30 Years of Blessed Love

We have been friends with these lovely folks for many many years and what a blessing they are in our lives. They are patient, loving, generous, wise, pun-tastic, inspiring, a seeker of God, and so on and so on. I think you get the jest of how awesome they are! haha 

They are so awesome, in fact, that we share the same wedding anniversary! Unintended, of course. I met them when John and I were dating. John has known them since they started going to church together. One of the bigger influences in John's walk with the Lord. They were the ones we had premarital counseling with, the ones we called when we needed counseling in our marriage, and the ones who we share our struggles and joys with. Phew, that's quite a friendship!!!

What an honor it was to be with them when their daughter surprised them with an anniversary party! 

We had a game of, How Well Do You Know Your Spouse. How amazing it was that they got just about all the correct answers to the questions! Hmm, we've been married 1/2 of the time and I don't think I can answer too many questions correctly about John! 

I can't remember what the question was for this answer, but it has something to do with Todd needing more sleep.

How sweet of their daughter to include elements of their wedding at the party. A much better cake than they had 30 years prior!  

What I also like about Heather, is how she she is always coordinating her outfits with the theme/color of the party. That's such a difference from me and that's another reason I appreciate her.

Thank you for all the years of encouragement you've given to us. Whether it was relating to our marriage, our children, or our relationships with people(because you know I don't like people too much)! haha We love love love you guys! 

Abundant Blessings

When our friend Shelly shared about a missionary, who works at the orphanage that her daughter came from, needing a new vehicle to transport the kids, I thought why the heck not? We can help and the kids can learn about serving others. I didn't think too much of it. Other than, throw some money into it and maybe the kids will see how much they already have. Well, this project took a life of it's own and blessed many people in epic proportions.

We had a meeting where the kids brainstormed how to raise funds. Some were effective, some were not.

It's neat to see their brains working. And these kids are not even in the double digit age range!

We started by collecting change in mason jars. Slowly, but surely, it added up. We had John take a collection at work and a coworker gave $40!!! What!!! We were so floored with the generosity and it fueled us to our next endeavor.

We had a dine and donate event at Mary's Pizza Shack. It was a delicious fundraiser! We picked up a lunch order for SRPD, had take out for our lunch, and went back for dinner. Yep, we know how to eat!

We had a bake sale. Quite a daunting task for me since I am not known for my baking skills. Hopefully whoever bought these goodies will be content to know that the money went to a good cause...

Selah was rocking the sales table! She was in her element. Sharing her heart about the people she cares for.

We had a Read A Thon hosted at our house. I have to say this was probably one of Magnus' favorite way to raise money. Getting paid to read, what?!

Miss Angie reading to them so their eyes can take a little break. They read for a total of 180 mins with a few breaks in between for potty and snacks. I provided lots of snacks and these little people were quite happy. One had about 7 applesauce squeeze. We won't name any names...

And the finale, an ice cream party to celebrate all their hard work! Great job kids!

As we started out on this project, I didn't realize the impact that this would have on our family. Magnus was able to share about the project at church. His first public speaking venue! (His ears got red as he was speaking and as soon as he was done, his ears went back to a normal color) Another time, he and Soph sang a song each that they had been practicing to elicit donations. And people were so generous with their donations. That, I think touched me more than anything. I just felt so loved by all these people who supported our mission to support Maritza. 

Overall the kids raised a butt load of money, as you can see on the chart. With their hard earned fundraising money and other generous donors throughout the country, we were able to get Maritza a new vehicle.We did this all in about 5 months. God showed up everywhere, growing our faith in him, growing our children, and oozing love all around. Abundant blessings!

A Hitman Wedding

 When you have last name of Hitman, you can imagine the envy some people might have for it. Although, if you were really a hit man you probably don't want that as your last name...Anyhow, our friend Brent is not a hit man, although he sports the last name!

We've known Brent for a long time. Ever since he was in high school. For the longest time, he floundered. It would frustrate me so much. It was quite hard to hang out with him sometimes. (Yes, Brent. It's all coming out now!) Then after what seemed like a looong time in waiting, God gave him a girlfriend. She is Kelly. We've known Kelly a long time too. Kelly is the sister to our good friend Ally. We've known Kelly since she was in Junior High.

In the few months that they dated, we saw Brent emerging as a MAN. His heart was huge! He was so wise, so gentle, so encouraging. Where did this come from??? How awesome it is to see this side from from! It's only natural, that Kelly would fall in love with him.

So here is the lovely and beautiful couple on their wedding day.

 Beautiful and happy sister in law and niece!

 Dancing the night away...

You know you've party hard when dancing with your sibling starts with holding hands and then ends with a dog pile.

I think this was the nicest decorated getaway vehicle. Most that I've seen have some sort of crude innuendo written on it. Oh wait, maybe that was because I was the one who did that...

Yay! Now they can have a party of 2...

Thank you for including us in your happy day. We are seeing you grow by leaps and bounds in your trust for the Lord. How wonderful! We love you guys!

Jay and Alicia's Wedding

What a treat this wedding was for the kids! They both got to be in the wedding and what a growing moment it was for the both of them. 

                                                              Ah, so beautiful and happy!

                                                 Checking out what was going on downstairs.

                                                     I think they were about to hold hands!

                                                                          Waiting...

                                                                       Yay, here they come!

 Love how Magnus is holding Soren's hand. This was a big moment for Magnus. I think it clicked for him what it means to take the lead and be the example.

Two cool dudes!

Aw, my Soph. Barely dropping any petals...

She got confused and thought she had to stand up with the bridesmaids. So thankful she didn't have to. That would've ended the day sooner than we wanted.

                                                    Bride and her daddy! Sweet moment.

 

The newest member of the Saggu family! Congratulations to Alicia and Jay!!!

Alicia's Bridal Shower

Oh my, what good food we had at this shower! Now I am probably partial to this because I made some of the food...

                      I love a fruit platter! So many colors and so many yummy sweet goodness.

 Our friend Ally playing a song for the bride. How special and sweet to have a talented friend!

 Soph sitting with one of her favorite sitter! She loves Chelsea. Perhaps because Chelsea laughs at her silliness or perhaps because Chelsea is so girly. I don't know, but she sure likes her!

 The dessert bar! Pretzels and chocolate=yum! Strawberries and chocolate=yum! And a new yum for me=potato chips and chocolate!

                               Little hand sandwiches made with some apples, brie, and ham.

 I don't think it's a party until you have a wheel of brie! That stuff is so good. I like it with a little sweetness of raspberry jam on top. My favorite brie comes from Trader Joe's. Oh so creamy!!!!

 My little girl checking out the goodies. This was her first bridal shower. She did quite well.

Alicia and Soph! Two cuties!!! Soph is going to be a flower girl in the wedding. She was a little hesitant at first, but warmed up to the idea.

Mike and Tracey's Wedding

This is Mike. Mike has been waiting for Tracey for-ev-er. We prayed and prayed and when it didn't seem like Mike will ever have a mate, we thought perhaps God wanted him to not have a wife. But alas, God is again proving that His plans for Mike is so much better than what we can come up with! Tracey and Mike met at college and it wasn't long before Mike knew this lady would become a big part of his life. 

One a hot summer night, they married. We are so thankful we got to witness God's plan.

Mike sang a sang to his bride, which I can't remember the song because I suck at that kind of thing, but we were so surprised! Mike is such a quiet man and when we saw this, we needed to pick our jaws off the floor.

                                                      Yay, finally husband and wife!

 I think this was Soph's first wedding. How little she was compared to now. She did a fantastic job, being in hot weather, bugs in the open, no napping environment. So thankful for her flexibility.

                                             Running off to the next chapter of their lives.

Magnus was able to decorate the getaway car with us and he had such a great time! Because he could read, we had to refrain from a lot of tasteless/crude writing. It was probably a good thing he was there!!!