Iced Tea Forever

Some family and friends got together and gave us a most wondrous gift. Here’s a few chroniclings of assemblage.

Scrutinizing the assembly instructions. Don’t want to mess this up!

It actually went together very well, I was impressed. Simple, yet strong. A regular Phillips screwdriver (included) was almost all that was needed.

Never throw the directions away until it’s all put together!

Our new Performance Series Char-Broil grill. I shall use it very soon!

Also be on the lookout for my official ITF barbecued chicken recipe.

Last week our church threw a grocery shower for us. Oh yeah!

We got more lotso stuff. I couldn’t believe how my wife found places for everything! I was sure there was no way we could cram all that stuff in our kitchen, but she did it.

We even got some meat! Ground beef and sausage, we’ve already tried both and they are fantastic.

I’ve never been to one of these things before and didn’t know really what to expect. We ended up having to get up in front of the whole assembly and go through bags of groceries, announcing their contents! I wasn’t expecting that, but it was fine.

We got some fresh blueberries. I love blueberries. I found them in a bag and immediately had to sample them, much to the crowd’s snickerage. I was just being myself, being honest, genuine, and emotionally real. That’s what you should do when you’re speaking, singing, performing, on stage, or just in front of people opening groceries.

So my wife loves pictures, you know, and she has the proofs from the wedding photog. She takes them everywhere she goes and everyone begs to look at them and so we stay at church for really long times and stuff like that.

Anyway, so she gets the proofs and we’re looking at them. We get to the reception pics, and there’s the official shot of us obliging all the glass-dingers (of which I was one):

Ha ha, she says! Perfect, it’s blocked!!

I am less than pleased.

Then, lo and behold, my wonderful sister sends me the pics she took with her digital camera. She happened to have a much better angle!

Make sure there are lots of cameras at your wedding.

It’s a very humbling thing, mass generosity. I’ve been the recipient of abundantly unrestrained and gratuitous giving several times in my life, and this was another one of those times.

In addition to a stack of gifts, we received many cards accompanied with cash, checks, and gift certificates. Everything we received was undeserved, but received with a whoop and holler!

Hmm. I started writing this post, then let it sit, then my wife found it and then I had to cross out her contribution!

Seriously though, we must know many generous people! A few gifts in particular we knew were extremely sacrificial, and made us marvel at the kind of people God has put in our lives.

Now here is ITF’s executive director:

We were very humbled by all that was given, even to the point of shedding a few tears. Both Tom and I have felt very unworthy, but more than the gifts, we were just excited to have everyone present at the wedding. Made my day at least!!

My wife loves pictures. I’ve got a handful of wedding and related pics that I want to post, so here are a few. I’ll start with some familial ones.

How about a shot of the ITF brothers!

And here we are with the ITF parents!

Here’s a portraiture of the whole ITF matrimonial party.

ITF is back. Better, stronger, satisfied, more rested, and drinking a monster glass of iced tea. Fulfilled, blessed. Now with an Executive Director!

It’s been a long time since I last shared my innermost thoughts and feelings and emotions with you fine people! Thanks for all your kind comments and well-wishings.

After my wife and I returned from our honeymoon last week (Tues), we left again for a short trip with my Mom and Dad (they stayed around in Hoosierville while we were gone). We went up to Wisconsin to the Reiman Publications visitor center, then touristed in Chicago the next day. I’ll probably blog about that later.

Then we came back late Friday night and started getting settled in at home. Opened wedding presents Saturday. Mom and Dad flew back to Utopia on Tuesday. And here we are this week, trying to relax after all the frenetic activity of the last few weeks!

Back to work of course this week, lots to blog about there too.

And thanks to Ag for writing such a great guest post!

I’ve got a ton of material for ITF! The future is bright.

I love weddings…………………..BUT, I have never in all my breathing days attended one alone. My sisters were also invited to the grand and glorious affair, but one was having surgery day before and the other already had weekend plans, so I went solo.

ON FRIDAY – Tom’s neice/cousin (that’s a WEIRD family tree) is a very dear friend of mine. She was at the church for rehearsal and I was supposed to meet her there. Popping into a room full of strangers is not exactly my idea of a good time, ESPECIALLY not at a wedding rehearsal. So I stalled as long as humanly possible, hoping that everything would be well under way, I could slip in, grab my friend, and quickly leave before anyone even noticed. HA! Brianna rushed to my vehicle, hugs me fiercely, and then drags me into the church to a sea of unfamiliar faces. (This is where I gulp, paste a smile on my face, and pretend I’m not feeling stupid for being there.) Turns out that people from Oregon are not actually ogres, and those from Indiana are not as intimidating close up as they are from a distance. I was privileged to meet Tom and Jewel both for the first time. There is an awful lot of personality that flow from the two of them………gotta love it. There are some people you meet in life that are impossible NOT to love, that’s Tom and Jewel!

ON SATURDAY – Ah, the wedding. If nothing else, they sure picked a hot day. I don’t understand how you can live in Indiana and not melt completely. Anytime I stepped outside I was afraid someone was going to have to come along with a towel and sop up my remains from the floor. IT WAS REALLY HOT, and disgustingly sticky. I was thankful for simple things like, air-conditioning, and the common sense not to have an outdoor wedding! The best part of the wedding? Music! Lots of great music! My idea of a good wedding is lots of music and a bridal party that does not sit down which always makes the audience smile because they know that the pastor will then keep it short and sweet. AHQ sang four songs and then galloped to their positions as groom and groomsmen. The bridesmaids wore black (which delighted me because black is my favorite color of all time……) and they would have been very elegant except for the fact that they were all in their bare feet, so it turned from elegant to absolutely adorable….. I loved it! The miniature bride was a living doll, and the miniature groom was quite a handsome little guy who recognized the fact that boys were not intended to stand still in front of a church for any extended period of time. He was hysterical! The bride. The bride was beauty as she glided down the aisle to the gorgeous, four-part ladies arrangement of “Canon in D”. And our favorite blogger? Well, he looked rather pleased………and Jewel didn’t back out, so his delight intensified.

FAVORITE SONGS
“This is the Day” sung by Ginger Good (my “Soul Sistah” from SMBI), Suzanne Good (my “Soul Sistah’s sistah and now good friend) Rosie Leichty (another new friend from Oregon with whom I shared very helpful bits of advice for her 25th wedding anniversary celebration….she better invite me!) and Merry Yoder (a dear friend who REALLY should comment in blogs more…..). Okay so out of all the songs they did, this was my favorite and they all liked it the least. I’m not sure what that says of my taste.

“Canon in D”, has to be the most effective when performed vocally! Beautiful!!!!

“Faithfully” sung by the best man, Byran Smucker and his aunt Rosie Leichty. GREAT song! The “kissing” part threw me off the first time I heard it, but……

“The Countdown” sung loudly by Mr. Trevin Smucker who was sitting right behind me as he “patiently” waited to go eat. (This was not on the program :) )

OTHER STUFF
I made the brilliant discovery that I adore all Krabills. If you know one that I won’t like, throw them my way so I can crash my theory on how well Beachys and Krabills get along.

Tom WOULD have tea at his wedding!

I folded lots of programs. Is anyone impressed?

I found out that as Miss Barb tried to tell me, sitting by yourself at a wedding isn’t all that bad.

Never let chocolate covered coffee beans sit in your car when you are in Indiana.

Never try to throw gum out the window of your car. I just can’t seem to make it work. I did and found it the next day on my window.

Green gum turns white if it boils on your window for a few hours. It also smears quickly if you are stupid enough to try to put your window down to get it off. (Hey, some of us have to DO to learn…..)

Weddings are fun.

Bridesmaids in bare feet are adorable. The thought of groomsmen doing likewise is just not as cute!

Yes, it all has to do with Indiana, Tom and Jewel. Even the gum on the window. This my friends, is not even scratching the surface of a beautiful wedding and two beautiful people! It is just a small glimpse……..from my perspective.