Weddings – Page 2 – Skelton Sketches

Our Princess has found her prince…

Posted on August 17, 2016April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

And we gathered from far and near as a family to witness their wedding…

and to celebrate family, new and old!

We shared sunshine and a bit of rain, picnics, walks, water and wonder…

There was laughter, and there were tears…

And way too soon we parted ways again for our separate worlds…

We are grateful for all that God has done for us. Children are a heritage from Him.

–LS

“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!”

Ps.90:16,17

Even Solomon in all his glory…

Posted on June 25, 2016April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

The wedding was beautiful. My niece was lovely. Her bridesmaids were radiant…

Then everyone went home and I was left with time to browse through the rose garden at Colonial Park with my aunt…

……and the next day to wander alone down the historic Delaware/Raritan Canal tow path in the land of my childhood.

It was splendid!

Ginormous snapping turtles lounged on logs all along the way defying my efforts to capture their likeness…Lush growth of poison ivy kept me from getting too close….

All the while the heady sweet scent of honeysuckle accompanied me.

When I reached Bound Brook I found the grand building that was once my grade school,

and the old library where I sat in the Children’s Department one Saturday forty-some years ago and learned to crochet!

For lunch I found an old sub shop on Main Street, that’s been there forever, and got myself an authentic Italian Sub before having a quiet meander through the ancient cemetery beside the library……reading old gravestones with their stately fonts and quaint orthography…

”The Church We Say hath Suffurd
Dere Frind By your Deceace.
The Crown is Won theres no more …
For you But Endless Peace.
As you are now So once was I…
Helth and Strenth though here [I lie]…
and as I am now So you must Be.
Prepare for Death and Follow me.”

“Here lies what is mortal of James Harris who died Aug.1,1813 in the 59 year of his age.
Confined by death to shade of night,
He lies conceal’d from mortal sight.
Till Jesus from the lofty skies,
Shall bid his slumb’ring dust arise.”

“To the memory of John Runyon son of Peter and Phebe Runyon who died Sept.11th 1822 aged 6 years and 2 months. His fond parents has erected this humble monument.”

Earlier in the week I walked with my mom through the graveyard where my own kin and those of my friends are buried—all these saints who have gone before us to what is truly glory. It sits beside the old church building we called ‘The Assembly Hall’ where I prayed at the altar to ask Jesus to be my Saviour when I was just 10 or so…

Lindy Lake lies just beyond. Here I skated in winter and counted goslings in summer, had school picnics, picked strawberries and passed by endlessly walking home from school or just taking a lovely walk…But alas, not a decent picture have I. It’s best in the mind’s eye I suppose.

Well… it was a wonderful and nostalgic trip ‘home’ to Zarephath, NJ, the perfect occasion to see cousins I haven’t seen in a dozen years—seems to take a wedding (or a funeral) to gather us from hither and yon! I will spare you all the pictures of kith and kin, except for these three…

of siblings (and Mom!),

of COUSINS!

and of my favorite sister!!

I end on this curious note—I love this little vent sitting quietly and unnoticed over the decades looking like a mushroom. I wonder if anyone has thought to take a picture of it before now…

‘Tis all for now–

–LS

Wrapping up 2014—all gift!

Posted on January 4, 2015April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

As a New Year rolls in I’m looking in the rear-view mirror so to speak, at all that has passed this year… P1160487

Week by week I’ve left its traces here in pictures. But this year looking back is bittersweet. The remembering is laced with the sadness of loss.

For eleven years these gifts have been ours—the natural beauties of the Pacific Northwest—the water, the trees, the garden, the flowers…I have loved them. Dearly. The freedom to tromp all about in a world akin to a National Park (minus the fees and the people) has been a priceless gift. But now that we’re moving the pictures that re-cap the year remind me of gifts I must leave behind… I can take only the reminders, these pictures, and a grateful heart for all these blessings.

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As we move toward snow country,

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we will leave behind rain-forest and ocean with their now predictable seasons…

February’s snow drops and pussy willows… P1140291snowdrops

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Spring’s skunk cabbage and wild currant blooms

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Fruit trees and rhubarb coming to life…

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Summer’s garden time

New Crocs P1140868 P1140826 [P1150427%255B4%255D.jpg]

and familiar hikes to favorite viewpoints…

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Fall’s harvest will be different too this year… P1160244 P1150885

And snow not so rare and valued… P1140270 P1140279 P1140236

Looking back I suspect these are things I will miss

but then again, there are other things we may not miss too much [P1140336%255B7%255D.jpg] P1140331 P1140915

What I cannot see is what lies just ahead…

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Last year at this time we had an empty nest. It was just the two of us at the table not knowing what to expect.

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And yet the year has been a good one…

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April highlight—a trip to visit my sis

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May—our flown away chick returned!

June—My mom came to visit!

And we gained a daughter as well!

We spent more hours than ever riding together this year—2,200 miles worth of sights and sweat!

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IMG_20140804_135216772 Pender tandem ride

Care to join us for a virtual ride down the hill nearest our home?

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We hope to see more of these special small fry this year…

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But look as we may, only God knows what will transpire in our lives.

My hero

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Come what may, we can rest in knowing He will be in it with us, just as He has been in the past.

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I can’t think of a better way to close here than with the words of an old hymn a friend reminded me of today. I needed them.

Be still, my Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Words: Katharina Von Schlegel, 1752 Translated from German to English by Jane L. Borthwick, 1855.

[Click to Listen here]

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From our house to yours:
We wish for you a New Year blessed in the knowledge of the nearness and sovereignty of God.

–LS