50 Years Together

Dave and I celebrated our 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY this month.  

Our anniversary is on July 30th, but our kids planned a surprise party for us on the day AFTER our grandson, Andrew's, wedding.

Dave was honored to be the one to tie the knot for Andrew and Carina in a lovely outdoor wedding.

"I Do's"

Andrew and Carina and the uninvited guest in the background

Day One of being Mr. & Mrs. and

Welcome to the Family, Carina!

Granddaughters

 Maid of Honor (Izzy) and Bridesmaid (Maddy)

Grandsons

 Best Man (Kaiden) and Groom (Andrew)

Jami

Mother of the Groom

The Anniversary Party SURPRISE blew up when I started making some plans on my own a couple weeks before the party. This forced the kids to reveal the surprise that they, along with Nancy, had been planning for almost a year.  I was really sorry to ruin the surprise, but it was fun looking forward to it. The party was at the same location as the wedding, using some of the same decorations.  

This is what 50 years together looks like. 

• We enjoyed family coming in from out-of-town:

Nancy and Brandon (SIL & nephew) from PA.

They came in early (7/3) to help with the wedding and

anniversary party.

Our son-in-law's parents from MN, and

sister and niece from CO,

who were in town for the wedding. 

• PRIO to the wedding and anniversary party..... 

• We played many, many games of Nertz and Ultimate Nertz.

Ultimate Nertz

Nancy, Nicole, Andrew, Jami & Brandon

The one who most always lost was taking the picture - ME! 

 

• We enjoyed family lunches and dinners, along with many trips through coffee stands and McDonald's drive-thru.

Lunch at Salty's

Jami, Nancy, Brandon, Nicole, Maddy, Izzy

Dave and I not pictured

• We had a fun time creating our own pottery masterpieces at Raven City Studios.   

• We celebrated Matt & Jami’s 22nd anniversary (7/10)

 

💕 💕 💕

 

BACK TO THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY...

• We were joined by three other couples who have been married 50+ years:

Ed & Sandy (56 years); Wayne & Karen (56 years);

Ted & Joan (51 years); Kathy & Dave (50 years)

We're in good company! 

• Lots of fun guests pictured and several not pictured. 

Wayne, Pamela and Anja

(Wayne and I worked at the Alaska Railroad, and

Anja was one of my piano students many years ago.) 

Holly

The Trotzke's

Conan, Carrie, Josh, Sara,

Susie, Rick, Kim and Debbie

Wayne and Karen

THANK YOU for your generosity

in letting us use your property for the

Wedding and Anniversary Party. 

Kaiden and Rylee

Diana

• Our hearts are full of gratitude for those who planned this event...

Matt, Jami, Izzy and Kaiden

Nicole, Geoff and Maddy

Brandon and Nancy

• ...and for those who celebrated with us. THANK YOU for the cards, gifts and especially your PRESENCE.  It's a memory we'll always cherish. We've also enjoyed many cards and well-wishes from those not present.  

• Our song:  “Still the One”  by Orleans  

• What is our anthem for 50 years going forward?

I Will Survive?

Back In The Saddle Again?

Amazing Grace?

Help?

Love Me Tender

Don’t be Cruel, 

or

   Great is Thy Faithfulness.  

(Written by Karen Heimer)

50 years together and still going strong!

75th Birthday CARD Highlights...

I love to receive snail mail and, thanks to my daughter who invited my friends to send cards, I received 75+ cards for my 75th birthday this year. 

• Birthday paper cards are special and are filled with smiles, love and happy memories.
• A Stash “Christmas in Paris” tea bag was included in one card. I can share a cup of the senders favorite tea. 
• Enjoy the little things.
• Beautiful hand made cards are also patterns that I can later use.
• A hand delivered, hand made card was a wonderful surprise from a friend I hadn’t seen in years. It also included a real live hug! 
• I’m not getting old, I’m getting awesome.
• A Starbuck’s gift card included in the card when the sender is too far away to have coffee with.
• My times are in His hands - my early years, my middle years, and my later years. No time is better or greater than another, for all of my years work together in God’s marvelous plan for my life. (Roy Lessin)
• I’m older, so what? I only get better…at kicking time’s butt!
• God amazes me with His grace and sprinkles my days with miracles. 
• Cards filled with birthday wishes for days full of love, years full of joy and a heart full of happiness, laughter, lasting friendships, amazing memories, hope, peace, faith, happy surprises.
• I love the sparkly cards and the trail of sparkle they leave behind. 
• Personal notes filled with love, memories, encouraging words.
• 3/4 of a century looks better expressed as a DIAMOND MILESTONE.
• A shaker card filled with sequins reminds me to “Scatter Joy.”
• Don’t count the birthdays….treasure the memories.
• The more birthdays you have, the more memories you make. 
• Gift cards & fun stickers tucked inside cards.
• An acrostic of my name:  Kind, Authentic, Tender hearted, Helpul, Young at heart
• A year of new adventures.
• I’m not getting any older this year, heck, I was already old last year.  😂  
• If wisdom comes with AGE…I must be one heck of a smart ass by now! 🤣
• It’s a blessing being able to look back and count all the odds I’ve beaten, people I’ve loved, and joys I’ve experienced in my life so far.
• Appreciate how much living it took to arrive where I am today (#75).
• It warmed my heart to read: “Happy Birthday to a wonderful Aunt…who holds a special place in my heart.” 
• A list of 75 Truths I love about you (ways and reasons I’m grateful for you) from a dear friend, has been so fun and enlightening to read. 
• Age is nothing but a State of Mind.
• I’m not old…I’ve just been young for a very long time. 

Many thanks to all who sent cards, AND texts. 

I'm overwhelmed with your expressions of love.  

WE CELEBRATE SERBIAN CHRISTMAS

We celebrate Serbian Christmas in honor of my Mom. 

Her parents were both from Austria, Hungary: John Zakich came to America in 1904 on the Carpathia, where his name was changed to Zakit. Theresa Istene came to America with her father in 1906, leaving behind 3 sisters. John & Theresa were married January 8, 1911 in Bay City, Michigan and lived on a farm raising sugar beets. They later moved to Akron, Ohio where they raised eight children - my mother, Theresa Zakit Covey, being number five. 

Their family would celebrate Serbian Christmas every year on January 7th. As a child, I don’t ever remember celebrating it, but as Mom got older she started celebrating it again with our children and grandchildren. We would always get together for a meal at Mom and Dad’s house and she would pass on stories of her youth and there would always be a gift for the kids. 

After she passed away in 2008, we have continued to celebrate Serbian Christmas as a family.  

This year, because of a positive COVID test and a time of quarantine, we had to postpone our celebration until the 17th of January - but we still celebrated. I usually keep our Christmas tree and decorations up until after Serbian Christmas; however, this year because of the delay, all the Christmas decorations had been put away. Instead, we had streamers and my small Valentine tree for decorations. 

In the past, Mom told us that some years their Christmas stockings only had oranges, apples, nuts and an onion. In this year’s gift bag for the kids, I included an orange, apple, nuts, candy and a little cash, but no onion! When everyone opened their gift bags it was interesting that several cracked open and ate the walnuts and we (except for the grandkids) reminisced about the nut bowls filled with a variety of nuts along with a nut cracker around our homes at Christmas. Good memories.

It was a fun evening to be together, to celebrate our heritage and eat pizza.  

I don't know how much longer we'll keep this tradition going, but for now I think it  would make my Mom happy if she knew we were keeping her memory alive by celebrating Serbian Christmas. 

  

 

SUMMER IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

Our temperatures are cooling down, we've had our first frost, it's actually getting dark at night, the leaves are turning and the geese are heading south. Yes, summer is in the rear view mirror. 

Here's some things I'll miss about summer. 

• Flowers  

             

    

• Eating, visiting, celebrating in the yard with family and friends.

• The long daylight hours

• Reading outside in the swing and hammock. (If you're interested, check out my summer reading list below). 

• Dinners on the back deck

• Less clothes (no jackets, boots and gloves)

• Bible reading and prayer in the sunshine on the front deck

• Driving with the windows down

• Daily walks outside

• Butterflies

• The smell of fresh mowed grass

• The fragrance of lilac lingering in the yard

• Ladybugs

• Barbecues 

• Digging in the dirt to plant flowers

• Flip-flops & visors

• The kids playing basketball in the driveway

• Ducks from the river visiting in our yard

• Green leaves and grass

• Open doors and windows

• Driving on dry roads  (no snow)

• Birds at the bird feeder outside our front window. (I'm wondering if they'll visit during the winter and hoping they will).

• Being outside

• Bare feet

Goodbye Summer, Happy Fall Y'all

 

Created by Nancy Welch

 

Summer Reading List: 

The Marriage Lie, William Krueger    

Cold Tangerines, Shauna Niequist 

Ordinary Grace  William Kent Krueger

When God Winks at You, Squire Rushnell 

The Color of Light, Karen White  

The Tender Land, William Kent Krueger
Chasing Vines, Beth Moore
The Devil’s Bed, William Kent Krueger
The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, Beth Moore  

Pay It Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde 

Stay, Catherine Ryan Hyde
Sweet Magnolia Series, Sherryl Woods
The Rescue, Nickolas Sparks
The Book of Lost Friends, Lisa Wingate  
Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer
 

MOM'S PAINT BRUSHES

My Mom, Theresa Zakit Covey, was an artist so I grew up around paint brushes, oil paints, easels, paint palettes, murals, paintings, lettering, banners, signs, etc. She painted on canvas, walls, rocks, feathers, fungi, railroad spikes, power line insulators, boards and even a toilet lid. Dad would create things out of wood and then she would paint scenes on them. They were quite an artistic team.  

When she was a young girl, still at home, she and her siblings would sit around their kitchen table in the evenings and draw. While her siblings would all draw different things, Mom mostly drew scenery.

The artist gene (drawing and painting) was passed along to several of my cousins, but it definitely skipped me. When I was in school and needed an illustration or lettering for a project I would always have Mom do it for me. In fact, I used her skills for a lot of my projects even in my adult life. These days I ask my artistic and creative children to help me.  😊

My granddaughters and I often sit around our table doing arts and crafts. I know my Mom would have enjoyed drawing and painting with them like she did with my kids when they were young. 

After she died (2008) I kept a jar of her paint brushes. They just sit in my craft closet….unused, except for one brush.  

This summer we repainted our back deck and shed. There were areas which required a smaller brush so I went to the jar of Mom's brushes and pulled out my favorite. It was the perfect size. While Mom would create something beautiful with that brush I simply applied an even coat of paint to renew and refresh boards and trim. 

Mom’s paint brushes now lay idle, except for the one I use occasionally for mundane projects, but her art work lives-on all over the world. 

Sometimes I look at a sunrise or sunset (especially one with vivid colors) and wonder if the good Lord let Mom help paint that one. 

It’s not the magic of the paintbrush, 

but the talent of the one who holds the brush.