The sun emerges on the eastern horizon. Sun up. Official.
I should be up with the sun. But there is that delicious moment if you wait for it, when it glows golden and bright, filtered through fluttering leaves on a perfect summer morning and the curtains moving slightly against the open window.
What is this I hear in my head?
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? Why don’t you staaaaaaaaaaay ~ just a little bit longer…
6:37
Wait for it. Wait for it – perfection: bright, light, golden, yellow-sun, top-of-the-morning-to-you fresh, brand new, warm summer morning. Light begins dancing across the room to the rhythm of the morning song. A stretch. Oh my. That was so worth the wait.
I saw you wearing your bright turquoise “Are you IN?” Northern Hills Church t-shirts and you were so young and beautiful (I’d seen you in the hallways at church) I didn’t think we were really in your league, but I passed Wrex and said,
“Yes. We’re IN.”
Then you called out to us. And Stef, you won my heart wholly when you said, “You’re Tredessa’s mom: I want to be just like her when I grow up.” Of course I adored you both right away.
Then you helped birth Heaven Fest. You just came right in and became a part of this whole crazy thing. And we never want to do it without you…not ever!
Then you just became part of the gang, family parties and holidays and even let me be there when Baby Sawyer came along, just a little less than a year ago. And you helped me make our grandbebe Christmas cards and wrote us songs and just made yourselves a place deep in our hearts.
Then you had to leave.
There you are in Texas until the new job gives you permanent placement. Could be far, far away. Or closer. But it won’t be at the corner so close by, the place you were so near. We’re so proud of you for your courage to follow Father Abraham in a faith adventure with God – just going out into the holy wild to follow His plan, in faith believing. I know it is being credited to you as righteousness. We are so proud that you have made choices setting you up to know Him more, to follow Him more closely, to be His more wholly and to be and do all He has for your lives. And you have gone together, as one with Baby Sawyer. You are a family, full of love and hope.
So I hope you have left behind fears and tears and broken things. I hope you know it is good to leave behind old baggage and unfinished projects and half-grown gardens. Because this is from God, a fresh start in a new place. It is God and it is good.
We will always hold you close
Just know that we treasure you for the gift you were to us while you were here and you will never be replaced. Your generosity and kindness, your willingness to bear our burdens and laugh with us, too, have given you place in our hearts, in our home, around our table and in the familia.
Who thinks I did not fall behind during Heaven Fest and its’ aftermath?
Um, well, I did. And I bet you are not surprised. But I intend to eat all these words up in short order! But let’s do this (just in case anyone else has fallen behind) : start right on this week’s. That can be one beautiful meal a day. Then if you’re still hungry later, serve yourself up some July 24 or July 31 goodies. The main thing is to get the delicious sumptuousness of the Word into you; to be lavishly and abundantly filled up as if you have just had the best meal e-v-e-r! We’ll get everything we need for life and godliness, yum!
Don’cha just love how I can turn anything into a food-thing??? Well, Beth Moore started it. I once heard her say something to the effect that the Word is to be consumed like food to feed your spirit and how you can and should enjoy it like a menu at your fav restaurant. She said sometimes, you’re on the go and just need an appetizer, other times a light salad, but then you will sit down and consume the 5-course meal. And btw – you do NOT just eat once a day for your physical body. I wonder why we think the spirit part of us just needs “one quiet time” per day? I mean, come on – let’s eat! A bowl of cereal here, a soup and salad lunch, a small cone from the DQ on a summer afternoon…a steak meal there…
Can you believe they get paid to do this??? What a life, sitting with friends, playing music and singing great songs. Stormie got me this CD/DVD for Christmas (Live at the Troubadour) and wow, I love it.
The “stars put on a show for free”, people!!
I just want to be Carole King. sigh….And sing with James Taylor, of course.
Well, it wouldn’t be a normal garden season if I hadn’t brought home a plant thinking it was one thing and then finding out it was another.
This year the award goes to Home Depot for selling me a “Beefsteak Tomato” that was really: {ta-da} a small yellow pear-shaped tomato, barely bigger than a grape-style tomato.
I don’t mind surprises in the garden. The plant itself started sprawling like crazy, but hadn’t really produced anything before Heaven Fest. I thought the vines were rather delicate to be a beefsteak variety. Today, I peeked into the middle of this very populated part of the plant and pulled out a couple of pints of these little beauties. Popped one into my mouth and o-my-gosh! Tangy, sweet, tongue-tingling-deliciousness!
Harvest time. Ah, yes. I remember you and why I am so stinking in love with you!
Now to determine the best possible use for my sweet love apples {another name for tomato}. On piping hot pasta with cream and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano? Perhaps a cold combination with kalamata olives and extra-virgin olive oil with home crafted mozzarella balls, freshly grated black pepper and a sprinkling of sea salt or splash of balsamic?
I must go now, to think about this most urgent need.
In February of 2010, I asked all my friends and family to pray for Sam May.
He’d been in a horrible accident and it didn’t look like there was much hope. My dad pastored a church in NW Indiana where Roni May was the pianist and the Mays became great family friends over 30 years ago. In fact, my mom conisders Roni, Sam’s wife, her dearest friend in the world to this day and she always reminds me to pray for them. I even babysat Ryan when he was a little guy and I was in high school.
Ryan has put together a documentary about their ordeal and great hope and about the faithfulness of God, really, when all hope seems gone. This moving tribute makes you want to get back in the battle and possess your land-of-milk-and-honey!
Ohmygoodness. 1984. The day after Christmas, I think.
Grandma and Grandpa Moslander, plus Tim, Tami and Dan had come down to see us in Kokomo. Kenny Rogers’ first Christmas cassette was my music of choice, “Christmas is My Favorite Time of Year.” My mom made matching outfits for the kids.
Found these in my albums. Just random pages of our lives…
Little Stormie was yet to come, just a year and a half later and then we were complete. Oh wow. I miss the days of my babies all near. I love the people they have become and the families they are raising and the lives are they are leading. Really, truly admire my children. I mean they are all so smart and well-written and great speakers and singers/musicians, oh yes, they are! But these were sweetness, too. Days of bare feet and dolls and stuffed animals strewn about our “parsonage-hand-me-down” furniture and matching outfits on knee-high humans and tousled hair and cups of spilt milk. And I miss them.
Our camera was hit or miss. Some days it worked, other days the shutter wouldn’t close. Buying film and paying to have it developed was a risk. But some days, it did just fine. This was one of those days, I guess. Smile…
O, um…found in drafts…and just a week or 2 or so late. :)
So, we met, August 1978 in Minot, ND. And we flirted, but there were other things/people/stuff (??, as if).
Then I moved back home and we wrote letters, mostly in the summer, but there were lots of sweet letters over the course of 2+ years. I love that you kept all of mine and wish I had kept yours, too.
Then I moved back to Minot and we flirted some more, but you were unavailable.
This is Dave preaching in chapel at Northwest Bible College just a few weeks before we started dating. This is Tara and I just a couple of weeks later.
Then, when I thought you were still unavailable (right after your graduation), you asked me over to watch a Rock Hudson movie. And you sort of made your availability known.
It was NOT Rock’s best movie (“Man’s Favorite Sport”). But it turned out to be a fun night, anyway. I think there was some Barry Manilow involved…
And we hung out late nights after you got off the radio (KHRT) and you’d call me at the office frequently. Or drop by – pretty much a lot. And it was a whirlwind.
And 3 weeks later, you said you wanted to marry me. And surprisingly your family thought that was fine. Mine was on the fence, but after they met you, they liked you better than me, anyway.
And 59 days after the first date that I didn’t know was a date, we went to Wimbledon, ND and Dr. Gough married us. I was wearing my cousin Shellie’s dress and none of my family was there, but you were my new family: me and you and Tara.
My co-worker Elaina, had just thrown a whole bag of rice down my dress. Wimbledon, ND
And then we were us and we had a truckload of kids. A girl, another girl and then another. Baby dedications were regular celebrations! Finally got that boy before we gave him a baby sister. We lived all the way from Minot to Kokomo and then to Sioux City and then to Norfolk, NE, where we moved in June the year Stormie (who wrote us a sweet anniversary blog) had just turned one. Then we landed in Denver – home!
Look! Through relentless determination and commitment to the pursuit, we got a boy (baby number 4)!
I did my best to be the “sober” pastor’s wife I’d been charged to be when Dave was ordained. Not my best life’s assignment!.
And besides lots of kids, lots of life and love and wow-did we laugh and dream and grow??!!
Um, yeah. I don’t have any idea what this silly picture was about. My mom took it. It was the 80s.
And there were hard times, too, some disappointments and regret and times we were afraid we’d end up like everyone else.
Me with baby number 3; Dave with baby number 3 (July 1983)
But we made our choices and did them on purpose, together. It was always all about together. And then we didn’t end up like everybody else. It was waaaaaaaaay better.
And we made it. We did! We beat the odds together. Just like the Shania Twain song.
And I love you still.
Happy Anniversary, honey.
est. 1981
NOTE TO YOUNG MARRIEDS: Try to get in pictures together. You are all doing well with the arm shot in this digital age, but be sure when you look back over 30 years of pictures that you are not just seeing mom with all the kids or dad with all the kids over and over and over. And yes, I am speaking from experience!
With a sign the kids made us when they “decorated” our yard late one night. Sweet.
NOTE: The “graininess” was from the photos being in their album covers. Shoulda took them out, I guess.
The kitchen is drenched is sweeteness and chocolate today.
The Phipps fam is leaving us. Moving to Texas for 3 months before settling where the new job will place them. We are helping Stef & Wrex make yummies for their dessert (as in, they are “deserting” us) party tomorrow. There will be cotton candy, Krispie Treat Toodle-oos on sticks, Cake Pop Bon-Bon Voyages, Farewell Fruit Kabobs and way too many other wondrous {extreme sweet} delectibles.
Never one to skimp on style, Stef is directing a myriad of projects in both the cuisine and decor-style arenas.
Wrex intermittently breaks out into one of his greatest song hits, any one of the number of birthday songs he and Stef wrote and he performed for us. Makes the day interesting.
