Mountain Wedding--Our Niece Stacy and Sebastian Short

Last weekend we traveled over the mountains to Marble, CO, to attend the wedding of our niece, Stacy McVey, to Sebastian Short, a young man she met in Australia while attending there as a student. 

I couldn't resist getting a picture of all the feet hanging over the edge of the bed over the cab,

except I nearly put my shoulder and ribs out twisting around to snap the picture!

Halfway there we discovered a camping spot right near the road that could actually be accessed with a motor home, and so we made the decision to not look for a better spot but to be content with one we could be sure of. So many people are visiting the mountains to see the aspen in their golden leaves right now that it is hard to find a camping spot.

Jonathan is trying to get a fire going.

The children promptly go all over the place exploring.

A fun evening by the campfire.

A favorite photo of our youngest son who is now a teenager. 

He just turned 13 last week, and wanted dirt cake with worms in it!

It was requested that no pictures be taken, so I have no wedding pictures to post until perhaps some are shared by the photographers. However, we did take a few pictures after the wedding. Here is one of the Lucas family with the spouses. The tall, good-looking "cowboy" in the back with cowboy hat and vest is Jon McVey, father of the bride. He led the horse on which the bride rode in to the wedding. Very unique wedding! Loved that part!
L-R Rob and Julie, Chad and Barb, Jon and Esther, Jonathan's dad and mom, Dave and Ruth, and Jonathan (the best-looking guy there!) and me

With more of the mountain view in the background.

The original Lucas family.
I thought this was such a nice picture.

Our son Timmy helping a wedding guest down the wooden steps to the wedding.
It was a very simple wedding, with two bridesmaids and two groomsmen, one of which was Jacob Ford, who has been a friend of the bride ever since Stacy met Jacob at a campmeeting where she was helping Tonya Sickler cook. Crystal also knows Jacob from Penn View days. It was the first time I met him.

Carrie helping to clean up after the reception on the deck of the rustic lodge where the wedding took place.

Slow-Groovin Restaurant where Jonathan's dad and brother-in-law Chad picked up the smoked brisket for the meal. It was "phenomenal" meat, in Jonathan's words. The meal was a smashing success, including the most delightful punch with tiny bits of peach and sliced grape in it.

We finally found a chance to greet and hug Stacy and wish the couple the very best. 

I loved listening to the Australian accent. We got to visit a bit with Sebastian's parents. His mother spent some time with her missionary mother in Papua New Guinea in her younger years.

***

After deciding to just get out of the way instead of trying to help further, we visited the quarry at Marble, where most of the marble for our famous American monuments has been mined, Jonathan said.

Looking back over the valley at the lodge where the wedding took place. Stacy wanted her wedding when the aspen were turning color.

That evening, we ended up having to just find a place to park because the road where we hoped to camp near had a road block. Others camped near us, too. It was a big disappointment, but we went right to bed and to sleep and made the best of it by  moving on the next morning to a place to make breakfast and hike, which I will blog about later.

Timmy's and Danny's Baptism

Today Timmy and Danny confessed their faith in Christ through baptism. It was a very special day for us parents as our youngest two boys took this special step, joining their five siblings who have already been baptized.

We had hoped that our pastor could officiate, but it didn't work out. The boys wanted to be baptized before the weather turned cold, so we asked Bro. Ward French if he would be willing to officiate, and he was willing. A little after 3 p.m. today, family and friends headed down to our pasture pond where the boys had decided they were okay with being baptized in a muddy pond.

Their daddy welcomes family and friends.

and turns it over to brother-in-law Craig Bradford who leads the music.

We found two baptismal hymns which we made copies of.

One was to the tune of "Morning Has Broken," and the other was "Come, Holy Spirit, Dove Divine."

 I appreciated how readily and anointedly Craig led the music.

Quite a number of friends showed up.

Our boys' Grandpa and Grandma Lucas were here for the occasion.

Us two sisters sharing music and enjoying singing parts together.

Bro. Ward leading the way to the water. Cane and all, he was willing to officiate.

But not before quietly asking the boys if there was anything in his life that was a stumbling block or hindrance to them. He wanted to make sure that he was "in good standing" with the boys and was worthy to baptize them.

This touched me to tears as I listened and caught a little of it. 

Usually the preacher makes sure the baptismal candidate is worthy to be baptized, not the other way around. Ward's tenderness and humility with the boys was very touching to me.

Timmy and Danny sharing their testimonies in clear, strong voices. I was proud of them. 

Jonathan and I had talked to them ahead of time, making sure they understood this step they were taking and encouraging them to "confess with [their]mouth the Lord Jesus."

Timmy went first, being the older.

Danny was next.

I got a kick out of how Danny dunked himself before the minister had to try to lean him back and then help him out of the water. Boy, was that easy on the minister!

Carrie handed the boys towels.

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Craig and Joella's family of six children sang a Happiness Medley, and one about Jesus' blood and redemption.

Our boys' grandfather prayed the benediction prayer.

So thankful for how the boys' Uncle Craig greeted and hugged and encouraged the boys.

Then the boys had prearranged to race back to the house!!!! :)

Hannah and Laura in hot pursuit!

I loved how often the two girls went around hand in hand!

Labor Day Breakfast at Jonathan's Parents

On Labor Day morning after watching the Hot Air Balloons rise into the blue Colorado skies,

we had been invited for breakfast at Jonathan's parents.

When we arrived, this hanging basket of flowers was heavy with water droplets! Beautiful!

The beautiful bird bath a couple of Jonathan's siblings had bought for Grandma a few years ago.

It was such a delight to enjoy breakfast outside in the sunshine beside the fountain near their back patio.

The children helped bring out chairs and set the table. Grandma had made a delicious sausage and egg casserole, zucchini muffins, and sliced fresh peaches.

The sunrise that morning.

When Scarecrows Soar and Big Hearts Deflate

 It's not every day that you see scarecrows soaring in the sky!

This enormous scarecrow hot air balloon was our favorite of the hot air balloon festival held early Labor Day morning in town on our way to have breakfast with Jonathan's parents. We'd never seen any balloon quite like it. 

Here is part of the family hurrying to Memorial Park while Sam has to drive several blocks away to find a parking space. 

There were all sorts of rather common and ordinary hot air balloons, if a hot air balloon can be considered common and ordinary.

The balloons were sorta like people--mostly common and ordinary, like us,

but with a few that stood out--like the scarecrow and a sky blue one with storks and babies which we were quite sure was a balloon "For Life." Sorry I couldn't get a good picture of it, but I liked that one, too.

And then there were always weird ones.

The balloons had to take turns being blown up and going up in the sky.

I couldn't help thinking that even a scarecrow can soar! It's not just the typical balloons that went up, but also the atypical, the out-of-the-ordinary, and the uncommon.
Like a Lion King.

Scarecrows usually sit in a field somewhere, flapping their ragged sleeves and banging their dangling aluminum foil pans, doing little besides trying to scare black birds away from the corn or the beans. 

But this one decided to live a different sort of life--one that was beyond the norm and over the horizon.

This one had a dream that was bigger than life.

And nothing could prevent it from rising and shining and fulfilling that dream!

There were lots of balloons that went up on Labor Day.

Up with the frog and the dragon and the alien from Mars.

All except the big heart. This guy sat there looking bigger than life, with hot air puffing up inside and making his fingers twiddle.

Unfortunately that is all that he did. This balloon had a big heart, but all he did was sit there twiddling his fingers, doing nothing at all.

Every last balloon rose up and away, but the guy with the big heart never did go anywhere.
He just sat there, and as we began to leave, he began to deflate.

Learning to soar isn't really about how big or tender a heart you have.

It's about actually getting up and doing something.

We can sit around feeling sorry for the people whose homes and lives were destroyed by the hurricane in the Bahamas--but do nothing.

We can sigh about the persecuted Christians, but merely sigh and then forget.

We can fuss about the way our country is heading--but merely twiddle our thumbs.

It takes more than a big heart to accomplish a goal and a dream and to make a difference.

It takes courage and resolve and ingenuity.

It takes getting off your seat and rising above ground level and actually getting up and doing something.

Yes, even scarecrows can soar!