Driving with my daughter

My daughter is a secret shopper, but....shhh....don't tell anyone. She has two differents kinds of jobs to do for this company. In one she pretends that she is looking to buy a phone or open an account at a bank. Based upon the information she sends to the company the business is graded on how they are doing at customer service, etc. Hopefully this information when relayed to the business she has gone in to will help them with better customer service. The other job she does is called an audit. For this one she announces that she is there to do an audit and then takes pictures of how the business (a gas station) displays their signage.

So on Friday April 25 we went to Milton Freewater where Aaron babysat and I went along on the drive to LaGrande, Oregon. We left about 1:30 p.m. and arrived back at her house at about 5:30 p.m. The really nice thing was the chance to ride with Larisa and carry on a conversation. We talked about many things and reminisced. It is wonderful to have her be more than a daughter, but my friend also.

We are also rejoicing that Jesus helped the splinter in Paul's hand come out so easily. For a picture of the splinter go to www.rizaroni73.blogspot.com. The doctors couldn't find it but Jesus knew right where it was.

If anyone out there reads this and knows how to remove something off of a Myspace page, please post a comment. I have two countdown clocks going for our return to Namibia and I need to get rid of one and can't figure out how.

I'm dealing with the aftermath of a migraine so I'm not thinking too clearly. So my blog isn't too interesting today, I'm afraid.

Reminiscing

Today we watched the wedding video of our daughter and Paul from almost 14 years ago. Larisa and the children spent Friday night with us. I'd come across the video and asked if she wanted it. She did and we decided to watch it.

There was my son, Nolan and his future wife, Maryanne walking down the aisle together. Nolan was getting ready to head of to Oregon State University and Maryanne was beginning her senior year of high school.

Aaron's parents were there, being escorted down the aisle by Aaron and by Nolan. I have to admit that it brought tears to my eyes. I don't think Karen (age 9) really understood that.

Then there was my sister Jeanne and I singing "Sunrise, Sunset". Oh it was beautiful! I have to admit that she is the better singer, but we have always had great harmony--she's the soprano and I'm the alto. Then the beautiful bride Larisa comes down the aisle on Aaron's arm while I waited at the end of the aisle. Paul (with a full head of hair) picks her up and the ceremony begins.

When it was time for the kiss, my nephew Cleighton was who 9 at the time, rolled his eyes and smiled, not sure of where he should look. Too funny! Now Cleighton is 23, married, and in the Navy serving on the USS Ronald Reagan. How time has flown.

As the camera panned the audience I could point out several people who have since died. In the video they are alive forever. It's kind of like thinking of JFK and always picturing him as the young man he was when he was killed. If he were still alive he'd be in his late 80s. Or Elvis...he'd be really old also. But in our minds they are forever young.

I find it amusing when in an obituary in our local paper the picture will be of the person when they were in their 20s or 30s and if they died in their 80s you know they looked nothing like the picture shown.

There are many things about getting older that are not so fun. It is discouraging to see the wrinkles in your face and neck and know there is really nothing you can do about it. Yes, I put the products on my face, hoping to hold off time for as long as possible. But I know that time is going to win. When you sit down for too long it hurts to get up. The knees don't behave like they did when you were young.

A few years ago Karen asked me if I would be alive when she grew up. I reminded her of how her mother's grandmother is still alive so there is a very good chance that I'll still be alive when she is in her 30s.

Ahhh...reminiscing. Memories are so precious so go out and make some good memories with your family today.

From 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye.....

Some pictures of my childhood--me and my sister Jeanne. My mom liked to make us dresses alike and we didn't mind that when we were young.

This merry-go-round was made by our dad out of an old car axle. That merry-go-round was the fastest you've ever seen. Several of our playmates threw up after riding on it. Oh, did we have fun!!

This picture was taken of Jeanne and me shortly before Aaron and I became engaged. Oh to be this thin again.

Here is a picture of Aaron and me on our wedding day, August 23, 1970. We are now a little older, a little wiser and a little bigger.

This picture was taken on board a cruise ship to Alaska in June of 2006. Shortly after returning home we took our first missions trip...to Botswana. Then in 2007 we went to Namibia and we are returning this year in June.

I was born April 1, 1948 to Cecil and Delight Goodwin, my sister Jeanne was born into the family in 1951, I graduated from high school in 1966, married Aaron in 1970, had a daughter named Larisa in 1973, a son named Nolan in 1976, and retired in 2006. I have a great son-in-law, Paul; a great daughter-in-law, Maryanne, and 5 beautiful grandchildren ...Karen, Curtis, Sabina, Addison and Emmaleese.

The years have flown by. Aaron and I have served Jesus faithfully all of our married life. We are thankful for the opportunities that have been made available to us.