Another very special person

Last week I introduced you to my FIL on what would have been his 95th birthday.  

Today I want to introduce you to my most favourite man growing up on this, what would have been his 85th birthday.  Way back on September 20, 1935 my Oma Winkel gave birth to identical twin boys - Gerard and John.  Gerard, Gerry as everyone called him, is my Dad and John was my most favourite Uncle (I think just because he looked just like my dad)  

This photo was taken on my parents 25th anniversary (I think).  The one in the dark suit is my Uncle John and the one in the light suit is my dad.  

 My dad was always a very special person to me.  We had a cool connection.  My dad knew how to read me and whenever something was wrong with me, he just knew it.  He was someone who was always there for me as my protector. 

My dad was a very hard worker for our family.  As I grew up, I always knew my dad as a drywaller, a mudder and taper.  Back when I was very young my Dad was sent up to Houston B.C. to do some drywall work in the brand new mall that was being built there.  He stayed in the Houston Hotel.  As my dad was working there, he had fallen and injured himself.  Even though he was injured he managed to drive himself home again. (I may not have to story 100% right but this is how I recall it as a child)  At one point in my life as well, my Dad had injured his back and was in the hospital following surgery. It seemed like he was in there for days on end.  In the end, he recovered and mainly only felt pains when the weather was cold.

My Dad was a jack of all trades.  Like my Father in Law, my Dad also played the part of Sinterklaas in December.

 Our church always had a Christmas banquet and Sinterklaas came to visit and give all the children attending a small gift.  The little girl sitting with her back to us is my younger sister Angela.

 My dad did not limit his Sinterklaas position to just the Christmas dinner.  He was working in The Netherlands back in the 1980's and in this above picture he dressed up and visited a few homes of friends coming as Sinterklaas. 

With time he progressed from being Sinterklaas to being Santa Clause for the daycare I worked at.  Here he is with my Mom taking her turn to sit on his lap.  He was so much fun. 

         
 

Just a few pictures of my Dad being goofy. My dad knew how to have fun.  My sisters blessed my Dad with 4 grandsons.  Each of them had two sons.  My younger sister lived down in the US so my Dad did not get to see Chris and Andrew as much as he would have liked to but they made a lot of effort to come up to Canada when they could and my parents would go to where they lived when they could. (They lived in many places, from Hawaii to California to Washington)  It was always a delight for my Dad to have the "boys" around as he never had sons and now was his chance to have "sons"!  Opa always took the time to build things with his grandsons and took an interest in the things they were doing.

I was married a little later in life so that meant my children were the youngest as all my nephews were now in their teens ranging from 12 - 17.  On September 20, 1997 at 3:20 a.m. my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful son - Zachariah David!  Born on Opa's 62nd birthday.  I was so excited to call my Dad in those wee hours of the morning to announce to him that I have the greatest present of all for his birthday - A Grandson! 

Opa could not wait to meet him, so a week after his birth he drove up to Houston BC where we were living and got to meet him for the first time.  Zach and Opa were just the best of buddies.  I have some priceless videos of Zach just after he learned to walk, walking all over our little apartment chatting on the phone with Opa.  He would chat and chat and Opa would chat right back at him in the same language.  They would hold long conversations and Zach would "show" Opa all sorts of things in his conversations.  

When Zach was not quite two yet, I needed to be medi-vacked from Smithers to Vancouver.  I was pregnant with twins at the time and at 35 weeks they decided it was time to try and make an appearance however the hospital up north could not handle a twin preemie birth so they sent me down to Vancouver.  David was busy teaching and was not sure what to do with Zach so my parents offered to take him for as long as we needed them to.  David drove Zach all the way down to the lower mainland and there he got to hang out with Opa.  He had the time of his life!  Opa taught him how to hammer nails.  He had a string of nail gun nails and a huge stump and went at it.  Zach was always "Zach-a-man" to Opa.  

Zach loved it when Opa would come over.  They would have heart to heart conversations and often you could see Opa and Zach "Pwaising de Yord" together.  Zach would raise his hands to the sky like Opa and just call out "Pwaise de Yord!"  Opa taught Zach a lot about Jesus and how to be a missionary in his own neighbourhood/school.  

Little did Zach know, but there was someone else that looked just like Opa!  Upon their first meeting he was very unsure about this man that looked almost like his Opa.  He sounded like Opa, he laughed like Opa but Zach knew he was not Opa. 

Each year on their birthday, Opa would come over and they would celebrate together.  Never did a year go by, that Opa did not smash Zach's face into their shared cake.

Today, September 20 we will celebrate Zach and we will remember all the fun times we had with Opa over the years.  I feel so fortunate that my kids at least had Opa in their lives long enough for them to remember him and have stories about him. 

My Dad passed away July 15, 2006.  Zach delivered the eulogy which was priceless.  Naomi was going to sing a song but then later changed her mind. 

My dad's final earthy resting place is at The Old  St john's Shaughnessy Anglican and my little angel Josiah's ashes were buried with his.  

I love you Dad - to the moon and back!

 

I'd like to introduce you to...

Wiebrand Stuive - He is the father to my husband David, the Opa to my kids and my Father-in-law.  Dad Stuive was born 95 years ago today, September 13th 1925, in The Netherlands.  Bill, as he was known by passed away into the arms of Jesus in August of 2012.  Shortly after the above photo was taken in the Netherlands, he suffered a stroke which left him unable to do much.  Bill has quite a history though and that's what I want to share with you all today.

 Years ago we were blessed with this book.  Inside it was a remarkable memory that Bill had shared.  I thought that today would be just the most appropriate time to share this memory with you all.  What I am writing below was written by my FIL (Father in law) so here I am giving him the credit for what he has written.  Sit back and be amazed like I was when I first read it.

A NARROW ESCAPE by Bill Stuive

 In the fall of 1944 I was delivering letters for people in hiding.  The Germans would censor the mail, so I collected the duikers' letters to their families, hid then in my bike frame and went to post them in a village across the border.  This way the letters would be coming from German, and they would not be censored.  In general I didn't know anything about the letter writers, some of them may even not have been living at the addresses I went to.  The less you knew the better, in case you were arrested.  However, there was one exception: an older cousin of mine was hiding together with a Jewish boy at my uncle's house, but the situation had become so tense that they had to spend their nights in the pulpit of a church.  You never knew when the soldiers would come and close off the street, and then go from house to house, from hiding place to hiding place.

In February of 1945 a plane was shot down close to my uncle's home, bringing and increased amount of German soldiers to the area.  A new hiding address had to be found, first and for all the Jewish boy.  It took several days, but finally it was arranged that my cousin and I would bring the boy to an address in my hometown Musselkanaal, and that my cousin would come and stay with my parents.  Everything seemed to be running smoothly.  We had dropped the boy off and were on our way back, and things would have been fine had we not run into a roadblock, where a collaborator recognized my cousin and knew he should be working in Germany.  I guess Germans wanted to be sure that dodging the Arbeitseinsatz was my cousins only offence, and we were both transported to SD headquarters in Groningenstad for further questioning.  My cousin knew he was in big trouble and calculated he'd better try to get rid of his false ID card, for he feared that it would not stand anymore careful inspection at the SD offices.  He somehow managed to tear the card up and let it fly in the wind piece by piece from the back of the open army truck.

 I'm still convinced we have been bloody lucky.  At our arrival at the feared "SD Hell" the Dutch collaborator who had taken is there as a German officer what he needed to do with us. "Shoot them!" was the answer.  Since that afternoon I know how it feels to have your heart pounding in your throat and to see the room turning and turning.

It was not to be; we might now have been important enough.  I just do not know.  We were jailed and later put to work on the defense systems the increasingly nervous Germans were putting up during those last months of the war.  In April 1945 we were liberated by the Canadians.

This is a British leaflet "De Wervelwind" for occupied Netherlands.  A range of about 22 of these booklets was airdropped.  For the Dutch these were one of the very few ways to get information about the war.  Many of the articles in the "Whirlwind" were reproduced in illegal newspapers and spread by the resistance. 

So there you have it!  The excerpt from the book that my FIL contributed to.  I have known my FIL now for just over 24 years.  That first meeting at the airport was a memorable one.  I had traveled to Ontario with what was then my fiance, David.  I was to meet his parents for the first time before our wedding that following winter.  We grabbed out suitcases off the carousel and were off on that hour long drive to Winona where they lived.  It was when we were unloading the suitcases that I discovered we had taken the wrong suitcase for me and I had someone else's stuff.  Mr. Stuive, as I called him at the time, called to the airport and found out that my suitcase was still there and that I needed to come and exchange suitcases right away.  On our way back to the airport his van broke down on the freeway leaving us stranded.  A kind stranger stopped and took David and I back to the airport where we could exchange the suitcase, but we had to now wait to come all the way to pick us up.  I never lived that mistake down and each time I would come to visit, he always made sure I had the right suitcase before we left the airport.

Bill was knows as "The friendliest man in Winona."  That was the small town he lived in in Ontario. Everywhere he went everyone knew him. He was involved in the Winona Men's club and each year in August he could be found at the Winona Peach festival in the WMC booth serving up peach sundaes.  When Dad would say he was just running to the bank a minute to "visit his money" he would be gone for at least an hour as he was a very sociable man and would talk with anyone and everyone.  I remember when we lived up in Houston BC, Mom and Dad Stuive came to visit us.  We would take a walk to our little local mall to get the mail.  It never failed that we would end up leaving Dad behind talking with this one or that one, meeting up again with him on our way back home.  

Dad Stuive was a very hard working man.  Now I know where David (my hubby) got his work ethics from.  Dad worked at Stelco in Hamilton Ontario.  He also owned a carpet cleaning business with his sons; he did janitorial work at the local Christian School, and at a few of the neighbouring churches as well as at the church he attended.  

Each Remembrance Day, Dad took part in ceremonies as well as took the opportunity to share his stories of being in the war to the students at local schools.  On Sinterklaas Day you could find him at the local Dutch store in Grimsby being the Sinterklaas that kids could come get their photo with.  He would also visit Shalom Manner to visit the seniors there all dressed up.  

Dad loved taking photos and would often put together slide shows for groups of people, mainly in the old age homes.  He was often invited by the Winona Horticultural club to come share slides of the flower pictures he took.  He loved taking trips to his homeland and visiting the Keukenhof in the spring time, taking beautiful photos.  He was never without his camera. 

We feel very fortunate that our kids were able to get to know Opa Stuive.  We would try to visit as often as finances would allow and they made sure they would come visit us as well.  

Happy 95th birthday in heaven Dad Stuive!  Also today would have been Mom and Dad Stuive's 71st anniversary.  Now they are celebrating together in Heaven! 

In Memory of 9-11 - September 11, 2001

It was late one Tuesday evening,

Before a mother could sit down,

To tell her only child about

The terror that hit downtown.

She looked into the eyes of her son

My, she loved him so,

She felt her heart begin to break

And the hurt begin to show.

She gathered all her strength and courage,

as her story she began to tell.

"Baby don't cry; but I'm afraid daddy

might be under a building that fell."

The boy looked back at his mother,

His eyes made not one blink.

And the mother's tears began to fall.

What would her baby think?

You see, his dad is a fireman,

And his hero from the day of his birth.

He loved his dad more than anything else

That could ever inherit this earth.

The mother's head began to drop,

Her forehead resting on palm.

She thought her son would be upset.

Instead, he was very calm.

The boy leaned over towards his mom,

And put his hand upon her head.

In her ear he began to whisper,

And this is what he said:

"Mommy please don't cry,

I knew daddy wasn't coming home.

I talked to him just a while ago,

But it wasn't on the phone.

He told me that he loved me,

And he promised we'd meet again.

He told of his new home,

And the job he was to begin."

"God is building an army,

And there are many angels needed.

That, is where daddy and the others went.

They weren't all defeated."

It was then, the mother lifted her head.

The tears streamed down her face.

And she could feel her husband's presence,

As it filled her heart with grace.

It was then she knew her son was right.

He was in God's great army now.

She also knew her son was safe,

That he'd be kept from harm somehow.

So, evildoers of the world beware.

An army is on the way.

Bolstered by new angels,

Who left the towers that day..

Their commander has never been beaten.

His power has never been matched,

And if evil thinks He was almighty before......

Well, the surface has just been scratched!

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!

By Beverley Stuive

Gezellig

Gezellig - try and give that one a say.  The first and last letter G has a from the back of the throat sound.  If you look up the definition you will find: "The adjective gezellig can be used in a wide variety of situations: A room, restaurant, or café can be gezellig (meaning 'cozy' or 'inviting'). A person can be gezellig (meaning 'inviting' or 'pleasant' or 'funny', 'convivial' or 'sociable')"

Gezellig is a Dutch word; one that we used in our Dutch home as I grew up.  It was a word that described something that there was really no English word for.  I love using that word and sometimes I forget it's a Dutch word and accidently use it when I chat with friends and leave them staring at me wondering what I am saying.  

My son and his new wife started this really cool wood working crafty thing.  They made all sorts of the signage for their recent wedding along with the cricut machine they had.  You need to check out their instagram at this link.  Winkel's Worshop .  Besides signage they are a very crafty couple and make all sorts of cool things.  

Now with that being said, I have always wanted something in my house using that word Gezellig.  One evening I asked the couple if they could make me a sign with the word in the center and then all the words it describes around it.  We brain stormed all the words that described gezellig.  Words like intimate, pleasant, welcoming, cozy, hospitable, quaint, comfortable, warm, friendly, inviting, social, relaxing, charming, togetherness, homey, snug, cute, appealing ...there are probably many more words that describe it but these are those we came up with. 

 Last night they came over and presented me with this beautiful sign.  I absolutely love it and feel so blessed that they made it for me.  I had to find a prominent place to hang it and now it has it's spot.  I can sit here in my chair and admire it remembering what this special word means to me.  

Welcome to my GEZELLIG home!

Wisdom I gain growing older

When I revived my blog I was trying to come up with a new name for it.  Way back when we had our son Zach there was this song that David used to sing for us and the chorus was "I'll treasure these years, growing older!"  A few years back I was talking with him about the song and he started singing it....what a better way to remember it forever that to record it.  Click the link and I hope it will take you to the song. 

Growing Older sung by David

When our children were young, David and I were not those young 20 year old parents.  We got married a little later in life and it was not until I was 1 1/2 months short of turning 36 when Zach was born,  37 1/2 when our twins were born and almost 39 1/2 when Josiah was born (another story for another time). We are now both in our 50's quickly approaching our 60's with young adult kids.   I really appreciate the fact that we were both older when we had children for the first time.  For me, I was able to experience life in the work force and when the kids came I was given the opportunity to be that stay at home Mom. And what an opportunity that has been.  I truly believe that our kids have been able to benefit from me being a stay at home Mom.  

The years that I have had with my kids being that stay at home Mom are years that I will treasure forever.  And now as I grow older and my kids grow older I feel we have moved into yet another stage in this crazy life.  New adventures, new experiences, new stages....growing older.  

Today I was feeling a little lost.  It actually started last night as I lay in bed alone because David was working a night shift.  I hate when my mind goes into overdrive when I am in bed.  Sleep never comes.  

With covid I am finding that I have become very much a loner.  The two primary people I am around are David and Naomi - that's it.  I used to go for coffee with friends, go out errand running, stuff like that.  Now going out to coffee with friends does not happen. Each one I used to do coffee with has their own little bubble of people they hang out with. Naomi and I do coffee together quite regularly which is great, but it's not the same.  

I am also finding that I am needed far less than I was when my kids were younger. Very normal! I used to be that person who my son used to call for advise. We used to have some heartfelt chats but now he has a wife he confides in (which is what he is absolutely supposed to do) and a new family who he spends a lot of time with (okay he lives in the same house so of course he spends a lot of time with them). The newlyweds may come over for a meal from time to time and I am thankful for that.  It's just a little rough coming to that realization that you are not really needed anymore by someone you raised and had around for so long (more or less 22 years).  It's all good though.  It's all part of that growing older!

My daughters are also very independent.  Rebekah is out working away at camp this summer. I hear from her now and then.  Mostly when she needs some advice on her broken finger or on how to cook beans.  She's managed to get herself into her fourth year of university, no help from me and doing it with honours. She's one smart cookie like her brother and sister. but she knows I'm here for her when she does need me.  Like Rebekah, Naomi is also in college but she had taken a bit of a gap year so she is not as far along as Rebekah.  I am so thankful to have Naomi around this summer.  She's learning to drive so we are getting out a couple of times a week.  She's also able to spend time with friends, going out for coffee, to the movies, out to dinner.  It's nice she has a close bubble of friends. 

Life will continue to change, I will continue to grow older and I hope I will continue to grow wiser.  I know my kids will continue to need me, just not in the same capacity that they used to need me and I will learn to adapt.  I will come up with new hobbies (like this blog writing) to help pass the time.  

Blessings

Sometimes in days like these (covid days) I find it very hard to find the blessings of the Lord.  Of course His blessings are all around me.  I have a husband who loves me unconditionally, works very hard for our family which allows me to be home to take care of things here.  I have 3 kids who all love the Lord with all their hearts and have chosen to follow Him.  These three blessings love me for who I am and accept me, loving me unconditionally too.  We have a roof over our heads, food in the cupboard, fridge and freezer, warmth when we need it and cool air when it's hot out.  I am truly blessed.  

A blessing is something we can receive AND it is also something we can give.  Have you ever thought about how you are a blessing to others?  That raised the question in my mind;  Am I living out my life seeking out blessings or am I living my life to be a blessing to others?  In other words, what is my motivation?  Do I help other people because I hope to be blessed through my actions?  Or do I help people, regardless of the consequences to me, because I know it's the right thing to do? 

One of the things I have been blessed by during the season is how many awesome church services there are online.  Our church has been doing a pretty good job but what I miss is the worship time. I love a service with lots of praise and worship.  I have found a few churches with an awesome time of praise and worship.  Every Saturday I take part in a church service out of Huntington Beach California from a church called Mariner.  I honestly don't know how I came across this particular church but I really attribute it to God directing me.  There are three awesome hosts for the services and over the past 4 months I have gotten to know these individuals.  They truly are a blessing to me and in turn I have shared with others what this ministry provides so they too can be blessed.   

When I first thought about writing on blessings, my thought was to share all the blessings I had received. Then I started thinking, have I blessed others along the way? It would be so one sided if I am only receiving blessings and I am not returning this blessing.  Blessings to others don't have to be big and extravagant. Taking an elderly person grocery shopping, taking a learning driver out to drive, or sharing what you have left over from dinner with a neighbour. Sharing your favourite smoked gouda with your son and his new wife, buying special Dutch licorice from your favourite Dutch store on Vancouver Island and having them send it directly to your daughter who is away at camp all summer and including some King peppermints in there for the director of the camp.  I guess I am blessing others. And who knows, maybe what you have been reading here in my blogs that I have been posting has also been a blessing to you?  

Today I will let myself not be overwhelmed with this season of covid that we are experiencing right now, but rather be overwhelmed with the goodness of God so I can overflow with the goodness of God to others.  I will be experienced as a blessing by others to the extent I have counted blessings and first experience myself as blessed!  The greatest gift God graces a soul with is His own presence!  

I leave you now with this blessing from Numbers 6:24/25 (the same verse as in the song)

The Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord make his face shine upon you and

be gracious to you

the Lord life up his countenance upon you

and give you peace!

Amen! 

Side note:

A few of the church services I have been blessed with this Covid season are listed below.  I am going to try and link them so that if you click on them it will take you right to their website.  Be blessed!

Mariner Church HB   Pastor Kyle Costello grew up as a mormon and after some soul searching became a Christian and wow can he preach!

Harvest Church Parry Sound   (this link is to their facebook group as they do facebook live church.)  Chris Somers is the worship leader. I've enjoyed his singing for quite some time now.  The Pastor is Godfrey Wilkinson and is also an awesome preacher

Eagles Landing First Baptist Church  This is the church where Mark Hall from Casting Crowns worships and leads worship from time to time. Pastor Trea Brinson is new to the church and the times I have heard him preach I've found the message solid!

Sharing a secret

Our family loves my lasagna! My Mom loves my lasagna! Our old neighbour Brian loves my lasagna!  Initially I was going to bake a few lasagna's for the rehearsal dinner but then covid interfered and it was not going to work to make.

I first started making lasagna after I had received the church cookbook from the church I attended as a kid, for a bridal shower gift.  In the book someone had posted a recipe which over the years I have perfected.

Often I would have left over spaghetti sauce from when I made it for the family.  I would freeze it and when I figured I had enough to make a batch of lasagna, I'd make it.  In my spaghetti sauce I would

• Brown 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• add 1 T minced garlic
• 1/2 finely diced onion
• salt
• pepper
• some sort of Catelli Pasta sauce (don't judge me, I was a busy mom of young kids so I used sauce from a jar rather than make my own)

Once that was cooked I prepare my "filling".  Mix these all together in a bowl

• 500ml 2% cottage cheese
• 1 pkg frozen spinach
• 1 egg
• 1 cup parm. cheese

Now you are ready to construct.  You take out your rectangle cake pan, like the one in the picture.  You take a scoop of the sauce and put it on the bottom of the baking dish. It does not need to be thick, it just needs to sort of sparingly cover the bottom.  Next put down 3 raw lasagna noodles, now another layer of meat sauce, this one a little thicker to cover all the noodles.  Next put down another 3 more lasagna noodles.  Now is the time for the cottage cheese/spinach mixture.  Layer that on those noodles.  One last layer of noodles and now the remaining sauce.  Now top your lasagna with shredded Motza cheese.  

Tent your lasagna with foil.  Try hard not to have the foil touching the lasagna. (Spraying it with pam helps it from sticking. ) Put it into a preheated oven of 375.  Bake for 50 minutes, remove it from the oven, take off the foil tent and put the lasagna back into the oven for 10 more minutes.

The trick to being able to cut your lasagna is letting it rest before you cut it.  I let mine rest for about 10 minutes.  During this time I put garlic bread into the oven and prepare a salad.  

And voila: 

How to hold a Socially Distance Covid 19 wedding successfully! The Wedding of Zachariah and Cassidy (Part 2)

The Wedding of Zachariah and Cassidy

COVID 19 changed so many things for this couple.  Their numbers had to go from 150 guests to a select few 50.  Then there was this whole thing of social distancing, and wearing masks.  Would the wedding even happen?  Who gets to come and who doesn't? And if that was not enough to think about, now we were also being told to self isolate and stay home and if you were going to get out, you needed to walk 6 feet apart and you were better off being outside than inside.  We learned about social bubbles and Zach was in our social family bubble with Cass being in her social family bubble.  This proved to be too much for this couple in love.  By mid April Zach moved out of our home and into a tent in Cassidy's Dad's work warehouse.  He needed to be there for 14 days before he could finally kiss his love and give her a hug.  This happened just on time for her 25th birthday.  

The wedding was fast approaching.  Typically with a wedding upcoming you have showers for the bride but with this COVID thing we were not permitted these sort of things.  Her Mom threw her a Zoom shower with a number of friends and relatives and we threw her a Social Distant Tailgate Party, which was a smashing success!  The weather was awesome and we had about 35 ladies show up.

All the snacks needed to be prepackaged which was a little more work but so worth it.  The couple was spoiled. 

The wedding day was fast approaching.  Zach's best man was coming all the way from Germany for the wedding so he had to be sure he was there early enough to self isolate for 14 days.  Zach and Cass were very DIY with the wedding and had many little projects that needed doing.  Tables for the bridal party needed making from scratch, signs needed to be made, a caterer who could supply a nice individually packaged meal needed to be found and the list went on. 

Rehearsal day was beautiful.  The sun shone. Things were getting set up for the big day.  My girls and I needed to supply the rehearsal dinner which was a challenge.  We had to come up with something portable.  Wraps with Salad was a hit.  We were busy packing everything up and as I sat waiting for my girls to load things in the car, I saw in the field beside the driveway, this farmer driving his tractor around spraying this brown substance on his field.  It only took a matter of seconds to know what it was that he was spraying.  I think he had seen that there was something happening like the setup of a wedding and he drove off.  Zach and his bestman went off to hunt him down however to no avail. (I later learned that he had gone over on the morning of the wedding to ask him to please hold off with spraying the field for the rest.  The farmer obliged and told Zach that he could just shoot him a text when he wanted the wedding to end and he's be right over to finish spraying) Thank you Farmer Severinski! 

The morning of the wedding day was overcast and gloomy looking.  At least this would be good for pictures as no one would be squinting.  Zach's grooms people all showed up here at the house and headed off to breakfast together.  The bride and her bridesmaids all gathered at her parents place to get themselves ready.  There is so much more getting ready for the women folk than there is for the guys.

Around noon the boys and Miki (Miki is one of the grooms people.  Zach and Miki co-lead a missions trip to Africa the previous year and he wanted her to be part of his wedding party) all showed up back at the house to have lunch and get ready.  Unlike the mother of the bride, the mother of the groom does not have much to do to help the grooms people other than maybe some quick ironing of rolled into a ball dress pants and shirts.  Zach looked dapper with that handsome smile and he was off with his group.

In the meantime Cassidy was all ready with her girls and they were off to the nieghbours garden for a photoshoot.

Zachariah and Cassidy decided to do a "first look".  This is where the bride more or less sneaks up behind the groom, he turns around and gets his first look.  This way they can get photos done before the wedding ceremony.

Meanwhile back at the venue, people were scrambling to whip down the chairs from the drizzle that was now falling.  This couple had really thought everything out with their wedding.  Knowing that the great Dr. Bonnie Henry kept saying that we needed to keep socially distant, they were to oblige. Every chair was methodically placed, exactly 6 feet apart with people 6 feet behind you.  

The guests began arriving, exactly 50, not one more, not one less.  Pastor Jeff Kuhn  announced for everyone to be seated and the service started.  Zach walked me to my seat and then he walked Cassidy's Mom to her seat.  Zach then took his place by the beautiful arch he and Cassidy made and waited.  First each grooms person came in, one at a time, slowly, methodically.  Then each bridesmaid came in and took their place 6 feet in front of the grooms people.  The music changed and in came Cassidy on the arm of her Dad.  What a proud Papa he was, beaming from ear to ear!  Cassidy's Mom joined them up front when the pastor asked who was giving away this woman.  As her parents returned to their seats, Cassidy's Grandpa Skip came up to the mic.  Cass and Zach had asked him to share a message which he did from Romans. It was a short message but packed with so much.

After the regular wedding stuff like the vows, exchanging of the rings, signing the register, pronouncing them husband and wife and that first married kiss, the service part was complete.  The drizzle now turned to a little harder drizzle.  I personally was wondering how in the world were we going to have a reception outdoors if this was going to keep up, however, we had a lot of praying people there praying for a break in the weather, and that's just what happened.

As the bridal party and a few others scrambled around to set up for the reception, the families were getting family photos done.  In the end, the rain had stopped and the reception area looked absolutely beautiful.  The vision that Zach and Cass had came together and then some.

(As I had mentioned earlier, Zach and Cass made the head tables - the two where the grooms people all sat, the two where the bridesmaids sat and their table.)  It was so beautiful and at one point the clouds opened and the sun shone down on Zach and Cass.

Catering for a covid type wedding was a little bit of a challenge.  You could not have your typical buffet as that would mean extra people on the property. You could not have people coming in to service food since buffets were not even allowed because that too meant more people on the property.  There is a local restaurant here in Maple Ridge that managed to stay open during the whole pandemic with his take out/curbside menu.  As a family, we had ordered from them a couple of time and on Easter and Fathers Day we decided to try their family feasts.  The prices were great and the food was excellent.  Mike at Big Feast gave two options for meals, one was a pasta dish and the other was a chicken/mashed potato dish.  Each guest had preordered their meal.  As the reception set up was happening, Mike dropped off these huge hot boxes with the food in them.  I was a tad skeptical with just how warm these meals would be once they were finally going to be served to us but to my delight, they were hot!  The quantity of food for each serving was perfect and if you had left overs, your container was a to go one, so you could take it home.

Cassidy's Grandma made their wedding cake and it was the most beautiful cake.  The two roses on the top were from our garden.  We had recently purchased two rose bushes to commemorate David's parents who had recently passed away.  It was so cool when Cass came to ask if she could use two of the roses for the cake. It meant the world to David.  In the middle section, her grandma Shona had put a few more roses and some tiny little lights.  It was truly very beautiful!  She has such a gift for decorating.

Along with the cake for the dessert, any one who really knows Zach, knows that this boy LOVES his cinnamon buns.  Now there is a place in Vancouver called Grounds for coffee which Zach was introduced to by the wedding pastor and his family.  This place has absolutely the best cinnamon buns.  For the wedding, they had ordered one cinnamon bun for each person which came individually wrapped in a little to go box.

I'm not one much for listening to a lot of speeches however the ones shared at Zach and Cass's wedding were heartfelt and meaningful.  The one that got the best laugh was ours.  I told David that I would be more than happy to write our parent speech however he had to deliver it.  Cassidy kept telling David it needed to have a few good Dad jokes in it.  David got up to the mic and opened his speech and he began reading as it flapped in the breeze. He had stapled about 5 extra pages to his speech and rolled it up like a scroll.

The sun was setting and the wedding was winding down.  It was hard to believe that 5 hours had passed.  The bride shared a dance with her dad which was followed by a first dance by the newlyweds. 

The couple had put together a small video called a Second a day since the day they got engaged.  They invited the group to come watch the video before they were to drive away.

With that the couple drove off in the Westi, into the sunset. 

Cassidy and Zachariah, I will end with the blessing that was in our speech to you both. 

May you always have plenty and never lack

May you both always have each other’s back

May you always be healthy and rarely ill

May you, in each other, feel loved and fulfilled

May your lives be long and full of grace

May you always seek the Lord’s face

May both your hearts and your home be warm

May peace and joy always be your norm.

We wish you Zach and your new bride Cassidy all the love and happiness in the world.

A HUGE thank you to Tory Matthys from Tori Spencer Photo for capturing this special day in photos.  Thank you to Sheila and Greg for throwing an awesome wedding for your daughter.  You were so hands on, with your family getting everything set up and looking so beautifully. Sheila, your Mom Shona did such a beautiful job with the flowers and the cake and your Dad "Skip" did a wonderful job with the message.  Also a huge thanks to Grandma Whistler for making masks for everyone at the wedding and for making sure that Zach's Oma Winkel got to the wedding and home again.  To the whole bridal party a huge THANK YOU - Zach and Cass could not have a better friend group than they have with you.  Each and every one of you stepped up to the plate, moving those heavy tables, setting up for the reception and just taking care of the couple on their special day!  And last but not least a very big thank you to Arnie and Janet.  Without you this beautiful space would not have been possible.