“and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Mark 10:8-9)

May 23,2008:
The wedding was a blessed time in the mountains. The Lord parted the clouds for us that day when we exchanged our vows in the presence of Him, family and friends. Like every day, He was truly glorified. Marriage God’s way: What a concept! “Seems like it was just yesterday or months ago........." That’s the way the passage of time seems to be after a huge life changing event. After the merging of 2 households, working on the house putting all the pieces together (ongoing but close as of now), and the craziness of preparation of the wedding it was wonderful to be there and savor each moment!

Some of the photos can be seen and downloaded on our uplink at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/howethru

After a brief honeymoon it was home, finishing unpacking and the return to a new normalcy. The biggest adjustment we have had to make is the melding of our 3 kids…… pets that is. Bandit & Dusty Mouse (The cats) and Twirp (The dog). With time they are coming along fine. Twirp just has to accept she is no longer the center of the universe. A squirt gun has become my best tool of teaching Twirp to not harass the cats……. Okay, I admit it is fun too! Debra has told me “She’s your child” a few times.

While the house is getting settled in well the yard has been a challenge. It reminds me a bit of John Chapter 15:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:5-8)

So you could say we have been doing some pretty serious pruning and weed pulling. The yard is huge and has a plethora of flowers and roses. Debra has spent a lot of time just tending her garden. We cut flowers and have them all over the house. Debra loves vases and baskets so they are full of flowers and petals. She knows how to make the home colorful! My usual wacky sense of humor keeps Debra smiling or cringing. It is now a fact that I have now officially become a true Home Depot guy installing hardware and trying things that kids should never try at home! Debra knows all is going well unless she hears me say “OH NO” and then she knows I have run into a snag.

The Bible is very much relevant as we go through our days here. We start and end our days in prayer and praise. We seem to pick out passages as the day goes by and how it relates to something we are doing. We are grateful and blessed for God's provisions, for family and friends.

We started back up our child ministry, Grapple for grades 4th-6th and our enrollment went from 3 to 5 for the summer quarter. We have all girls to this point still and they are such a joy to be able to teach God’s Word and how it relates to their lives. It is a blessing to be able to be part of their lives and allow the Lord to move through us in leading them along in their growth and walk in their faith. 2 of our Grapple girls were flower girls at the wedding and were just happy as peaches in the sunshine!

We skipped 2 months as we were moving and prepping for the wedding. We had a great time with the kids during the winter quarter and we both grew along with the girls as neither of us has kids. Once again we are grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to serve the Lord in this manner.