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.

Emmaleese Hope

Emmaleese Hope and daddy, Nolan. Emmaleese is one and Nolan is .....well, not one. Just add 30 years.

Addison Faith

Addison Faith, age 2, Easter Sunday, 2008

Sabina Grace

This is our 4 year old granddaughter in Texas.
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Finality of Leaving the 50's

Twenty-two days from today (March 10) I will no longer be in my 50s (or is it 50's) . I'm pretty good at grammar but never sure about the apostrophe with a number. Nothing belongs to the 50 so perhaps it should be 50s--my 50s.

My 10s I remember very little of. In fact I have no memories before 1st grade and that is sketchy. I remember skipping a word during reading group because it caught in my throat and the teacher told me the word. I knew the word but it just wouldn't come out. I also remember a little girl wearing pink undies who got a spanking in the classroom (that'd never happen now!!) and recess time being chased by boys and HATING it.

The year I was 10 my parents took my sister Jeanne and I to Southern California to go to Disneyland--which was only 3 years old at that time. We traveled south from Oregon in our little gray Volkswagen. If I correctly remember my parents went with $100 for the trip. That was also the trip I received my first bee sting..while riding in the Volkswagen.

My teen years were traumatic. My mother made me practice the piano daily, get good grades and dust the house once a week. Now don't you think that is just a little too much to ask.

My twenties ended my college life--quitting after 3 years, and then I met the man of my dreams. By the time I was 28 I had 2 children and so I spent the next 18 years raising them. They turned out pretty good if you ask me.

When I was about to hit 40 I thought, "I don't want to be fat and forty."
When I turned 50 I thought, "I don't want to be fat and fifty."
And now that I'm about to be sixty I'm thinking, "I don't want to be fat and sixty."

There was a period of time in my 50s when I got skinny but unfortunately that didn't last. So maybe in my 60s I'll be able to get skinny again. I will admit that my idea of being skinny now is a whole lot different then when I was in my 20s. Then it was weighing in the 130s, now it is the 170s.

Turning 60 means I'm a senior citizen. It means that applying for Social Security is only 2 years away. Turning 60 means I have 30-40 years left to live. Turning 60 means that my life has been blessed by having Jesus in my heart, my being married to Aaron for 37 years, by having a daughter about to turn 35 and having a son who is 31. It means that I have 5 wonderful grandchildren...Karen, Curtis, Sabina, Addison and Emmaleese. Turning 60 means I have good friends who will come to my birthday celebration where my daughter and son-in-law will cook a wonderful meal for us. Turning 60 means I'm alive and so blessed to be healthy.

Hallelujah!! I'm turning SIXTY!!

I'd Like a LIttle Cheese With My Whine

Why can't other drivers read my mind and know what I intend to do??

A few weeks ago--and yes, it still bugs me--I left my home and drove to the stop sign on SW 15th in our fair city. This is something I've been doing for the 10+years we've been living on SW 16th. I pulled up to the stop sign perhaps a little faster than normal and a lady in a white car driving down SW 15th where it intersects with Joseph (you know who you are!) ((if she reads blogs)) stopped in the middle of the intersection, rolled down her window and said something to me. I have NO idea what she said but I imagine she was telling me off thinking that I wasn't going to stop. I would like to let this nice lady know that in the 10 years I've been stopping at this stop sign I have never run the sign and have no intentions of doing so now.

Then just recently I had to pull out into the middle lane of the main road through town. I waited until the traffic had ceased from my left, looked to the right (you have to look WAY to the right), saw that I had an opportunity to pull into the center lane. Oregon law says that when you pull into the center lane you wait until there is an opportunity to move into the right lane. (My son taught me that when he took his driving test.) I stopped, looked into my rear view mirror and discovered that someone was behind me waiting to make a left turn. Someone in a red SUV went by me and gave me a long honk thinking that I was going to pull into the traffic. Honest! I wasn't going to do that. I don't want to have an accident any more than you do.

Football Fever (but I haven't caught it)

Well.....yesterday was the LONG anticipated Super Bowl here in the USA. Although I understand the basic rules of football I don't really enjoy watching it, but since the Super Bowl signals that is is almost over for the season (there is the Pro-Bowl next Sunday) I can watch part of it. And there were a couple of very cute commercials.

Sometimes when the last show of Survivor or Amazing Race is on Aaron will come to the computer and discover who wins, since the program is already over on the East Coast. He'll ask me if I want to know and I let him know that "No, I don't want to know who wins."

So yesterday quite a while before the Super Bowl was over I was at the computer. At the point I was figuring out my scheme the Patriots were ahead of the NY Giants and it looked like they'd go all the way. I thought about it for awhile and figured out a possible ending score. Hmm, if the Giants got this and the Patriots got that the score would be 17-14 with the Giants winning. I went back to the den and told Aaron that it was on the internet that the Giants had won 17-14. Now obviously it was impossible for the internet to state this as the game was being played live in Arizona in our time zone. The Pats were still ahead at this point. There was no way the Giants would come back. Aaron just grinned at me and knew I was making the whole thing up. But turns out I was right... and the NY Giants won 17-14--my exact prediction.