A Birth, A Wedding, A Funeral: God's Grace

If there was ever a time when God’s grace was unmistakably evident, it was this weekend.  Three days of a heart-wrenching whirlwind.  A weekend where my heart didn’t quite know how to feel.

Friday dawned with the birth of my beautiful niece – the first grandchild on the Boboth side.  Silly as it sounds, I love that baby so much already; though I have yet to meet her. The joy, pride and love that I felt surprised me, and now it KILLS me not to be there with her… or her parents.  Sure miss that family!

Friday night was the wedding of one of our cousins on the Boboth side. How sweet it was to see family that had come significant distances to be there! After the wedding, we drove up to Yakima where the whole Schlect family was gathering for a funeral the following morning.

The weather was perfect on Saturday as we made our way to the cemetery.  The ceremony went as well as could be and was followed by a reception spent reminiscing about my great grandmother.

My siblings and me with our late Great Grandma

Such an interesting sequence of events: a birth, a wedding, and a funeral. Life's cycle, I suppose.

In it all, however, God’s grace was so very evident.  In the healthy cry of a newborn baby, in a new bride’s glow, in the delicate balance between gravity and levity, in the laughter among the cousins despite the gravity of the weekend, in the sweet conversations remembering Grandma as we lounged around the pool, in a competitive card game, in a 22-person-long table at Red Robin, in the midst of family whiffle ball games, in the middle of a Miner’s burger… God has been so very gracious.

Driving away from this weekend, my heart is full.  What a blessing to be a part of a family where all 22 members not only love each other, but they genuinely enjoy each other’s presence! What a legacy my grandparents have established. I spent much of this weekend utterly in awe of God’s goodness to us to allow this beautiful family harmony.  Driving away, my “family gas tank” has been replenished – I think I can keep homesickness at bay just a little longer. Driving away, I can’t help but praise the God that created this blessed institution of family.

I am blessed, I am humbled, I am sunburned.

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Overdue Post: Mother's Day Weekend

Last weekend was one for the books.

Though I am admittedly tardy in this post, last weekend was still one worth documenting.  On Thursday night, we helped Carrie and Everett pack up the last of their belongings here in Forest Grove (resulting in one of the most tightly-packed U-Hauls I have ever beheld!) and drove up to Sunnysie, the Mr’s hometown, together.  I have to admit, I did cry a little at the sight of their empty house – though Carrie was quick to mock my tears as she reminded me that we’d be seeing them in a mere 3 hours when we all reach Sunnyside.  We sure miss them already.

All the Boboths at Melange

Friday was spent catching up with friends in the area, golf for the boys and a trip to the salon for the girls, and playing Settlers of Catan.  Sunnyside is such a restful place to be.  On Saturday, we headed to lunch at a cute café in Yakima to celebrate Mother’s Day with the Boboth family.  Afterwards, we headed to one of the Mr.’s best friends’ wedding.  It was really fun to reconnect with old college friends.

Mr. & Mrs. Horsley

Then we had to say goodbye to C & E. Boo.

We headed up to Spokane to surprise MY mom… and arrived at 10pm just in time to catch her walking out of the school play she was attending with my dad.  I have not heard her voice hit that decibel in quite some time.   Like I said here, I LOVE surprises.

We returned to my parent’s house for homemade cookies and conversation late into the night. I told the Mr. that we should stay up all night to make the most of every second that we had there. Besides, I can never go to bed early when I’m in the same house as my little sister. She’s, like, awesome.

Sunday began with our annual Mother’s Day breakfast of bran muffins and orange juice.  Don’t think we don’t try to spoil our mother, she actually requests bran muffins. I love our traditions. J We headed to church, followed by brunch with my grandparents and aunt.  Never a dull moment. Our time in Spokane was far too brief, yet extraordinarily sweet.  What a gift family is!  We sure missed having everyone else there… especially Brian and Kelly.

Happy Mother's Day!

*Almost* the whole Schlect family...

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and the ‘goodbye’ would have been much harder if we didn’t have Memorial Day weekend to look forward to… can’t wait to be home again!

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A Very Special Day

Everyone has someone in their lives (either past or present) that has affected them dramatically.  As I read through students' application essays, one of the prompt options is to write about someone who has impacted their lives.  90% of those essays are about the student's dad. It has been remarkable to see the consistency with which the Papa-figure shows up in those essays.  They have affected these students' lives either by their presence or by their absence.

Not surprising. There have been studies upon studies done about the impact that a father has on the lives of his children... so impactful, in fact, that the presence, or lack thereof, of a mother has an exponentially smaller impact. (I think my mom is an exception, however :)  

Anywho.... just because I love being one of the statistics, my dad has been incredibly impactful in my life too! He was and is the bedrock of our family. He has led our family oh-so-well with an unparalleled sense of humility and tenderness. He has loved my mom ever-so-faithfully for 29+ years. He has worked tirelessly to support our family, finance our educations, and provide a comfortable life for us. 

My Dad is amazing.  He is a leader.  It does not matter where he goes or how long he has been there, it only takes a matter of minutes before complete strangers are asking him to be this committee's chairman or that group's president etc.  His mere presence commands respect - not in an "I'm lording my awesomeness over you" sort of way; but rather in a servant-leader sort of way.

My Dad has shown me Jesus.  Time and time again.  Whether it was by faithfully teaching it to us, or whether it was simply in the faithful way that he lives his life: my siblings and I know the Gospel and love Jesus more today because of this man.  Also, he is so extremely thoughtful and does things like this and this. 

I will never forget my wedding day. Dad paused just outside the doors of the sanctuary before he walked me down the aisle; he squeezed my hand firmly, and said - with tears in his eyes and an uncommonly shaky voice - "I love you, Lollie. You ready?"  My sweet protector, defender, and hero - I love my daddy.  

I had thought about our Father-Daughter dance for a good majority of my life... Which song should I choose?  Which one would mean the most?  Which one could I hold it together the most without crying?  I thought that I may choose something like "Butterfly Kisses," or "Cinderella," or something uber cliche like that.  However, when C and I got engaged, my Father-Daughter dance song was the easiest decision of the entire planning process!!!  You see, it was my dad that taught me to swing dance. In our kitchen. Often after doing dishes together.  Or any time for no apparent reason.  So we did an awesome swing dance... and I still cried a little.

So, Happy Birthday to one of the most important people in my life!  Thank you for modeling what a godly husband and father looks like.  It really helped me know what to look for. :)  Thank you for faithfully teaching us Christ. You have been a beautiful representation of our Heavenly Father. Thank you for disciplining me so that I wouldn't be a booger. Even though I still am sometimes. Thank you for reminding me to "be a lady," when I wrinkled and contorted my face and making grunting, snorting noises.  Sometimes the desire to be a lady was superseded by the desire to make my little sister laugh.  I love you, Dad!

(Growing up, Dad would lift us up to put the angel on the top of the tree... no matter how old we got)

 Hiking to Hot Springs in Fairmont, BC

Spring Break 2010

July 10, 2010

Father-Daughter Dance

I make no apologies for the length of this blog.  As I reread through it, I still didn't do him justice... I could ramble on and on.  My dad is an amazing man... and he makes turning 50 look good!  I love you, Dad!!

-Laura

Weekend Recap: Cowboy Hats and a Wedding Veil

This weekend, we were blessed to be able to take a quick trip down south to the great state of Texas to celebrate our cousin’s wedding! A state where everything is bigger, except their gas prices. ($2.65!) Oh, and their mountains. (Sidenote: Why do people say things are bigger in Texas? Everything is flat!!!) Having never been there, I was excited to add another state to my passport. (If there were passports for US States…)  We left bright and early on Thursday morning and travelled most of the day… when we got to the hotel, there was already a group of our family members gathered in a hotel room for dinner. It was so much fun to catch up and spend time with this group of incredible people.

On Friday, Cole, Everett, my father-in-law, and Ernie (the groom’s maternal grandfather) headed into the heart of Dallas to visit Dealey Plaza – the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  We walked through the Sixth Floor Museum in the Dallas Book Depository, learned a lot of history, and saw the place from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. We wandered downstairs to the Plaza itself to see the exact place he was shot.  It was really fun to be there with my father-in-law who happens to be a huge history buff and is keenly interested and educated in all things JFK. To say that we got a history lesson would be an understatement. The whole outing made me realize how little I really know about recent U.S. history…

At the site of the assassination

Dealey Plaza

Beautiful.

We enjoyed a dinner out that night with more relatives… I’m pretty sure that the entire town of Plano knew about the wedding because of our family.  My mother-in-law is one of seven… so there were a lot of us.  And it was awesome.

Saturday was fairly low-key. The guys went to a park for a game of football and the ladies went out to lunch… Mitch’s wedding was in the evening and it was absolutely lovely. It is always fun to celebrate such a wonderful thing! Unfortunately, my camera died just prior to the wedding thus rendering me incapable of capturing any photos as the blessed event. Boo.

And our weekend wrapped up on Saturday night with what was, quite possibly, the most ideal ending. We all went out to dinner (which, by the time we left the wedding, was around 9pm!) at a local steak joint – because we were, after all, in Texas!

What a weekend!  What a blessing!  What a wonderful family I have married into! Our whole weekend was filled with wonderful fellowship, fantastic food, and memories that will not be soon forgotten. I walked away feeling so incredibly loved and beyond blessed to be able to call them family!

Sunday morning we were up at 4:15am (read that, “2:15am PST.” Read that, “WAAAAAAY too early to be functional.”) to take our parents to the airport… we travelled all day and are now, at long last, home. And as I write this, likely delusional in such a way that only 3 hours of sleep can bring about, I am still in shock after the whirlwind of a weekend… but every second was well worth it. Congratulations, Mitch and Rene! We are so thankful for this ever-growing family!

Another sidenote: Christmas music is legal in our house in T-5 days!

We're headed to Sunnyside for Thanksgiving on Wednesday after work... Looking forward to time with the Boboth family. As much fun as all of this family time has been, it has made me all the more wistful for time with my side... I really can't wait for Christmas!! But I am ever so thankful that I have great family on both sides! 

What are you thankful for this week?

-Laura