Introducing: Iris Mae Ussher
Born: July 26, 2010 at 8:25am
Weight: 8'5 lbs
Height: 20'1/4 inches
7.26.2010
7.22.2010
From West Coast to East Coast
Eight weeks of travels now, and we've covered the expanse of the U.S. from east coast to west coast. We flew out of LA last Saturday taking with us lots of memories of our time with Josh, Kari, and Stella, but leaving behind a nearly finished DIY dining table that Dennis and Josh built the last two days of our visit. Josh has been working on the finishing touches of planing, sanding, and polyurethane coating to complete the project built with reclaimed lumber. Check out Josh's blog for the whole scoop.
The happy carpenters with completed
table below
Out for pizza our final night together
At the playground with G'ma
Bedtime routine with Stella
Dad and Mom with me and my 3 brothers
The happy carpenters with completedtable below
Out for pizza our final night together
At the playground with G'ma
Bedtime routine with StellaFrom CA we flew to Indy to spend a few days with Julie. Then a drive to PA to spend some time with my parents; celebrating 60 years of marriage with the immediate family.
Dad and Mom with me and my 3 brothersOur final leg of the journey before returning to Europe is awaiting a new grandbaby with Clint, Jamie, and Evee. Two more days to go to find out who this little one is. Stay tuned for an announcement on July 26th!
7.14.2010
California (cont.)
Well, Pasadena has out-shown San Diego's gloomy gray skies with temps in the high 80's to mid 90's with lots of full-on sunshine. Though not ideal for running, I still love this kind of weather. My 3-mile run today just after noon wasn't such a bright idea. The heat took every ounce of energy out of me.
On Sunday we finished out our time with Mike, Joni, and Miles following a great morning at Grace San Diego. Child dedication, communion, and baptism made this special service so uplifting. We were so encouraged by the life change that is happening in and through this body of believers.
Amtrak proved to be a great connection from SD to LA to connect with Josh, Kari, and Stella. It saved the kids driving half way on either side in what could have been a frustrating drive in heavy weekend traffic.
Even more than the warm sunny weather, we are enjoying our time bonding with Stella and hanging out with Josh and Kari. Trying to bond as much as we can in these days as this is only our third time to be with Stella in her almost year and a half of life. She has "Papa" down real well, but still working on saying "Grandma." Her sweet smile melts our hearts. Winking is something she learned in the last few months and she'll wink at just about anybody. We were walking through Home Depot the other day and she winked at one of the guy's working there. As we passed by he said, "Hey, she just winked at me!" I think he was flattered. Check out the fifth photo down and you'll get a wink from her, too :).
Spending time at a neighborhood park and just taking walks down the sidewalk, stopping to smell the flowers along the way, are treasures to take back with us to Europe.
Hmmm. . . think I need to work on getting some pictures of Josh and Kari, too :).
Dennis and Josh are hard at work building a kitchen table out of reclaimed lumber. The hope is to have it done before we leave on Saturday morning. Dennis is passing on skills he learned from his Dad. I'll be sure to post a photo of the carpenters at work and their self-designed table.
Happy Summer!!
On Sunday we finished out our time with Mike, Joni, and Miles following a great morning at Grace San Diego. Child dedication, communion, and baptism made this special service so uplifting. We were so encouraged by the life change that is happening in and through this body of believers.
Amtrak proved to be a great connection from SD to LA to connect with Josh, Kari, and Stella. It saved the kids driving half way on either side in what could have been a frustrating drive in heavy weekend traffic.
Even more than the warm sunny weather, we are enjoying our time bonding with Stella and hanging out with Josh and Kari. Trying to bond as much as we can in these days as this is only our third time to be with Stella in her almost year and a half of life. She has "Papa" down real well, but still working on saying "Grandma." Her sweet smile melts our hearts. Winking is something she learned in the last few months and she'll wink at just about anybody. We were walking through Home Depot the other day and she winked at one of the guy's working there. As we passed by he said, "Hey, she just winked at me!" I think he was flattered. Check out the fifth photo down and you'll get a wink from her, too :).
Spending time at a neighborhood park and just taking walks down the sidewalk, stopping to smell the flowers along the way, are treasures to take back with us to Europe.Hmmm. . . think I need to work on getting some pictures of Josh and Kari, too :).
Dennis and Josh are hard at work building a kitchen table out of reclaimed lumber. The hope is to have it done before we leave on Saturday morning. Dennis is passing on skills he learned from his Dad. I'll be sure to post a photo of the carpenters at work and their self-designed table.
Happy Summer!!
7.07.2010
Califorina...
Flying into LA just after 9:00 pm on the 4th of July couldn't have been more timely. As we watched out our plane window, fireworks were bursting into colorful and spectacular displays all over residential areas and park lawns. We had no idea we would see so many just below us and in distant outskirts of LA.
Josh picked us up and drove us half way to San Diego to meet up with Joni. Even as we drove down the freeway fireworks were lighting up the sky on either side of us.
We're enjoying our time with Mike, Joni, and Miles. Miles has changed so much since we last saw him six months ago. He's toddling around, chattering in toddler language, making boy sounds, throwing balls and blocks (the louder the noise, the bigger the laugh), but nothing gets to us quite like his beautiful smile and big blue eyes.
Even though the temps are only in the upper 60's and the "June gloom" typical to this region have continued into July, we ventured out to Coronado Island, enjoying a walk on the beach and letting the water wash over our feet as the waves rolled in. The ocean breeze was exhilarating, as was the time spent with family.
Dennis is attending the Southwest Pacific District Conference today to make connections and to most of all say thanks to a district that has invested much into our Europe fields.
Enjoy the photos! Hard to narrow it down to a blog post :).
Josh picked us up and drove us half way to San Diego to meet up with Joni. Even as we drove down the freeway fireworks were lighting up the sky on either side of us.
We're enjoying our time with Mike, Joni, and Miles. Miles has changed so much since we last saw him six months ago. He's toddling around, chattering in toddler language, making boy sounds, throwing balls and blocks (the louder the noise, the bigger the laugh), but nothing gets to us quite like his beautiful smile and big blue eyes.
Even though the temps are only in the upper 60's and the "June gloom" typical to this region have continued into July, we ventured out to Coronado Island, enjoying a walk on the beach and letting the water wash over our feet as the waves rolled in. The ocean breeze was exhilarating, as was the time spent with family.
Dennis is attending the Southwest Pacific District Conference today to make connections and to most of all say thanks to a district that has invested much into our Europe fields.
Enjoy the photos! Hard to narrow it down to a blog post :).
7.03.2010
Grandkids...
July will be filled with lots of grand-parenting moments.
Ones I'm sure we will treasure and take back to Europe with us.
Ones I'm sure we will treasure and take back to Europe with us.
We can't wait to get a hold of these three smiling faces very soon
and welcome our 4th grandchild into the world!
and welcome our 4th grandchild into the world!
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