The Calendar Confused, Jet Lagged, Whiplashed Blog Experience

Okay.  Just so you all don’t get a bad case of Calendar Confused, Jet Lagged Whiplash, let me just mention that I am rewinding time just a bit (a nice little trick, if I do say so myself) so that my upcoming blog posts have some semblance of order in the space-time continuum.  (Naturally, I have no idea what a space-time continuum is, but it’s another one of those things I’ve always wanted to use in a post.)

However.  There is some small possibility that you may become even more slightly kind of confused by the fact that that I’m rewinding time to such an extent that I’m actually rewinding it back to a point before a point I have already written about. 

But really, the only reason I’m even rewinding things that far back (besides finally getting the chance to type space-time continuum) is that there were a few little pictures from our Airport Pick Up last week that I wanted to include but didn’t.  And so before I fast forward to the rest of the rewound week, I wanted to rewind far back enough revisit those rewound and unvisited photos.

Got that?

Good.  Then let’s get started.

Since the Norfolk airport wasn’t very busy when we arrived to pick up our very own personal Royal Couple, Steve and Sarah had plenty of space to walk forwards as well as backwards on the moving sidewalks, just to see what would happen.  My family is easily entertained.

When we had finished our moving sidewalk entertainment extravaganza, we moved on to the gate area to await the Big Moment.  Of course, when you’re at an airport greeting your son and new daughter-in-law for the first time since their wedding, you can’t possibly just stand there and smile quietly and demurely when they appear in view.  No, you have to clap, scream, and cheer wildly.

Do you see the lady on the right who is turning around to stare?  It’s only because we were being just a wee bit loud.  (Yes, even my demure little self was being loudish.  Right in public.  It was historic, I tell you. Historic.)

A few minutes later, there was cause for even more staring as Steve tried to walk up the down escalator.

Well, actually, what he was trying to do was just stay in one place without moving up or down.  The little girl to the right was obviously entrance with his efforts.

After getting home from the wild shenanigan-ish airport experience, we allowed the newlyweds a whopping 1.2 minutes of rest before we launched into the making of our pancake/bacon/scrambled eggs dinner which we whip up each year on the night we decorate the tree.

Meagan was also inducted into the Smith Family Christmas Antlers Club. I know she thought she became a Smith on July 23, 2011,  but it actually didn’t become official until until she donned yon antlers.

Getting the ornaments on the tree was rather entertaining since Nathan was behaving in his best Golden Retriever Puppy Dog Fashion.

Then our (three) children instructed Steve and me to stand in front of the decorated tree and look entranced.

This is about as entranced as I get.

It was so much fun having Nathan and Sarah together again …

…along with our newest Smith.

Hard to believe that I’m no longer sitting beside a College Dude but a real married fella!

A married fella whose shorts-clad legs made a nice frame for the decorated tree.

This year, Steve went out and bought a third stocking for Meagan.    I told him not to buy a nice one because it had to go with the ones we’ve had for Nathan and Sarah all these years.  Meagan asked how long the Smith Kids would have stockings hung up for them and I told her that it would be a long, long time—probably until each of the Smiths Kids is at least 75.   (Which would make Steve into into a rather ancient Stocking Filler but it’s a job he loves so we have decided not to fire him.)

Since we opted to wait for Nathan and Meagan’s arrival in order to do many of our Christmas traditions, we had to sort of smoosh the activities pretty closely together; therefore, the pancake/tree decorating night was followed immediately by the gift opening night. 

Since Snowy considers himself to the Big Dog around here, his self-assigned task was to sit in the Man Chair with Steve and assist him with the reading of the Christmas Story.  (He even donned his little Christmas sweater for the occasion which, unfortunately, detracted a bit from his Big Bad Dog Persona. But don’t tell him I said that.) 

Also, unfortunately, Big Bad Dog Snowy was struck with a gargantuan doggie yawn just as the story was beginning, so it turned out that his inspiring presence in our midst wasn’t all that wasn’t that inspiring after all. Entertaining, yes.  Inspiring, no.

The Smith Kids listened quietly to the story, a story they’ve heard every Christmas and many times in between--a story that still brings them to a place of peace.

And then we opened gifts.   And talked a little.  And laughed a lot.

We also (big surprise, I know) took a lot of pictures.

Here’s one I caught of the new sisters whom I have hereby dubbed, Smithsters.  (Cute, I know.)

 

And then for the finale, my pastor’s kid children told me that it would be funny if I took a cookie and pretended like I was smokin’  a stogie.  Can you tell I’m a bit out practice in the stogey-smokin’ department?

Oh well.  It made them laugh.

Alrighty then!  That’s it for today’s edition of the Calendar Confusion Jet Lagged Whiplashed Blog Experience.

And in future posts?

The story behind this picture.  And much more! 

Wedding Wednesday. Or Not.

Happy Wednesday to you!   


After giving it a little thought, I decided it would work out better schedule-wise to postpone this week's Wedding Wednesday just a little since I'm many days behind in posting and need to use today to catch up with what's been going on over the past week.


We may (or may not) have a surprise (or two) for you to reward you for waiting a little longer so please don't be too terribly awfully mad at me for the delay.  I know we have some staunch Wedding Wednesday Aficionados out there which have made Wedding Wednesdays all the more fun.


Thanks to those of you who left comments about some of your favorite Christmas memories these year.  I enjoyed reading each one so much and was alternating between smiles and teariness the whole time I read.  Thanks again for sharing.


Okay.   I know I said today was a catch up day but since I don't have my Catch Up Day Post written yet, please check back in a little while.  I just wanted to get a little something written to let you all know Wedding Wednesday would be postponed.


Be back soon!   


   

Home Again

We went to the airport on Friday to pick up some certain some ones.

Nathan’s magic gestures helped the tree to get decorated in no time flat.

Meagan was sweet to capture a picture of the four of us.

So thankful these feet are home again.

Wedding Wednesday: Dancing The Day Away

 

Nathan and Meagan’s wedding and reception were both occasions for great joy.

However, after the smile-filled wedding was over,
and before the joyousness of the reception could commence,
the bridal party had to do a little lurking in the entry hall of the country club
so that they could be officially introduced at the proper time.

The ladies in lurking. . . er.. . waiting.

The whole bridal crew waiting for the big moment.

 

At last!
The Mister and the Missus make their entrance.

 

Although the reception food was fabulous,
I think Nathan and Meagan only ate about two bites each. 
Too much excitement! 
Too many people!
Too much joy!

Too much dancin’ to be done!

 

Meagan had two special men to dance with that day;
this man is the one who has known her and loved her the longest.

 

I had a special guy to dance with, too,
someone I have known, loved (and liked) for twenty-two years.
He was so sweet during the dance,
telling me I was doing great even though
I felt as graceful as a 7-legged, pregnant rhinoceros trying to tango.

 

And just think! 

The Mister and Missus mentioned above are even now packing their
bags and preparing for Friday’s flight to Manteo.

Nathan is packing his special ping pong paddle and has challenged me to a duel to a death.
Or at least a duel to the point of him laughing so hard at me that he can no longer play.

That works, too. 

 

(Photos by  Front Porch Photography.)

Smiley Face. Sad Face. Christmas Space.

Below you will see an entry from our December calendar.  If you put on your Sherlock Holmes hat for a minute, you can probably figure out pretty quickly what the entry refers to.  But for those of you whose Holmes Hats might be at the cleaners, I will go ahead and explain it for you.  Because I’m nice like that.

December 23.  Nathan and Meagan fly in from Florida.  Hurray!

December 31. Nathan and Meagan leave for Florida.    Boo hiss!

Steve and I have never had a daughter-in-law fly home for Christmas before and Sarah has never had the chance to be a Christmas sister-in-law, so we are all excited about welcoming Meagan to her first Smith Family Christmas.   (And as much as we love Meagan, I did remind her to please remember to bring her husband with her.)

In the days leading up to their arrival, we’ve been putting a few little Christmas-touches on the house.   We usually have our tree completely decorated by this point but we wanted to save some of it for Nathan and Meagan to do with us, so we put the ribbon on and will wait for their arrival to add the ornaments. 

Steve was sitting on the couch watching TV while I took these pictures and I just want to say how considerate it was of him to be drinking something berry colored that perfectly matched the décor.   (Let’s hear it for pomegranate/cranberry juice!)

More Smith-esque décor.

 

And now for a quick update on the pending blog makeover/changeover/do over.   The guy who is helping me with the switch said he could do it this Thursday and Friday but I sort of panicked about doing something that big so close to Christmas so we are going to wait until after the first of the year.

Just a reminder that if you click on this blog during that period of time, you will not be able to access it because we will be working on the change. But trust me, the wait will be worth it.  I am so excited!

And finally, here are a couple comments.

Connie said (about last week’s Wedding Wednesday), “What song is being sung when so many have their hands raised in praise?
I too will be sad when WW's are done.  Hugs!”

Connie, I have to say that I don’t have any idea what song we were singing; my mind is a complete and total blur because I was in “wedding mode” rather than “music mode” at the time.   I do remember the songs being lively and beautiful and very meaningful, even if I can’t remember the titles.
(And if Meagan reads this, maybe she could chime in with the titles.)

Gayle said, “Another great set of WW pictures! And the photographers are from the town right next to ours!! They did a great job and I'll certainly remember to recommend them if I know anyone needing a photographer. Do they have an actual business?”

Gayle, Kristen (the photographer) actually answered your question herself; I wanted to be sure you saw it so I’m re-posting it below.

Kristen wrote, “This is the photographer! Mrs. Becky, I've really enjoyed reading these posts, and seeing the day from your point-of-view! And thank you, as well, for mentioning us several times!

To Gayle in AL- What town do you live in, if that's not too personal? We started our own business this year, but currently 95% of our business is on location. I do have a small studio set-up in Ozark at our church. Our website is here.

 

An Introvert And The Homeless.

I am an introvert.  In fact, I am an inveterate introvert. 

What makes that especially challenging is that as a pastor’s wife, I frequently find myself in new situations which require me to ramp up my introverted tendencies a bit and climb out of my quiet comfort zone. I often have to challenge myself to exude confidence and cheer even though I might feel underequipped to deal with all the things that land on my plate in any given week.

After thirty years of marriage to a preacher (with fifteen of those years spent traveling full time and being constantly with strangers), I have come a long way toward being confident and comfortable in settings that at one time were way out of my comfort zone. And yet those introverted tendencies persist.

Which is fine.   Being introverted is not a weakness.  It is who I am.  And I love being introverted because a lot of cool qualities come with it.  But my line of work is a bit of a challenge for an introverted personality because I am happiest being alone and what Steve and I do as pastors is all about being with people.  Listening to people.  Welcoming people.  Helping people feel comfortable. Counseling people.  Walking people through great joys and horrendous sorrows.  Just.  Being. There.

Although I have discovered great richness and satisfaction as a pastor’s wife, continuous people-ing will never be my natural habitat.

Last Monday, I was presented with yet another another opportunity to take a step outside of my introverted comfort zone.  Twice during each winter, our church opens our facility to house and feed the homeless for a week at a time.   Each church in the community that signs up for this outreach provides an evening meal, a place to sleep, overnight monitors, a hot breakfast and a sack lunch. 

Monday was the night our family (along with another woman) volunteered to cook and serve our homeless guests and as I was at home preparing my part of the meal I was thinking, “I’m not sure what to talk about with these precious, displaced folks. What do we even have in common? We can’t discuss unclogging toilets, putting up a Christmas tree, cleaning out the garage or rearranging furniture. What topics can I think of to help them feel comfortable?”

Sure, I knew we had in common that we were all human beings; that was a no-brainer.  I got that.  And yet beyond that, what was there?  I was fighting the niggling anxiety that I wouldn’t know what to say, wouldn’t know what to talk about while we ate, wouldn’t know how to form a conversational circle that would welcome everyone into its center.

Steve, Sarah and I got to the church early to get the food set out before the eight men and two women arrived. We all went through the line to get our food and then Sarah and I (along with Patty, the other helper/cook) sat down at a round table with the two women guests while Steve sat with some of the guys. I rearranged my napkin and plastic fork nervously while frantically searching my brain for some fascinating and fabulous conversation starter. 

I needn’t have bothered.

One of the women glanced up from her plate and said, “That chocolate pie on the counter looks so good that I really thought about eating dessert first.”

Well.  What is the most perfect thing for women to talk about who don’t know each other and don’t have a whole lot in common?  Chocolate, of course.  

So we talked about chocolate (in all its lovely permutations) for a little while and when that topic died down, there were miscellaneous memories to be told and various stories to be recollected.  And then one of the ladies mentioned a new grandson of hers and we were off on that subject for a while, discussing how sweet babies are, and how fast they grow, and how amazed we are when we turn around and discover that our toddlers have mysteriously morphed into adults.  And then somewhere in the course of the conversation, I mentioned that I used to clean houses for a living and that set us off on a whole new conversational tangent as we discussed various jobs we’d all worked in the past.

As the delicious meal and delightful conversation came to an end and I started clearing things away, it struck me that we really weren’t that different at all.  Yes, I have a home and they don’t.  Yes, I have my own bathroom and they don’t.  Yes, our lives are very much not the same. 

And yet our differences were not erased by what we don’t have in common, but what we do. We all have families and friends whom we love.  We all have stories to tell from years gone by.  We all have life experiences that have shaped us and made us who we are.  And it was all those stories and life experiences that constructed the path that brought us to one particular evening, one particular table, one particular circle of fellow pilgrims. We sat and talked and were reminded in subtle, unspoken ways that we all laugh, we all cry, we all dream, we all mourn, we all hope.  We are all the same in all the ways that are the most important.

It was an honor for me to share a meal with those women who don’t always know from day to day where they will sleep. It was an inspiration to witness their pluck and their courage and their sense of humor, to see how they refused to allow hard times to define them. They were mothers and friends and workers and dreamers and lovers of chocolate.  They were a lot like me.

It was a good night. Good food. Good company.  And another good chance to step out of my comfort zone and invest time and compassion into the lives of people who received help with dignity, people who shared their thanks freely, people who were hungry for far more than just food.

I hope that as they ate,  they felt like God Himself had reached out to them through our compassion and through our casseroles.  I hope they knew that they were important and that they were loved.

Because love is the sustenance that none of us can live without out.  And that is the thing we all have in common.

________________________________________________________

 

Here are a few pictures; they aren’t the best quality because I was using my small camera and the lighting wasn’t good. But they will give you a little better insight into the evening.

Steve and Sarah are sitting with George, the man from our church who oversees our involvement in this national ministry called Room In The Inn.   They’re waiting for the guests to arrive.

Several of the air mattresses spread throughout our youth hall.

This is the container that holds the clean sheets, towels and washcloths for the guests.

The local company who provides and cleans these linens doesn’t charge a penny for doing so which just proves all over again that there are still good hearts and good people in this world.

Just about time to eat!

As a shout out to the churches of the Outer Banks--most of them take turns provide housing and food to the homeless every night of the week from October through March.   I’m proud of our churches out here and their congregations who take the time and have the heart to make a difference. 

This ministry of Room In The Inn is also a national organization that you may be able to find in your own city.