Thursday, April 17, 2008
In Awe of God's Creation
Hello Again,
You'll see the picts from Puerto Rico above. Everyplace I go, whether here in the States or abroad, I am in awe of the beautiful earth and the creatures that fill it. God has such an incredible imagination. Beauty, detail, and purpose for each created thing. He truly is an amazing God, and I'm thankful for the opportunities to explore His creation.
I actually didn't take too many pictures in Puerto Rico; and although we saw some great conches and starfish while snorkeling, we didn't see any fish. The water was a bit murkey from a recent storm so visabilty was not at it's best.
There is no lack of Iguanas in Puerto Rico, they are run over on the roads like skunks up north or possums in the south. On my horse back trip through the foothills of the El Yonke Rain forest we came across a guy out riding with his dogs following along, and one of them had captured an iguana and was carrying it around. It was not dead, but they play dead when attacked. That iguana actually survived but it may have been injured to the point that it would die.
The country side we rode in was beautiful. The horses we rode were Pasofinos which are known for their smooth trotting gait and were brought over originally by Christopher Columbus. They really were a pleasure to ride.
We did take a trip into Old San Juan, no pictures though because I left my camera in the car. This area is quite historical dating back to Columbus (Christobol Colon) as they call him. Also, some pirate history. The old fort is still there along the coast.
The weather there is pretty warm but the trade winds constantly blow so you do not really get too hot. The humidity is high so you do feel a bit sticky, but all in all it is very pleasant weather.
I am glad to be home and since I've been home I've been working in the yard, planting my little garden, hanging baskets etc... I've been trying to take meals to a friend of mine here who is laid up and not knowing if her life will be prolonged by surgery or if she will be soon going home to be with the Lord. She is a really dear lady who always has a smile in spite of her constant discomfort. You might pray for her and her husband. Her name is Tana. We have some things in common, in that we both lost our husbands to cancer after long marriages and that we both remarried and moved to San Diego and both of us have made a switch from rural life to city.
Spiritually, I am working on learning the secret to being content in any and every situation, and that is that; whether in poverty or wealth, sickness or health, sorrow or joy, if you've been wronged or blessed, WHATEVER situation because Paul says ANY and EVERY, the secret is that you CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Even forgive when you don't feel like it. You just make the choice to do what's right and if you do it through Jesus, He gives you the strength, and contentment follows soon after. Phillipians 4:11-13
I love you all!
Mom, AKA Leslie, Ruthie, Grandma
You'll see the picts from Puerto Rico above. Everyplace I go, whether here in the States or abroad, I am in awe of the beautiful earth and the creatures that fill it. God has such an incredible imagination. Beauty, detail, and purpose for each created thing. He truly is an amazing God, and I'm thankful for the opportunities to explore His creation.
I actually didn't take too many pictures in Puerto Rico; and although we saw some great conches and starfish while snorkeling, we didn't see any fish. The water was a bit murkey from a recent storm so visabilty was not at it's best.
There is no lack of Iguanas in Puerto Rico, they are run over on the roads like skunks up north or possums in the south. On my horse back trip through the foothills of the El Yonke Rain forest we came across a guy out riding with his dogs following along, and one of them had captured an iguana and was carrying it around. It was not dead, but they play dead when attacked. That iguana actually survived but it may have been injured to the point that it would die.
The country side we rode in was beautiful. The horses we rode were Pasofinos which are known for their smooth trotting gait and were brought over originally by Christopher Columbus. They really were a pleasure to ride.
We did take a trip into Old San Juan, no pictures though because I left my camera in the car. This area is quite historical dating back to Columbus (Christobol Colon) as they call him. Also, some pirate history. The old fort is still there along the coast.
The weather there is pretty warm but the trade winds constantly blow so you do not really get too hot. The humidity is high so you do feel a bit sticky, but all in all it is very pleasant weather.
I am glad to be home and since I've been home I've been working in the yard, planting my little garden, hanging baskets etc... I've been trying to take meals to a friend of mine here who is laid up and not knowing if her life will be prolonged by surgery or if she will be soon going home to be with the Lord. She is a really dear lady who always has a smile in spite of her constant discomfort. You might pray for her and her husband. Her name is Tana. We have some things in common, in that we both lost our husbands to cancer after long marriages and that we both remarried and moved to San Diego and both of us have made a switch from rural life to city.
Spiritually, I am working on learning the secret to being content in any and every situation, and that is that; whether in poverty or wealth, sickness or health, sorrow or joy, if you've been wronged or blessed, WHATEVER situation because Paul says ANY and EVERY, the secret is that you CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Even forgive when you don't feel like it. You just make the choice to do what's right and if you do it through Jesus, He gives you the strength, and contentment follows soon after. Phillipians 4:11-13
I love you all!
Mom, AKA Leslie, Ruthie, Grandma
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Cabo
As you can see by these pictures, we experienced another beautiful part of God's creation. We sat by the ocean watching whales right off of the beach. In fact, we tried swimming with them, and I did get some in the water video coverage, but nothing close enough to call good. We had a wonderful time snorkeling, the water was a bit cold so we were glad we brought our wetsuits. We also ran into a little "wild" burro he was so sweet. I jumped out of the car to see if he would be friendly and he was, only I had no food to give him as a reward form his friendliness, which I'm sure that is what he was hoping. We took a drive and saw some beautiful beaches as you can see from the pictures. The hotel that LPL put us up at was landscaped so wonderfully, that it was an enjoyable experience just looking at it all.
The highlight of the conference was hearing Tony Snow speak, and for Bill, getting his picture taken with him. Bill told him: "my wife and I are Christians and just want you to know that we will be praying for you" (about his cancer) and Tony's reply was: " I am a Christian also, it is the most important thing in my life, and I thank you." Cool...He was an outstanding speaker.
We had a lovely Easter celebration with Mom and Dad, Jer and Jess and some friends from our Bible Study, the Hawkins. How wonderful our hope of eternity because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I need to be ready to leave to go to Puerto Rico tomorrow so I've got to get with it. Hopefully, I'll have some great picts to share.
Love to all, Mom, AKA Ruthie,Leslie,Grandma,Aunt Leslie
The highlight of the conference was hearing Tony Snow speak, and for Bill, getting his picture taken with him. Bill told him: "my wife and I are Christians and just want you to know that we will be praying for you" (about his cancer) and Tony's reply was: " I am a Christian also, it is the most important thing in my life, and I thank you." Cool...He was an outstanding speaker.
We had a lovely Easter celebration with Mom and Dad, Jer and Jess and some friends from our Bible Study, the Hawkins. How wonderful our hope of eternity because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I need to be ready to leave to go to Puerto Rico tomorrow so I've got to get with it. Hopefully, I'll have some great picts to share.
Love to all, Mom, AKA Ruthie,Leslie,Grandma,Aunt Leslie
Monday, March 24, 2008
Still Catching Up - Idaho trip
WAITING........
WAITING.....
PACKAGE DELIVERED! Another beautiful grand daughter. Of course, this is old news to anyone who reads Lani's blog, because it happened a month ago! (Thus, the continued title to my blog called "Catching Up") I had such a good visit with the Campbells while I stayed with them and helped during the "help out the new mommy stage." It was a delight to see the other kids react to the new baby sister, so sweet and precious, their faces filling with wonder as they touch and kiss and stare at the new baby sister. And my eyes could not help but fill with tears as I watched another miracle be born into this world, God is so amazing!
I also got to spend a little time with the Valentine grandchildren. In fact we all got together for a very special "Miner's Party" where we went digging for treasures in the snow. I had a wonderful time with them, they are such a joy to me. I just want them to see the Lord in everything and point their little lives in His direction and have them choose to walk faithfully on His path, hiding God's Word in their hearts.
Bill came on up for a weekend to welcome the beautiful Lilah Rose, and took the opportunity to go out for dinner with my brothers and my sis. We had a really good visit and it was just plain fun to get together. We don't do it often anymore, so it's nice to get caught up every now and then with family.
One more blog post telling you about our trip to Cabo should get me caught up. But we leave for Puerto Rico day after tomorrow, so, to REALLY be caught up, I have to post BEFORE I leave.....will it actually happen?....stay tuned. I love you all!
May our Ressurected Lord, bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Catching Up
It's going to take me a couple of posts to get caught up. So, I'll start back in February. Bill and I finally got together with some friends and made an overnight trip to Ensenada, Mexico. We had a really nice time, stayed at a lovely botique hotel called Casa Natalie and basically just enjoyed the ocean view, the good food and the great company. This is a picture of us, eating of course, with Randy and Nora. 
Right after that we had to make an unexpected trip to Texas, as Bill's Grandmother had died and Bill went to be a pall bearer with some of his many cousins. It was a pretty short trip, but we had a great visit. His Uncle Sol and Sol's daughters came over to Freda's and we had a fun singing session, which I enjoyed very much, it was a neat family time. I'll tell you what, those Texans sure make a LOT of food! They have dinners at lunch time and then dinners at dinner! This is Bill and his brother Eldon.
We've had a lot of rain this winter and San Diego is beautifully green with lots of spring flowers in bloom right now. I have beets growing in my garden and will soon be planting tomatoes and peppers and corn etc... I have a very little garden and will post a picture some time in the future.
*A follow up to my last post....It looks like both Bill and I will be attending the griefshare counseling, they recommended we do it as a couple. I have to say, that although I haven't started yet, I feel a relief with a hope of actually taking a step forward. I thank you for your prayers.
Love to all....Next catching up post will be my trip to I-dee-hoe.
Mom, AKA Ruthie, Leslie, Grandma, Aunt Leslie
Monday, March 17, 2008
Blog Delinquincy Syndrome
Wow, it's been over a month since I last posted. I have a lot to catch you all up on. From my trip to Idaho to witness the birth of our latest granddaughter, Lilah Rose, to our trip to Cabo, Mexico. But, I'm afraid I'll have to do that yet in the future, since today does not work for me. Instead, I'm asking for prayer. I think I have made the decision to join a griefshare group. I have a hard time sharing what's going on with me, because I don't really know.
I know everyone thinks that I remarried, that I'm living a charmed life in San Diego and everything is hunky-dorry. But, the fact is that my problems are affecting our marriage and I need to get over them. I'm afraid that my grief isn't just over the stuff I went though with Larry, but also the choices I made that caused further loss. Loss of my "life as I knew it", my home,my family, grandkids, my familiar routines, friends and trying to adjust at the same time to all the newness here and a new husband. Now, I knew all of this, and thought I was handeling it. But it is almost 5 years now since Larry went to be with the Lord and I am still struggling with....well, I'll just call it stuff. God has been so good to me and such a help to me, I'm so independent and have been trying to work everything out on my own. But I think that the Lord is showing me that I need help. I have been walking with the Lord, have been journaling a lot, reading God’s word and being in prayer on a regular basis. God is my refuge and my strength, but just this last week, as I prayed and asked God to be my Counselor and give me counsel and help from my daily reading; the scripture I was on was the time that Amalek had attacked the Israelites in the wilderness and Aaron and Hur had to hold up Moses’ arms to the Lord and be his support so that Israel could prevail; I felt that God was telling me that I need the support of others. So I prayed for the right people to support me. Then a couple of days later I read about the time that Jethro came and gave Moses counsel and wisdom on how to deal with the large group he was daily judging….Moses wasn’t seeing the need for counsel, but God sent it to him because God saw the need. You know the story…Exodus 18, I wrote in my journel: “ Lord, you meet the needs and come to the rescue even before we ourselves realize the need. Sometimes, I think we are so close and involved that we fail to see objectively. But, if we are following you, we can be sure that you will send us wise counsel.. Lord- I continue to ask you for the support and counsel I need.”
This morning I went on our church's website and looked up our griefshare ministry. I think that this is the counsel that the Lord is leading me to. It is a nationwide program, there is one at real life also. It's hard for me to go and hard for me to admit that I need it. But I am admitting and asking for your prayers.
My next blog will be more fun, I promise.
Love, Mom
I know everyone thinks that I remarried, that I'm living a charmed life in San Diego and everything is hunky-dorry. But, the fact is that my problems are affecting our marriage and I need to get over them. I'm afraid that my grief isn't just over the stuff I went though with Larry, but also the choices I made that caused further loss. Loss of my "life as I knew it", my home,my family, grandkids, my familiar routines, friends and trying to adjust at the same time to all the newness here and a new husband. Now, I knew all of this, and thought I was handeling it. But it is almost 5 years now since Larry went to be with the Lord and I am still struggling with....well, I'll just call it stuff. God has been so good to me and such a help to me, I'm so independent and have been trying to work everything out on my own. But I think that the Lord is showing me that I need help. I have been walking with the Lord, have been journaling a lot, reading God’s word and being in prayer on a regular basis. God is my refuge and my strength, but just this last week, as I prayed and asked God to be my Counselor and give me counsel and help from my daily reading; the scripture I was on was the time that Amalek had attacked the Israelites in the wilderness and Aaron and Hur had to hold up Moses’ arms to the Lord and be his support so that Israel could prevail; I felt that God was telling me that I need the support of others. So I prayed for the right people to support me. Then a couple of days later I read about the time that Jethro came and gave Moses counsel and wisdom on how to deal with the large group he was daily judging….Moses wasn’t seeing the need for counsel, but God sent it to him because God saw the need. You know the story…Exodus 18, I wrote in my journel: “ Lord, you meet the needs and come to the rescue even before we ourselves realize the need. Sometimes, I think we are so close and involved that we fail to see objectively. But, if we are following you, we can be sure that you will send us wise counsel.. Lord- I continue to ask you for the support and counsel I need.”
This morning I went on our church's website and looked up our griefshare ministry. I think that this is the counsel that the Lord is leading me to. It is a nationwide program, there is one at real life also. It's hard for me to go and hard for me to admit that I need it. But I am admitting and asking for your prayers.
My next blog will be more fun, I promise.
Love, Mom
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