mangiare

Sunday afternoon at the Olive Garden. L to R: My wife and me, our two youngest, Mom & Dad.

stay-cation

We talked about beer last time, so these buds are for you (snicker). This is the Rose of Sharon I shot through to catch the Monarch that was perched atop a nearby Zinnia.

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Hooray!!! My parents are coming in to visit (from Florida), and I will be spending a lot of time with the family. Sorry, that means less time on the computer, but maybe I can get some good photos out of it. I hope we can make this visit an enjoyable time for Mom & Dad. They're top quality people, and deserve the very best!

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As a bonus, I'll be spending those days together with my wife. I'm smiling so much, my cheeks are sore.

two weeks

Rylan: Elowyn: Castle Craver was without its queen for two weeks. My beloved flew to Oklahoma to see if she could be of some help as our second grandchild was born. Rylan is 14 months and Ellie was born two weeks ago. Everybody is doing fine.

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The kids did behaved amazingly well, and made their momma (and me) proud. Still, I have to say that I missed my wife more than ever before. Who would have known that after 22 years of marriage that our closeness and intimacy would make our early marriage years pale in comparison? We sent daily notes via email. When she finally arrived, there were tears of joy and I think she cried, too.

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When I hear how other grandparents spend time with their grandchildren, I hope they realize how blessed they are to have them close. I sure wish Mrs. Craver and I could spend more time reading or singing to them, laying on the floor at their level playing games and hearing them laugh.

pot o' gold

I wonder if you can help me with this whole "pot of gold" thing. The legend is that the leprechauns hide a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, right? Okay, so I found the end of a rainbow. But before I dive into chilly waters and risk a reprimand from the park district... which end of the rainbow has the gold? Plus, is it any rainbow, or do leprechauns stay in Ireland? Please... if you have a leprechaun friend, try to get this information for me, so that we can abscond this legendary loot.

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But if you can't help me with that, I'll be fine. This weekend's marriage conference reminded me that I received a gift from God 22 years ago. (That gift is the fine lady we refer to as "Mrs. Craver.") My wife and I had a great time these past three days, and when we got back to the kids Sunday afternoon, we all took a walk to the park.

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The dog in the photo belongs to my sister-in-law. As you can see, she likes to "hug." To do that, she'll nuzzle up to a person, and lean on them hard, and stay there. I am not really a big lover of dogs, but when my s.i.l. needed a new home for her dear pet, I was happy to oblige as a way to demonstrate how much I care for Mrs. Craver's little sister. I think they said this dog is a Shepherd/Grayhound mix, and she is 15 years old. I'm glad that "old girl" is happy in our home. Speaking of German Shepherds...

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Two guys were walking their dogs-one had a German Shepherd and the other had a Chihuahua. The man with the Shepherd suggested going into a bar for a drink. The other man said, "They're not going to let dogs into the bar."

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The first guy said, "No? Watch this."

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So he put on some dark glasses, acted like the German Shepherd was a seeing-eye dog, walked into the bar, and ordered a drink. And no one said anything. So the second guy took out some dark glasses, slipped them on, and walked his Chihuahua into the bar.

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The bartender said, "Sorry, we don't allow dogs in here."

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And the man said, "It's okay. It's my seeing-eye dog."

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The bartender laughed and said, "This Chihuahua is your seeing-eye dog?"

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And the guy said, "They gave me a Chihuahua?"

degrees of learning

While attending a wedding, one of the guests talked about how he just returned from a trip to Hawaii. There, he came across some honeymooners and asked the man, "Have you ever asked her what makes her feel loved?" This couple was astonished that they had gotten married without investigating such an important piece of information. How many people have been married for years and still cannot answer that question?

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(The source escapes me now, but please forgive me that I do not give proper credit on account of a lapse in memory... but) I seem to recall a recent discussion about marriage, and someone left an impression on me about "studying" their spouse. When we go into a vocation, job, or hobby, we pour lots of time and effort into manuals or textbooks or whatever. For me, it could be fishing, theology, or photography. I have been married over 20 years. If I had given that kind of attention to studying my own wife... learning what makes her tick, asking her to tell me what she's thinking and how she feels about stuff... and then really listening, because I want to know... Man, I'd have the equivalent of several PhD's about her today!

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If you are married, here's what I want to say to you: Today's honeymooners may be having a wonderful time together, and I don't take any of that away from them. But marriage is not just a "long-term relationship," it's a "life-time covenant." If we practice continuing education, living for our mate and intentionally growing in our expertise... the result will be a level of maturity and intimacy that honeymooners could only wish for! Stuff of dreams, I tell you! Study your spouse.

21st anniversary

My beloved bride and I were married 21 years ago today. It was a fairly simple wedding. We had a brief, low budget reception in our church's gymnasium, and quickly flew off to Pennsylvania for our honeymoon in the Pocono mountains. It snowed so hard that day, the airports were shutting all flights down behind us, and we just barely made it out.

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You guys only get the best side here at the blog, but that woman has stood by me through all the depths of my depravity and imperfections. Occasionally, she forces herself to laugh at my jokes... even though she's heard the same ones over, and over, and over again.

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Sky Watch Friday!

Good Friday

[It was tough to think of something appropriate for Good Friday, but I like this stark image of a rough, barren tree. Though I don't usually write poems, it seemed a good time to give it a try.]

The city's cool evening air carries the blend Of frankincense from the temple And some 250,000 passover meals.

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A myriad of souls in this great town are blind and deaf to The events unfolding before them Despite a quarter-million clues.

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The sons of men can hardly imagine The begotten Son's anguish, But His Father is aware.

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One solitary drop splashes Upon an oblivious soil which absorbs it. Was it sweat or tear or even blood?

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And so begins the great exchange And all heaven leans forward Anxious and ready to intervene,

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But the Unblemished Lamb Yields with perfect submission To the Father's great plan.

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Sky Watch Friday! photo taken by my wife, Mrs. Craver.

clicketty cliques

[Mrs. Craver (with her "new" camera) and two of our children.]

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Some of the Craver clan attended a wedding this weekend. It was beautiful; profoundly so. We have known the bride's family for a number of years.

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Lots of people were taking pictures. Now that we're in the digital (and disposable) camera age, are more guests toting cameras at weddings than there used to be? Probably.

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Does this (the plethora of cameras) interfere with the business of the professional who is hired to record the event? I hope not, but from my own perspective, It was nice to get reunited with some of my old buds and get each other's pictures at our table.

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I even got an interesting sunset shot from the reception hall. You can see it in two weeks. (I have one more moon shot to post this Friday.)

out from ordinary

Mrs. Craver pointed out this bush, saying how pretty it looked, with the snow piled on some areas. It is in front of the house, and we see this plant all the time. I think it's a Juniper. It releases a subtle, but sweet fragrance when you brush up against it.

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More and more, I am learning to appreciate what goes into picture-taking. Boy, some people just seem to have an eye for it; don't they? I carry my camera with me all the time now, trying to stay alert, deliberately looking for contrast, light, angles, etc. I'm not seeing anything new, but I'm taking the time to observe, savoring these ordinary sights in a fresh way.

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"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

-Henry David Thoreau

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Last year, I tried (and failed) reading through the whole Bible in the calendar year. This year, rather than try to do the same thing, I am going to switch things up and just try to be a more careful observer, taking my sweet time as I go.

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On the drive to work this morning, I enjoyed some memorization from Psalms. I repeated the verses aloud. Then I experimented, emphasizing different parts and using different tones of voice, trying to imagine what it might sound like coming from King David (if he could speak English).

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I don't expect to get through the whole Bible this year, but that's okay. I'll take my sweet time every day with God's word, burrowing deeper, and being careful to notice and savor it. There won't be anything new that I read, but I'll bet that I see some things in a different way!

cornucopia

Speaking of cornycopia... Q) Why can't you take a turkey to church? A) Because they use such FOWL language

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I hope your Thanksgiving plans are a success. When's the cutoff time for thawing a gobbler? I'm sure that time is long gone. Hey, a lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

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I'm going to take a little Thanksgiving break. In the meantime, would you please leave a brief comment, describing something for which you are thankful.

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I'll start by saying that one of the most precious reasons for me to be thankful would be my dear wife. She's something else!

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Cornucopia image by: His Daveness

Craver Couple image taken by a friend... with my new camera.