the day in which the last of us freeman daughters took a different name

finally, here are some pics from my sis' wedding. it was absolutely beautiful. there was fog and orchids. there were kayakers. there were bagpipers and sunglasses and Vans shoes. it was perfectly sean and jessica. congratulations, you two McElvenys!

i was delighted to run around playing "freelance photographer." i can't wait to give these to them. to view this aright (that is, chronologically), go to the bottom of the post and read up.

a very contented husband and wife

and finally dad even loses it. he had all the women weeping.

ok, we've all gotten pretty blurry at this point

still under control, but you see the napkin handy

dad dances with the bride, and tears are already threatening

paul and joanna koomas, nick and kristopher. joni's the oldest of us three girls.

dad's girls and the boys-in-law (and grandy! plus a few extras like kids)

mrs. mcelveny holding kristopher koomas, who just happened to be born in time

victorious

cutest

cuter

cute

can you hear the bride-y music?

sean wanted to make sure the most important element of his attire was duly noted. vans shoes, skull-and-crossbones socks.

the guys. the secret servicemen.

this guy looked right into the camera. made for a very auster picture, but so the moment.

like i promised: bagpipers! they were absolutely fantastic

dad of the groom...a little blurry but totally sweet picture!

mom and bride

gorgeous fur shawl, provided for in the event of fog...and there was fog.

dad, in a moment of pure insanity

the bride. she was perfect.

this face is called "we woke up late the morning of the wedding because neither of us set our alarm, and now i have to smile for a picture while drinking my breakfast in a wool sweater in august."

koomas #3: kristopher

koomas #2: nick (i assume you already understand who's koomas #1)

what would a wedding be without the harley? it belongs to paul koomas, brother-in-law.

father of the bride

here they are, sean and jess! (rehearsal day)

hard providence

God's wisdom is not our wisdom. In the flesh, God's goodness seems unfair, foolish, unreasonable, even mean. and what's even more unfair is that we can't know why He's giving us this particular goodness. but His ways are far above ours. because sin is backwards and turns the world on its head, we look at everything with our head to the ground and our feet in the air. thus, everything holy and good, and often what God sends to us via life seems to us upside down. how can a child born with turner's syndrome be a good thing? that is, where is God's goodness in that? we Christian humans call this a hard providence - something given to us by the hand of the Father which causes us physical, emotional, and/or spiritual pain. it is something "bad" which came unexpectedly, an unrequested gift, and therefore we immediatly think that it can't be good. but if we believe when God says He is good, then our challenge is to find (and believe even when we don't see) the good in what seems bad, unfair, foolish, unreasonable, mean. what makes us think we deserve a life free of hard providences? what do we deserve? we deserve damnation and hell. what have we been given? life in Christ, a life so rich and full we can scarce take it all in...and that's just this life. sin won't be with us forever. what was turned on its head will be righted, the scales will fall off our eyes for good, and we will see more clearly God's wisdom. and we will finally understand that what we thought was a moment of hard providence was really the highest expression of love God could have poured out on us. it was good.

elizabeth joy is in the hospital awaiting a very difficult decision. the options for her at present are either a shunt or a liver transplant. both carry with them life-changing ramifications. both include regular hospitalizations. both exclude a life of normalcy. this is so hard for matt and sara, as they have to choose which of the two no-so-great doors to open. complications loom over both choices, some known and some unknown. for those who are reading this, please pray for this family. they are strong in the Lord's strength, and exhibit wonderful trust in the Lord. elizabeth continues to live up to her namesake: joy. but just because it's good doesn't mean it's easy. so we plead with God for a miracle. we bend our knees and humble our hearts before Him, asking for a rainstorm of mercy. we, like Elijah, bang on the doors of heaven and speak boldly in God's presence for the life of this little one. and we know we can do so because we have been made priests in Christ. Lord, have mercy.

strong tower

elizabeth joy is home now, awaiting the surgery to her portal vein. doctors say now that, what looked like healthy weight gain and nutrition over these 9 months of her life (ie, her poochy stomach) was really the result of her liver not functioning properly. it is hard to know that all this time, she has not been getting the full nutrition that was needed, and doctors are curious to know how her body will compensate for it. this is a hard providence. but we don't trust in organs and veins; we trust in the mighty name of our God. we seek the Physician for His mercy, His miraculous touch, to heal elizabeth and cause her to grow mightily...like a cedar of lebanon, like an ivory tower.



" strong tower, high and glorious, strong tower, mighty in love. like a fortress never failing, strong tower, Lord above."

huge

this post is entitled huge because this post is huge. also, because joe took me on a huge surprise weekend for our anniversary (i thought dinner was great!). destination: san fransisco. car trip: 1.25 hrs. first goal: de Young museum to see the Dior gown that my granma wore. second goal: Palace of the Legion of Honor to see Monet. third goal: lunch. fourth goal: the Argonaut hotel, fisherman's wharf. fifth goal: dinner. that was the first day. the second day didn't have an itinerary, but bummed around and ended up in los gatos for a nap and a movie (little miss sunshine. wouldn't recommend it...funny in parts, but a lot more Godless than we expected).

the very ugly de Young museum. i didn't bother taking anymore

pictures of it, it was so ugly. like a 70's town library. here's me with my thesis.
i asked to see the dress, but they would hear of no such visiting,
and they confessed it wasn't even on the premisis and they weren't quite sure
where it was exactly, and i'd have to call the curator...blah, blah, blah...
they were very cranky and very disappointing.

the very beautiful Palace of the Legion of Honor...the very place where Vertigo was filmed.

joe art

lunch at the legion...joe trying to teach me how to blow fog horns from a bottle.

joe laughing at me trying


bird in the celarium, eyeing our lunch


guy at the legion just playing for the passers-by. said i could take a picture of him if i made him look like johnny depp.


can you see the sf bridge coming out of my head?



joe art



dinner



our louis armstrong for the night...except...no horn. ah well. he was awesome.


he's chatting it up with the kiddos


um, well, looked like a photo op

happiness is being married to a tall swede who planned this surpise getaway for me

joe's dessert...with a little bailey's.

my dessert. perfect.

our hotel, done up in a nautical theme. they take very good care of you.

hubby already enjoying its full amenities

leapard print?

here's me carrying all the junk while hubby walks around looking dashing and waits for our car

lunch at union square. awesome, awesome place. went here with my parents last october. it's a gem.

some city sights

just 'cause i love the name

palace of fine arts...kinda looks like a space ship.

you're just goin' along, minding your own business, and then whoa!

it was being worked on, hence the fence

do i hav'ta say?

at the park, los gatos...ye english bloke!

reading flannery o'connor (yes, that is the appropriate face)

reading billy collins

random baby, but totally cute

babe, you did awesome. thanks for such a well-thought out surprise. (you know you're gonna have to top it next year, right? that's the danger with these things). love you.

matt and amber

these dear folks just got engaged this week. (and there was MUCH rejoicing!) they met as fellow counselors at BelAir's family camp week at Mission Springs; matt popped the question at BelAir's family camp week, two years later. wow, what a perfect inclusio! (nsa nerds, i salute you...could there be chiasm happening here?). they are dear to us. we share in their delight, we celebrate with them, and we are so happy that God has done this marvelous thing. (day one didn't look so promising but God had a plan for them - this great and beautiful road to marriage).

matt and amber, you are awesome. you are perfectly suited to one another, as was suggested even from day one, and now is perfectly evident in all its glory. we eagerly await your union. we love you, and we pray God's strong, wise, and abundant blessings on you now and forever.

sorry, this is blurry. but, if you use your imagination, you can tell that its a fat and happy diamond. matt surprised her with the jewel, but set it on a temporary band so that she could choose a setting of her liking. now that's using your proposing-to-the-woman-you-love noggin, matt! good job. we're so glad we got to know you over these past two years...and thank you for making amber so happy.

more

i said there'd be more, and there is more. there's always more. so, have some more.

carmel gold. the view from our table, the end of our day.

joe art

more joe art

laughing, after passionately "discussing"

that underwhelming food paradoxed with God's incredible creation

just 'cause we have them

more joe art

this is joe arguing

this is his best arguing face

on the phone (work called)

on the phone again (granma called)

carmel water

carmel money

spoiled

where did he take me for our 3rd? carmel, of course. there's just no other choice, really. well, especially when we're practically sitting in its backyard. we are truly blessed to be living in this place - a gift from God. we putted around monterey for a bit (quite hot there), and pondered watching "world trade center," but decided that joe would rather have me feeling celebretory than bawling my eyes out. (then it was the frantic search to buy a slip since i forgot to intall one under my white skirt...sorry public). then it was off to carmel, to ocean street, to cool off our toes in the water. 73 waves, a few phones calls, an argument, and a blast of memorable pictures later, we headed to our dinner destination. rocky point restaurant. awesome view (right on the edge of the continent!), underwhelming food. ah, but don't forget the awesome view. yes, rocks and ridges and water and pelicans and sunset. that's romantic enough, and, because dinner was so expensive (avg $30 a plate!), we no-thankyou'd the extras (appetizers, dessert) and walked away perfectly content.

here's us at our house before we headed off to celebrate.

notice, please, the tidy,well-groomed hair.

here we are at rocky point restaurant...sitting on the rocky points. notice, please, the mangled, disheveled, undignified hair...the price i pay for coastal living.

more later.

bonne anniversaire a nous

so, as of today, joseph thomas and i have been married three whole years. three is beautiful. i thank the Lord for providing me with such an awesome hubby, just what i need. i love you, babe. thank you for loving me. to infinity, and beyond...


to his credit, he is taking me away at noon and i have no idea where we're going or what we're doing. i love surprises...for me, it's all about the surprise. it doesn't matter whether we're taking a tour of the post office...it's all about the surprise. and bless his heart, he's learned that early. :)

goin' to the lighthouse, and we're gonna get married

my sis jessica will be mrs. mcelveny in eleven days. august 19th. she and her beau sean will be saying "i do" in the early morning fog, on the lawn of the great west cliff lighthouse. it will be a most beautiful event.

there we are

nick koomas

mr. nick is my nephew, first child of my sister joanna and her husband paul, first grandchild of the freeman family. he's the best. he's greek italian. he's the crocodile.





he now has a little brother named kristopher robert koomas, just hatched. you'll see him soon.

brown, brown, brown

brown is blah. brown is bold. brown is boring, beautiful, brilliant. ah, i can't think of anymore b words. anyhoo, this is my new color (not like it wasn't brown before. ah, but this brown is different, of course. can't you tell?). it's all female silliness...but not all for naught, 'cause hubby likes it. :)

workspace

my office was once green. now it's cafe au lait. a little paint, a few choice pieces of art, and some mood lighting, and voila! i don't have the "before" pictures, but here are some in the "after".

the art is from bed, bath, and beyond...cheap

this table my hubby stained for moi...the mirror from ross, cheap.

amber-glass track lighting from home depot, cheap.

update

elizabeth joy has a blood clot in a main vein to her liver. she is now in the intensive care unit, and doctors are hoping that surgery will correct the problem. praise God for a diagnosis, praise him for the beautiful faith of her parents and family. now we seek His healing hand and perfect protection. we love you, elizabeth joy. we love you matt and sara.

elizabeth joy

our cousins' daughter, elizabeth joy, is in the hospital with a temperature of 104 degrees and fluid collecting in her abdomen. she is nine months old, and has Turner's Syndrome. please pray for her stability, for a diagnosis of the problem, for the needed extra strength and God-ward trust of her parents, matt and sara. they are tired and, with their elizabeth, have to wait upon God for her every day. and He has blessed them mightily. we pray for His healing hand.

lovely people

here are my grandparents. i just love these pictures of them.

they are lovely people.
everett and mae peterson. wonderful man and woman of God.

Opinion Poll

so, we're trying to decide what picture to submit for our church directory, and which of the hairdo's are best:

This one, which says "i have something in my teeth", and joe looks awesome

or

this one, which is scary but smiley

please vote.

also, there is quite a division between those who prefer my hair curly and those who love it "straight" (i put that in quotes because i think as long as i live my hair will never be truly straight). we are curious to find out which style is in greater demand (actually, the hair is most delightfully a different shade of brown now...darker...which also could be up for a vote). go ahead, voice your opinion. we are dizzy with anticipation.

ok, since everybody else is doing it...

we're delighted to become part of this blognation, as long as it proves both handy and dandy for friends and fam (and as long as it doesn't become a genuine waste of time...we will try not to let that happen). we love you all!

joe took this...a view from our front door. one of those artsy views he's so good at. this was last winter, in the rain, when our house got flooded and we were forever smelling mildew. (needless to say, we now have wood floors. :) thank you Judy!).