Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘children’

Treasure Every Day

Treasure every day
Know it will not come again
Make sweet memories

Lady in middle
Just died unexpectedly
Yesterday was fine
Man of the hour
Being treated for cancer
Shows his gratitude
Flowers in springtime
Bloom quickly then fade away
Life can be like that
Life can be a ball
When you are loved and cared for
Every child should be
Even as moms work
Their babies can know they’re loved
Hold and cuddle them
Nourish your loved ones
Treasure every day with them
Tomorrow’s not clear
Flush out the toxins
Left from our sad yesterdays
Embrace healthy days


Thank you, dear Lamiel
For your encouraging words
Applicable now!

Bob & I send love
To our faithful WordPress friends
So, Carpé Diem!!

❤️👌🏽❤️

February Festivities!

First February Festivity: the 11th for our 64th anniversary-
A reason to celebrate and share a fabulous memory.
The year was 1961 and Bob was stationed in Germany
I was teaching a 1st grade in CA; he was in the US Army.

I married that handsome fellow when he flew home.
I left my darling first grade class in Stockton, CA to go roam.
Left my apartment, my language, Suzie, my roommate,
My family and friends… all that was familiar. Not great!

The wedding was spectacular and the reception would make
Family and friends smile & cheer us on and marvel at our cake.
At our 50th anniversary we asked a bakery to duplicate it for us.
One after another they said “Impossible” in an incredulous chorus.

I landed a job on the army base school in Germany, a first grade class,
And finished out the year joyfully, learning a new culture. It was a blast!
Back in California, I continued to teach the little ones in Turlock
And then in San Francisco & Hillsborough… while Bob graduated from SF State.

We started our family during those SF years… a boy, Ty, and girl, De.
They were a delight to us then … and still are a blessing each day to me!
Here’s a picture of Bob & me with Ty when he was a sweet little babe…
And one of DeAna with me in matching dresses I made!

Mother-Daughter

As the years have gone by and our children have grown
We moved from the Bay Area back to the place we had known
As children and young adults; Bob joined the family with bees
While I continued to teach and moved to principal and District Office with ease.

Our 50th anniversary was a time to gather five decades of friends & family
For a weekend in Palm Desert where we golfed, ate, and reunited happily.
The memories of that grand occasion are alive and well in our hearts,
And we continue each February to connect with friends from our life’s parts.

When we retired, we continued to celebrate our February dates with flare!
But we’re doing it in Montana. Twenty years ago we moved ourselves there.
We love living in Big Sky Country, Ennis Montana, where the antelope roam.
We celebrate life every day and invite you to come share the joy in our home.

February 11th is a day each year to celebrate the joy of being together.
Valentine’s Day we celebrate at a Wine Pairings dinner – regardless of the weather.
It’s at Madison Valley Ranches, a beautiful setting for sure, with great food and friends.
Come join us if you wish… spaces are available … right out here where the river bends.

Time to celebrate! This February Festivity is my favorite one.
Having you here to join us would make it extra fun.
Call Manu at 406-660-2959 for your Valentine’s Day reservation.
It’ll make us so happy to see you! Come share in our celebration!

Love ya,
JanBeek (& Bob, too)

Thursday Beauty

The day was bright and sunny

Traveling from Ennis to Bozeman along the Madison River
I happily wait for Bob as he gets a haircut
Our “Bonus Daughter,” Laina, has a pretty day in Maryland, too.
And DeDe, our daughter in Switzerland, sent a picture of the scene from her balcony this morning.
Laina is enjoying time with her grandson…
While DeDe is reading to her grandson … so cute!
Meantime, Bob’s Diggin’ in to our wonderful lunch at Dave’s Sushi
Don’t you wish you’d had this delightful Thursday with us?

How did you spend your day!?

Love, JanBeek ❤️

Wonderful Family Time

The end of 2025

Found us loving life

Spending it with family

Avoiding stress and strife

All should be so blessed

To have such happy love

We don’t take it for granted

Such love is from above!

May you experience such love, too!!
Bob’s brother Bill and Marge
Our love for each other
My cousin, Adrian DeAngelis & Laura
Bob’s 1969 wrestling student, Kevin with wife, Kim
Time with in-laws, the Paynes
Contact with our DollyWolly, DeDe, in Switzerland
Visit with Bob’s nephew, Bryan, and his sweet wife, Michelle
… in their beautiful home
Opportunity to attend church at Harvest – such sweet memories here!
Christmas with granddaughter Faith and her hubby
So proud of our son, Ty, and the life he is living
Ty’s wife, Monika, the perfect partner!
Great food and precious Mable, our great-granddaughter
Time in CA wine country: life can’t get much better!
Thank you, Ty & Monika
May your life be so blessed, too!!

Love, JanBeek

& my happy 87th birthday boy, BionicBob

Have You Ever Crossed Your Parents?

The “Six Sentence Story Blog Hop” from GirlieOnTheEdge1.wordpress.com for this week is CROSS.

As a child I obeyed without question whatever my mom or dad told me to do.

Likewise, I did not do what they told me I was not supposed to do.

I was a very obedient child.

But as a teenager who began to exert my independence, I had ideas of my own, and they didn’t always coincide with those of my parents.

Oh boy, do I vividly remember those first verbal clashes when I wanted to go my own way – and we crossed paths and mine wasn’t the direction my parents thought was okay!

I asserted my will and to my increasingly cross parents, I shouted, “It’s not up to you!”

“Don’t be so bold, you sassy thing!”
Love,
JanBeek

PS – Have you ever crossed your parents?

Retirement

Here’s my idea of retirement… BUT…

R etirement

E nters

T yonneee

I nto

R elaxation,

E xcept

M aybe

E veryday will

N ot be different:

T otally wired!!

Our son, Ty, and wife, Monika, have
A special announcement! 📣
“He’s retiring from over 30 years as an educator!”
(She’ll continue to teach.)
He and Monika are part of a team
that planted a new church
just about 30 minutes
from their Placerville, CA home
– in Pollack Pines.
They’ll always be “On the Move” serving our Lord. Ty will be leading elder, preaching most Sundays.
No doubt they’ll be leading a weekly Bible Study.
Monika will be right there supporting the ministry in every way. God bless them!
Pray they’ll take SOME time to relax and enjoy “Retirement.”
Maybe a trip to Montana to see us??

What will you do (or are you doing) in retirement?
I’m having a very relaxing Father’s Day weekend with my sweetheart.
Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there!!

Love,
JanBeek

Hmmm… this post seems to be hiding the photos. What’s going on? When I click edit and look at it, the pictures are there, but when I save it and open it, there are no pictures visible. Have you ever had that experience?

Dec. 14 -Word of the Day

Using the prompts from @sanctifiedart,
I am enjoying the opportunity to share
the “Words for the Beginning”
each day with you during this Advent season.

Today’s Word is:
GOODNESS
When I put the prompt in AI, it generated
an assortment of blond, blue-eyed,
smiling 20-year-old females.
I kept asking AI to try again until finally it
generated something different.
I got this!

Goodness me!
That’s not what the word conjures up in my mind.
When I think of goodness, I think of the innocence
of babies and young children
and the unconditional love of our furry friends
(maybe that’s what that AI image is depicting).

These are the images that come to my mind
when I think of the word GOODNESS.

I also think of the goodness of a meal lovingly prepared
and shared generously with friends.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

I asked Bob what image comes to mind
when he hears the word GOODNESS.
His answer surprised me. He said,
“Mothers… and the loving environment a good mother creates.
THAT’S GOODNESS!”

The goodness a good mother exudes
is certainly multiplied when she has
the support of her children’s father, too.
Loving families RADIATE goodness!

What does the Bible say about goodness?

There is more about the root word, GOOD,
than there is about GOODNESS.

So, goodness is a God-like quality in people.
It is a purity and innocence in children and animals.
It is a gift of delectable taste from a skilled chef.
It is a unifying force in a family.

You don’t have to be a 20-something, blue-eyed blond
to exhibit goodness!!
You are in the land of the living…
and goodness is in you
and all around you.
All you have to do is open your heart to it
and exhibit the goodness that is in you!

Aren’t you grateful for that?

What image does the word GOODNESS bring to your mind?

Join me again tomorrow for another
Word of the Day.

Love ya,
JanBeek

P.S. My maiden name is DeAngeles.
It means “Of Angels.”
Do you see the angelic goodness in me?

Hard Work

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

Hah! Hard work? How about YOU do that? I just wanna enjoy my retirement!

Maybe work on some creative project … but not too hard!

Enjoy the way cooling temperatures bring an early autumn, and…

smile with little Oliver because his twin, Noah, is coming home from the hospital today. His mom gave birth a week or so ago to two little angels – each nearly 8 lbs. – now, that’s hard work!!

Here’s Noah. Pray for him. Pray hard. He’s been having seizures. Pray for his complete health and happy future.

That’s Oliver, smiling because you’re hard at work praying for his brother!

God hears us. He cares. He answers prayer. Keep on praying. 🙏🏽

Are you hard at work praying? That makes me feel fulfilled: to encourage others and to help us all keep the faith. Yes! God bless you. Have a fulfilling day!

Noah & I thank you!

Love, JanBeek

Devoted

Happy September 1st to you!
The word for the month is Devoted.
The question for the month is,
“To what or to whom are you devoted?”

Some might answer,
“I am devoted to earning money”
while others might say,
“I’m devoted to spending money…
Put on my gravestone:
Being of sound mind, I spent it all!”

Some are devoted to coffee,
getting their daily dose at Starbucks,
while others are devoted to gardening
or to reading or to raising their families.

What’s your answer?

Some of the things
that capture our devotion
are worth the time and trouble.
Others are not.

“Ezra had devoted himself to
the study and observance of
the Law of the Lord,
and to teaching its decrees
and laws in Israel.”
Ezra 7:10

The word devotion means
“earnest affection for a person or cause.”
It’s a better word than commitment.
We can be committed to a cause
out of sheer duty;
but to be devoted
implies commitment plus affection.

September connotates “Back to School” for me.
As a retired educator, I never tire of teaching.
My children are grown and my grandchildren
are not close by, so my teaching audience has changed.
I am devoted to teaching the seniors in “The Manor.”
It is our local nursing home. The people there are delightful!

Because I am devoted to teaching,
I agree with the commentary I read recently
on the Ezra 7:10 scripture above:
“As our children head back to school,
it’s time for us to don our backpacks
and enroll in the Ezra School of Bible Study –
devoting ourselves to the study and observance
of God’s Word and to teaching it to others.”

The people that garner your devotion
and the causes to which you are devoted
help to define who you are.
The word for September is “Devoted.”
How do you define yours?

Love and Hugs to you from
JanBeek

Passionate About?

Today’s prompt asked about our passions.
What am I passionate about?
Children and animals…
How about you?

Daily writing prompt
What are you passionate about?

As most of you know, I spent my career in education.
I taught all grades K-8
(except 3rd… don’t know why I skipped that one).
Children are my passion….
their education, their safety, their equal opportunities.
It breaks my heart when I see evidence of
neglect or abuse or (heaven forbid) sex trafficking.
Children are our most vulnerable humans
and they need our protection,
for they cannot protect themselves.

My passion for animals is especially poignant right now –
– especially after our horrific accident last week
when we lost our sweet puppy, Owen.
I still can’t stop crying. My heart aches.

He was such a little rascal,
but he wrapped himself around our hearts
and we miss his company
more than words can say.
I am passionate about having a pet.
Our house feels empty and vacuous without one.
Owen filled all the empty corners
of our hearts and our home.
He brought such joy.
How can we go on without a Boston Terrier
chewing on our rugs,
tugging on our heartstrings,
filling our days?

Rest in peace, sweet puppy.
You were an object of my affection,
the recipient of my passion.
Bob & I miss you so much!

My mom always quoted this saying:
“It is better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.”

I don’t know its origin,
but I certainly believe it.

sensual black man covering face
Photo by Bruno Felix on Pexels.com

What are you passionate about?

Hugs to you,
JanBeek