Monthly Archives: June 2015

Friendship, Project 365, Tim

Memory Bin

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On Saturday, we went out to the our house in the Duckabush to clear out our shed, which may be needed during Wilderness Northwest Camp week, coming up in late July. With so many families attending, a few of the older boys may need the shed as housing for the week.

We brought a whole van-load home, much to Kathy’s dismay (she’s been clearing out our garage for the past week). We threw away a lot of junk (after all, if we haven’t needed it in ten years, how important is it?) but some things just couldn’t be discarded.

One bin was marked “Tim’s Memories” which I found very intriguing. Today, Kathy went through it, and found (buried under some old Army field jackets) this treasure:

A valuable note from my best friend's wife.

A valuable note from my best friend’s wife.

Apparently, about 26 years ago this last March, I set off from Fort Bragg, North Carolina — headed for Northern Virginia to stand up with my friend Phil at his wedding. I wrecked my car about an hour into the trip, and took a train instead, but made it in time to help Phil and Deb get ready for their big day. At the time, eating salad was not my favorite, and so (when I had to eat salad at the reception) I extracted this note from the new bride. It makes me laugh to think that this was probably the first thing she wrote with her new name (except maybe signing the wedding certificate).

To whom it may concern:
Tim Edgren was a good boy today. He got Phil to the church on time and with all the necessary arrangements for us. He also ate his salad, so he is exempt from touching lettuce again for 6 months!
Thanks, Debbi Dickerson

Happily, in all the excitement of her wedding day, Deb forgot to date the note, so I can use and re-use it to get me out of eating salads, pretty much forever.

I miss you, Phil and Debbie! Thanks for being my friend!

Project 365, Day 180
Tim

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Being a Disciple of Jesus, Project 365, Tim

Serve Team Blends Again

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We had our annual church meeting today. Lunch followed by an interesting meeting – budget review, elder affirmations, building discussion and the like.

Tim LOVES to make and serve blends at these type of lunch meetings. Now that he has an amazing Drama and Serve Team at his disposal, he can put kids to work and make mocha frappes and strawberry lemonade smoothies for the whole church.

David can talk, blend and help other kids all at the same time.

David can talk, blend and help other kids all at the same time.

The kids get pretty excited about the whipped cream going on top the mocha frappes.

The kids get pretty excited about the whipped cream going on top the mocha frappes.

We love our church and are very glad to have made it our home these past 10 plus years. Tim was affirmed as an elder today. He served for 6 years, took 2 years off, and will serve again in the upcoming year.

I am proud of him and the way he works and ministers so faithfully.

Project 365 – Day 179
Kathy

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Events, Family, Joshua, Marriage

An Engaging Couple

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Some three years ago, my oldest son went off to college. It seemed harmless enough, at the time.

As these things sometimes transpire, he immediately noticed a certain red-headed girl on campus, and one thing led to another. Today, in a small gazebo on Tranquility Island (Kerrville, TX) in the middle of the Guadalupe river, Joshua proposed to Miss Kelsie Leaf, who graciously consented to become his wife.

We think this is the actual gazebo, courtesy of the interweb.

We think this is the actual gazebo, courtesy of the interweb.

Although they have not yet fixed a date, there is talk of a December wedding. We are so delighted to welcome Kelsie into our family (or invite ourselves into hers) and we hope and pray that God will bless them greatly as they take this monumental step.

The ring itself.

The ring itself.

It is strange to think of my son beginning to found his own household — it seems only just last year I was teaching him to crawl up and down the stairs in our Stamford, CT house. Admittedly, it was 1994, which is technically a little more than a year ago. (My grip on reality is sometimes a bit tenuous.) In any case, we are so excited to see the love that Joshua and Kelsie have for each other.

They do look ridiculously happy together, it is true.

They do look ridiculously happy together, it is true.

Joshua is not really into pictures, and so he neglected to have a professional wedding photographer present to record the entire story for the benefit of remote relatives who just might have an interest. For this reason, we are forced to use pictures from this Spring, of the two of them as a couple.

As the scripture says:

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 18:22)

Of course, with marriage between a man and a woman serving as a template for our relationship with God, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention God’s intention for engagement:

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. (Hosea 2:19)

We will be praying that God will continue to bless Joshua and Kelsie with some of that steadfast love for each other.

"He always was a good-looking kid," I told his mother.

“He always was a good-looking kid,” I told his mother. Whatever you may think about that, Kelsie looks beautiful, nestled into his shoulder.

Congratulations on your engagement, Kelsie and Joshua! We are so happy for you both!

Project 365, Day 178
Tim

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Daily Life, Home Projects, Project 365

Garage Work Continues On

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I know, I know, we’re behind just a bit in our blogging. I missed a day or two last week when Tim was gone. It was a lot of pressure, having to blog every day.

I did, however, make sure to take a picture each day. So the integrity of the Project 365 is intact. I just need to go back and write a few missing blogs. All will be in proper order soon. Sarah and I are determined to make sure 2015 has 365 blog posts. Don’t worry, Sarah, I’ll make things right before the end of June!

Today I worked for hours and hours on the garage. I got up early and started organizing while the kids (and Tim) were all still asleep. I stopped (briefly) for meals, one trip to Target, and an afternoon break to help a friend revamp her homeschool/rec room.

After that, it was straight back to the garage. It didn’t bother me that it was hot outside. I had a little fan to stir the air, plus my wireless earphones and plenty of Netflix shows to watch while I worked.

I will take pictures of the progress tomorrow. Today I was just too busy working to snap any pics. The cats are tortured by my labor because I open the garage door and shut them up in the house. No running down the street for them. We caught them trying to sneak out the screen door several times today. Sarah finally propped something against the door (from the outside) to prevent runaway cats.

Most of the time, in this heat, they look something like this.

"I cannot be bothered to get up right now, human."

“I cannot be bothered to get up right now, human.”

Lazy, fluffy cats might be my favorite!

Project 365 – Day 179
Kathy

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Photography, Project 365

How We Track Days in our P365

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When I was several weeks into our Project 365, I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep track of what day was what number of the year. January was easy – January 1st was Project 365 Day 1. But, um, going into February and March was going to require actual adding and calculations.

It’s not that I’m afraid of adding or subtracting (heck, I’m going on my 5th time teaching Algebra this year), but I often blog LATE at night and that is a time notorious for math mistakes.

Cleaning and sorting and laundry/dishes I can do with no problem at midnight (or beyond). Math? Not so much. Tim doesn’t have the same trouble keeping track of the calendar days. Something to do with his programmer mind, I think (or maybe he just looks at my post from the day before and adds 1).

Needless to say, I KNEW there had to be a calendar of some sort online that I could use to keep track of our Project 365. I found one that needed some modification (black and white? Seriously? We need some color!)

July 2015 016A

Bottom half

Calendar of Numbered Days

Click here to grab the Excel file:

Project 365 Calendar

This has been a tremendous help in keeping track of my blogging days. I can find the month, the day, and then know exactly what numbered day of the year it is. A simple thing, but crucial as I try to stay in sync with the days.

Swing Set Poses

Swing Set Poses from Day 178

My phone organizes pictures according to day (another huge help), but downloading them to my computer (from phone or digital camera) requires a little more labeling and sorting. It’s very satisfying work, and I’m amazed and pleased that in 2015 we have already blogged more than we did in all of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. I’m thankful for my college kids who bugged inspired and encouraged us to blog more faithfully this year.

Project 365 – Day 178 (June 25)
Kathy

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