Surprise...I thought a WHOLE year had passed since I last blogged...I managed to write twice this year now!!   Still not sure how time can seriously pass by so fast!

Last December I set a goal for myself....to send Birthday & Anniversary greetings to all brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neices, nephews that I have dates for....some of which I have had to do a bit of search & rescue to obtain!!  I have managed to make it thru November 2012 and soon to be on December!!  I have great enjoyment creating the cards instead of buying them!  Not super professional looking but have definitely improved since beginning this project!!  Thank goodness for pintrest and new ideas to help me expand on or borrow an idea!

My next goal was to begin reading the Bible from begining to end in a year.  I did not set that goal until later in the year so have not accomplished that goal as of yet...and it is going slower than planned!!  I am loving re-reading the stories I learned as a child...and discovering new things God has in mind for me to learn along the way!!

I have now decided to set myself yet another goal...to write at least once a month on my blog...we shall see how I do there!!  I totally love reading my sister and several neices blogs...seeing what the great neices & nephews are doing and the wonderfully cute things they say and do-pictures are awesome!  Even if we do not talk often, this keeps me up with their growing little people!! 


This has been the year of goal setting for me personally-maybe not big or important to anyone else, but myself.

I have yet another goal in mind but not ready to share it yet!!  You will have to stay tuned!!

First Day of Spring!

Tomorrow is the First Day of Spring!!!!!   WOW!!  I have not posted since the first day of FALL!!!!!  Time flies when we are having fun!!!  First day of spring...our 41st anniversary!!!  What a loving God we have...I am sooo thankful for the husband He has blessed my life with. LOVE this man so much! Looking forward to many more blessed years together!! Time to clean up the yard...flowers are peeking thru the dead leaves!!!  Heather, pansies, crocus are already in bloom.  Daffodils and tulips are not far behind. Still pretty chilly out yet...a few  days in 60s but not many yet!  LOTS of wind...just about every day since the end of February has been windy. Ready for some gentle, warm breezes!!!

First Day of Fall

Ready for a break from the summer weeding but so no ready to give up our flowers yet!!

Day Cruise on Lake Washington

A day on Lake Washington with good friends.....the Horns, the Dunns, and the Towers. Once again was a wonderful day of cruising on the water....what a time of peacefulness!!! We all brought food and had a delicious meal & great snacks/desserts!! Jim even let Gary pilot the yacht!! He loved it and we hassled him some!!

"self-protrait"-near University of Washington....Husky Stadium in background.
Beautiful scenery, gorgeous homes....a couple of homes we passed were the home of Bill Gates, Paul Allen and the floating house on the movie of "Sleepless In Seattle". Passed by the Seahawks training camp also!

"The gang"...Joyce, Susan, Jim, Carol, Deb, Gary, & Earl-Jim was taking the picture! Had a wonderful salmon dinner prepared by Susan!
End of the day....Lake Union heading to the dock. Great day!!!!!

Sweet Sixteen, Hannah!!!!!

Celebrating our grandaughter, Hannah's 16th birthday!! And what a celebration it was!! She had a wonderful time!! Family & friends came to help celebrate-all had a great time!! An evening of fun, food, dancing ....just plain fun partying!! Your friends are awesome!! Can hardly believe 16 years have gone by so very quickly!! We are so very proud of you, Hannah....it is a blessing and priviledge to be your grandparents!! We are thankful God allowed us to have you as our grandaughter. Happy Birthday...we love you!!

Begninng of Fall!!!!

Cannot believe I have not blogged since March!!!! What a sizzlin' summer....and I am NOT talking about the temperature!!!! This was one of the coolest summers we have had in a long time. Seldom used the airconditioner!!! The sizzlin' had to do with grillin' & gatherin' at the Chandler household every weekend!!! Loved it!! Fall.....my favorite season of the year!! I love my flowers-so thankful God blessed us with His colorful handiwork in flowers- but really love fall!! These pictures were taken the first day of fall....won't be long and they will freeze & wilt, looking horrible. That will be a sad day!!! Last year they lasted thru the 1st of November....maybe they will again this year?!?! Can always hope!!

Heartaches.....Miracles

My heart aches for my daughter and her husband......wanting a baby so very much and miscarrying over and over again is extremely heart wrenching. It is a helpless feeling of wanting to "fix things" for them but knowing I cannot do so......so I offer the best I can.....praying for the healing of their hearts & Gods perfect peace to surround them as they once again walk this difficult path. I continue to claim, Jeremiah 29:11.....His plans ARE for good and not for evil. We do not understand His ways but can trust He does know best for us even when we cannot understand and feel life is just not fair. This has not been a month of good news....another family friend has learned he has cancer and must endure 6 weeks of daily chemo & radiation. We lift them up also to the throne of our Heavenly father , the great Healer. In the midst of the difficult times.....we learn that Derrek has been matched with 40.....not 1 but 40 donars for bone marrow!!!! Miracles DO happen!!!! The process continues and soon he will be in Seattle for the transplant!! What an amazing community we have....Lisa & Sandy put together a fund raiser-almost 600 turned out, raising close to $30,000 for the Beaches! We can only give HIM the glory!!!

Answered Prayer

Answered prayer.......our friend Derek is in remission!!!!!! He will need to go thru another "round" of chemo to help keep him there and very soon have a bone marrow transplant. Now we need to pray for a match!! We are so grateful.....thank you, Lord for your healing hand and great mercy!!

Precious Blessings

We are going to be grandparents again!!!!!! Our daughter is expecting in October. We trust God for His protection for both Lisa and baby as the days go by. We pray that all will go well this time, that mommy and daddy will have His perfect peace as each day of this pregnancy gives hope that all is going well. They will go to a specialist in Spokane next week. We can only trust that God is in control of all things...He knows best in all cirucmstances of our lives.....we rest in His peace and care.

Storms of Life

Sometimes God calms the storm....sometimes He calms us. Peace.....God gives peace in the midst of the storms of life. Right now our friends are going thru a storm. Our hearts are aching. Our friend Derek has recently been diagnosed with acute lukemia. Things have not gone terribly smooth but God has given them His perfect peace as only He can give. The storm is far from over but God has blessed them abundantly time and time again, drawing them closer and closer to Him. The storm has deeply affected our daughter & her husband and their children as they are close friends with Derek, Brenda & their family. We know God holds them in the palm of His hand...we trust Him and pray for His healing hand upon Derek, asking for a miracle.