BLESSINGS AND MORE BLESSINGS!

I am freezing!  Our house is cold.  It is a beautiful blue sky but it has been chilly outside. I can't complain because 34 years ago it was pouring rain!!! It was on our wedding day!  We were married in Miller Bay Clubhouse in a small ceremony with our friends and family.  It was so nice.

These are some of my favorite pictures with the kids, me dancing with my dad and my parents dancing, Jeff toasting "Here's to the biggest Black family in Kingston". I think we were except Kevon and Karla were Ellis.  I watch the movie back and it really was a wonderful day, despite the rain.
They say it is good luck for it to rain on your wedding day! So there.

So, last week was a good week.  Brad changed our oil in the car.  It was such a relief for Lanny to have it done!!!!  He is more like a son to us than a son in law.  We love him.

We heard from the insurance and we will only be getting just over $3,900 for my van.  We got an estimate on what it would cost to repair it and with everything plus the labor... we would be looking at over $9,000.  Ouch. It would be worth it to me emotionally but not financially.  We have Lanny's car to drive for now and I don't even know if I need one.  But we'll wait and see what the Lord wants for us.  I can't stress about it.

I got my new land line phones on Tuesday.  Took a while but they are awesome!  They work great.  One thing I like is when we are gone it calls my cell phone to tell me my message left on my home phone.  How cool is that?  I amuse easy.

Lauren has been driving with Papa every day to and from school.  He let her drive to our house too.  She doesn't have her dad here to teach her so he has taken the responsibility.  He is a good papa. She loves driving.

Madi started drivers ed last week.  I am so excited for her!  She turns 16 in July and that is when she'll be able to get her license.  Riley completed drivers training and she will get her license next month. Lauren starts drivers ed in January and will probably get hers right after her birthday.  What an exciting time in these girls lives.  We will be praying and trusting the Lord just like we did with our kids.

I got my mammogram on Wednesday.  The hardest part is walking all the way in there because it hurts my back so much.  And during the test I have to take breaks and sit on a stool.  But it is over for this year.

My niece turned 20 yesterday!  I remember when she couldn't wait to turn 18.  I love her so much!  She has always been so sweet and good to me. Even when I am nosey with her!  I've always felt kind of protective over her and her sister.  Isn't she beautiful????

Yesterday was also Don and Heather's 16th anniversary.  The years flew by it seems!  They have done a great job with their family!  I am proud of both of them and so happy to see the love they all share.  It really touches my heart!  Their wedding was beautiful. Here are the pictures. Parker and Patrick were little guys and such a cute part of the wedding! Don became their dad long before he officially adopted them and has been amazing ever since!  He is their dad in every way and the boys love him so much!  As do all of us!

Lauren and Madi spent the night last night.  They always have so much fun together.  We had a seafood dinner of clam chowder, shrimp and fries. It was really good!  Then they disappeared into their bedroom and played games on my computer.  Papa and I could hear them laughing. I love that sound!!!!  This morning they shared the game with me and started laughing all over again.  Papa made Madi her favorite breakfast. Then he took her to her drivers ed class.  Lauren and I played Phase 10 and then I taught her Cribbage. That is a hard game to teach!

Well, I am done for the week. Except my custom is every day in November I post something I am thankful for...or someone.  I would like to share what I have done so far.  Day 1 my blessings from God.  I am thankful for all the blessings God has given us and our family. He has given us good health, love, and everything we could possibly need. I am so thankful!!!!

DAY 2:   My beautiful daughter, Karla, is such an exceptional person. She is so, so smart and always has been. It is exciting when I see others recognize how amazing she is! Besides her brains she is so pretty, caring, and a great mom, wife, sister, and daughter! I love her so much and I am so thankful God gave her to me and the rest of the family! We are blessed!

DAY 3: Our blessing for today is Jordy, our first grand daughter. She was such a blessing after having 3 grandsons! Besides the fact she is beautiful and a sweetie and will always be our princess!

 Day 4: As I write this our son (in law) Brad, is in our garage changing the oil in Papa's car! I think he likes to do for papa and papa really appreciates it. Brad has been in our lives for about 30 years! He has been so fun and caring and a good son, brother, dad and husband he is our blessing today! Thanking God for Brad in our lives!!!!

 DAY 5: Patrick grew up overnight! We are so thankful for the direction God is taking Pat! We are so thankful for the protection He has put around Patrick! Our Pat makes us laugh and we are just so blessed to have him for our grandson! Thank you God!!!!

DAY 6:  Today I am so thankful for our grand daughter Lauren! We have laughed with her, cried with her, and been blessed by her. She is beautiful, funny, smart and we are all thankful she is ours! Thank you, God!!!! 

DAY 7:

Tara, she is our special person on day 7 of blessings. She really is a blessing in our life! She is a great daughter, sister, mom and wife. She does so much for others and is there for us whenever we need her. Love her so much and we thank the Lord for her in our lives!!!!

DAY 8:  Today is filled with thoughts of my grand daughter Madi!!!! This girl makes me laugh so much! She is funny, beautiful, smart and she isn't even aware of it! We love her so much and I thank God that He gifted Karla and Joel with a second child!

DAY 9:  Today I am so thankful for my husband, Lanny M Black! I am so blessed that he loves me so much! I know he would do anything for me and is so funny and I love spending time with him! He is awesome! He is a good papa and dad and husband. Thank you God for this man!!!

DAY 10:  Today I am so blessed for my marriage. We have taken it for granted, damaged it, have forgotten to be thankful... but God has seen us through. We wouldn't be here together today if He didn't love us so much and believe in us more than we believed in ourselves. Thank you, God! Thank you Lanny M Black for hanging in there. Love you!!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND BE BLESSED!!!!

Saturday the 14th ...strange month so far

It is a very quiet Saturday morning. It even stopped raining on our roof outside.  Lauren is asleep on the couch.  Once in a while her phone makes a noise but she doesn't even notice.  Papa is in his chair with his blanket and cat laying on him.  Scruffy is in my lap curled up and Sandy is on the floor snoring.  Sweet morning.  I like these kinds of morning where all is safe and warm.

So much has transpired over this month so far.  Let's see where to begin....
I would love to post my November Thankful List so far!  Enjoy!

DAY #1 The beginning of November....although I am thankful every day of the year November is a special time of the year to truly thank those who have made our lives better! On the 1st of November I want to write how I am so thankful for our family. I know it has been a rough year for some of us and a great year for others. I have learned so much about myself and our kids and grandkids during this time. I learned from my parents unconditional love and I found out I learned well from them. No matter how upset or disappointed I get....my love doesn't change. We have an amazing family. Not perfect. Don't always agree. But I wouldn't change them for anything.

Day 2: I am so thankful and have been since I found out I was having her!Karla Ellis Rogers is such an amazing woman! Great sense of humor, great laugh, great parenting skills, great cook, great friend, great daughter, great sister, great mom, great cat owner, great person who dances to her own drummer, loves who she loves, and is totally loyal and true to those people! God blessed us when Karla was born and she has never stopped being a blessing to me! I love you Karla Jean!!!!! I can never thank you enough, God!

Day 3: I am so thankful for November 3 as this is the day God brought Jordan into our lives! And I am soooo very thankful for Jordy Burdyshaw! She is my princess! I love her laugh, her beauty, her sweetness, her loyalty, her goodness, and every thing else that makes her a princess! Love you Jo! Oh, and happy 18th birthday today!

Day #4 I am thankful for my grandson Pat! He makes me smile, laugh, and worry. He is the most daring and athletic in the family which sometimes results in concussions or casts. But he is so funny and keeps people laughing. And he is so full of love and caring. God had a purpose when creating Patrick and I am so thankful for it! heart emoticon

Day 5: Today I am thankful for our son-in-law, Brad! He married our daughter Tara 23 years ago and they have 2 beautiful daughters! He has always worked hard making sure they had everything they needed and more, being there for them, loving them, coaching them, teaching them, and being the kind of husband and father a parent dreams of for their kids. We are super proud of this man we call our son. Love you, Brad, and so thankful you are in our family and lives! 

Day #6 I am thankful for baby girl. Papa has called her this forever and still does. She will forever be. We've always lived close to them and got to take care of Lauren while her parents worked. Such a pleasure to have her and Madi during the days. Lauren is so smart, pretty, funny, caring, emotional, sensitive and her laugh is great! Through adversity she looks to God. She loves the Lord, loves being on Worship team at her youth group, loves playing basketball, loves spending time shopping with her mom, her dog Sandy, listening to music, and her new bedroom. I love her so much and love to make her laugh. God truly blessed us the day she was born and every day since then. We are so thankful!

Day 7: It took awhile to get to know Joel, Karla's husband. I thought he was quiet and shy. Once you get to know my son-in-law you will find out he is kind, funny, strong, athletic, hard working, a good provider, smart, determined, a great husband for our Karla, amazing dad to Madi and Dylan, he loves hunting, sports,his family, camping, It has been fun getting to know him over the years and I am so happy God brought him into our family to add a little sanity to our craziness. Much love and thanks to Joel! Thanks to God for this special blessing!

Day #8 I am so thankful for Madiloo! She is so affectionate, caring, sweet, funny, sensitive and emotional. She is a hero to me because she tries things I would never try! She participated in a big/little sister beauty pageant 2 years. Got on stage in front of hundreds of people! Another time she got on stage with Ryan Star and sang! She's been in a play/dance of Alice and Wonderland. She is just braver than she knows. She is my little fashionista. She has a great smile, laugh and I adore being around her! God really blessed us all with this little surprise! Thank you God! 

DAY 9

Now this one is complicated.  I had to write by past memories because lately he has been selfish, rude and has walked away from our family.  I wrote my blessing for him and got a hate filled letter back on how I have sided with Amanda, am selfish for wanting Lauren to live up here instead of California with him, and what a horrible person I am who he cannot forgive.  So at this point in our lives.... we love Ryan but since he has walked away and created a new family with his girlfriend and their fam....we have let him go. Life goes on.  Papa says we still have 4. lol! You cannot force people to be in your lives if they don't want to.  He's in a huge midlife crisis, I guess. Remember...this is my blog/diary, I can write what I want. This is what I wrote:

Day #9 Today I am thankful for our son, Ryan. I think back on all the wonderful memories of watching him grow into the man he is now....him saying "But we still have love!" That was the sweetest words I ever heard him say. And it is true. No matter what our family went through...we always had love. And Ryan was the most loving one with his big hugs and sweet nature. I thank God for Ryan and the joy he's brought to our lives. Love you Ry! (Oh, and Lauren helped me pick out these pictures)

Day 10 I am thankful for my husband and the past 31 years of marriage we have shared! He has loved me through so much! He's never given up on me. He's believed when I didn't and brought us through some rough patches. He treats me like his queen. He spoils me. He defends and protects me. He supports me. I know he will always be here. I love him more today than I ever did. He is my heart and life! Thank you God for surrounding my marriage with Your love and being #1 in our lives! Thank you for Lanny! heart emoticon

DAY 11

Day #12 Today I am thankful for our grandson and bundle of energy Joshua Valverde! Talk about a funny kid with a quick wit! He cracks me up. Love his laugh and how he can make everyone smile! We thank God for this boy who is growing up too fast! 

heart emoticonyou Josh!

DAY 13 Today #13 I am thankful for my baby boy Kevon Ellis. He will always be my baby boy. He is also one of my best friends ever. We talk and share everything. I trust him like no other. I know he will always be there for me and loves his mama unconditionally. He is kind, funny, honest, hardworking, fair, caring, generous, smart, handsome, and so much more. Just ask him. lol! I am so thankful to God for the day this boy was brought into our lives. He's awesome and I love him!

DAY 14

Today is my #14 blessing from the Lord and it would be my first grandson,Andrew Black. He has grown into the most incredible man. At 19 years old he has wisdom, faith, and common sense exceeding most adults I know. He calls me every single day, several times a day and we just talk. We talk about everything. He really loves his mam....and I love him! He is so handsome, kind, funny, smart, giving, gracious, loyal, and he is going to make a wonderful pastor, husband and father one day. Love you, bud!

It has been so fun doing these.  Most have really appreciated the time I took and words I wrote.  I speak from my heart.  I love my family very much.  Nothing will change that.

We had some celebrations.  Lauren had her first band concert and did good!  And she just joined the Jazz Band and really loves it.  She plays the tenor sax!  And her band teacher (husband of my friend Kathleen) loves Lauren.  Of course, he loved Alyssa too. 

We had my niece Jessica here for a couple days.  That was nice. We just hung out together having a Harry Potter marathon. lol! Scruffy was in heaven. She loves animals!!!  And we talked quite a bit about things.  She turned 17 on the 9th!  Growing up so fast.

Also the 9th was Don and Heather's wedding anniversary.  They are really a great couple.  You don't meet many couples who are so molded together as they are.... and perfect for one another!

The 9th is also the day two years ago we lost our loved one, Toby.  Still miss that dog so much!!!! Andrew took this picture when he came to say goodbye to Toby.  Cancer is horrible...whether it be pets or humans.

Then on the 10th it was our 31st wedding anniversary.  We went to dinner at Chimicum Cafe the next day. Papa made steak for our anniversary dinner. It was just a wonderful day at home. 

Papa went to visit with his cousin, Dave.  He really enjoys his time over there.  I have thought about joining him but it kind of feels like his time away from me and a special time with his family.  

We're having Thanksgiving dinner here.... looks like me, papa and Kevon.  And football.  Hopefully it will be a very relaxing time. 

Shows how hard it's been raining ...this is Snoqualmie Falls

Beautiful picture of Madi

My great nephew Ryan and his girl.

Happy October.... Dad, Donnie, Ry, Aly and Rita this week alone!

Another Saturday morning!  I made it another week.  I don't think they care about  days of the week in Heaven.  Do you?  Last Monday was the 11th anniversary of my dad going to Heaven.  I will never forget the day I walked into the hospital room and just saw his body...no life in it.  Shocked me, crushed me and changed me.  I will always love and miss him forever and ever!

Today, I am thinking about my nephew, Donnie.  It was several years ago this handsome, kind and wonderful man took his own life.  What a devastating affect it had on our family.  It was not expected at all and we will never understand why.  We all miss him so much!

I have memorial pages to the left for you to look at about these two amazing men! September and October are months of loss for our family.

On the bright side we had a couple birthdays this week too!  Today is my niece, Alyssa's birthday! She is 19 years old and going to college at Washington State.  I am so proud of her and all she has accomplished in her life already!  She is so smart and beautiful!  She is my brother (David) daughter.

And it was our son Ryan's birthday yesterday. He turned 38 years old.  We didn't hear from him (he is living in California right now with work) but a TY for a happy birthday I posted on facebook. Lanny left him a really nice message on his cell phone because he couldn't reach him....but never got a reply.  Things are rough right now with family relationships.  Please pray for our family.  Here are some past birthday pictures of Ryan as he was growing up.

It was also my sister-in-law's birthday! Rita Langager is amazing.  The marriage between her and my oldest brother didn't last but she is still a sister to us and always a daughter to mom and dad.  Our family loves her so much!  She is the amazing mom of Ricky, Ronnie and Vicky.... grandma of Ryan, Aaron, Shawn, Justin, Brittni, Taylor, Brandon, and great*grandma of Bentley, Tori and Riley!  Busy lady!

Rita with grandsons over twenty years ago

Rita with great grand daughters this year

I've been writing on this while talking with my friend, Sherri Dumdei Forbes.  I love her so much. One of my old high school friends!  We talk forever when she calls! And always laugh!!!!

In high school...Maria Yeager and Sherri behind me

Sherri and I

Sherri in highschool

Sherri at 30th

Sherri and I

Sherri and I at 40th

Talked to Heather for a bit yesterday.  And I called Kevon and Karla. They took off to California last night for my nephew (Emerson's) wedding.
Here they are flying out last night....

Hope they have fun!   Here are a few other pictures from the week!

Beautiful Jordy's new haircut!

Riley watching cookies bake at Aunt Vicky's

The best shirt EVER for Dylan (who used to be called Dill Pickle or Pick or Dill when he was little!

The cat NEVER lays on my lap but did yesterday! I had to get a picture!

It is pouring outside.  Nasty.  At least the burn ban is lifted.  I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy this day in October.  Andrew took Dylan's senior pictures out in Port Gamble on Thursday. Here is why.....

Take care and enjoy....