've probably been eating these way more than we should!

 

Ally was playing volleyball with the Boys and Girls Club this spring and the season ended last night. It was so good to watch the girls and see just how much they improved since their very first game. She told me she'd like to be on the team in middle school, which she will be in this fall! Middle School! Hard to believe. Now I have to take a little trip down Memory Lane...

 

This was her graduation picture from preschool.

 Okay, back to volleyball. :)

 

She got an award for the best Sneak Attack. She's quiet but she hits the ball hard! And she's getting really good at serving! Sharaya's a coach, and Ally's waiting for the next rotation so she can play.

We celebrated Pentecost Sunday this weekend. There were close to 60 nations represented in the parade of flags, each person who carried a flag was born in that country. Then a gathering of every person who attends our church who was born in a different country.

 

These are from first and second service.

 

Our pastor tells them we'll never truly understand the obstacles they faced to get to America, and after they arrived, but they are loved and welcomed. It's an emotional day for everyone!

Heaven on Earth

When we were heading to the airport a couple weeks ago I opened the front door and Ally was behind me, then Sharaya, Chuck, we had our luggage... and I whispered, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" 

One of the baby birds was perched precariously on the edge of the nest! I put down my suitcase and tried to get my phone to take a picture but he flew away. The other birds were hunkered deep down in the nest and I knew by the time I got back from Pennsylvania they'd all be gone.

And I was right. The nest was on the ground and there were leftover twigs and sticks hanging from the wreath. The Junko family has moved out. It sure was fun watching them grow!

Sharaya and Ally came over for dinner on Saturday. After we ate we played Uno, and then went out back to sit and talk and play some more.

 

Sunday we celebrated Pentecost. We had food trucks out in the parking lot for people to have lunch after church which meant me and my crew arrived at 7:30am to cone off the parking lot and set up the round tables and chairs. It was a very early start but it is one of my favorite Sundays of the whole year! We have many Internationals at our church and they each carry a flag from the country they were born in. One by one they walk through the Sanctuary and then they go up on the platform and say, "Vietnam exalts the name of the Lord!" "Nigeria exalts the name of the Lord!" But they say it in their native tongue. Nation after nation after nation, there isn't a dry eye in the place by the time it's over!

Waiting in the foyer for their cue to start

A friend of mine took this picture

People wear their national dress. The church is filled with so many nations, tribes and tongues. It truly is heaven on earth.

Saturday Snippets

Our church held it's annual Pentecost Sunday celebration last weekend. Usually in the Sanctuary one person carries the flag and everyone else born in that country walks with them but we had to do it a little differently due to Covid-19. But we still got to gather outside and celebrate! It was the first time our church had been together since March 8th! There was so much honking and yelling "Hi!! It's so good to see you!" to each other!

We drove up to Sequim to have our family photos taken before Diana heads back home. Sharaya and Diana found a beautiful area to take them and Sharaya brought her tripod and her 'real' camera, she said we got some great shots! Now she's editing...

 

Chuck had his first infusion this week. We got to the hospital at 7:30am and met with the doctor to look over the most recent scans and talk about the treatments.

Then we met with the Nurse Practitioner to discuss side effects, what to look for, when to call the doctor, etc.

Then we headed back for the infusion, they put in an IV and started the process. It was the tiniest bag of medicine but it took 45 minutes to administer. 

We walked out at around noon. 

 

He's had no side effects and is planning to go back to work next week. Thank you Lord!