Regional Convention 2016 Netherlands.....

Korey and Summuer came back from their convention in the Netherlands
and brought us back some gifts from the friends there.

Boy this brought back memories of our trip
to Germany when we attended
the Regional Convention there 10 years ago!

What a joy!

Going In Circles.......

So.....

I haven't posted to my blog in awhile....

It's always hard to get your thoughts together 

especially

after you lose a loved one.

I had a hard time posting to my blog

back when we lost my Uncle Ducky.

But once you resume your composure....

you just have to continue on living....

This reminds me of when we lost my mother in law

in death

shortly after we were married.

I remember Kim and I went to the San Pedro pier

with some friends to get things off of our minds....

We remember watching everyone around us

just laughing and carrying on with their lives.....

We thought to ourselves.....

DON'T THESE PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE JUST LOST OUR LOVED ONE!!!!!

But it occurred to us at that moment.....

Sad to say.....

But life DOES go on.....

It does not mean....

 that we will forget our loved ones that we have lost in death.....

But...

We can CHERISH the memories that we made with them until we see them again....

Aren't we grateful for those memories!!!

That's why I love having my blog....

SHARING MEMORIES.....

Some are SAD.....

Some are TRYING at times.......

Some may be BUSY ....

Then there are CELEBRATIONS....

And

So it goes.......

LIFE AS WE SEE IT......

Here are some pics of what we've been up to in the few months.....

Let's Catch Up!

Since March we have been very busy with life in general....

My father had a stroke and has since then been placed in a nursing home in San Clemente....

The same week, our adopted daughter had a stroke and a heart attack....She is doing much better we are glad to report.

In between we have had numerous doctors appointments between Mom, Kim and Myself....

We have dealt with bouts of verdigo and I also had an absessed tooth that needed a root canal done on!!!

Oh yeah, it never ends!!!!

Through all of this we also are very active in our ministry 

and our meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

But we are not the only ones that are trying to stay a float

in this crazy world we live in.

As 1 John 5:19 says "The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one"

So EVERYONE is affected....

"BITTER SWEET MOMENTS"

We began the month of May sadly with the loss of

my nephew

Matthew Raymond Martinez...

His friends and family chose to celebrate his life as he loved it...

His services were held in his friend Jeremiah Risk's, backyard.

Jeremiah told us that Matt would come over there after work and skateboard with him long into the late hours

of the night.   

So everyone came to Jeremiah's house and those that skateboarded lined up their boards and
celebrated Matt's life after the services.

Friends and family gathered together to share many memories
of Matt
through tears and laughter......

We also attended a memorial service in the month
of May in support of our friends
Darrin &Valerie Barraza
who lost his sweet mom Martha.

We saw her last at her grandson's wedding
back in October and she was not well then.

We are so proud of Darrin who gave a talk sharing the hope of the resurrection with the audience.

It also was a celebration of her life and we loved hearing all of the stories that her siblings told about her.

I especially loved how her children helped us to really see the person that Martha was and how much she was really loved.



A CELEBRATION.......

We attended our friends, Mark and Jonie Harmon's wedding.

What a fun celebration!

This was a beautiful celebration of two lives uniting as one.

The bride was beautiful....
The wedding party was very colorful and elegant....
The guys looked dapper....
The cake was absolutely the most beautiful wedding cake I have ever seen!
Every thing came together like a bouquet of flowers!
Just beautiful!!!!

What a nice time with family and friends at the Harmon wedding.

The happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Harmon



Ariel and Christopher's Wedding.....

Our niece Ariel and her husband Christopher.....

This wedding was held in a beautiful setting on a horse ranch in wine country in Temecula.

We celebrated the joining of these two lives together late into the night!

Our son Kamron was having a blast reuniting with his cousins.
Here is Kamron with his cousin Tyron.

Kamron and his beautiful girl came down for the wedding.

This was the first time we met Cass and she was absolutely lovely!

Can't wait to visit with her again.



GRADUATION SEASON..........

Yes, everyone's child was graduating......
 and of course
we had everyone's graduation party to attend!

We are a Chase Oakley's graduation here having a blast!

My Cae Cae also graduated from preschool and will now be starting
Kindergarten on Monday.....

Her cousin Zae Zae also is going to kindergarten.....

So enough of the graduations for now......


REMODELING COMPLETION......

We FINALLY finished the remodel of the guest bathroom!!!!
Yay!!!!

Kitchen cabinets and flooring complete......

Floors done!!!!

We have this large rock on the upper corner of our yard that is a fountain
and each morning the birds love to come and take 
their baths.

They are so happy!!!


TRAILER RESTORATION......

In between the craziness in our lives Kim and I have also been restoring our camping trailer.

Kim is working on the exterior and I am working on the interior.

We actually find it relaxing working on it.

Kim has decided to change the colors and he is also stripping paint to make it look shiny.
The pink is actually for Cae Cae who thinks this trailer is hers....

Exterior is looking pretty good.....

I made curtains and recovered the cushions with extra fabrics.....

Made pillows with scrap fabrics and clothing.....

Got these beads at a yard sale and thought they would be perfect for my
"Boho" look trailer......

Curtains made with an old skirt and topper was a belly dancing scarf....
Cushions complete!

My "Boho" curtains.....


GIRLS GET-AWAY WEEKEND......

My longtime friends Robin Jensen and Rose Kitchen
invited my mom and I to share a girls weekend with them
down in San Clemente.  

We sat on the pier and had some drinks and dinner.

Robin's sister Beth joined us before she had to go home to her husband.

The next morning me, my mom and Rose took a long walk down to the pier
and had coffee and muffins.....
This was so relaxing!!!!
Much needed time to myself to just relax and smell the ocean.......

This was our view from our balcony.
Just beautiful!!!
At the top of the hill.....

The only bad thing about walking all the way down that hill
was you have to walk back up!!!
Mom and I having fun getting winded......

I love walking to the end of the pier.
So does mom.....

Our view at breakfast on the pier.....
Somehow the coffee tastes better by the sea.....

We even saw mermaids.......

Rose made us a great breakfast the first morning.....

Robin and her sister Beth....
Love these girls!!!

Beautiful Sunset....

Us girls spent one evening watching the inspiring documentary on
the designer Iris Apfel
My mom came home and took this photo.....
TOO CUTE!!!!

We had a blast! Can't wait to go again!

Anyway.....as you can see we have been very busy......So until the next time.....
I'll be busy making more memories........