Special Moments

determination

through the hundreds of ordinary days

when you feel like giving up.

it pays to be true.

it pays to hang on.

it pays to serve Jesus,

and he'll surprise you with special moments.

anne kiemel

Sometimes he uses people to help surprise us with those special moments. My friend and fellow blogger, Kim, surprised and encouraged me by treating me to a pedicure on Saturday. She said I had been on her mind lately, and I have no doubt that Jesus is the one who placed me there! Thank you sooooo much, Kim!

Happy Birthday, Hilary

First Birthday

Twenty-First Birthday

What can I say? I look at you and wonder where the years have gone? Just yesterday, I was planning your first birthday party, and today you are turning 21. You have grown and matured into a beautiful young woman. You are a precious gift from God that keeps on giving and giving.

May your birthday bring deep happiness to you! May you have peace, love, faith, a sense of humor, and an optimistic attitude. May you appreciate and notice all of your blessings and find joy in all of the wonderful little things life offers.

I wish that I could give you everything you could ever want, and guarantee you health, safety, and joy. But all that I can promise you is my love -- unconditional, complete, and forever. Happy Birthday to my little girl (yes, you will ALWAYS be my little girl).

The Three Bears and Wedding #3

The three bears attended three weddings in the Summer of 2011. While discussing the weddings in their den one night, Baby Bear said, "The first wedding was TOO wet. The second wedding was TOO hot. But the third wedding was just right."

Yes, last Saturday night I attended Tiffany Kessel and Tom McCollum's wedding -- Wedding #3 of the Summer of 2011 (see two posts below). The wedding was changed to inside that day because of the heat, and it was so nice and cool in the building.

There was one bittersweet moment...

Sadly, Tiffany's Dad has been in the hospital off and on for the last few weeks, and Mike was in ICU the day of his daughter's wedding. Tyler and Jacob (Tiffany's brothers) walked her down the aisle and represented their Dad. It was sweet but sad. I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole place.

In spite of the circumstances, the wedding went on, and we celebrated! The decorations were lovely, the ceremony was sweet, the food and cake was delicious! And...it was sooooooooo much fun. They had an MC that incorporated so many fun things into the reception and dance. Can't remember when I've had so much fun at a wedding before.

Wedding #2 -- Same, But Different

The first wedding we attended this summer (see post below), we were wet from the rain! Well, at wedding #2, we were wet from SWEAT!! I know, gross detail!! But, seriously, who gets married at 1:30 in the afternoon in Redding, CA in July at Shasta Dam??? Of course, that would be Rich Schneck!!

Rich and Marsha went to Shasta High School together, and they reconnected at a reunion. Long story short, they started communicating, Marsha moved back to Redding from Alaska, and Rich finally bought a ring and proposed!

We have known Rich for about 30 years. Bob and Rich served on the Deacon Board together for years at North Valley Baptist Church. I worked at NVBC/NVCS with Rich for years. The Schnecks babysat Hilary for me for many months while I worked two days a week, and Rich has taught both of my kids in school. Needless to say, we LOVE Rich.

What a fun wedding! We were able to visit with people we had not seen for years, catch up with former North Valley Christian School kids, enjoy Pat Karch's singing and keyboard playing (which I miss), and witness the love and happiness of Rich and Marsha.

Unfortunately, my husband and children DO NOT share my love for weddings!!! So, most of the time I am "going solo", but this was one wedding we attended together as a family, and I LOVED that!

Here's a picture of Mr. Schneck with the kids who will be seniors this year at Redding Christian High School where Rich teaches:


And the last picture...it literally melted my heart to see Rich so happy! This was a cool picture that Lyle took with Hannah Williamson making a heart shape with her hands. LOVED IT!!!

I LOVE weddings!!!!

I must admit, I LOVE, LOVE weddings and have since I was a little girl. During my lifetime, I have had the privilege of being a bridesmaid/maid of honor in 13 weddings ; and, of course, finally a bride!!

Weddings are a celebration, pure and simple. It’s two people coming together, two families coming together, two lives coming together! There is no bittersweet in a wedding, only joy, laughter, and love. What’s better than that? Weddings are an opportunity to see two people profess their love to one another in a public setting. What anticipation there is waiting to see the dress, the decorations, the flowers, and the cake. I love EVERY little detail!

After being kind of out of the "wedding scene" for a few years, I am entering a new phase in my life -- my friends' children are now getting married. MORE WEDDINGS!! HURRAY!!

On June 4th, we attended Garrett Diehl's wedding at the Grover Ranch in Anderson. I met Garrett's mom, Carmen, when I was in 8th grade, and we have been good friends ever since. (I was in Jim and Carmen's wedding.)


I'm sure we will talk about this wedding for years to come because it was unlike any wedding I had ever been to before -- it was outside and pouring down rain!! Thank you very much, Mother Nature! :0( But, you would have never known by the bride and groom. They took the weather in stride and had a blast!!! I am sure they will "weather the storms of life" with that same upbeat attitude!


Carmen made this gluten-free wedding cake for her new daughter-in-law, Jen. The rest of us enjoyed cupcakes! And, yes, I ate three cupcakes from the cupcake tower (shhhhhhh, there were still plenty left over and they were yummy!).


Have you ever tried to eat dinner AND hold an umbrella at the same time? I'm here to tell you, it can be done!


Tomorrow...wedding #2 of the summer of 2011!

I {HEART} New York

These two are off to New York...

Ethan's brother, Levi, is apartment sitting for a friend in New York City for a month. So, he invited the whole Hammett family and Hilary to come visit and see the sites!! Monday, Hilary packed her suitcase and left to join Ethan, his parents, and his sister to fly to New York. They will be gone 10 days. Sometime during the trip, they will go to Washington D.C. for 3 days.

I must admit I was somewhat jealous, but VERY, VERY excited for her to have this opportunity!

Class of 2011 - Hilary's Graduation

This is the first of many “catch up” posts. Since I have my blog printed up in book form each year, I want to document certain things even if I’m late posting about them.

Hilary and Ethan graduated with honors from Shasta College on May 27th. It was such a wonderful evening! My Mom graciously treated us (yes, all 15) to dinner at Cattlemen’s before graduation. What a great time of fellowship we had around the table – Grandma, Uncle Wes, Bob, me, Hilary, Lyle, Ethan, Ted, John and Peggy (Ethan’s parents), Hannah (Ethan’s sister) Aaron and Christy (Ethan’s brother and girlfriend), and Larry and Melissa (good friends/neighbors of Ethan’s family). After the ceremony, everyone came to our house for cheesecake and fellowship.

The graduation was LONG but nice! It was soooo cold. I had a new outfit to wear, but ended up wearing winter clothes. Hilary had on her big winter coat under her graduation gown. Hilary graduated with three AA degrees – Engineering, Mathematics, and Quantitative Reasoning (don’t ask me what that means).

Gramz, Hilary, and Uncle Wes

Our Family

Hilary and Ethan with Ethan's parents

Hilary, I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you. I've been given the opportunity to watch you grow form an incredibly cute little baby into a beautiful young woman. You have achieved so much in such a short time that it’s hard for me to keep track of it all. Only yesterday you were just a short chubby-cheeked little girl and now you have graduated from Shasta College and will be heading to Humboldt State University. Though it may seem to you that it’s taken forever to reach this point, it has happened all too quickly for me. I’ll admit here that it saddens me to see you start the rest of your life, however it cannot compare to how happy and proud I am that you are so well prepared and dedicated to your dreams. Never lose sight of those dreams and never compromise anything to reach them. No matter what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future, always know that I love you and will always be here for you. You have made us so proud, and I know that you will continue to do so during your time at Humboldt. Congratulations Hilary!

And, just for fun, here's a picture of me graduating from Shasta College in June of 1979. (Notice the long gunny sack dress.)