25 Years Ago And Still Today

August 21, 1988

We were practically babies.

He had just completed his Masters Degree

in electronic music and recording engineering.

 

I had just turned 21, three weeks

before the wedding,

and was working as a home furnishings 

specialist at Laura Ashley.

 

We were so completely crazy in love with each other.

 

Don's father and he had started to

build our little love nest,

or "Bunny Hutch" as we called it,

over the garage on their property.

 

Don's 25th birthday

was 4 days before our

wedding day.

 

I made my gown and beaded my shoes

and my mother and I made the bridesmaid's

and flower girl's dresses.

  

Don's mother and I sewed about a hundred

white covers for the folding chairs for the reception.

 

We were married at
Menlo Park Presbyterian Church,

on a perfect Sunday afternoon.

 

My father walked me down the aisle,

while Vivaldi's "Spring" was played

on flute and pipe organ,

and then he preached the wedding sermon.

 

During our ceremony,

my love accompanied me on guitar,

while I sang

"My Romance". 

Our wedding supper reception was held

in Don's aunt and uncle's back yard.

His Greek aunts made the delicious

food for the buffet,

all the while carrying on their hilarious "arguing."

(This is still one of my very dearest memories of the day.)

 

Our friends and family shared tears

and laughter

and joy.

Our marriage was prayed over 

and blessed.

And it was a good day.

 

Over the last 25 years,

we have lived a lot of life,

inhabited many houses in several states,

served the Lord and His people in numerous churches,

made A LOT of music,

given birth to our beloved India,

journeyed to China to adopt our beloved Ahnalin, 

prayed through many crises,

and seen many miracles,

packed around about a ton of fabric (!!)

and

dreamed many dreams.

We are still very, very much in love.

I have been blessed with the very best man.

My "Hot Rockin' Hubby" is still the man of my dreams.

God has blessed us so much.

 

Happy Anniversary my dear Don.

I can't wait to see what the next 25 years hold.

Happy 6th Chinaversary To Our Family!

We are a family.

And 6 years ago today

our precious Ahnalin was placed in our arms.

This is not the prettiest picture of me,

but we both had been crying.

God has brought us a long, long way.

We struggled with Reactive Attachment Disorder,

PTSD and Sensory Processing Disorder.

She didn't sleep at night

for a long, long time.

But God has healed her and now

she is a wonderful sleeper.

She was terrified of Daddy for a long time

but they are so tight now!

Ahnalin and India are REAL sisters in every sense of the word.

They fight (like crazy!) 

but love each other more than life.

We are so blessed to have each other.

We are a family.

Thank you Lord.

Twenty Three Years With The Hot Rockin' Hubby

Twenty three years ago today,

I married the love of my life.

 And I love him so very 

very

very

very much more now

thank I ever thought possible.

 Don, you are my very best friend.


You are exactly who I wanted

to share my life with.




Every day, 

no matter what happens,

I am glad that we belong to each other.




God must love me very much 

to have given you to me.




I love you,

my love.


Forever.


Love,
Sivje

54 Hours With India..........

.......and we made every hour count!

India flew in from Anaheim very late

Tuesday night.

This trip was a combination Father's Day

present for Don, and a

"Get'er done" trip for India.

And silly Mama(!!) was having 

so much fun, that she didn't take 

many photos with the camera.

So, you will have to see a few

"trombone arm" photos from my cell phone instead.

Wednesday morning, both girls

climbed into my bed to snuggle 

and watch "Phineas And Ferb".

They have missed each other so much!

So after a morning of serious snuggling,

and Banana Crumb Muffins for breakfast,

(Click that link, you won't be sorry!)

we hopped into the van to head for 

Discovery Kingdom.

We had gotten season passes and 

still needed to get India's picture taken to 

activate hers. 

She can use it at Magic Mountain down South,

and Ahnalin wanted to show her the sharks,

butterflies, walrus, dolphins, sting rays, 

penguins, and...and...and...

Ahnalin had to show her 

the "Walrus window".

They got rock candy together

(no corn syrup or red dye, lucky Ahnalin!)

Ahnalin was hoping that butterflies 

would land on them.

After a few hours at Discovery Kingdom,

we drove back home

and had to get to the church

for rehearsal. 

India worked on her resume in Daddy's office

while Ahnalin hoola-hooped.

After rehearsal, we came home

and ate enchiladas (India's request)

and then India finally got to snuggle with Daddy!

Thursday morning, we went over

to Santa Rosa Junior College

to get India registered, assessed,

financial-aided, and counseled.

India was impressed at how gorgeous

the campus was and how professional 

everyone was.

She is excited to start school again!

Then we ran to the mall,

so she could speak to the manager

of the Disney Store about

working there in the Fall.

The girls bought Tinkerbell Light Up Jelly shoes

to match!

(India's cast member discount works 

at the Disney Store too!)

 Because we did not get to celebrate

India's anniversary in February,

we had our special dinner Thursday night.

We always celebrate India's 

diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes,

because we are grateful for her and 

for each year of health.

India always requests steak and artichokes!

After dinner, we all went to

see "Pirates Of The Caribbean- On Stranger Tides"

at the cheap theater.

The girl's shoes were lighting up the whole time.

It was so funny!

After the movie,

we went home for a few 

short hours of sleep because India's flight

was to leave bright and early Friday morning.

Friday morning, we left the house at 5:00AM 

for the Charles Schulz airport

here in Santa Rosa.

Fortunately it is only a 15 minute drive.

This airport is so tiny, 

that you are actually allowed to park 

right in front, 

as in 15 feet away from the door!

I got the one and only family picture

of this short little visit there at the airport.

It was short, but very nice

Father's Day present for Daddy

to have both of his girls together for a few days.

So, India is back at the 

Disney College Program now.

She graduates from the program

next month.

We are so very proud of her!!!

We miss her so much!!

But we know she has learned so much

and grown up so much while 

working in "Fantasyland".

Thank you for your continued prayers

for my India. 

If you happen to visit Disneyland

between now and 

August 10,

you can visit her at the 

Storybook Land Canal Boats

in Fantasyland. 

Did I mention that I am a proud mama?

Punkys Pumpkin Patch

Ahnalin is on Fall Break!

So, she and I got to go to Santa Rosa with Don

on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Most of our time was spent looking for rental houses

so we can move.

But all house-hunting and no play,

makes Sivje a very stressed out mama

and Ahnalin a very grouchy girl!

So, Ahnalin and jumped in the car 

and drove up Redwood Highway to 

Punkys Pumpkin Patch,

There are many Pumpkin Patches in Sonoma County,

but Punkys offers lots of fun things to do for FREE!!!

Look closely and you will see Ahnalin

Jumping inside the bounce house. 

She jumped for at least 20 minutes before even going down the slide!

Then she went down the bouncy slide a bazillion times!

Then we headed over to the SUPER GINORMOUS TALL SLIDE!!!

There was NO ONE THERE! 

No lines!

And she slid to her heart's content!

There was no "Hay Bale Mountain" 

at Punkys so she improvised.

We saw green pumpkins....

and white pumpkins....

and lots of colors in between.

And this very lumpy, bumpy orange pumpkin

just made me really happy!

In the end, she chose a sweet yellow orange pumpkin

without a stem.

She did not want this pumpkin to be left unloved 

and unchosen because it had no stem.

That is who my little one is. 

She has a big heart for those who may feel 

left out and abandoned. 

Happy Pumpkin Patch Day my darling girl!

Red Rose Farm In The Mailbox!

Or should I call it 

"Happiness In The Mailbox"?

Have you visited
Late Bloomer Quilts?

Oh my goodness!!

Late Bloomer Quilts is

the lovely company owned by

designer Elizabeth Scott.

And I LOVE her designs!

I admit it. 

I have been stalking her blog, shop

and Twitter because I am 

so CRAZY IN LOVE with her first 

line of fabric. 

I am sure she must think I am a crazy nutcake. 

Well, maybe not "nut" cake since I 

am allergic to nuts.

But at least a fruit cake.

On her blog last week, 

she ran a giveaway for a fat quarter

stack of her new line.

And......

well.......

I WON!!!

Do you see the note she included in the fabric?

ME TOO!!

So, in case you are wondering.......

I had thought of making a quilt for 

Ahnalin's new bedroom with these 

fabrics.

But,

I am going to be selfish and make a quilt 

FOR ME!

Yep!!

FOR ME!

So, do you want to know why I love these designs so much?

Well, years and years ago,

I was an interior designer and window display designer

for some Laura Ashley stores.

I was so very passionate about Laura's designs,

and really her whole lifestyle.

Clear, fresh, beautiful florals 

and allovers that recalled

lovely dreams of the unspoiled countryside. 

Dreams of picnics and gardens,

white picket fences,

and drinking tea on the grass,

all the while lovely, lilting music 

would be drifting over a babbling brook. 

That is what Red Rose Farm is for me. 

It reminds me of those peaceful and happy things.

Elizabeth, thank you for this lovely gift.

I can hardly wait to get started!

You are a very gifted and generous designer.

Happy Sewing Everyone!

Happy Birthday India!

Happy Birthday India!!

Yes, today my first baby, 

India,
turns 19 years old.

Don't mind me, 

but

I am a bit wistful.

Where did my baby go?

 I went looking through old pictures

to find that baby face again.

So please bear with me, 

as I waltz down memory lane with my girl.

This picture was taken at the 

Healdsburg Preschool Co-op.

She was a very yummy 3 year old here.

India was about 18 month old in this picture.

We were in Oak Harbor visiting 

Don's Aunt Kris and Aunt Jeanne.

And yes, I was one of 

those mothers.

I had to keep India on a leash because

she was so friendly and inquisitive,

that she would run to total strangers and kiss them.

She is much better about that now! 

She was about 6 months old here and those eyes 

captivated me then,

just as much as they captivate me now.

India and her cousin Tyler have always

been best buddies.

This is one of my favorite pictures of them.

It was taken right before we moved to Denver

to work at Calvary Temple.

India could barely stand the thought 

that we were going to be 

so far away.

India loved ballet and when we lived

in Chicago,

she danced at Miss Jenny's Dance Studio.

This was an Asian inspired dance to the Nutcracker.

I can't actually remember where this was taken, 

but it was before Ahnalin joined our family.

 

Shortly after India was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes,

Uncle Christian surprised her with 

a chance to see her favorite band,

Superchic(K).

In 6th grade, she fell "Dashing into Love"

with her prince Nelson.

And then, when Ahnalin arrived,

India became the

BEST BIG SISTER IN THE WORLD!

Just like her mama, 

she loves to sing!

But she is better than I am.

A few summers ago, we had a girls night

at a Jonas Brothers concert.

I won't show you the picture she took of me,

but I was smocking at the concert. 

She thinks I am a big dork!

Always one to fully immerse herself

in a role, India dyed her 

hair black so she could portray 

Anne Boleyn.

Undeniably,

one of the proudest moments

of my entire life, was watching

my India sing "Defying Gravity"

when she produced and directed

"Showstoppers" last fall.

From the day she was diagnosed

with Type 1, India had been dreaming 

and planning of putting on a 

Broadway style review

to raise funds for the Diabetic Youth Foundation. 

Showstoppers was also her senior project

for graduation.

And she was INCREDIBLE!!!!

Defying Gravity is one of her theme songs

and really addresses how she views life.

I am SO PROUD of my girl!

And then in June,

my baby graduated! 

My baby! 

I know she is not a baby anymore,

and is in fact,

a grown woman.

But she will always be my baby. 

And today,

my baby turned 19.

Happy Birthday 

my precious girl.

I love you.

Love, 

Mommy.