The One with the 75th Surprises and a Reunion

This past weekend I got to spend lots of quality time with family members from all over the country--Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and more! My husband didn't get to come with me because of church responsibilities, but I am thankful that he was willing to let me go on my own for the 3 nights. 

I left town at 7:40am Thursday morning and arrived to my mom and dad's house by 10:45am. Mom and I had lots of catching up to do and managed to squeeze in time for her to try on all the clothes I brought her from the LeBaron's yard sale. By 12:30 we were starving and excited to meet up with Grams and Chuck at Steak 'N Shake (the usual!) along with my Aunt Wendy, whom they had just picked up from the airport. Our meal arrived very slowly, but we enjoyed laughter and fellowship for quite some time. 

Mom and I stopped to see Grandma Mary for a while and by the time we got home, Aunt Linda had arrived from Pennsylvania. For the next few days, it was 5 Marr women (Grandma, her three daughters, and one granddaughter) ripping the roads together, talking over each other, laughing hysterically, and eating far too many sweets. Perfect, right? :)

We had all come together for our Kister Family Reunion (my great grandmother and her siblings' families), but my aunts and uncle had also planned to surprise Grandma and Chuck with a 75th birthday party including friends from church along with immediate family. Since her birthday was in March and his is in September, they didn't suspect a thing!

Three Generations--Each the Oldest Child. Dangerous, eh?
(We don't look related, do we?) 

this beautiful cake was filled with strawberries and custard. yes, for real.

HAPPY 75TH BIRTHDAYS!

Grandma Marr and her 4 kids:
Scott, Karen (my mom), Wendy, Linda

Proud to be their daughter

Cousins! Ryan and Kalie are my Uncle Scott's kids. 

Enjoying the Party

My Aunt Wendy and I got to spend the most quality time together this weekend, setting up for the party while the others occupied Grandma, shopping for party paraphernalia, and going on multiple walks together (to work off all that food!). She even supported me on my 10 mile training run early Saturday morning by biking alongside me. Having her there for company and encouragement made the run truly enjoyable. I just wish she and I lived closer together!

What's a party without 14 pounds of M&M's???!!!

Looking through old family photos

Kids Game Time by Brandy
(I always loved the egg toss when I was little.)

While the kids played kids inside, many of us grown ups played Corn Hole outside. Dad and I played against Mom and Aunt Wendy, and we lost big time. (It came as a surprise to us all. :D)  I was terrible, let's just leave it at that. My mom, on the other hand, had an extreme case of awesome as she got a "hole in one" almost every time. She wow-ed us all! 

Erin and Melanie: cousins and classmates 

Another person I was happy to see was my cousin, Erin. She and I graduated from high school together and shared many classes and experiences during our 4 years at ESHS--and we hadn't seen each other since graduation in 2004!! We didn't realize until 11th grade that we were related, even though we had both been at many family reunions as young kids. I'm not sure how to put this in technical genealogy terms (can someone help?), but her great grandpa and my great grandma were siblings. 

So the generations looks like this: 

Earl Kister      -    Mildred Kister 

Barb Kray       -     Marilyn Marr 

Julie Kray-Cook     -     Karen Fish

Erin Cook      -      Melanie Eccles

Grandma and her husband, Chuck, brother Norman and sister Phyllis

My Grams and me

I love that I was able to spend all this quality time with my family, both intermediate and extended. It was a wonderful, wild, exhausting, worth-it weekend. 

The House Tour [1 Year Later]

Just 4 days after we moved into our new (rental) home in New York, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to post pictures documenting the settling process. Things didn't look too shabby at that point. Actually, I'm a little impressed with how quickly I settled in (but let's be honest...I had the help of my husband, my mom, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law. So I'm not really all that awesome.)  

Here we are a year later and not too much has changed. Some furniture has been added, removed, or rearranged (multiple times! I think I get stir crazy!) and walls are filled with personal touches--mostly pictures of friends and family. I heart pictures. (If you want to make me super happy, you can get me a new picture frame. It's like you gave me a diamond ring.) I haven't done any painting but that's in the back of my mind at the moment. We'll see. (In fact, if you have any color inspiration for me, let me know in a comment.)

And without further adieu, I give you
The House Tour: One Year Later

Living Room
(Note the new green love seat and the newly-placed recliner)

Living Room: View 2
(Note the lovely shelf by the front door with hooks to hang your coat.
Thanks to Dad E for anchoring it. ;))

The Piano Studio/Melanie's Office
(The door to this room is located right by the coat hooks/front door)

My newly arranged office in the Piano Studio

The teaching portion of the Studio

Dining Room
(Love having my grandma's table and chairs and buffet)

Kitchen
(Note the shelving unit --from Aldi--on the right filled with pantry items)

Kevin's Office

He's got a little tv in there and a beautiful fish tank, not shown
(which is great for me when I want to watch a tv and hang out in his space)

The Library portion of his office

Our kitty loves the office chair

From the Top of the Stairs

Top of the Stairs
(bookcase, spare bedroom/Mel's closet room, and bathroom)

Our bedroom

The dresser on the left is our "linen closet"

And that, my friends, is our home--cat hair, dust mites, love and all! 

The One with our Full Year Here

I just can't believe it, but it is most definitely true. Today marks our one year anniversary since moving to Western New York! With tears we said goodbye to our teens and our friends in Michigan, and with the help of those same people as well as our family we loaded a UHaul and drove 7 hours east to a part of New York State that is closer to the Midwest than it is to the city. 

All those days ago sometimes feel like a lifetime--mostly because we've been warmly embraced here, settled comfortably and intimately into our little village, connecting to more people (in and out of the church) than we can count. We've been taken care of in so many ways by our friends here, and we are eternally grateful for the love they've poured on us and that they opened their lives so willingly to us. God is so good. 

And most of the time we forget we got here because of Seminary. It's pretty awesome to see the steps God used to pull us to this place, when we thought the whole point was an MDiv. If it were up to us, we'd had lived near campus and found who knows what jobs. But God is so much cooler than that. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. 

Kevin's grad school is a very important reason we're in New York, of course. He's loving his classes, his professors, his shelves and shelves of rich literature. But our lives are centered around our church, the people, in this little town--his studies in action, really. His responsibilities go well beyond the confines of the youth room, but a passion working with teenagers is one of those things we can't seem to shake. And now, a year later, we feel confident that we're getting somewhere (somewhere good) with these students. It takes a while to build a strong foundation of a relationship, but it's worth it. 

Who would've guessed what the past 365 days would bring for me? 

playing in the high school musical's pit orchestra. 

building a strong piano studio (that has provided income, relationships, and community connections).

leading music at VBS.

traveling to Seattle with a wonderful group of Bible Quizzers. 

hosting my first studio piano recital. 

running my first race. 

blowing my personal best race time out of the water with my second race. 

developing the deepest kind of friendship with a girl named Sheryl. 

going on a family vacation with Sheryl and her siblings and their kids.

And now we look ahead, with eager expectation, knowing that God will continue to do more than we can ask or imagine. Amen.

Subscribe. by Email.

The One with the {10} Likes of Late

Top Ten {things I've been loving lately}

1} Naturally More Peanut Butter. it's seriously the best peanut butter ever. It's much lower in calories and fat calories, higher in protein, lower in sugar, and straight up delicious.

2} Fresh, fragrant peaches.

3} Grilled sandwiches. As in, sandwiches cooked on the grill. I'm addicted to their crispness and depth of flavor.

4} Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips. I may or may not have bought a bag while in Seattle due to a chocolate craving. I won't tell you if the bag's gone yet or not.

5} Homemade strawberry jam. There's something extra satisfying about picking, processing, and canning your own jam. Plus, you need something to go with all that peanut butter.

6} Keeping a beautiful stock pile of birthday cards. Such a simple expression of love can mean so much.

7} Our new kitty! (I just remembered I hadn't introduced her to you all yet! My apologies! She kinda-sorta doesn't have a name yet. We have thrown around 4 or 5 good options, but nothing has stuck, try as we might. I've just been calling her "kitty." I'm leaning toward Akeelah because it's a prettier version of her original name "Aki." We've joked about Napster because napping is pretty much her thing. And then there's Phoebe or Alice. *sigh* poor cat.

8} Anyone else noticing that "food" largely occupies my list of likes?

9} Reading Reddit's frugal page. It's amazing the tips and tricks you can pick up from others.

10} and just because I'm out of awesome things I've enjoying lately, here's something just plain awesome (and pretty darn funny too).  Click HERE for Parenting Tip.

The One with a Female Quandary

Is it just me or is difficult to be a woman and still effectively show the love of Christ to all people? (And by "all" I mean "men.") I love to love. I am a people person (with introverted needs...but that's another story for another time). Relationships are kind of my forte--where I excel. It's a beautiful gift to have when you've been called into ministry. 

But here's the thing, I feel that I have to be on my guard around members of the opposite sex. Now, I don't really feel this way inside the church doors. Most of the men I know from any church make me feel comfortable and at ease around them. My problem is not even with "men" in general. 

The problem comes when I'm out in the public arena. Walking to the bank. Browsing the aisles at Save-a-Lot. Working outside in my yard. Going for a run. I feel vulnerable; gawked at. (Sometimes audibly, oftentimes with a look.) And this puts me ill at ease.  

How does a woman embrace her beauty, the body God has given her, with confidence and dignity, purity and modesty, without drawing uninvited attention? I like to look nice, to dress myself tastefully, fashionably. But I think (I hope) everyone who knows me could testify that I don't wear anything to purposefully draw attention. 

And yet, the attention comes; and not in an encouraging sort of way. No, unfortunately this is more the "cat call" sort of way. And it makes me very uncomfortable.

I want to be able to walk down the street, smiling at everyone I meet, greeting them with cheerful hellos, and perhaps engaging them in meaningful conversation. But I just don't feel the freedom to live that way. 

So, I ask you--

Is it our world, our culture? Is it just me, being overly cautious, overly sensitive? How should women deal with this? Is it possible to sincerely love with Christ's love, without attracting the wrong kind of attention? 

Subscribe. 

The One with the 9 Hour Trip to Family Camp

I am so thankful that in the midst of a wonderfully hectic summer (can I get an "amen"?!), Kevin and I had the opportunity to head to Somerset Beach Campground. This camp has been our home-away-from-home for many years now (8 for me, 25+ for Kevin!). You know those places in your life that act as part of your foundation? where you can step back inside and know you belong? where memories are abundant and new joys are just waiting to be experienced? I love those spots! And SBC is definitely on that list in our lives. 

Our purpose for visiting was threefold. 

A) It was SMCFMC (long, but accurate acronym) Family Camp. We can't miss family camp!

B) Kevin was leading one of the youth "afterglows"--a fun event for all of the teens. 

C) Many of our family and friends would be there. And who doesn't need to reconnect now and again? (Facebook just doesn't cut it. thankfully.)

After a 7 (turned 9) hour drive from NY to MI in 90 (million) degree heat in our efficient (yet un-air conditioned Honda Civic, Kevin and I arrived at site 79--his parents' camp site year after year. We set up our tent with just moments to spare before darkness fell, took much-needed showers, and hit the sack. For the next three days, we enjoyed all of the time we had to catch up with Mom & Dad. (Can I just say how cool it is that the parent-child relationship grows into something so beautifully mutual as we grow older? I really love it. And yes, parents-of-teens, there's hope. :D) It's tough being 7 hours away from them now, after having years where we lived just an hour's drive away and saw them frequently. We had a lot of talking to do. :)

Both sets of Kevin's grandparents were at camp as well and they spoiled us with love (and a lunch out at Freddie's Freeze) just as they always do. My bro-in-law, Brian, is officially grown up--he has his own staff trailer on the grounds and is working full time before heading to SAU's campus in the fall. We didn't get to see him as much as usual, but that's what growing up and moving out and having a girlfriend do to you. :)

One of the mornings, we drove into Jackson where Kevin was going to do some work over a Venti Coffee at Starbucks and I was meeting up with these wonderful girls from college.

With Karina in Chicago, Britt in Colorado, me in New York, and the others spread throughout Michigan we don't get together nearly as much as we'd like. But it was a wonderful gift that everyone was willing to rearrange schedules and drive many hours to get together for just a morning. We enjoyed brunch at Panera and then visited for a while longer back at Angie's house. 

One other bonus of being at Family Camp was visiting with some of the teens we'd said goodbye to last August. It was fun hanging out and catching up on their lives. It's astounding to me to see how quickly teenagers grow up and change after just a year. Wow. Plus, we were honored to be asked by Brooke & Alisha to take their senior portraits around the campgrounds. Here are two from the collection: 

Our time at SBC was over far too quickly! But we're thankful for the time we had to reconnect with dear friends, like Sara and Debbie (not to mention meeting their beautiful baby girls), seeing the same familiar faces that grace the grounds during family camp each year, and just enjoying a change in pace for a few days.