I Love My Family - Coffee & Conversation

There was a big event!

Yes there was a special event for our family and at that event there were many pictures taken but one of the ones I love the best was a selfie which got photobombed.

Yeah in the middle of a very special event 3 of our kids were cramming close together taking a selfie when the fourth one photobombed it and it came out great.

Well that's my family

 Our daughter Linda on the left,

 our son Daniel in the middle

 with his new wife Suzie on the right.

It was actually taken at the reception on their wedding day.

Oh yes the one who photobombed it is our son Jonathan.

It simply could not have turned out better if it had been planned.

When I got my hands on the picture I got it on the iPad and could not resist framing it in an app.

This is the picture of Daniel the boy in our family who at one stage did everything he could to make sure he was not in a photo during some of his teenage years but here he is centre stage.

This is the picture of Linda who when she was very young won a child photo competition and was known for several years as the poser in the family because every time we wanted to take a photo she really posed - she did go on to study Drama at University but then decided to go into Creative Writing.

This is the picture of Jonathan who is like me and so often blinked at just the wrong moment for our photos that we would have to retake them yet now he takes selfies all the time and makes videos of himself teaching church doctrine on You Tube.

And this is the picture of Suzie who had come in to our family in the few years before this event and just fits right in there.


Why did it turn out so well?


I think it was because we were all so happy that day that we all had constant smiles on our faces, natural smiles, so even though they were taking a selfie which means that you are conscious of getting each other in the frame they were just so happy it came over in the picture.

I think it is amazing how Jonathan managed to get in at just the right time and in just the right position when it all happened so quick that they hardly knew what had actually taken place.

I believe that God gives us little special things that can mean more than the big things we think we want.

I look at this picture and I see 4 happy young people who love each other and love God 

and they love Fred & I too - at least that's what they say in the cards they send us 

and on the phone calls and the facetimes.

And of course all of that makes Fred & I very happy too every day 

and not just at that very special event.

I believe that God has given us the ultimate special thing that means more than any of the things we think we want.

I look at this picture above and I see 2 happy older people who love each other and love God 

and what could be more important in life than to know the true love that God has for us that He sent His only Son to make the way for us to come to Him and experience new life eternal and love eternal.

I believe that God has given us family love and is willing to bring us all into the greatest family there could ever be in Heaven if we put our trust and hope in His Son the Lord Jesus. 

Thanks for joining me for one of my "I Love" chats in Coffee & Conversation at Sandra's Ark & please drop by again for other posts.  

Congratulations! - A Dose of Encouragement

Our family "The Black Family" has changed dramatically in the last 3 years.

This change had nothing to do with Fred and I moving house or country or the children moving.

This change all took place here in Northern Ireland.

Our son Daniel told us he had met a girl.

Nothing unusual there as he has met and dated a few girls but usually we did not meet them within 4 months; if we met them at all.

He was telling us that Suzie was going to join us for lunch at the restaurant in Belfast where all of us were going to meet him.

Poor Suzie to have to meet us all together like that.

So that was the start of what we knew was likely to be a good relationship.

Then about a year later we were not surprised when Daniel came to tell Fred & I that he was going to get engaged on Suzie's birthday in April but we had to help him in the surprise.

We were delighted to help.

Suzie's parents were happy too.

Her dad had already named one of his lambs after Daniel.

So of course after an engagement we expected a wedding to be thought about and a date decided and plans started to be put together and well that could take a year or more depending on what type of wedding etc.

No!

One month later they tell us they want to get married at the end of October that same year - 5 months away.

Things are moving fast!    

                  In the Run Up to the Wedding.

As October approaches everything is getting organised - even my problem of  What will I wear???

Because they wanted to do a lot of the preparation themselves it became a very busy time for the excited couple.

And then the day had arrived and what a happy day it was.

This was so very true it was the best day of their lives  -  so far.


We had a newly married couple settling into a new home, starting a new life together and working hard at their jobs.


Over a year later Fred & I got a special visit and a present for each of us.


Now what special occasion is this one?


                        Not Christmas.

                                          Not our wedding anniversary,

                                                                                Not either of our birthdays.


But a very special occasion for all "The Black Family" again.

The announcement that we were going to become grandparents.

Then we had all those long months to wait to welcome our first grandchild 

Matthew 

into the world 

on 

Monday 2nd November 2015.

Now there is another beautiful addition to "The Black Family"

He is such a Blessing to have in our family.

Matthew is now 16 days old and one of the "Black Family Boys"

So from engagement to wedding and then a new baby means that the Black family went from 5 to 7 in less than 3 years and nothing but smiles on our faces.


What joy to have welcomed two new members of the family and happy days to be shared together.

We are thankful to God for these blessings.

We often only know how great things are as we experience them and that is another joy God has given us in our lives.

God gives the biggest blessings

In October 2013 Daniel and Suzie thought their wedding Day was the "Best Day of their Big Black Lives".

Now in November 2015 they know that the miracle of the birth of their son was the

"Best Day of their Big Black Lives"

This is a great example of how God is never finished with our lives 

and 

even when we think we've had the biggest blessing 

He can give us more!

#Bigblackwedding - Xtra Special Day

Monday 28th October 2013  was the wedding of our son Daniel.

So what is this #Bigblackwedding all about?

Well our surname is Black and our new daughter-in-law Suzie was so looking forward to becoming Mrs Black that she referred to the wedding as the big black wedding and then they decided to hashtag it and all their friends could use this to post pictures of the event on twitter, facebook, instagram and pinterest.

Suzie also got the cake topping specially made and it was simply the words  

Mr & Mrs Black.

It was obvious to us for quite some time that the two of them were really looking forward to getting married and this was also obvious to everyone throughout the church ceremony and the rest of the day as they were so relaxed and happy together.
(It was also very clear to all of us who had to listen to Daniel when he woke up on Monday morning and came dancing and singing into the kitchen)

It was very special for Fred & I to see our son so happy and to be adding a new daughter to our family.

Our other son Jonathan preached the sermon at the wedding (mostly based on Song of Song 8 v 6).

Our daughter Linda read Psalm 121

Our nephew Glen was best man (he and Daniel have been best friends forever - well since Daniel was 7 months old and Glen was born).


Everything else was done by other family & friends with Suzie's brother praying the final prayer of blessing over them, so it was very much a family and friends affair.


Later Linda caught the bouquet but has since returned to South Korea and had to leave it with me so our lounge is well decorated from flowers etc. from the wedding.

Now Mr & Mrs Daniel Black are off on their honeymoon and Mr & Mrs Fred Black are still trying to sort out their house from the whirlwind of recent events but what is a bit of a mess in your home compared to the happiness and joy in your family.

We are very grateful to God who has been at the centre of our marriage for 36 years 
and who we pray will be always at the centre of this new marriage between 
Daniel & Suzie.

WHAT WILL I WEAR????? - Coffee & Conversation

Our son's wedding was a few months away, so for me the big question was

What will I wear?

Having already been through (for our kids alone)

4 graduations

3 baptisms

1 ordination as a pastor

1 ordination as a teacher in the church

 -  I have learned that there are important things that have to be dealt with so that your children approve of your outfit.

Short or long?

Hat or no hat?
(Definitely YES to a Cambridge Graduation!)

Hat or Fascinator?

Can I wear Trousers?
(Definitely NO to a Cambridge Graduation!)

Do I have to wear high heels?

What colour?

Who not to clash with?

Who to tone in with?

What jewellery with the outfit?

Oh I'm tired already just thinking about it before I start to talk about it, 

I'm not a fashion conscious person really!

My main problem is I am petite.   See a Previous Post HERE

Most places either

• do not do petite 
• have a very small selection 
• only have more old fashioned outfits in petites
• think that all petite people have to be thin 

so I hate having to look for something for particular events.



Also as Mother of the Groom:

First thing you know is you don't wear white, ivory or cream;  that is just too close to what your future daughter-in-law will be wearing and it is her big day so she should stand out.

Secondly once you know the colour of the bridesmaids you need to avoid colours too similar and other colours that would clash with it.

Third thing is you don't go strapless;  unless you have a jacket to go on top.
It is one thing having a young bride with bare shoulders but another thing completely to have an older mother-in-law with bare shoulders.


So after you have dealt with those 3 priorities there is then the wait to hear that the bride's mother has got her outfit and find out the colour so that you don't pick the same colour or something that will clash with it also.


Okay so all of that has probably involved numerous cups of coffee and that hasn't helped the effort to lose that weight you had been trying to lose from even before they got engaged but are still having to work hard on.

Then you start looking seriously for your outfit and you want to have it well in advance in case you need to have any alterations made once you lose all that weight you are working on.

Then

You see something you think you like but immediately you start thinking -

 will it please everyone else as well???...

My first reaction was  "Oh I think that is just me!"

However I know that sometimes I like things that are a bit different to the norm but that doesn't mean that I wear really different or strange things, at least I don't think so anyway.

So I decided to send a picture of the outfit to Linda in South Korea, thank goodness for ipads with their screenshots and email and messaging and facetime.  (Sounding too tech savvy here and I really am not like that.)

Well she liked it and what did she say?  

Did you guess it?

She said "Oh mum that is just you!"


Did I run out and buy it?   No.


I kept looking online for a few weeks and then finally I showed the picture to Fred and he thought it was nice so he said "That's nice, do you like it?"

I wonder why I was talking about an outfit for the wedding and showing this to him and he had to ask me if I liked it?   

 

Are all men like this?

"Well do you want to get it?"  he asks then when he realises by the look on my face that I obviously do like it.

My answer "I don't know."

So he was probably thinking

Why is she making such a point of showing me this if she doesn't know if she wants to get it, I thought she liked it, was I wrong?

So another few days go past and then I start hinting that I want to go to a certain shopping centre.

Finally I just have to say to him that I want to go and see if I can see the outfit "in real life" in the shopping centre and not just online because I need to actually see exactly what it is like and then I need to try it on because I'm not sure of the size I would have to get but I want him to go too as he needs to see it too.

So off we go and when we get there he thinks that he's just going to go into the shop with me I will try it on and that's that.

No, no, no,  I direct him to a "Bose" shop and I go in to look around and hope that it is there.

I enter the shop and the first thing I see is the outfit. 

So I try it on and the 3 ladies working in the shop all think it is lovely on me, 

so
     they bring me the shoes to match,
           bag to match,
                 hat to match,
                     take hat away

 (hats at that moment were very large and I think definitely too large for me)

                           bring fascinator to match,
                                  take fascinator away 

(even the fascinator is large)

                                         and bring smaller fascinator to match.

And I liked it!
 
 I phoned Fred, he came and the ladies ushered him into the changing room.
          He liked it too.

               "So are you getting it now?"  he asked.

"Do you think the kids will like it?" I ask.

"Of course they will"  he replied.

         

        "How do you know?"  is my next question.

                    

                 "They are bound to like it, it's lovely"  he said.

The solution?

                          TAKE A PICTURE!

            

and that's what we do, thank goodness for iPads and coffee shops with Wifi.

Fred took a picture of me standing in the changing room and we headed over to a nearby Costa Coffee (having taken the outfit off and left it behind the sales desk with a very understanding set of shop assistants).

Now you might wonder why I deliberately mention that we went to Costa Coffee.

The answer is because I am not fond of Starbucks and also Costa Coffee have the greatest lemon and poppy seed muffin which I just adore but have been missing out on since trying to lose weight. One of those muffins has as many calories as my full dinner would have.

So we get the coffee (and tea for Fred) and a muffin which Fred says we have to share so that it isn't too many calories for me - isn't he so considerate?  No really, I'm not being sarcastic here because Fred will tell you himself that he is not a muffin eater.

Then connected to Wifi we email the picture to both Linda (South Korea) and Jonathan (Leeds) and start messaging them to make sure they look at their email.

During the time it took to eat the muffin we had a group message conversation with both kids and they encouraged me to go back and buy the outfit.

            But  

"Do you think Daniel & Suzie will like it too?"  I ask

                                  "YES!" is the joint reply

So we head back and buy the outfit.

A few days later we are with Daniel getting the suits for the guys for the wedding and I show him the outfit, he likes it.  Later that evening I see Suzie and show her the picture and she likes it so all is well.

Or rather would be well when I would go to the seamstress and get that little alteration done because (back to where we started) 

I am petite 

and the dress is regular fitting so I needed the straps shortened.

So I had my outfit, and it wouldn't clash with the bridesmaids.

And the wedding was 4 weeks exactly from that day!

  It wasn't such a hard task after all, sure it wasn't?