House dedication

Today was the Big Day we’ve been working toward.  We got up this morning and took the bedding off the hide-a-bed we’ve been sleeping on in the living room and turned it back into a couch.  We cleaned and prepared food and got ready for people to come to our house dedication which we had told everyone would start at 2:00.  Our first guests arrived at 2:45.

These folks were all from my church. The woman in the center of the picture is my pastor, Nancy Bontempo, and the man next to her is her husband.

These folks were all from my church. The woman in the distant center of the picture is my pastor, Nancy Bontempo, and the man next to her is her husband, Dave.

The woman on the left is Benay whom we met at Wagon Trail a couple summers ago. The woman closer to the window is Rosanne Curran and the one in front of the refrigerator is Kathy Plahmer, the friend who helped me clean yesterday. Both are quilters and both work at Wagon Trail.

The woman on the left is Benay whom we met at Wagon Trail a couple summers ago. The woman closer to the window is Rosanne Curran and the one in front of the refrigerator is Kathy Plahmer, the friend who helped me clean yesterday. Both are quilters and both work at Wagon Trail.

Mark took Bill Curran out to the garage to show him his motorcycle.

Mark took Bill Curran out to the garage to show him his motorcycle.

After I took these pictures, things got really hectic.  Five people from Mark’s church arrived, three of our new neighbors stopped in briefly, three of Mark’s customers who are from Wagon Trail came, and a couple from my job at Seaquist. Oh, and when Kathy Plahmer left, she relieved Kathy Guckenberg, our former boss at Wagon Trail, so that she and Tim could come to the party.  Our place was full.

At 4:00, we had a semi-programmed part.  I told the story of how we got the house, giving all the glory to God for giving us more than we could have ever thought or imagined.  I announced that Mark and I have agreed to name our house Sanctuary.  Mark said a prayer of dedication, dedicating our house to God who gave it to us in the first place.  Then my pastor gave a word of blessing, choosing to talk about King Solomon who had everything he could ever want, but also said that unless God builds the house, they labor in vain who try to build it.  It was beautiful!

Then we served dinner.  Mark barbecued ribs, brats, hamburgers, and hot dogs.  He also grilled a bunch of vegetables.  I handmade lentil soup, had two cole slaws and a kale salad, as well as a relish tray.  I had two bowls of crackers, one of which was gluten free.  And for dessert, there was ice cream.  I wasn’t sure how many people to prepare for, and we had a lot of people here who loved the food and came back for more, but we still had quite a bit left over.  Ah well, we’re set for food for a while!

Many of the guests who came brought gifts, which I had not asked for, but it was kind of them to do:

The gifts!

The gifts!

Kathy Plahmer made the Inuit wall hanging for me. My pastor’s mother made the bag with the hot mitt and hot pad. Benay brought a box of decorated cookies. The trailer bird house was from Rosanne, the Door County mugs were from Tim and Kathy Guckenberg, Judy wasn’t able to attend but she sent a gift card for one of the thrift shops she had introduced me to, and the ramkins came from one of Mark’s customers, Marie.  One of the neighbors brought the beautiful geranium plant, and someone else (I’m sorry that I can’t remember who) brought the daisy plant.  Thank you, one and all!

The best part was visiting with all our friends in one place, getting to know them better, and sharing our home with them.  This was a Memorial Day to remember!

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