Glory! Where do I begin…
Ground Hog Day was monumental in our lives… Why?
1. Dear put in for his retirement from his company and has 21 days left there…
2. We put our condo on the market.
3. My condo has never been cleaner ….ever…
Then on Wednesday…
4. We flew to Seattle to see our kids, especially to see Dan. Dear hadn’t seen him for 5-1/2 months, Katie and Laura hadn’t seen him for 5 months and the last time Josh and I saw him was in November. We had a belated traditional Christmas Eve dinner Thursday night. Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Mashed potatoes and Creamed Corn. Good times together before Dan heads off again for several months. Friday night we’re having an Open House Party for friends and family to come and see Dan before he takes off on Saturday.
5. It’s good being home and knowing I’ll be a one home woman again soon. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Now to just figure out where to put 2 households worth of dishes!! Thankfully Dan will be setting up living quarters in Eastern Washington soon and he’ll be able to use lots of our condo goods!
There are people and things I’ll miss in Southern California and I’ve already had many a good cry in the shower over leaving certain people behind…more on that later.
6. Bonus! I’ll be posting soon about having one of my stories of my pop’s conversion published in a tribute to Billy Graham and his ministry…
Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to see more favorites or to join in… I probably will be late getting around to everyone because I’m cooking up a storm for an open house tonight.
The photo was taken at dawn on Thursday from my deck in Washington…
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
I’m not gonna cry, I’m not gonna cry! I’m truly happy for you and Dear!
Enjoy your precious time with your boy!
WOW…congrats and I hope the condo sells fast. The good thing about leaving friends is there is always the internet, phone and even snail mail but what makes it all better is you can always go and visit. True friends will be with you forever 🙂 Hope you are enjoying Seattle. Well that was dumb I know you are LOL. What a fabulous FFF. Have a wonderful weekend my friend 🙂
Ellen, you have really been busy, but it all sounds wonderful! Congratulations on having a story published. Can’t wait to hear all about it. laurie
Wow. This has been a huge week for you! Hope it all goes through (the selling of the condo) smoothly. Beautiful dawn shot.
INdeed. That does add up to an eventful week. It may even be enough for an eventful month! I guess our chances of meeting IRL just got a little slimmer. Congrats on the one home woman status.
Celebrating with you…praying you know His comfort as well. Thankful you know our Father who does not change. Hmmmm, just think how much new fun you can have now that all of your tablescape items and dishes are united under one roof.
A retirement… wow! Missing friends, although it makes you cry, is understandable. The good thing is keeping in touch with the people that matter to us has become easier with the internet. Have a great weekend!
Very big week, Ellen… ((BIG HUGS)) :o)
WOW! What a week you’ve had!
I’m so glad to know that you had a wonderful time with your kids up in Seattle. And what amazing changes are coming down the pike for you. Blessings on you and your husband as you take these steps forward.
At least your house is (very) clean. 😉
oh darling, commere and have a hug or two!!
wonderful and yet bittersweet news!
Wow – what a momentous week for you, Ellen! I hadn’t known you would be moving back to WA for good so soon….
Have a great weekend!
Those are huge changes….Are you ready for all of this…I’m thinking that maybe one day we can actually may some time and get to meet each other…that could be a fun event to plan. But it’s hard to say goodbye to some of those dear friends….but how much fun to live close to your family.
WOW! This has been a memorable week, for sure! Congratulations!
I pray your condo sells quickly and profitably.
Oh Ellen, you will be moving back to Seattle to stay! I know how happy that makes you! (as well as sad to leave some behind here…) And congratulations to Dear…just 21 days – wow! You two will have a whole new way of life to enjoy very soon.
Wow! Lots of big changes for you. Where to next?
Have a wonderful time with your kids. Congratulations to your DH on his retirement.
wow! Got a little misty reading this…know that pain and joy! Gotta love moving 🙂
Wow…that’s a lot going on in one week!!!! Sure to raise the blood-pressure….but very exciting 😀
What a week! Congratulations to Dear! And you, Ellen! Exciting times!
retirement!! yay!!!! more time for fun, family, ministry, whatever you and Dear long for. Hope the party was wonderful last night. (Although with the time difference it may still be happening 🙂
Parting with friends – moving – so hard – but thankfully we really can be connected these days. And you are certainly used to getting around on planes 🙂 Hope your condo sells soon.
Congrats to your hubby on his retirement. Such an exciting time for you guys.
Your week sounds like it was very busy, but very exciting.
What a week! Wonderful news, on all fronts.
I hope you enjoy this week as much as the last!
Congratulations! Everything seems to be coming together all at once for you and your family. I’d have LOTS of trouble leaving California behind, but it seems you have ‘roots’ elsewhere and that should help with the transition. Good luck on the sale of your condo and your new life. What an exciting time for you!
Hugs and blessings,
I wondered on your FB about the Christmas dinner! Now I understand.
Wow, what an eventful week. So happy for everything — though it will be hard to leave friends. Thankfully there is the Internet and FB — not quite the same as walks and talks together — but they help.