Friday Fun: Reunions for Days, Part 2

 

A couple of days ago, I told you about our trip to Ryan’s family reunion. When we left that, we ran a few errands, and then it was time for my thirtieth high school reunion. I have absolutely NO idea how this happened.

                I like to think I look a little better than I did when I graduated.

                The main part of the evening was held at Blondie’s Cookies in Greentown. It’s an old drugstore-turned-restaurant-turned-fireplace-store-turned-event-center. It’s a really cool space, and I hadn’t been in it since the restaurant days. Our class president and some of the other ladies from our class did a great job decorating.

                We have only lost one classmate (that we know of, anyway) in thirty years, so they had made a memorial table for him.

                A local catering company provided our dinner, and the dessert table included cake and (of course!) Blondie’s cookies!

                Ryan and I sat at a table with my friend Amber, who has been part of my life story since story hour! I was so glad she came. Also at our table (which we named The Kids’ Table) was a guy named Brad.

                Ryan won a prize when he found the hidden star under his chair.

                Some more of the evening and photo booth fun!

                After the main part of the evening, we had the option to drive over to the high school and tour our old stomping grounds. We decided to go!

                Look who I found in the hall!

                He was excited to see the updated (much nicer!) wrestling room.

                This performing arts center did not exist when we were in school. Our musicals were in the cafetorium. 😉

                Found my locker from junior year.

                I also got a picture with Dad’s old classroom.

                The pool is a lot nicer than when we were in school.

                And this extra gym was not even a thought in anyone’s mind when we were students!

                We had a great time and I’m so glad we went. We’ll see if Ryan’s class has a reunion next year!

Wednesday in the Word: Look Up

 

I’m back with another nugget I learned from my study on Acts. SO MUCH goodness in this book. So many rich lessons.

                This week I read the story of Stephen, who is known as the first martyr for the Christian faith. It’s a hard piece to read, but this one part just hit me the moment I saw the words on the page.

                In the moment just before he was killed, it says that Stephen gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God.

                With all the chaos around him, he looked up. With all the emotions swirling inside, he looked up.

                Our study book, written by Erica Wiggenhorn, said this of those around Stephen: If only they had looked up. Think of what they missed. Where is your gaze resting today, friend? Are you looking at the crowd? Your circumstances? Or are you looking to Jesus?

                I do not want to miss anything. Our lives right now are noisy – from good and hard noises – and I don’t want to be so consumed with those things that I miss out on looking up.

                I’ve actually been trying to remind myself to physically look up to remind myself to keep my focus on Christ. Sometimes that happens more easily than others, but I’m working on it.

                So that’s my thought to share with you today. Look up. Life feeling noisy? Look up.

Tuesday Tales: Reunions for Days, Part 1

 

Several months ago…maybe even a year ago??...I saw that my high school class reunion was going to be held this past Saturday. I put the date on the calendar, and then a couple of months ago, Ryan received an invitation to his family reunion on the same day. Of course! Why wouldn’t they both be on the same day out of all the days in the year? 😊

                With some creative scheduling and a generous friend who loves our Lexi Grae, we were able to make it to both reunions, so today I thought I’d give you a little peek at the family reunion.

                Ryan’s mom was the consummate planner, and when she was alive, holiday gatherings happened regularly – including the entire extended family. They gathered at Father’s Day and again at Christmas, and Ryan loved being able to meet up with this side of the family. After her passing, those larger, extended gatherings stopped. Until now.

                One of Ryan’s cousins, who lives down near Indianapolis, hosted this event, and we enjoyed getting to see their pretty house!

                If Ryan’s mom had been there, we would have had about 100 pictures taken – including a group photo – but I did not get quite that brave. Here’s what I can offer you, though!

                This was a pitch-in meal, and we really wanted to take some nice healthy food, but alas, when you’re going to be on the road for about twelve hours with no way to properly refrigerate, healthy food is hard. So we just dug into the recipe archives and took some fun treats we never get to have anymore.

                Turns out I still know how to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Deliciousness and Halloween Party Mix!

                We had a gorgeous day for our drive to this reunion. Took us about two hours to get there, and we had fun on the way!

                Here is Ryan with his cousin, Kevin. When we lived in Kokomo, we went to the same church, and when I worked in the church office, I got to hang out with Kevin a lot, because he worked part-time at the church in addition to his job at the fire station.

                Ryan and his Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave is one of Nita’s brothers, and he recently retired from pastoral ministry.

                I had to find some friends for a picture, too! This is Kevin’s wife (Debbie) and Ryan’s cousin, April. Both of them, along with the rest of Ryan’s family, have been so sweet to welcome me in as a part of the family!

                I love this picture of Ryan talking to Aunt Ruthie – his mom’s sister. We haven’t seen her in a long time!

                I took this picture to show to my mom. This is one of Ryan’s cousins, and when he was just a toddler, my mom taught him in Sunday School. He has grown up to be a fantastic young man, and every time I see him, he asks about Mom and Dad. So I asked him if we could get a picture, and Mom was excited to see him!

                We both had to get a picture with Aunt Ruthie!

                The reunion really was a lot of fun. We enjoyed the food and all the family we don’t get to see too often, because we live a distance from most of them!

                Come back on Thursday and check out the class reunion fun!

Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

                Welcome to another strange week of dinner ideas!! (Boy that’s inspiring, isn’t it??)

Monday: Cobb-ish Salad

I forgot to boil eggs, and to be honest, I’m not sure what it is about a cobb salad that makes it cobb. Is it the egg? If so, then this was a fail. But it was so good. I air fried chicken thighs (because Ryan loves them) and added mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and pepitas. So good!

Tuesday: Chicken and Broccoli Sheet Pan

This was a fast, easy dinner. I used two bags of frozen broccoli and some boneless skinless chicken tenders and baked them on a sheet pan for about a half hour. I used to really love this combo, but it’s not hitting the mark for me right now. Anyone else go through seasons when food just kind of falls flat, even I it’s something you used to love?

Wednesday: Ground Turkey and Bell Peppers with a Side Salad

This is an easy meal. Ground turkey with Italian seasoning…chopped bell peppers…cooked on the stove top! I added a little side salad of spinach and chopped peppers. Easy and good! (The meal also made a bunch, so we were able to have leftovers several times.)

Thursday: Fajitas!!

I actually never ate dinner on Thursday, so let me tell you about my lunch! I ate out at a Mexican restaurant with a friend, and I ordered chicken fajitas. I love arroz con pollo at a Mexican restaurant, but I know all the cheese and rice isn’t great for me, so fajitas for the win!

Friday: Leftover Ground Turkey and Bell Peppers

Told you this was great for leftovers!

Saturday: Chicken and Green Beans

UTTERLY failed to take a picture of this one. I was at my class reunion, which was catered, and I totally forgot to take a picture of my plate. I had chicken breast with green beans and a little bit of salad.

Sunday: Grilled Fish and Steamed Green Beans

Big thanks to Ryan for grilling up a bunch of fish for us so we could eat for a few days! So tasty. Grilled tilapia is about the only kind of fish I can handle!