What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Gatherings

This summer has been so chock full of activities, it is flying by in a whirlwind.  Parties to host, parties to attend, things on the calendar.  It's kinda crazy.

And it isn't winding down!

Here are a few photos from the last few to get me (and this blog) caught up...though mercifully, not many!  Too busy for photos when you are having fun, I guess!

An Ice Cream Sundae sort of Sunday:

(Probably the boys' favorite shin-dig of the bunch!)










It's not a party until the firework box blows up and catches on fire.


NOW it's a party!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Newunion

The day was 96 degrees miserable so I made sure to do as much prep and cooking BEFORE the party to keep things as comfortable as possible on the day.  I didn't want any guests to be fried and I didn't want MYSELF to be fried either.

It worked out amazingly.  

Reason # 4659 that I have children:



The little one on the end was the quality control officer... she took her job very seriously.


My favorite part of party prep- the flower bouquets for the tables.  


Apparently, Ineke takes after her Mama.  

She was a good little helper, though a few flowers' heads were sacrificed in the making of the bouquets.



The most remarkable thing about this party was that, despite people coming for supper the night before and despite the party being that afternoon, we were able to hightail it outta there and head to Matt's parents' lake for an hour swim right when I am usually going INSANE trying to get everything done.

I never thought I would EVER be swimming at a lake a few hours before I was hosting a party!  I still can't believe it, actually.

That's what being crazy a few days beforehand will get you.



It was just what I needed to cool off and get refreshed and ready for all the last minute stuff.

By the end of the night, I was so relaxed and chipper and perky...


Oh wait.  Who am I kidding?  

Are those weird perfectly rectangular light irregularities and lines horrible photoshopping evidence?

Yup.

This photo is the real deal:


Slightly less perky and chipper.  Still pretty relaxed though.



                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Cricket Shower

My brother and sister-in-law hosted a little family Cricket shower for this babe o' mine.   As anyone with six children knows, by the time the 6th comes around- things are looking pretty dingy.   Cricket got some very nice crisp and clean things to wear but the best gift of all was knowing this this 6th child is being celebrated.  Welcomed.  Anticipated.  Rejoiced over.

As every single child should be.

That was the greatest gift to me of all.

When I arrived, I realized that my camera battery was almost stone dead.  Here are the few pictures I was able to get before it gave up the ghost.  I never even got a picture of the sweet hosts.  :-(





It's been a full summer, but oh, so good.  

1 comment:

Abigail said...

So how did you decide between Newunion and Renewman?
That would make a great tongue-twister. ;)

Having space to relax before a family get-together is an impressive feat, even while NOT pregnant. I'm hiring you as our party planner for all future gatherings on Mt. Hunger. (You'll be paid in cheesecake. I can't promise it will be keto.)

I'm just being silly now, but I came here to see the pictures of the porch and was sucked into commenting on months-long posts because your blog is so enjoyable.

- Ineke is angelic in that dress. (I'm sure her temperament always matches her appearance, too.)
- Corynn looks so grown on the porch beside you!
- Adele's smile and pose in the family photo made me happy. She is a dear.
- The boys are all right, too, I guess. (Kidding, Andrew and Judah, kidding!)

I'd been hoping to have a mini-shower at church for Cricket after his arrival. After seeing these gorgeous pictures, I think we'll just call it a Church Picnic Plus Presents, instead. Wow! Jonathon and Mary turned a baby shower into art! I am so glad. What a gift, to be surrounded by such clear love and joy for this wee baby!