Friday, Bee, Cory, and Annie came to Hanford. Here is Bee playing with Cory and Nate's old toys. I am glad that I saved them.Saturday morning we got the party balloons. Bee had a great time driving them around the house on the walking trike. Dotty was her best friend following her everywhere.
Bee decided that all the babies needed to go swimming in the pool. We had a great time pretending together. I love how she is starting to phrase and put ideas and words together.

Fun Fun Fun!!!!!
This Mimi loves her Bee Bee!
Daddy and Bee on Saturday afternoon. Cute!
Tomorrow I will post her Birthday Party pictures. What a fun time that was today!!!!

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It has been fun getting ready for Bee's Party on Sunday.

Being home-bound for several weeks gives you time to think, ponder, design, and create.

I loved painting this Party sign for the door.
Then, I needed to do something with my favorite pictures of Bee this year.

This little picture quilt was a lot easier for me to make than finishing a year of scrapbook pages. It is my 1st picture quilt. I love the subject!
Getting very anxious to see my NYC family!

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Lois Turns 85!

(Still having trouble turning the blog pictures. They are turned in the saved files, but come up all horizontal when I post on the blog.)

Saturday, August 28th, my mom Lois Lind turned 85! As far as she knows, she has lived longer than anyone in her family. She is doing great and had a wonderful day. Her friends across the street brought her a beautiful copper wind chime. They hung it just outside her sliding glass doors to see and hear. Another friend from church, Aldine, took her to breakfast at Denny's and then a little shopping. And, she got so many birthday cards from friends, they almost covered her entire dining table! She is a loved lady!
For dinner, Lyle and I took her Chinese food. It was terrific and quite large potions so there is plenty of leftovers for another day!
Her cake says, "Lois 85th"



I made her a small wall quilt that has 1 Corinthians 13...the love chapter words on it. She wanted it placed where she could see it on a regular basis. So, it fit perfectly over her fireplace.
She got a new dress to wear to church. She looks beautiful in that turquoise color.
Cory, Annie, and Bee sent her a hand made glasses holder.
All in all, she had a great birthday. We pray many more blessings on this special lady! What a pleasure it is to call her "My Mom."

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August Happenings

Could not get this picture to move down!

The last time I blogged, sitting in the chair too long, set off my sciatic nerve into non-stop pain. So today, I am laying on a heating pad on the couch and using the Mac for the 1st time to do a blog. Obviously, I am having trouble turning and moving some pictures.

Anyway, I have been keeping somewhat busy making bags, dolls and my 1st wall quilt.
This doll is for Ainsley Reed.

This doll is for Claire Bringard's 2nd birthday.

This wall quilt is for Hacienda Nursing Home for all the wonderful staff that cared and attended to Lyle's dad Clayton. It has all the thoughts of 1 Corinthians 13...the love chapter. We feel like these qualities were extended to our family and the people they work with each day.

On Monday, Aug. 16th Kate had her 25th birthday. Lyle made her a giant cookie.
On Wed. We had our Bible Study Group for a pot luck and celebration for Lisa and Kate's birthday. The food was fantastic and deserts were plentiful! This is Lisa she just turned 40. She is a sweetheart!
Here is Kate with the same cake.

Moving back in time. On Sat. Aug. 14th we traded our '04 White Maxima for an '07 Copper Orange Ford Edge. We were very pleased dealing with Carmax in Fresno.

Here is Lyle with the first picture of the new car.

We were not sure of the color, but we like it now. We LOVE driving it! More comfortable and higher seats give a great view of the road and countryside. We are still figuring out some of the bells and whistles. The navigation system will be nice when we get it down. It's a fun new toy.
Best of all this month, our Bible Study friends have adopted us as their baby's local grandparents. Kate, Jesse, and baby Ainsley are regulars at the Bruce home. (And we love it!)

Because Kate is continuing her college classes and gets a lot of homework, we have volunteered to take care of Ainsley when she needs time to catch up. Ainsley is the best baby to watch. She smiles and coos, focuses on our black and white pictures, and rarely fusses. She loves to have her pants changed and listen to our voices. She is a sweetie!
My mom, Grandma Lois, likes to come over when we are babysitting. She loves to hold babies! She's a professional baby rocker, working the MOPS crowd for years at the church!
Lyle and I would take her everyday if it were possible, but we have to share with her parents.

We miss her on the days she does not come over!
Because I have not been feeling well and pretty much house bound, Ainsley has been a wonderful distraction for me. There is nothing like a baby in the house. Neighbors and friends have come by and everyone loves to see a baby.

Ainsley turned 7 weeks yesterday. She is a beauty!
I love this picture of them both snoozing. I know Lyle was not completely out, because right after the picture when I thought he was sleeping, I watched his right hand patting her little behind.

Other than my pain and misery, dr's appointments, and couchtime, that is it for this month at our house.

Except, we were very happy to see our friends Jordan and Sarah while they were here on vacation from Spain. They enjoyed the backyard slip and slide with Jordan's cousins on one day last week. They are now headed back to Spain. Also, Alex, aka The German came to visit. It is always nice to catch up on his happenings.

If you read our blog and are in the area, we are people you can just drop in on. We'd love to see you. Come on by!

Lastly, Cory, Annie, and Bee are going to be here by Sept. 11th. We are having Bee's Tea Party Birthday at our house on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12th from 2-5. If you did not get an invitation, but read our blog, you are invited.

Hope to see you there.

Marlene

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L V July 23-25 Dave Koz & CCC Part 1

This trip we stayed in Henderson at Sunset Station. We had free tickets to see Dave Koz in a small venue. We also visited the mega , Central Christian Church. WOW... is what I have to say about both adventures!!! After a rocky start of food poisoning and severe leg cramps on Friday night, we almost turned around and went home. But after much prayer and rest, symptoms got better and we got to stay.

At 110 degrees, poolside was a relaxing and cool way to spend some of the morning and afternoon. The pool at Sunset Station was not crowded and the little children were polite and well attended.

We got lounges in the shadiest part of the pool area. It really was not overwhelmingly hot. Lyle needed to rest after the terrible night he attended and worried about me.

We did get a little sunburned. But it was a great way to spend the day.


Here we are later that night in our own private booth. (The other couple we were to share it with, did not show.) It was raised above everyone and I had plenty of room to stretch out my sore legs all during the concert.

The show started at 8:25 and went until almost 11:00 with a 20 minute intermission. It was a lot of show!!!!



I know it looks a great distance to the stage, but it was not! Other than being in the front 3 center rows, we had the best seats in the house.

The talent on the stage was amazing. Musically, there was a wide range of fast and slow, instrumentals and singing. Dave Koz, Jonathan Butler, and Sheila E were amazing together in harmony, musicality, and humor. Their backup band individually and collectively oozed with talent. What a fine show it was. In part 2 of this post, I have posted 2 short videos for a little taste of the music. Enjoy.

On Sunday, after a wonderful breakfast buffet at Sunset Station, we went to Central Christian Church. (You can go to their webside and get a little taste of the ministry and worship.) We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, it! We could attend there on a regular basis. FUN!!!!!!

The people were warm and inviting. The guest center gave us a book for visiting. It is called "Stripped" by the CCC pastor. What a calling and vision to be a Las Vegas pastor. Believe me, God is alive and doing well in Las Vegas.

We arrived early and sat outside the sanctuary to watch the Jr. High and High School kids waiting for the 10:20 church to start. Kids are the same everywhere! There is a theater for the kids to meet in.

I peeked into the Pre K and Kindergarten room. I could only get half of the room from the door I was looking through.

Outside the nursary the walls were painted and had 3D art attached.

The church was huge. Seats 4000. They run 2 Saturday and 2 Sunday services and have 4 satalite churches in various parts of LV. The 2 huge HD screens, brought you close to the stage no matter where you were sitting.

I snapped these before church started. But, the place was pretty full when it started.

If you are ever in Vegas on a Sunday, we highly recommend this high energy fun church to visit. The talent on the stage was amazing and the sermon is memorable. (I will continually be aware of keeping my JOY no matter of the circumstance. It is God given and does not change as life happens. It is not the same a happiness. It is deep and is a gift from God to His family. I have it! Do you) Oh yes, the pastor was on vacation, but the huge screen dropped down and he was looking 10 feet tall on the stage as he gave the pre-made video message. It was fantastic!

Here we are at the Aria in the new City Center. (I was looking pretty tired.)

The rest of this blog is on the next page. Enjoy!

L V July 23-25 Dave Koz & CCC Part 2

Due to upload problems, I had to start a new blog to get the pictures downloaded. It would upload some pictures and both videos, but not the rest of the pictures.


A taste of Dave Koz. What a great performer! The best show we ever attended. Dave, Jonathan, and Sheila with the band were a wonderful mix of amazing talent, showmanship, and energy! Jonathan gave a brief personal testimony of being a believer and follower of Jesus! Very cool!







A taste of Sheila E and Jonathan Butler.








Lyle by The Cupcakery at the Aria....Yummy! This is for Cory and Annie!


I love this sign.
Riding the Tram from The City Center to Bellagio. These 2 buildings are built at 5 degrees slope on each building. It looks like they are crashing together. They are on the Strip apartments.

People cooling down at the Monte Carlo pools. There is a running tube ride, a wave pool and 3 more swimming pools in this one area. This was taken from the tram station.

Outside the Aria hotel. Wonderful round fountain that has dancing waters and multi-color lighting for the spirts.

Again, another wonderful adventure not far from home at a place that is amazing to visit.