Mother of the Bride Spot

Random thoughts on being a Mother of the Bride...although since we are now past The Wedding, perhaps this would be better titled Random Thoughts On Life In General...

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Another Engagement is Announced!!

We have returned from my brother's wedding in the Detroit area. It was incredibly lovely. There were 15 of us there including my brother's baby granddaughter. The wedding took place in the bride's home. Her father walked her from the bedroom to the great room; my sister Lyn was matron-of-honor; Rick's son, Rick Jr. was his best man. It was truly a family wedding -- Bob prayed, Rosie and I read I Corinthians 13, Lyn sang "Prayer for the Home" a most perfect song for them, and Tim, Lyn's husband performed the ceremony. The sweetest moment came when the bride's 89 year old mother stood up right after the initial vows, pulled her 87 year old husband to his feet, walked over to Susan, and blessed her, and told her they were so glad she was happy and that they would be praying for her. It was unexpected -- and beautiful.

The rest of the evening and the next morning was spent just enjoying each other...I know I have the best siblings ever -- what an incredible gift from God.

The exciting news was that the night before Rick's wedding, Rosie's son Rob Jr called -- and he had just proposed to his girlfriend Tina! So we are now looking forward to another wedding in the spring. Robbie is Torrey's "best" cousin -- they are four months apart in age, and have been close ever since they were little kids. Tina works for a restaurant chain as a trainer, and happened to be in Indianapolis opening a new site. Torrey and Chris went there and met her -- even before Rosie and Rob had a chance to meet her. Torrey's assessment: "Robbie, you better not let this one get away!!"

Lyn and Tim are having a windfall of a furlough from Berlin -- not one, but THREE family weddings while they are home!

This weekend my Tim comes home from Taylor to renew his driver's license -- the official "I'm 21" license -- and get fitted for his tux. I'm hoping we'll have time to just hang out and talk. I love talking to Tim. He's so cool. (Hey -- I'm his mom, I get to say stuff like that!)

The following weekend we are going to Taylor for homecoming -- Torrey's 5th year class reunion. I'm so looking forward to seeing the EC again -- I've not seen the Son2B in nearly two months, and I've missed him!! I'm not crazy about my children living far away from me. Yes, 200 miles IS far. What's worse is that Jill & Derrick plan to take my grandbaby and move to Naples, FL next April! There should be some sort of state law against that type of grandparent abandonment.

The old way of living in community -- families together in the same town is such a wonderful idea.

I don't want my children living WITH me.

But right next door would be just fine.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Another Wedding!

Between now and THE Wedding -- there are a couple of others that are coming up. My brother Rick took Susan as his bride last Saturday, September 16 in Las Vegas. We are all thrilled to welcome Susan as our new sister.... This weekend we are assembling in Detroit where my brother-in-law Tim will confer a blessing on the marriage at Susan's parents' home. Rosie will be coming from Brookhaven MS, Bob and I are driving up from Chicago, and Lyn and Tim are driving in from Montrose PA. It will be so much fun to all be together for the first time since Helen Clare's wedding (Rosie's eldest) last October.

The next wedding will take place on October 1. The son of our first new friends when we moved to Wheaton over 23 years ago is getting married to his long-time girlfriend in his grandmother's apple orchard. Ed and Debbie are responsible for our long time membership at College Church as they invited us to attend their Sunday School class -- the (at that time) young couple's class -- and the rest is history. Debbie is also the one that held the flashlight when Tim was born on that dark and stormy night over 21 years ago. So this too is a very special wedding.

The third wedding will take place in Asheville NC at the Biltmore Estate. Adam, the son of my co-worker and dear friend Linda will be marrying his long time girlfriend on November 19. Torrey & Chris and Adam & Missy were both engaged on the same day -- April 1. This is going to be one fun wedding. Truly, this is the first time I've ever received an engraved written invitation to the rehearsal dinner! Anyway, Torrey, Chris and Tim will be flying down from Indianapolis and join us there. Linda and I have been having a wonderful time discussing our upcoming weddings -- her role as the MOG, and mine as the MOB. Carole, our third partner has been a great help as her daughter Maren was married last year in the Outer Banks at a delightful week-long celebration.

Last, but certainly not least, will be Our Wedding....

72 days to go....

Not that I'm counting.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

On Borders and Wedding Cakes

Last night Bob and I went to Borders for what we term our "cheap Saturday night date." We check out the new books, get a cappucino (me) and a hot chocolate (him) and then relax with a magazine or two, our drinks, and wait for the entertainment which ranges from good to bad local or nearly local talent. I pulled out a magazine on wedding cakes.....

Now usually the bride-type magazines have two or three wedding cakes pictured -- this one must have had 150 to 200 wedding cakes of all types from traditional (whatever passes for traditional these days) to theme cakes, castles, individual little mini-cakes, and one that was so bedecked with flowers, fruit and leaves I was hard pressed to find the cake itself! These were the sort of cakes that I suspect if you had to ask the price, you couldn't afford it.

I'm not sure I know the historic tradition behind the wedding cake -- I THOUGHT it was to provide a dessert for the reception, but looking at these, I'm not sure I'd want to eat one of them. In fact, I did peruse a recipe.....make your cake, cover with this sort of fondant frosting business, and let it sit for 3 to5 days. Three to five DAYS? Sara Lee pitches their stuff the next day! What IS this 3 to 5 days stuff? If we are going to have a cake, I'd like it to at least be a fresh one!

Our local Dominick's grocery store makes a cake that is to die for. They claim it is the moistest cake you've ever had. We picked one up for dessert one night because it was a "hamburger" cake -- made in the shape of, and frosted like a large hamburger. It was delicious! So when the EC were checking out cakes, they asked if Dominick's wedding cake was made with that particular batter. No, they were told. It's too moist and won't hold together.

Well, if you are paying $350 ++ for a wedding cake, you'd like it to taste a bit better than flavored wallboard. Back to the drawing board.

This weekend a lot of things seemed to come together. A dear friend will loan us a veil, a tiara, pew bows for the church, and some streamers. Wow! That is amazing. She's just put three daughters through weddings -- two of whom got married within just about two months of each other. We may have done a wedding 7 1/2 years ago, but I'm needing all the help and advice I can get -- and this friend -- and some others -- have been incredibly helpful. Much better than those MOB books I was reading which actually started this blog. Torrey is doing a three day modeling/promotional gig for a conference in Indy, so she hasn't even seen the 20+ e-mails I've sent, replete with pictures of all of these things. I hope she's as excited as I am....

The "cheap" date at Borders turned out to be not so cheap after all.....there was a new Douglas Preston and a new Clive Cussler -- two of my favorite novelists. A book on Statistics for Dummies (which I need for teaching Evidence Based Practice and How to Read and Understand Research), a book on writing and life by Anne Lamott (another of my favorite authors), and a couple of 2006 calendars. Good thing we don't indulge in these "cheap" dates very often. John's Christian Bookstore is another expensive date....

Maybe we could just have a bunch of hamburger cakes for the wedding. We all like hamburgers. The cake itself was delicious -- and it would probably be a lot less than a traditional wedding cake.

It would be memorable anyway.

Hmmmm -- maybe I'll run it by the EC.

Or maybe not.

Friday, September 09, 2005

More from Rob in Mississippi

As I sit here at my computer, I can watch the children going to our local elementary school about three blocks from here. Some are accompanied by their moms and younger siblings, others with friends, a very few are walking alone. The sun is shining -- there's been no measurable rain again for the last nearly 20 days here in the Chicagoland area -- if it weren't for the brown grass, it would be beautiful. Again -- direct contrast to the TV images surrounding New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport, and other cities. I heard this morning on the radio that relief giving has topped $500 million, the government has authorized $52 billion, but that restoration will probably exceed $100 billion -- numbers that I find difficult to comprehend!

Some of the stories that have come out of the hurricane ravaged areas have been heartbreaking -- some have been making me furious -- stories of rape and murder, shooting sprees and senseless looting for luxury items. But the wonderful stories coming from there are overshadowing the horrific ones....stories of how God is working in people's lives, and how people are opening their own homes and own lives to our displaced citizens are heartwarming.

Last night we got another update from Rob in Brookhaven, Mississippi:


"Dear Ones,

Thank you, thank you for your prayers, emails, encouragement, and financial support of this amazing mission work that the Lord has placed in our laps. Our days are full as we care for the many needs of our guests, for that is how we feel toward them as we now approach day 12 or is it day 13?! And then there are the ongoing needs of a congregation. The members and friends from other churches have been amazing as they have given so joyfully and unselfishly to this ministry.

My mind is in such a whirl that I hardly know where to begin. Some of the ones here with us have made day trips south to New Orleans and surrounding areas to see about the damage from the hurricane and the flooding. Some have suffered minor damage, some have suffered moderate damage, some have suffered massive damage, and some have suffered a total loss. Part of our ministry in caring for them is listening to them tell their stories, assuring them of our love and concern, and pointing them to Jesus and the need truly to trust in Him and to rely on Him. The Lord is giving us amazing opportunities for ministry and witness. In terms of when they will be able to return to their homes or what is left of their homes, we have no idea at this point. The infrastructure in south Mississippi and south Louisiana is in such disarray that I don't know when living down there will be possible. Therefore, we are trying to assist them in finding long term housing for the coming months if not years. I am in contact with a number of people and churches who have offered to help relocate our rather amazing extended "family" here at Faith. Thus far most of our guests are not able to embrace the idea of relocating. In time they will have to.

We have a sufficient supply of food, clothes, etc. for now and we have a good supply of medicines. Many of us have contracted what one of our doctors has dubbed the "Katrina Virus" a.k.a. a sore throat and a cold!! It's more of a nuisance than anything, but it's interesting how so many of us have come down with it!

Our local Red Cross volunteer, Bo Case, has been a great help to us, but we have not had the best of assistance from the national Red Cross. Maybe one of the drawbacks with providing such good care is that we were placed on the "back burner." We had attempted to make contacts with the national Red Cross and FEMA in order to provide our guests with much needed information. We kept getting nowhere until one of our members, Judge Mike Taylor, got involved. Through his tenacity and his contacts with Congressman Pickering, we in our area have finally received some assistance. The Red Cross came today to provide checks so that the people would have some money to help them with immediate needs. A squad of soldiers from the Indiana National Guard accompanied them to provide security because in some areas people have had their checks stolen! We have had no security problems, but under the circumstances we thought this was a wise provision. The soldiers will bivouac here at the church and pull round the clock guard duty for several days.

We are trying to set up computers here at the church so that people can register with FEMA for assistance. Unfortunately the only way to register is online since calling does absolutely no good. Some of our members are helping them through the rather long and convoluted process. We have been told that the Dell computer company will provide us with two additional computers on Monday.

Our schools are scheduled to resume on Monday and Rosie will be returning to those duties. She has really established some warm relationships with some of our guests, (her patients), and it will not be easy for her to relinquish her ministry here. Thankfully, we have other nurses in the church who will be able to take up the slack.

To give you an idea of the opportunities for ministry I'll share something of my day yesterday. In the providence of God I made contact with the Mahmoud Ismail family through their daughters Willah and Sarah. The Ismails were staying at a local motel and had numerous needs. Mahmoud and his wife Effat were born and reared in Egypt, but they are naturalized US citizens. Their teenage daughters were born in the States. And as you can guess they are not Christians! They were from the New Orleans area where Mahmoud was a cab driver. Their apartment suffered extensive damage and their car had some water related problems. I helped Mamoud get the car repaired, the insurance taken care of...I had to be the "interpreter" for the agent who was on the other end of the line!!! But above all I was able to help Effat with a very serious eye problem. She recently had eye surgery in Egypt but upon her return home was caught up in the hurricane. An ophthalmologist here in town, Dr. Caleb Herndon, saw her and examined her eye. He said that the surgery was excellent, but because of the trauma she had developed some very serious problems. By using some eye charts he showed Mahmoud and her in a very caring and patient way how serious her problem was. Then he arranged for her to go immediately to see the head of eye surgery at the University Medical Center in Jackson.

Muslims have respect for Jesus as a great prophet. So on that basis I was able to talk with Mahmoud how we Christians knew Jesus as the divine Son of God. Under the circumstances he was very cordial to what I had to say, and he was truly overwhelmed that Christians would help him and his wife in their time of need. Before I directed him to interstate 55 to Jackson, he grabbed me and kissed me on the cheek to express his appreciation!! ;o) I asked him if I could have prayer with them before they left and he said yes. So I prayed for them in Jesus name and sent them on their way. Just a little while ago Mahmoud called me from Memphis where he was headed to say that Effat is doing much better and that they had made contact with a church in Memphis. He said that due to the help of Christians there, Effat is scheduled to see an eye specialist on Tuesday. Once again he expressed his amazement at the care shown them by Christians. One sows, another waters, but the Lord gives the increase. This is but one example of the many opportunities the Lord is giving us.

There is much more that I could say, but I have gone too long already. For those of you who have read this far, thank you.

Again thank you so very much for your support and especially your prayers.

In the Grip of God's Amazing Grace,
Rob"

Friday, September 02, 2005

The Outer Banks...Katrina....Thoughts....

For the last week we've been with our good friends and my business partners Carole and Linda and their husbands at Carole & Bob's lovely oceanfront home in Avon, NC. The weather has been wonderful, the ocean relatively calm -- a direct counterpoint to the horrific scenes and news that is coming in from the New Orleans area. Somehow it seems so surreal -- our discussions of "what would you like for breakfast," or "What shall we have for dinner tonight" vs the concerns of no food, no water, no shelter for the thousands still stranded among the flood waters.

The worst that we have had to contend with so far are increased gas prices. It will be interesting to see if our flight home is canceled or delayed -- sometimes it is difficult to separate rumor from truth.

However, my sister Rosie, and her husband Rob are in the thick of it. Rob is the pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Brookhaven MS, a small town about 2 hours north of New Orleans. They have about 200 evacuees from New Orleans that they are housing in the church. Rosie has gone from being the chief of kitchen proceedings to head of medical concerns - she's a school nurse. The stories they have to tell!! We've heard from Rob once - I'm grateful for that. Here's his post which bears reading....

"Our church, Faith Presbyterian, Brookhaven, Mississippi, is serving as a shelter for over 200 people from all walks of life. The property loss is staggering and the human tragedy is worse. Please pray for the many in our congregation who are putting in long days cooking, counseling, encouraging, assisting, etc. Pray for strength and perseverance for them as we do not know how long we will need to assist the evacuees. We are stretched to the limit and more people continue to arrive. And our situation is but one very small part of a disaster the likes of which I am without words to describe. Gas is running out at the gas stations and where it is available, people are having to stay in line for many hours just to get $20.00 worth which doesn't buy very much gas anymore!!!

Pray that we will be faithful witnesses to Christ in deed and in word. We have all kinds of faiths and no faiths represented. And we have Cajuns to Jordanians and everyone in between!! Pray for comfort for the evacuees and guidance for them as they try to discern what to do, where to go, etc. Many of those who are here with us are from New Orleans and south Louisiana. Pray for the government agencies as they seek to provide assistance both immediate and long term.

Brookhaven was hit hard and a number of the families in our congregation suffered damage to their homes. The power was knocked out over much of Mississippi and as you know it is hot and humid down here this time of the year. Thank the Lord that the power was restored to the church Tuesday afternoon and the power was restored at our home last night. But there are still many in town and more in the county who have no power.

The schools are closed until next Tuesday so Rosie and many of our teachers have been helping here at the church, but when they return to work I'm not sure how many we will have available to continue providing assistance. Rosie has switched hats from head of the kitchen crew to the coordinator of medical care. The doctors in our church have been wonderful in making regular calls here for the sick and chronically ill.

The Internet was restored here at the church today, but it is still out at the house so please feel free to pass this information along to others. We truly need all the prayer support that we can raise as you missionaries know all too well what I mean.

I don't know if this email makes much sense, but I hope it gives you an idea of the magnitude of this crisis and the wonderful opportunity for us to be servants for Christ's sake. "


Many people have been discussing where best to send their money for relief work -- and many concerned that their $$ will be swallowed up in administrative and beaurocratic costs. May I suggest that a donation to Faith Presbyterian -- doing a vital work, albeit on a small scale compared to the city of Houston and the Astrodome -- would assure that your money would be used for the relief effort that the church is making. Rob has not asked for this -- he has no idea I'm suggesting it -- but if you would like to contribute, the address of the church is:

Faith Presbyterian Church
400 Magee Ave.
Brookhaven MS 39601

For Jesus' sake.....