family tree

he's over twenty years old. he was there when joe was under three feet tall (has anyone ever seen him that short?), and he attended joe's rehearsal dinner. he's seen a lot of things. he's wide and gnarly, and could seem kind of lonely, down there in the corner of the yard. but he's prolific, for an apple tree. no fertilizing, spraying, or obsessive attention needed. just an ocassional pruning of the branches.

this year, he's giving and giving. perhaps he's trying to prove himself, trying to show off his bearing talents, since he may have overheard the family discussing his removal. or, perhaps he's old and ready to die and wanted to go out with a bang. whatever the reason, the result was a beautiful bucket of red apples, not shiny with wax, but earthy with a layer of tree-love still on them. a few drill holes from apple bugs, but in beautiful condition. this is special fruit.

if i was an apple, home-grown from the backyard family tree, i would do my utmost to get into a pie - a homemade pie, dotted with butter, sprinkled with cinnamon, and covered in a real flaky crust. that would be my crown of glory, my opus.

these apples just called for more than a chomp or a slice. these apples were born from a tree of history, from a tree grown in the dirt under our feet. and so, i crowned them with glory and honor, said 'well done, good and faithful apples," and tossed them in among the sugar and cinnamon. dancing and sizzling to perfection inside a tender, butter-happy crust, this must have been their final delight, their holy reward.

ps- every time i've made a pie, i've always taken a picture with it. it's tradition. i don't know why exactly, but like bread, pie-making is an act of love.

pps- don't ever make a 100 % whole-wheat crust (ahem). it turns out too heavy and tastes a lot like a slice of bread in the mouth. not a good sensation when you're expecting apple-divinity.

giftage

jenny stovall's bridal shower

the soon to be mrs. thompson

"sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..."

bride and matron of honor



love ya, jen!

new baby

no not for us. but, my parents got a new little piano. it's so purty! we all had fun breaking it in. and i'm gonna be giving mom some lessons. :)

and a bit o' guitar

partyin' church-goin' beach bums

sushi? at a beach bonfire?

opportunity for beautiful reflection

as you know, we've had a lot going on in our families these days. my grandy passed away, and then joe's grandpa a month later. well, while we were on vacation, my grandma sue went to be with Jesus. this was a huge answer to prayer. my family had a sweet memorial service for her, with tea and goodies, and she was beautifully remembered.

also, on the weekend we arrived home, there was a memorial service for joe's grandpa everett. it, too, was a most beautiful celebration of his old life and his new one. God has given us many opportunities to reflect on His perfect ways in our life as humans, and what glory is awaiting us. there is wisdom in the house of mourning. and there is joy.

grandma mae. she is so cheerful.

the three siblings:

trudy, joe's sweet mum

uncle ron

uncle ric

we all thought the service was being recorded, but alas. we wish you could hear the song ric wrote, called "Jonas' Song". this family has an amazing Christian heritage.

see some family resemblance? :) joe gave a tribute from the grandkids' perspective.

some of the peterson family...there will be a HUGE family reunion and memorial in October where Lord-willing, all of us will be there.



classic

a bit of forest, a really big lake, and some rapids

our trip home from idaho was actually really fun. we drive the whole way in one shot, all 19 hours. but we got to do some things we've (well, mostly joe) always wanted to do.

there's this farm of birch trees on 84 that stretches for several miles, and after hearing all about "the wood between the worlds" in The Magician's Nephew for the last 2 hours, we were seeing it with Narnian eyes and kind of inclined to think it magical.

crater lake. i had never seen it before. it was very still.

chipmunkeroo

you would never see this river if you weren't paying attention. it's the run-off from crater lake, and it's darn cold.

the future mr. and mrs. wells

aaron and emily were both classmates of ours while we were at NSA, and i guess we didn't keep our eyes open wide enough, 'cause supposedly we should have seen this coming. okay, so it was so wierd to arrive in moscow not even knowing that they liked each other, find out they were courting, and leave having seen a ring on her finger! you guys, we are so ecstatic for you, and we will be praying for that double wedding. :) all the Lord's joy to you both!

ty and jenny

this wasn't a pose...he was just standing like this...yikes

ty and jenny, you have no idea what a blessing it was to be with you...to get to know you as a couple. we are so excited for your wedding day, and we are praying you through to that day. we love you.

esther and hannah hill

ruth and james, thank you SO much for visiting with us. that was some seriously yummy cheesecake! we are so thankful to know you are doing so well and enjoying life. we hope your toddler-plus-infant plane ride went well. :) your girls are beautiful. we love you.

esther

hannah

us: four years

we celebrated our 4th anniversary while we were in idaho. it was SO good to do things just the two of us, to be away from work and our familiar town and just BE. on the actual day, we went to Swilly's for lunch, which was our favorite place to eat when we were in school. two of our friends are chefs there now, and they made us a great lunch. after lunch we went and saw Bourne Ultimatum, which was AWESOME. and during our two weeks, we cooked together, read together, conversed well, took lots of walks, played cards (i get so angry cause joe always wins!), drank coffee (yah, i know, why would joe even want to step foot in a coffee shop on vacation!) and watched movies on our air bed. :) it was perfect.

joe's dinner creation: ribeye stuffed with fresh basil, sundried tomoates and parmesan

and fresh green beans with toasted hazelnuts

our moscow loot

we're definitely not in California

joe loved not having to shave for a few days

my dinner creation: sauteed chicken with peach salsa and vanilla tea reduction

my dear sweet honey, thank you for being my husband. i had a wonderful vacation with YOU.

je t'adore. toujours.

eight courses

The main celebretory event of our anniversary was a three-and-a-half hour, eight-course French dining experience at a place called West of Paris. It is a family-owned, family-run restaurant of exquisite beauty and taste. Monsieur Foucachon, head Chef, and his wife greeted us at our table and we were so blessed to meet them and their kids (who were our waiters!). And, our old Lordship prof and his wife were have dinner there the same time we were, as well as a few of our old classmates. It was such a unique and memorable experience.

our wine, compliments of our friend otto neilson, sous chef

this is LE MENU GOURMAND

pre-appetizer: cold cucumber soup

appetizer: duck pate

course #3 (don't remember the name)

i had artichoke heart,morel mushroom, and swiss cheese gratin

joe had snails for his 3rd course...lots of butter and garlic!

proof that he DID eat them

jen's main course: elk sausage with wild blueberries

RATATOUILLE! :)

joe's main course: quail, with coqnac-soaked grapes

little bitty leg

palette cleanser: lemon calvados sorbet

salade

amazing cheese plate!

strawberry mousse

maple latte

jen's last course: crepe normande (apples)

joe's last course: lavender creme brulee

we were SO stuffed...actually stuffed isn't a strong enough word :)

merci, m. et. m foucachon, pour le dine fantasique! vous etes tres tres magnifique!

idaho: hardinghouse

we just took a great big ol' trip to idaho, in which we saw many friends and made some new ones, ate lots of food, attended a conference, and celebrated our anniversary. it was two weeks of anything but work, and it was awesome. here is the first post-installment of many. :) we kinda took a lot of pictures...surprise, surprise.

for over a year, we have seen the hardings' life from afar...from their blog. but, finally we were able to see them face to face, and it was lovely. we bed-and-breakfasted it in their adorable home while they were away, and then got to live three days of their life with them before we left.

we could not believe what a sweet family they have become, and how cute (and big!) brooklyn and wesley are getting. in fact, we had never really seen wesley before. he was just a pea in the pod last time we visited.

these are just some of the pictures we took. we're such nerds.

our guest room

beth's garden

joe mower

brook-a-lyn

wes-a-ley

blue steel

thank you, beth and jacob, for our time with you. we love you all so much. may the Lord bless your home and family.

idaho: people

while winding our way through the crowds of Trinity Fest and other events of our sleepy vacation, we saw many a friend and aquaintance, for which we are very thankful.

dave and kate henreckson - kate, it was delightful to see you in The Queen's Friend. blessings on your Logos work this year!

the courtneys - thanks SO much for having us into your home and serving a classic feast! we assume that caleb got the commercial?

christina atwood (ethan's around there somewhere)

nethaniel ealy - classmate

dr. peter leithart, our theology and literature prof

gabe and kristin telling - fellow chamber choir voices, back in the day

luke and rachel jankovic- they're makin' chicago style hot dogs for the Trinity fest

dr. gordon wilson, our entomology prof

josh and sara appel - josh, thanks for the rigorous chat about coffee. josh was our philosophy prof.

mr. schlect, our history prof (we're not sure who the guy holding him is...)

larson hicks

otto and bethany neilson - you guys, it was SO good to talk with you and connect on a very foody level. we pray that your apprenticeship goes well, otto, and we'll keep in touch about the Pub.

you guys are so cute

otto neilson and emily robinson, chefing it in Swilly's kitchen. way to go chefs, and thanks for a great lunch!

joe and jacob on the swings, showing us how it's done

nathan, jacob, joe, jamin playing bachi ball (k, i don't know how to spell that)


the Flacks (minus Todd...we missed seeing you!). thanks, Crystal, for hanging out with us. it was SO good to catch up with you, and to eat cake. :)

out with meryn, in with kyle...gotta get kyle in there! this is like on Sesame Street where they show two pictures, and you have to figure out the subtle difference between them. what do YOU see? :)

bach

an anonymous good friend gave us the funds to get tickets for the world-renowned Carmel Bach Festival. It was their 70th year.

of the overwhleming number of concerts, recitals, and lectures, we chose to go to St. Matthew's Passion and then a candlelight recital of Bach's violin partita in d minor, among other amazing pieces. our favorite musicians we don't actually have pictures of, but the violinist was from England and the viola de gamba-ist, who we think was german, was incredible and looked just like joe's sister kim.

we loved capturing all the musicians in snapshot - they tell such stories!

thank you, dear friend and fellow bach enthusiast (you know who you are), for your gift to us. it was greater than you can imagine, and we cherished every recitative.

miscillanae

here's more moving pics - this is at the old house... mom and i are beyond tired.

here's joe gettin' a few hairs cut at mom and dad's new house. their kitchen is the perfect hair salon!