Preparation...Rehearsal Night

Twas the night before the wedding, and all through the house, every creature was stirring...yes even a mouse! We all left in three cars and traveled with care, and had little mishaps which was an answer to prayer. Upon arriving to rehearse, we had little time to converse for much needed to be done...


Since that is the extent of my extremely limited poetry "abilities", I'll just write the remainder of the post in my "normal style". If I keep the rhyming thing up, it would not only be painful to you, our readers, but would also take me the entire day to finish! (I have other things to do)

Anyway, to finish explaining the events of the wedding rehearsal night, it ran pretty smoothly. Everyone was full of smiles (especially the bride and groom to be) and after everyone learned their places and what they were to do, we adjourned to dinner at a restaurant not far away. The Hawley and Spradling families decorated the room with such elegant beauty, we were stunned at the amount of time, effort and love that was put forth. What a delightful evening we had as we enjoyed fellowship, ate dinner, watched a slide show and observed as Nathan and Rebecca spoke of each person in their wedding party, shared gratefulness for their parents and gave everyone gifts of appreciation. The evening ended all too soon as all good things do but we were comforted that the following day we would all be together again to witness the the exciting event of Nathan and Rebecca's marriage...

P.S. We currently have very few photos but when we get more, I'll post about the actual wedding...stay tuned.

Let Us Remember

Today is considered a "holiday", a fact which I find quite interesting. Holiday's mean laughter and cheer but I think that today many are shedding tears of sorrow. It's a day of remembrance, one in which we reflect on the lost loved ones that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Yet, in the midst of sorrow it is a time of celebration...for we as a nation posses freedom. I don't think we fully grasp the reality of this priceless gift since we know not what it is to be without it! In the Scriptures the word "remember" is mentioned around 147 times... Seems to me that God considers such an act as quite important. Let us rejoice in the liberty our Lord has given us and honor the memory of the brave men and women who have given their all that we might live in freedom.

~ ~ ~

Freedom Isn't Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young soldier saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No Freedom isn't free

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the
bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.....
No -- Freedom isn't free!!

Cadet Major Kelly Strong
Air Force Junior ROTC

Weekend Activities

Only four more days till the wedding! Nathan and Rebecca are getting very excited...who wouldn't be? There is still a little more to do before then, though I must say that being the family of the groom is a lot less stressful than being the family of the bride! From what I hear, everything is running pretty smoothly... though I'm sure they are working like busy bees over at the Moreland house :)

Last weekend we had a couple's shower at our house hosted by the Goforths, Clarks and us. It was a blessing to see how the Lord had everything come together...I was amazed! The Clarks stayed overnight so as to lend us helping hands for two days in a row. What an incredible blessing they were both in help and fellowship. Through the course of the evening we enjoyed dinner, fellowship, games, singing, a precious time of sharing advice to the new couple and we viewed a slide show video of Nathan and Rebecca's lives (thanks Brandon for the countless hours you spent putting that together). We appreciate all the wise counsel and advice that was shared. Nathan and Rebecca will surely benefit from what they heard that evening. The hard work everyone did to make it all happen, payed off!

"Thank you Mrs. Clark, Zack, Max and Jacqueline for all you did. You kept our spirits high even when we were tired. Mr. Clark, a special thanks is due to you for 'loaning' us your family. We couldn't have done it without you guys!"

Let me take a moment to explain the pictures with young people in aprons. The day before the shower, we decided that to keep down "traffic" in the kitchen and to give the evening a little different "flavor", we were going to serve the dinner plates to each table. This was both great fun and full of disasters all in one! It did keep the "crowded feel" down tremendously but there are always little mishaps going on behind the scenes...memories...but we never lost our smiles the entire time! For instance, we combined the salad in a enormous bowl...toss, toss, toss...lots of salad. Began serving...all is well. Then ran out with only about 3 people to go :( Again, throw more fixings in...toss, toss, toss, serve...no wait, 2 more? OK, smile No problem, start over, run out...oh wait, a couple more? Run out again...toss, toss, toss...folks want seconds? Is this what it feels like to work in the kitchen of a restaurant? Ah, some people waiting on the main course to begin and we keep throwing little hand full batches together :) I know what everyone is thinking, just do lots and throw away the left overs...but no, how wasteful!
Next disaster news break. "Server spills tray of food all over self and floor (name withheld to prevent unneeded media attention)...everyone wants to help, which means no servers left to serve. Back in the prep room we accumulate plates of food wondering where everyone has gone?! Oh, I almost forgot, just getting the portions right was a huge accomplishment! And not having sauce dripping off the sides of the plates (again, names withheld for security purposes).
Anyway, I say, "no big deal"! It all went pretty smoothly. We had fun and made memories to last a lifetime! Now for the list of the kitchen maintenance crew...they all deserve much credit :)
Drink service ~ Jonathan, Kristalyn, Grace and Jacqueline
Meal service ~ Max, Brandon, Anthony, Aaron
"Dish out portion on the plate" crew ~ Luke, Zack and me (There, now all who were there can know who to blame if you didn't get enough food.)

Thanks guys for your servant's spirit. It was a pleasure to work with you...ready to open a "Bed & Breakfast"?

Again, all praise and thanks is due to our Heavenly Father for His abundant goodness towards us. For giving us the institution of marriage to celebrate, for giving us the lives of Nathan and Rebecca, and for the body of Christ who rejoices when we rejoice. Thank you to all who came and took part in this celebration of Nathan and Rebecca's future lives together!

Huber happenings lately...

I'm not doing so well at keeping up this blog at present. Sorry for the large time gaps between "Huber breaking news". Here are a couple of highlights from the latter half of April...

The guys had the opportunity once again to take part in a cattle drive at the Arrow S Ranch with Mr. Rocky Roberts. Anthony and Jonathan worked for nine days and Brandon tried his hand at it for the last one. Since I've never done a cattle round-up, I can't say for sure what it feels like, but from the looks of it...it's a lot of hard work!!! The guys enjoyed the fellowship with various cowboys and of course, Tonya Roberts' cooking was a big hit! Praise the Lord for the privilege it is for them to have such an opportunity. A heart-felt "thank you" is due to Mr. Roberts for his patience through it all and for teaching the "ropes" of the business to our guys. They had a blast :)

Next bit of excitement came when Anthony and Jonathan spotted a wild turkey on our property and of course had the strong urge to grab the rifle. When asked, Mom agreed to the critter's death, but only if the guys were willing to gut, clean and cook the meat for the family! I was surprised when they actually walked out the door...even when the little bit of fun meant a whole lot of work afterwards! We were all impressed with the "pioneer abilities" that were exhibited over the next couple hours! In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, that 22 lb. turkey was transformed into a dish of grilled meat ready to eat. Unfortunately, it wasn't a young turkey which means it was a bit tough but it was eaten and enjoyed none the less. Way to go guys!

That's all the news for now...other than, of course Nathan's upcoming wedding. It is quickly approaching and we aren't quite ready with everything. I must say, God has been gracious in providing help for the various tasks before us. A special thanks is in order to Diana and Regina Hawley for the burden they have lifted off of us in regards to the rehearsal dinner planning and decorating! Also, we couldn't pull off Nathan and Rebecca's bridal shower this weekend without the Clark family! What a blessing it is to have brothers and sisters in Christ to help carry the load when it gets heavy. We love you guys!

Baptism

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, Who is above all and through all, and in you all." ~Ephesians 4:4-6

Last week our Church witnessed a blessed event. The day was rather chilly and the cool breeze brought a peaceful calm across the scope of the fields around. One by one the families in our little assembly arrived and we began our service of worship. After the conclusion of the service, a special announcement was made. Brenton Mark Huber made a public profession of his young faith through not only his words but by the sacramental act of baptism...the outward sign of an inward change. How precious to see such a young man trust God for his eternal state, for the laying down of his life in service for the one true Lord. This is indeed an answer to the prayers of his parents since the day of his birth. God's mercy is great and His way true. May Brenton ever be found to faithfully trod the path that His Lord has set before him..."looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith". Here are a few pictures of the event...BTW, like the air, the water was all but warm!