Jeriah's School Trip to the Ocean Institute

They spent the night at the Ocean Institute...took a boat out to sea, explored sea creatures, dissected fish and a cows eyeball. He took a camara so we'll see what kind of pictures he got when it's developed. He's laying on the front right side...always being silly!

Farmer Copple

My husband refers to the farm and his Pap(grandpa) often in his sermons. The Copple family farm has a historical marker on it....they homesteaded the land over 150 years ago. He still gets farmer magazines here in the modern Orange County with no farm land in sight. lol I thought this was a cute picture of the family. Tom is on the horse with cousin Dan and Cindy holding a black cat. Notice Grandpa Copple in his work clothes--they are all very hard workers. lol Work, work, work is the motto and the family get together activity. If you visit them...you must work for them.lol That was the usual plan of action for any family time...find some work to do together. The Starr family time is sitting around a meal mom has made and talking and laughing for hours. Having coffee time and talking some more. We let the work go by the way side when we have the family together. That is very slothful to a Copple. lol Tom and I are a long way from the midwest...from the Simple life to the opposite way of life. But, we love it! :-)

Pictures from Yearbook Yourself....

I saw these pictures of my niece Farrah and thought they were hilarious. I had to try it myself. I could definately see her mother in her. I don't think I cropped my face in there as good as Farrah...but it's still funny.lol Tom couldn't quite see the enjoyment in trying this. He said he can't even tell it's me. I was some other person. haha

~~~~~~~Farrah--1950's era


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~~~~~~Me in 1950's era


****1950s--where's my chin????


****1990's blond hair....lol



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***The Real Deal--My sister Marcia's graduation picture. :-)

Serenity

True inner serentity

will always elude those

who sit in judgement,

since they use up their

life energy in anger.....

at what 'is'.

Emotional Healthy Living.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the highest places you can

get to is to be independent of the

good opinions of other people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't need to let anyone

into your life unless they come

in with love and harmony!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you come to another with

love in your heart, asking nothing,

only offering that love, you create

miraculous relationships.

~~~~~~~~~~

Anything that keeps

you from growing is

never worth defending.

The More You Understand yourself

as a human being, the more you

realize that you can either flow with

life or fight it. And every time

you fight something, you get weaker.

Happy Birthday Rebecca

Today is my sister Rebecca's birthday. We all live far apart. But, we still celebrate every occasion together in our hearts. :-)

Josh's new school picture

Crazy Sock Day at School...(wearing Sharayah's socks)lol

My Own Personal Comedic Team...they keep me laughing!!!

16th year Pastoral Anniversary @STWC

**A big 'THANK YOU' to our church family for the gifts and cards for our Pastoral Anniversary this Sunday. Thank you Kim for putting together such an awesome Keepsake Book of letters and pictures from all of the church family in a gorgeous leather bound book. I'm a picture person. My husband and I looked thru it over and over and were very emotional with the memories. Thank you for showing your love in such a special way!!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

80s College Chorale Days....

~~~~I'm on the far right-kneeling down.....My kids love looking at the 80s pictures and saying....we all look like nerds. lol Fun times....

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Took Sharayah to the beach today.....

Sharayah has been home for the week. Today her dad and I took her to Newport Beach for lunch and to walk around while the boys were at school. We live in such a beautiful place. Refreshing each time we are at the pier at N.B.....sunshine, breeze blowing...lovely!~~~~~~~~~~~




~~Tired Beach goers on the lifeguard tower...

~~~Only in Newport Beach...People Mover guided tours of N.B.

In Memory of Alice & Grace....

Yesterday we received news one of Tom's family members had passed....Grace Urshan Larson...she was 90 yrs. old. The sister of our former General Superientendent Rev. N.A. Urshan. A couple of weeks ago another family member was buried...Aunt Alice Urshan...wife of Rev. Benjamin Urshan. Two precious ladies that have been faithful to God and their families. I have some beautiful family pictures of them when they were young. I still remember them in the vibrancy of life and they have large families that will keep their memories close to heart.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My baby is turning 10....

My youngest is turning 10 tomorrow~I can't believe it. He's such a bright boy. Lots of energy!!!!! He's been a great blessing to my life. He's brought me joy and taught me to live again. He is so full of questions and excitement. He keeps us young. lol He's in a special gifted school with xtra work & it's easy for him-we give him extra things to do at home and music and sports. (I get the feeling that I'm raising my dad sometimes-God help me.lol)
He's definitely his own little man and has been so since the day he was born. I had to change door knobs and lock things as he was so adventureous as to be out at 2 taking a walk while we were still sleeping. Or climbing the roof or doing a "science experiment" or any number of things that I was not prepared for. HA Thank God for blessing me with Jeriah. Since his birthday is in the middle of the school week. We are waiting til' Friday Night for his party. He wanted a Star Wars Party. He loves building Star Wars Lego cities. So, I'm working on a fun night for him. :-)

~~~~~when he was born~~~~

Monday, October 13, 2008

Precious Memories

~~My Uncle Victor, Aunt Theodora, Grandpa Alexander, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill....my mom's family. I love the old black and white photos of family.


~~~~~My lovely momma....

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Second Hand Treasures......

~~~I love 2nd hand treasures. I love things that are worn, torn, soiled that have a story to tell. I don't repair the gold frames of some of the portraits I collect. I hang them as is. I have pictures of my ancestors all over my house. I like things that have lived a life and are original and that give me joy... just by looking at them. I value things that have been given to me by loved ones. My husband is even gotten into the 2nd hand treasure I find.... We've brought things from our trips to various places and I have found old things in England or France or even an old book makes me happy. I've had friends...not into old things give me a first addition book or old tea cup or old basket and I just love it. Every time I look at it and pick it up. I remember who gave it to me. If I admire something and he's with me....he loves to surprise me....by going back and buying it. I like different things that maybe not everyone would pick...because it speaks to me of sentiment and love and romance. I'm very sentimental. A modern home is just too cold for me. I'll let others have that. For me I like to surround myself with keepsakes and good memories....I like changing, redecorating and moving things around. My mother and her sisters were always working on their homes and into their own sense of style. They had a flare to them and my mom's mom was a lady of style and enjoyed making her home a fun place for her family. It was fun to see the new things around the house and the beautiful dinners they put on. I guess that's the Greek/French...artistic side of me that keeps me busy as a bee in my house decorating, fixing and creating and cooking.... Creating beauty around me is one of my hobbies.... It makes life fun for me.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Sis made it home for a visit....we are all happy!

**We had a great day. It was a wonderful reunion. The whole family picked her up from the airport and went to breakfast at Mimi's. Went home to check in with our dog~ Princess Duffy. Then she and I went to the spa.  Love my girl.

Friday, October 10, 2008

I'll be home for Christmas!

I have a few minutes to blow before I run to the airport and pick up my hubby & friends returning from Atlanta-Catalyst conference. They come in at 10:30pm.

My sister Alexa built a vacation home in Gatlinburg. The last several years all of my sisters and families have met in Gatlinburg...the others renting houses nearby and have up to 60 family members there. They even have their own services and baby dedications for the new babies in our family for that year. I haven't been able to go for the past few years. California seems so far from middle America. This year I'm going home and home is where ever my family is. They make it home for me. We're flying to knoxville and driving to Gatlinburg and staying at my sister Alexa's house. I'm looking forward to it.

Usually we're right here in California for the holidays. I spend Thanksgiving with my mom or she comes here since we're the closest in miles together. About an hour apart. Mom and I talked and decided we're not cooking this year for Thanksgiving. She's taking us to a lovely restaurant overlooking the city. They have a fabulous meal of all you could imagine. So, we can go to her house afterward and take our naps and have no dishes. Sounds good to me!!!

Boo Hoo....:-)

Sharayah was suppose to be home today. One of her friends said they'd take her to the airport so she could leave her car at school and never showed up to take her. By the time she got another ride she missed her plane. She was very disappointed and in tears. I was upset...ready to get her home...but, I realized she was more upset than I was not to be able to come home until tomorrow. Pray she makes that plane. It's at 6am. I'm anxious to have her home for a week. I have plans for us. :-) Important things like a spa day and shopping and sleeping. lol

Thursday, October 9, 2008

October at Disney

My husband at JCM...Class President

**When this picture came in the mail in a JCM Newspaper way way back then....I cut his face out in a circle and put it in a locket that I still have....thought he was cute from day one. :-)

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Sitting on a Bumble Bee

**We are teaching a series on forgiveness in our midweek services. I'm studying right now for my lesson tonight....(can you tell)...lol Took my hubby to the airport early with some of his preacher friends on their way to a Pastors conference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unforgiveness means we desire to hurt the people who have wounded us. It's like the little boy who was sitting on a park bench in obvious agony. A man walking by asked him what was wrong. The boy answered, "I'm sitting on a bumble bee." "Then why don't you get up?" the man asked. The boy replied, "Because I figure that I am hurting him more than he is hurting me!" The healing process begins when we get up off the park bench. God will only heal our wounds when we stop inflicting pain on the one who hurt us. (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 43)

Let Go....

Letting Go of Offenses
Natives in Africa capture monkeys by setting up cages and placing bait inside. The bait can be anything a monkey would want, such as food or an unusual object. The monkeys are lured to the cages but are too smart to actually go inside. Instead, they reach through the bars, grab the bait, and try to pull it out. Because the object is too large to go through the bars, the only way the monkey can get away is to drop the bait. But monkeys refuse to let go. They kick and squeal but keep holding on. They stay trapped in bondage because they refuse to let go of the bait.
Are you the devil’s monkey? Have you grabbed Satan’s bait, which is called offenses? Satan sets his trap, using offenses as bait. If you grab the offense, you will be his prisoner as long as you hold on. Many people are incarcerated in the devil’s dungeon because they refuse to let go. You must choose to let go of all past offenses and keep your hands off all future ones.
(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 104-105)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Great Nephew Clark...What a doll!

Clark just took some new fall pictures and they're all adorable. He reminds me of my Nathan. This is my sister Rebecca's first Grand. Farrah's baby. He's a happy boy who loves to laugh!!!