Freedom

When we went to Steve’s parent’s house for Christmas three years ago, I took this picture of Nathan in front of his Grandpa Smith’s photo. 

And as I look at this picture again today on Veteran’s Day, I am thankful that Nathan has a grandpa who flew fighter jets in the Air Force, fought for liberty and made sacrifices that preserved the freedoms that Nathan (and all of us) enjoy today.

Thanks to Retired Lieutenant Colonel Ken Smith and thanks to all the rest of you who have served in our Armed Forces. 

We are grateful for you.  We are grateful for the gift of yourself that you so freely gave to this great country.

Wedding Wednesday: Beaming-er Bride. Grinning-er Groom

Just what is this crazy groom doing?

Why is he peeking around the door?

What (or whom) is he peering at?

Aha! 
It turns out that there is a certain someone on the other side--
someone whom the groom seems to have an inordinately strong interest in. 
Someone who is dressed in white--glowing, joyous, beautiful!

Since Nathan and Meagan opted not to see each other before the ceremony,
this was as close as they were able to get to each other—
holding hands around the door.

It’s such a quirky, creative shot; it makes me smile every time I see it.

And in other pre-ceremony shots . . .

How did my little girl ever turn into this exotic young lady?
I’ll never know how that happened.

But I’m everlastingly grateful for these miracle years we’ve been
blessed with since her 15% chance of survival cancer diagnosis
almost ten years ago.  On that nightmarish diagnosis day,
I never dared to dream that Sarah would live long enough
to be a bridesmaid at her beloved big brother’s wedding.

Here’s the bride.
And her bracelet. 
And her be-flowered and bedecked bodice. 
Beauty everywhere you look.

And even more beauty inside.

One Hawley. 
One used-to-be-Hawley.  
One Smith. 
One Hawley-soon-to-be-Smith. 
Four sisters of various varieties.

One of the many things I loved about the ceremony was
that it included a segment of worship
featuring drums, bass guitar, piano, and vocalists.  

Nathan and Meagan said, “Worship is a big part of our lives
and we want it to be a big part of our wedding, too.” 

One bridesmaid did double duty as a
singer, one of the two ministers officiating the
ceremony played the piano, and the other
ceremony-officiator sang. Meagan and Nathan
hang out with multi talented folks!

It wasn’t just a wedding.  It was church!**

And after church (and the wedding), we had some happy folks!
Have you ever seen a beaming-er bride?
Or a grinning-er groom?

Of course, amidst all the spontaneous spurts of excitement,
every wedding must have its
official formal shots of the bridal party . . .

. . . and pictures with family members.  (Nathan with his Dad and Grandpa.)

Here’s Meagan with part of her new family—my sister, Debbie,
my brother-in-law, Rev. Randy Mantik, and their son, Caleb.
Don’t let Debbie’s demure demeanor deceive you—
she can flat whip up on a set of drums.  Plus, she
has the most gorgeous alto voice you have ever heard!

The bridal couple with Steve’s Mom and Dad,
his two younger brothers, and his sister-in-law who all live in Charlotte.

The exquisite bride with her really, really fabulous Mom and Dad,
Rev. Frank and Rev. Sheri Hawley.

I can’t tell you what a joy it is to Steve and I
to have our son marry the daughter of
some of our best friends! 
He’s got good taste—in a wife and in in-laws.

Although I don’t even know the ring bearer,
I had to post a couple shots since he is so stinkin’ cute!

The bride and her wacky bridesmaids.

The bride and her new husband’s wacky groomsmen.

Lovely, lovely ladies.

 Lovely, lovely bride.

Lovely, lovely day.

**A brief word of explanation about the expressions of worship during the wedding:

The Smith and Hawley families are both part of a faith tradition that utilizes modern music, active participation, and physical expressions of joy and worship in our church services; this includes among other things, raising our hands while singing or praying. 

Raised hands represent surrender.  Think about one’s instinctive reaction to a bank robber--arms up is the universal sign of surrender.

Raising hands also signifies praise and adoration.  If you’ve ever seen a pop or rock concert, the audience often stands with their arms raised.  In the same way, we raise our hands to express praise and worship to God--who deserves it a whole lot more than any rock star.

There are many verses in the Bible about this practice; here’s one of them:

Psalm 132:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.

So there you have it. A big serving of Wedding Wednesday accompanied by a little side dish of Worship 101.

Thanks for stopping by and making Wedding Wednesday such a special day!

Sherlock Holmes. Sunlight on Wood. Three Magazines. A Sleeping Dog.

Although the things listed in this post’s title may seem a bit disparate, in my (not always logical) brain, they really do coexist quite peaceably.  In fact, that’s exactly what they all have in common—peacefulness.

Sherlock Holmes

Last week I came home late from a meeting and found two of my favorite people just peacefully hanging out.  Or maybe I should say that there were three people hanging out because Sherlock Holmes was there, too.

Many years ago, Steve’s parents gave him a leather bound volume of Sherlock Holmes stories for Christmas which contains the complete works in the original typeface with the original spelling. One of the many reasons Steve loves the stories is because they utilize underused and underappreciated words like indubitably and disputatious.

Since Sarah is an inveterate lover of words, she also loves Mr. Holmes, his rich vocabulary and his mysterious and intriguing escapades.
She also enjoys peaceful moments with her dad.

Sunlight on Wood

To me, one of the most peace-producing sights in the world is sun-spattered wood.  Love it.

 

Three Magazines

Even though magazines don’t usually bring peacefulness to mind, these two pictures just make me smile--in a peaceful sort of way.

We don’t read or watch TV during our evening meals,  but lunches will usually find us with reading material of some sort.  Here’s the aftermath of a placid Saturday lunch for the three of us when sandwiches, magazines (and peace) were on the menu. 

A Sleeping Dog

And finally, the most peaceful picture of all.  

Snowy.  By the front door.  Guarding the house.  While asleep. 

He is such a (peaceful) multi-tasker.

So there you have it.

Four scenes of hitherto unconnected peaceful things.

 

Sorta Scary Smith Pictures.

Today I would like to show off my new, longer hairstyle.  Pretty amazing that I could grow my hair that fast, isn’t it?

But hey, when you’re good you’re good.

Um.  Except that something happened while it was growing.  It seems to have turned  . . . um . . . gray.

How could that be?

May I just say that I don’t believe gray is really my color?  With my coloring, it makes me look a little scary, a little sick-ish, a little not well. (Note to self:  Color your hair when the gray starts to show.)

Good thing the gray hair was just a wig, temporarily stolen from my friend, Cindy, who brought it to work--she’s the church bookkeeper--to show it off.  (She decided to go ahead and get her wig choice settled in plenty of time before the chemo kicks in.)  

May I just say that the wig looks absolutely stunning on her; she was made for those sparkling silvery locks. And I truly admire the panache and sense of humor of a woman facing cancer and chemo who willingly schleps in her wig so that she can provide some chortles for us church folk and break up our work day a little.

And now do you want to see something really, really scary?

Are you sure?

Okay.  You asked for it.

 

Steve went and grabbed his guitar as soon as Cindy and I informed him (between hysterical giggles) that the wig made him look like an aging country/rock star.

I’m sincerely sorry for any nightmares these pictures may cause you.

The End.

A Manteo Stroll

Before getting into today’s post, let me just mention that tomorrow’s post will feature pictures of Steve and I like you have never seen us before.

Trust me on that.

Okay.  So now that I’ve got your curiosity up, let’s move right along!

A few mornings ago, I got out early and snapped a few pictures of Manteo in all its quaint and colorful glory.

I hope you enjoyed your Manteo stroll!

COMMENTS

Lisa from Georgia said,  “To what picture is Diane referring? Maybe the 7th graders I teach have finally eaten through my brain, but I could not for the life of me find the picture. Oh, and I LOVE the jumping pictures. They are so good and I must say that is some impressive height!”

Lisa, First of all let me say that I admire your good grammar in saying, '”To what picture is Diane referring?”  instead of “What picture is Diane referring to?”  Very impressive! 

I think Diane was referring to the third picture down in  this post.

Jmckemie said, “Do not want to add a down side but just thought since many people read this blog, a reminder that most people think that hair donated to Locks of Love goes almost exclusively to children or others with who have suffered loss of hair due to cancer treatment. Truth is, it rarely does. They specifically market to people who have permanent hair loss, mostly due to alopecia and other diseases. While they are a great organization and serve a much needed and unique demographic, if someone specifically wants their donated hair to go to a cancer patient, and in particular a younger cancer victim, they should check out some of the other organizations such as Wigs 4 Kids or Hugs U Wear. So glad we live in a world where people have the option of making a donation like this - one that will truly make a difference in someone's life, regardless of why there is hair loss; and so grateful for people like Sarah who make the choice to give such a wonderful gift.”

I have to say that if all comments were this gracious and well written in pointing out facts I may have overlooked, this world would be a better place! Thanks for the info you shared; I really wasn’t aware of those statistics and am glad you provided some alternatives for those who are interested in donating hair.

Rachel said, “If you don't mind my asking, why did you and your doctor opt to not do chemo? Was it because the cancer cells were extremely concentrated to one spot only and therefore almost no risk of it spreading?”

Rachel, great question!  Yes, that is exactly the reason there was so chemo recommended; the cancer was contained and completely removed through surgery.  Also, the doctor took into consideration my family history which is clear of breast cancer on my mother’s side.

Sarah asked, “How on earth do you manage to keep the slugs and snails off those hostas?  Here in England the leaves are always chewed into lacework unless you put a lot of poison pellets down, and with a dog you wouldn't want to do that!”

Sarah, I am ashamed to admit I have no idea what you’re talking about;  I wouldn’t know a Hosta if it bit me on the nose! It could be that since the shrubs were just put in, that the slugs and snails haven’t found them yet.  I agree with you though; we definitely wouldn’t want to put down poison pellets with a doggie in the area!

Mary H said, “You have the prettiest house and shrubs. How is Snowy? I though maybe he would be poking around during the shrubbing. Miss seeing that little guy.”

Mary, Snowy continues to look and act like a rejuvenated puppy.   We’re coming up on almost a year since he almost died from his liver issues and every day I see him, I am amazed all over again that a dog who was that sick is doing so incredibly well.  We are grateful.

Lisa from Georgia said,  “Oh, Becky I just love her new "do"!! What a blessing to get a haircut! As you know from my own Sarah's story, we too had the loss of hair. My other daughter Marin (who never knew her sister) and I have donated our own hair a few times to this worthy cause in memory of our Sarah. In the next month or so she will be donating again (I really hate long hair and taking care of it) and we will donate in honor of your Sarah's 16th birthday, one we prayed she would get to celebrate not so very long ago. I am encouraged every time I read this blog that your Sarah is continuing to win the battle against that awful cancer. I continue to pray for a cure for all the children still suffering, I pray for parents, like us, whose babies have gone to be with Jesus and I rejoice for your Sarah as she is one of a very few who has survived so many years. What a reminder of God's faithfulness!!”

Lisa, as always, your attitude  both blesses me and humbles me.  The fact that you can so graciously leave comments rejoicing in Sarah’s milestones and successes when your own Sarah didn’t survive her cancer is just really incredible.

We would be honored to have you donate hair in honor of our princess.