A Spring Wedding

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, 

no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.   

(Isaiah 64:4)

Last Saturday, we witnessed the covenant marriage of a dear friend of ours.  We had been praying for several years that God would lead a godly partner to Kim, so you can only imagine our sheer delight when we heard of a budding relationship between her and Daniel last fall and witnessed their engagement in December.  Saturday was the fulfillment of so many prayers as well as an encouragement to continue hoping in God's power and wisdom as we wait on Him to satisfy our desires.

I was delighted in January when Kim asked me to be her wedding coordinator!  It was a tremendous blessing for me to work alongside both Kim and Daniel as they planned their ceremony and see the great love they had for another as well as their continual care for others even when life became so full with wedding details.  

Saturday was a gorgeous day both inside and out!  Thankfully everything that had been carefully planned was executed with relative success.  I had so much fun serving Kim, the bridal party, and all the family on that special day.  Here are a few pictures that both me and Kathy snapped in between running around everywhere:

Kathy was honored to be the guest book attendant.  I also solicited her help with many other duties that day.  She and Alissa were a wonderful support.

The flowers were so gorgeous!  And Kim's colors just happened to be my absolute favorite.

I was grateful to have a few moments with the beautiful bride before the ceremony.  

Although not the best shot, I only had my phone with me when I realized it was a "Kodak moment."  This bridal party was such a pleasant, happy group and made my job so easy!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Hemken!!!

Wisdom's Words: A Gospel-Oriented Life

"The Gospel is one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves his gospel purposes in me.  When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad.  I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every aspect of my life, including my severest trials.  The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me conformed to the image of Christ."  
-Milton Vincent

National Day of Prayer

Wisdom's Words: The Secret of Suffering

I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chattered all the way,

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow;

And ne'er a word said she;

But, oh, the things I learned from her,

When sorrow walked with me."

Robert Browning Hamilton

A Springtime Celebration!

Saturday night was a fun time celebrating Rachael's, Essie's, and Benjamin's birthdays!  Mom, Kathy, and I decorated with balloons, streamers, a Happy Birthday banner, and a spring-theme tabletop.  I found a daffodil pattern online and made little flowers filled with pastel-colored M&Ms as party favors for everyone.

I couldn't leave out little Grace.  Her flower was filled with Graham cracker bits rather than chocolate.

We were happy that Ben's parents joined us for the party, too.  Here we are at the table - it was a full house!

Thoughtful Benjamin also brought over a friend for Duck for the evening.  Here are are Pal and Duck enjoying each other's company:

(And yes, I think it's about time we put up the snowman!)

Essie once again decorated the birthday cake with homemade fondant.  She did a beautiful job, and the colors of the cake matched the table perfectly!

I love this picture of brother and sister.  They were excitedly waiting to blow out the candles!

I was glad that the children decided to eat their cake outside on the deck with me.  It helped with all the crumbs. :)

And then it was present time, but first we had to snap a group photo.  It may have tried the patience of a few... :)

I gave Rachael the photo book I created of the year before.  This has been a tradition that we all enjoy.  

What a wonderful evening with a lot of fun memories!  We look forward to seeing God's continued work in all of these lives.

Spring Happenings

I think we could say that spring has officially arrived to stay here in Indiana!  Though we had some snow yesterday, the temperatures are warming up quickly.  Our daffodils are blooming, the grass finally turning green, and the trees budding with new life.

The month of April holds three birthday celebrations in the family:  Rachael's on the 13th, Benjamin's today (the 16th), and Essie's tomorrow (the 17th).  This weekend promises a combined family celebration of all three.  I'll try to take pictures of the grand party and post them shortly thereafter. :)

There's been a lot happening in our family the last two months.  Just this last weekend, Dad, Kathy, and I made a quick trip to Charlotte, NC to visit a school Kathy is contemplating attending for graduate studies.

Here we are at California Pizza on Saturday night.  Kathy and I had never been there before, but it's certainly a place we'd love to eat at again!

Due to logistics in visiting the school, we were out of town on Rachael's birthday.  Though we were sad to not be with her, Mom, Ben and Laura, and all those precious children did a fabulous job of decorating the entire house in her honor on Saturday night.  We arrived home on Monday to find balloons and streamers everywhere - in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, hallway, bedroom, and even her dresser.  She had to have felt special!

Little Hannah was determined to blow up some balloons, too.  Here is her contribution, not that much smaller than the original size on Saturday.  They were perfect for hiding in Rachael's drawer. :)

There were even fresh flowers waiting for her on the bathroom counter.

Then too, I made sure Rachael had a gift to open on Sunday morning from her sisters.  Evidently Duck tried it out as well...

 

Duck also texted me a picture on Sunday afternoon to say how much he missed us.  I just can't get rid of that bird even over 500 miles away!  But I have to admit, he does make me smile...

 

In the midst of all this activity, Rachael accepted her very first healthcare position at St. Vincent hospital, which will begin on May 19!  What an answer to prayer!  We are thanking God for this wonderful provision!!!

It's a very full and busy season in our family with change coming in various forms on all sides.  In times like these, I take comfort in knowing that God rules over all things and that His faithfulness is sure.  Wherever life may lead in the coming months, I know He is working all things for His glory and the good of His people.

Wisdom's Words: Faith

The life of faith involves the miracle of seeing above your circumstances.  It means we grasp the unseen that has been promised, that we orient our lives in the time at hand, on the yet to come.  (Jonathan Parnell)

Wisdom's Words: Serving Christ

"In the very place where God has put us, whatever its limitations, whatever kind of work it may be, we may indeed serve the Lord Christ."  (Elisabeth Elliot)

A Sister Outing

In honor of Kathy's graduation (and simply because we like spending time together), Kathy and I planned a special outing this past Monday.  We had been wanting to visit the Indiana State Museum to see if it would be a fun place to take our nieces and nephew, so we decided to spend the day downtown touring this site as well as enjoying a few other activities.

God gave us a gorgeous day!  With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-sixties, our trek across city blocks was so pleasant.    After a very long and harsh winter, I loved being outside again, feeling the sun on my face and breathing in the smell of spring.  So refreshing!

Our first destination for the day was the state museum.

We spent a little over three hours touring the museum, and it was a lot of fun!  Since the crowds were small and there weren't a whole lot of kids around, we could test out the kid-friendly exhibits without feeling as if we were too old. :)  Here are a few pictures from our time there:

Reading about her favorite animal:  the squirrel!

The USS Indianapolis.  Dad read about the story behind this ship several months ago.

We tried to get a picture of the IU nursing uniform for our dear nursing student back home.

I loved the detailed stitching on this chair!

Here are famous buildings across the United States made with limestone from Indiana:  The Empire State Building, Lincoln Memorial, Proctor & Gamble, Chicago Tribune, Indiana Statehouse, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

After visiting all the exhibits, we started the hunt for a place to eat lunch.  Dad had recommended several restaurants to us the day before, so we set off to find some of them.  After a half-hour of walking and deliberating, we finally settled on Patachou.  I had been there before and thought Kathy would enjoy it as well.  It was a delightful lunch, and Dad even took a brief break from work and walked over from the bank to visit with us.

Our afternoon activity was a walk around the canal with a friend.  We met her at 3:30 and hiked around the canal two times until 5:30.  As I mentioned earlier, it was a beautiful day for this!  Oh the loveliness of spring!!!

As we walked back to the Hyatt lobby, I knew I couldn't wait until dinnertime to re-hydrate, so it was unanimous to hit Starbucks and enjoy some refreshment together before we parted ways.

Kathy and I then drove to one last location to meet with a friend and her fiancé to go over their wedding plans.  What a wonderful way to end a very special day!

Wisdom's Words: Waiting

"He makes us wait.  He keeps us on purpose in the dark.  He makes us walk when we want to run, sit still when we want to walk, for He has things to do in our souls that we are not interested in...Let us remember, however, that the Shepherd Himself sometimes makes us lie down.  Some of the 'delays' are His choice for us, so we must not always chide ourselves when the pace is not what we thought it should be.  We must learn to move according to the timetable of the Timeless One, and be at peace."
(Elisabeth Elliot)