15th Anniversary Celebration

John and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary this week. I can't believe how fast the years have flown. We watched the recording of our wedding and as I gazed at that young couple on the screen I relived some of those feelings and yes cried my way through yet again. You could see the excitement in our eyes and those goofy grins at one another as we embarked on a new journey together. Little did we know all that our future held but here we are 15 years and 7 children later. Of course our relationship is not perfect which is impossible with two flawed people and we've had our share of disagreements and selfishness abounding. But as I have been reflecting back I find that I am more in love with John today than I was on our wedding a day that just spills over with love.

And while we wished at one time to get-a-way together for this anniversary (I may have said this a few years back as well) it is not feasible when you have an 8-month old baby. But there is no rule as to when you take a nice vacation alone and so in time that will happen. And too, I don't have a longing desire to get away. So our anniversary was spent going out to eat at a nice Italian restaurant. Being that John was so busy at work on a special project earlier this year and went out to eat quite frequently his boss told him to take me out to eat on the company which worked perfect for this occasion. We had a nice time enjoying various foods and surprisingly one of my favorites was a salad with baby octopus and fresh veggies. (Forgot to take pictures of this). But my ultimate favorite is their Tiramisu which is something John typically brings home for me when he goes out. 

But our celebration was not over. You may recall two years ago when I began a new tradition for our anniversary of making a special meal and having our children serve us in our very own restaurant -- "Mason House of Fine Dining". Last year I was pregnant and had no energy for that but this year I was excited to try again.

The kids always seem to enjoy this as well. I gave suggestions but they prepared the dinning room behind a bedsheet so I couldn't see. I had hoped for a meal on the porch but the weather did not cooperate so we brought in our round picnic table and fresh lilacs and the boys strung white lights. I have found that it is best to leave any expectations behind and let the children do as they desire. We had a nice time and maybe one of the fastest meals I can remember as they rushed from one thing to the next they were so excited.

Warm Popovers with honey butter delivered to our table in a basket.

The special for the night was Pesto Chicken with a side topped with Orzo with Veggies. I wrote down options for Tank as I knew John would kid around and ask what else was on the menu. At the mention of spinach quiche John quickly asked for the special. :)

Yummy Ice Cream Cake Roll for dessert. I made it but they cut it, sliced the strawberries and plated it. I love their attempt at drizzling sauce over. They must know how much their Mama loves chocolate. (Actually Pete said "someone" was in hurry and wouldn't let the sauce warm enough)

This is the cutest waiter I have ever had! Seppy was SO proud of himself for carrying this tray without help. 

The wonderful "staff" at Mason House of Fine Dining. I wish I could have taken more pictures to show what part each child played but then I would have missed it all. George was at the reservation desk in the "waiting room". Missy showed us to our table. Tank took our order. Re-Pete delivered the rolls to our table while Pete took our drink order. They each took turns delivering our food.

Our evening ended by watching our wedding and a video we had made for it of us growing up and then the two of us together set to music. I hadn't seen it in a long time and Missy and Seppy had never seen it so it was fun for all of us. I am looking forward to spending many more years learning and growing together with this man that God has blessed me with!

Celebrating 14 Years!

"The Puritan ethic of marriage was first to look not for a partner whom you do love passionately at this moment but rather for one whom you can love steadily as your best friend for life, then to proceed with God’s help to do just that." — J.I. Packer

Enjoy a reminiscing with along with me. (Updated a bit from the first time I posted). Pause the music at the bottom first.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spring Flowers

For behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

And after searching our fields with the rest of the kids for signs of growing things my first gift of flowers has arrived from a very excited little boy. :)

Our Weekend to Remember

John and I have wanted to attend a Family Life Today Weekend to Remember for quite awhile. Being that it costs a little more than we wanted to spend the only way we could do it was to find at least one other couple to attend with us and then we'd all get half off the registration. I was so thrilled to find friends who were also eager to attend and so we all went this past weekend.

John and I had a great time together! We had a busy schedule but the speakers were excellent and so funny too that time flew by. Much of what we heard we already knew but it was just the thing we needed to remind us of a few areas that we both could use work on. The most helpful part was after each session there was an application project where we would answer questions on our own and then discuss them regarding the topics that had been presented which are not things we talk about very regularly.

My favorite project was writing a love letter to each other. Now at first when I heard that, I thought, what in the world would I write. It reminded me of the days when we were dating and actually did pull out a pen and paper and write endearing letters. I had pulled out John's senior year book last week and read what I had written and it cracked me up to read again. We have changed so much since those days but yet our love has grown stronger and as I reflected on that (and they also give questions to prod you on) I was able to write (almost the whole time in tears) a love letter to John. We then shared them with each other and it was pretty much a cry fest for me. But it was such a special time.

We did have time for dating too, although I felt like the whole time we were together we were on this big date. But Saturday the two of us walked hand in hand downtown and found a little coffee shop to have a tasty lunch. What a strange feeling to not have little ones pulling on our legs or holding our hands as we walked.The evening was free time and they encouraged us to have a nice dinner together, although being that we were still full from lunch we did something very out of the ordinary that the kids were shocked to hear -- we went out for ice cream instead but it was fun none-the-less.

Sunday we had a separate session for women and men and then came together again to talk about leaving a legacy. We ended in a tearful session for many in renewing our wedding vows and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend that we will never forget.

I highly recommend every married couple attend a Weekend to Remember! You don't have to be struggling in your marriage to attend as we found it was just helpful to get us communicating better and to put our priorities back in line with each other coming before the children.

If you would like to attend check out the Family Life Today website. They have locations all across the US and if you would like to get half off as well you can register as a part of the group I started. You can attend any Weekend to Remember and do not need to be in our area . Click on the link to our group for more information -- http://www.familylife.com/groups/masongroup

Nifty Fifties Couples Dinner

John and I had a fun night at a "diner" for a Nifty Fifty Couples dinner Friday night. We were supposed to dress in the fashion of that day and so I did quite a bit of online searching to see what was worn. It seems most people think of poodle skirts and saddles shoes but I found that quite a bit of clothing was classic in style and has had an influence in styles of today. I am certain I could have walked into any store and found something similar to that worn in 50's. It was the kids in high school who would more often wear the poodle skirts, although they wore a lot of other things, it's just that that seems to have become the symbol of the day.

Goodwill is my friend and that is where I headed. Of course I did find a blue skirt with polka dots that would have been perfect and a matching sweater but alas, my pregnant belly wouldn't allow that to close anymore. Then I saw a dress on display with a pink cardigan over and pearls dangling from the hanger. Perfect! Being that it had a high waist it worked perfect. And better yet, it is something I will wear again because it is a cute dress from Target still with the tags on. John had a shirt in his closet that reminded me of a loose style I saw. He could have just worn a suit and tie though as that is what most men seemed to wear along with a hat.

I hope I didn't bore you with the clothes. I really found it fascinating to see styles over time. The dinner was in the church basement decorated to look like a diner and "the Fonz" took our names and seated us at our tables. We dined on ice cream floats and hamburgers. We enjoyed 50's entertainment and even a visit from Frank Sinatra! :) I was thinking my Dad should have sang his song "Duke of Earl" (that's his name) as I love to hear him sing those old songs. Good friends, fun times!

Mason House of Fine Dining

Last week Monday John and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary! We planned to go out to eat on the weekend but I couldn't let the day go by without doing something special. I thought it would be fun to make our dinning room into a restaurant and the children would serve. They really liked the idea and being that a couple of my children are very like-minded to me they took off with it. A curtain was hung to divide the kitchen from the dinning room. The dinning room was cleaned, the table had nice linens and candles were set out. George decided to wear his suitcoat and the others followed and wore nicer clothes  -- although a couple still were barefoot.  :)-

George was the host with his sidekick, Missy Blue. He set a stool near the front door with a fake guest list and made a waiting area with our two-seater chair. I had all of the food made and set out on the counter and showed them how to plate it before-hand. I reminded them of the various jobs in a restaurant and they decided who would do what from bringing out the rolls, taking our order, filling our glass, etc.

John arrived home and he started laughing the minute he walked through the door. George asked for a reservation and of course John had fun with that giving fake names the whole time causing everyone else to burst out laughing. He was asked to be seated in the waiting area and Re-Pete brought out a dress shirt as our restaurant required nicer attire. :) I sat in the dinning room and they brought John to "our table". Pete told us the special for the evening which was Braised Sirloin Tips on a bed of rice and steamed broccoli. Tank brought out our rolls and made sure the basket was filled the rest of the meal. The food was plated well, although the portion size was a little on the small side but that was okay.

 

At times we had interruptions from Seppy and Lincoln and quite a bit of noise going on in the kitchen to which the older boys kept peeking through the curtain apologizing for the noise and turned up the music instead.  We enjoyed one of John's favorite desserts of Chocolate Eclaire Torte and Noah had sprinkled the plates and top of the dessert with powdered sugar and cocoa powder which was a nice touch.

Mason House of Fine Dining was so much fun and we all enjoyed it! I think this may need to become a new tradition and then down the road I will no longer need to cook the meal as I know my boys will be the ones preparing. Looking forward to many more celebrations and making memories along the way.

Our 12th Anniversary

On Sunday John and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. I had been at a bridal shower the day before thinking of how things change over the years (and also of how much I could use another shower). I so remember being showered with gifts to begin married life with and all of the excitement leading up to my wedding day. Those little thrills when I felt John's hand in mine and I couldn't wait until we could be together every day! Over the years the thrill tapers off and his hand now feels comfortable. We both have changed and grown more mature and hopefully more like the God who created us.

I am so glad for the change! I would not want to go back to the beginning to figure out all of the quirks and moods that were not quite as obvious during the dating years. I love the comfortable feel of my husband next to me. I love that we have grown and matured and am so thankful for the children we have been blessed with -- have you heard that phrase -- "all because two people fell in love".

Thank You God for the gift of love and marriage to reflect the beautiful relationship between Christ and His church! I pray that we clearly mirror that in our own marriage.

May 3, 1997

Marriage fun for Christmas

One of my favorite websites is Family Life Today and last week I found something fun to count down the days until Christmas with your spouse. It is called Mistletoe for Marriage - 25 days of comfort and joy. Sound intriguing? It did to me and I plan to do as many of them as I can. To give you an example, tonights activity is:

Make some hot chocolate, snuggle up on the couch or in bed and read

Luke 1: 26-38

There is a quick link to Mistletoe for Marriage on this PAGE. Have fun!

11th Annniversary

Today is our 11th Wedding Anniversary! Wow, how the time flies. We celebrated last night by going out for a nice dinner, a walk along the lake, a little shopping, and topped it off with a trip to Cold Stone Creamery. It was so nice to be just the two of us having adult conversation without little voices all around. We don't have a date night often enough! I posted our anniversary video today but you will need to pause the music on the sidebar first. Thankfully we look better with age.

Our 10th Wedding Anniversary!

I saw this on another blog awhile ago and thought it would be fun to post today on our anniversary. Take a look at the short slide show I put together of just the two of us.

1. Where/How did you meet? We met in our Junior year of high school (we attended different schools) at Campus Life, a non-denominational youth group similar to Campus Crusade.

2. How long have you known each other? About 16 yrs. 

3. How long after you met did you start dating? John was interested in me awhile before I knew about  it. We hung around with the same group of friends from Campus Life and had fun together as friends. 

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? We dated for 5 years all-together, although I would have preferred getting married sooner.  John wanted to concentrate on college and graduate first which in the long run was a good idea.

5. How long was your engagement? Two years. He proposed in November of 1995 (partly because my grandma was dying and we wanted her to know) and got married in May of 1997 right after John graduated.

6. How long have you been married?  10 years

7. What is your anniversary? May 3

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? We had an average size reception but fairly simple held in the church fellowship hall.  

9. What kind of cake did you serve?  We had a wonderful cake that everyone commented on.  Each layer was a different flavor but the only one I really remember is chocolate with apricot crème filling. Yum!

10. Where was your wedding? A beautiful Reformed Church in a quaint town. We did not attend there but selected that location because honestly I didn’t like the look of my own plain church. It also worked well as they had a large fellowship hall to accommodate us where our church was not large enough.

 11. What did you serve for your meal? We had it catered by a lady who made everything so beautiful with baskets for the foods and such. Our wedding was a garden-type theme and I only remember a few things so I know we had orange chicken on skewers, tortellini salad, finger foods and salads. I was too nervous to eat anything and only picked at my food. I was so thankful that my Mom packed a couple of plates full of food to take along that night. I was starving by the time we got to our hotel!

12. How many people were in your wedding party? We had 8 people. My sister was my Maid of Honor and my Aunt and a good friend were bridesmaids. John had two friends and my cousin stand up with him. We had a sweet little flowergirl and my cousin was the ring bearer.

13. Are you still friends with them all? For the most part. One of the groomsmen moved away so we haven’t seen them in a long time.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? Yes, but not nearly as much as I did. 

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? The most special moment was my Dad walking me down the aisle. We had the song “Butterfly Kisses” (before it became popular for weddings) sung before I walked down. Dad and I stood in the back and he had a really hard time which didn’t help me any. As we stood in the doorway ready to go both of us had shed quite a few tears but he was all smiles and held me tightly as we walked together arm in arm.

16. Any funny moments? Not that I can recall.     

17. Any big disasters? The only thing that went wrong was that I didn’t get the cake design that I had ordered. I walked in the reception hall that morning and asked whose cake that was because it didn’t look anything like I asked for. Thankfully we had extra flowers to fill in for some color as it was more on the plain side. I had wanted lilac type flowers draping down the sides but it was just plain white basket weave. The flavors of the layers were correct for the most part except that they made one layer poppy seed which we hadn’t wanted since my Dad and Grandma cannot eat them.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?  We spent the first night at a hotel across from the airport as we had to catch a really early flight to Tennessee. We rented a log cabin in the Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg. It was unseasonably cool that week but the sights were absolutely beautiful!  We did a lot of hiking and got to see two bear cubs and stood beneath a waterfall. We also stopped at Dollywood and one of those fun meals with a show.

19. How long were you gone? A week.

20. If you were to do your wedding over.... I would change the bridesmaids dresses as I didn’t like how they turned out (someone made them after looking at a picture I liked) as they didn’t look much like the picture.  I would have stressed to the florist to have a LOT of color in my bouquet. I love color and the bridesmaids had gorgeous bouquets but mine was quite plain.

21. What is your song? We don’t really have a song. When we started dating the Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner was new so the love song from that reminds me of that time. The song we had sung at our wedding was by Steve Green, called “Til the End of Time” and that says it all.

22. Describe your wedding dress. It was fairly simple and elegant.  The bottom was a light chiffon that floated beautifully. The top was made of appliqué lace that covered the heart-shaped form of the simple top. My veil was a floral type thick headband.  

23. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? I had white tulips, lavender freesia, pink stephanotis with pearls in the centers and ivy flowing down. The bridesmaids had dark purple irises, pink daisies, a bright yellow freesia, purple statis, and bright pink kolanchoe. (I loved their flowers!)

Today we look much the same, maybe a bit older. My hairstyle has been in constant change over my lifetime so that we can tell what year it is based on my hairstyle so of course that has changed. My husband had gained a bit of weight over the years but has taken that off in the past year so he looks much the same but he gets more handsome with age to me!

Happy 65th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa's Wedding Picture in 1942

This past weekend we celebrated my Grandparents 65^th Wedding Anniversary! We had quite a group gather to honor them and give tribute. It was such a special time with family and old friends.

Grandma and Grandpa with most of the family (they had 6 children)

We had a short program which was a highlight. My Dad and uncles sang in harmony some of the songs that my grandparents love including a song I will always associate with my Grandpa, “Soon and Very Soon”.  On that note he went up to add his tenor voice along with them and had us all join in. The great-grandchildren, which included my children, sang “The B-I-B-L-E”, and my Aunt wrote a skit called “This Is Your Life” which had various family members acting out the different times in Grandma and Grandpa’s marriage. Missy Blue played my Aunt as a baby and was quite a little doll in her bonnet.

Missy Blue playing my Aunt

Everyone joined in choruses and then my Grandparents spoke. Grandpa shared how they had been through so much in their time together but the things that kept them strong were Grandma and the Lord. He told of the support and helpmeet she has been to him through all these years and I have seen that evidenced so clearly. Grandma shared one of her favorite verses that has carried her through, Psalm 46:1 “God, is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The thing that really brought tears to my eyes was when they told how when they lie in bed at night they sing together the chorus…”Thank You Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You Lord, for making me whole. Thank You Lord, for giving to me, Thy great salvation so rich and free.” They love the Lord and put Him first, they love each other, and they love their family. They often remind me that they are praying for us and how they pray for each one in our family. What a special couple! I praise God for the example they have been to us of a marriage with Christ at the Head. My cousin sang the Steve Green song which summed it up best. “Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful….” My grandparents have truly been faithful and have touched many lives.

Grandma and Grandpa today

My Husband, Perfect for Me!

I am so thankful for my husband! God certainly knew what I needed when he picked the perfect man for me. I have been reminded of this again the past few days as three of our little ones have been sick with the yucky flu bug that is going around. He has always been one willing to get up in the middle of the night whenever needed and the past couple of nights we have been busy changing messy diapers or removing bedsheets from someone missing the bucket. I was so thankful for the help as we gagged together over the grossness of it all. He helps me to look at the bright side of things and laugh when sometimes I feel like screaming. Isn’t God good!