Wedding bells are ringing.......

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Last week the girls and I attended Tiffany's shower in Illinois. Ben has a broad range of interests and he wanted to attend. Ben loves tea parties, but that's another story! However, to stick with proper decorum, he acquiesced and didn't crash it. So, his wonderful friends in his hometown decided to give him a shower of his own. This, of course, meant the fathers and sons would also attend, for most, their very first wedding shower. What great fun we had getting together. (Ben jumping in here. Some of the captions will be me, and some will be from Mom. Let's see if you can tell who did which!)

Thomas pins on Ben's boutonnière, that will be worn at the rehearsal. Is it wise to let someone who's job is to stick people with needles do this?!?

The ladies outdid themselves with beautiful teacups, incredible tea and fabulous food. Well done!

The young men first stayed near the front door, unsure of what they were doing. Once the food came out, they played along quite nicely. Fastest way to a man's heart.....

Ben pours the first cup of tea to start the festivities.

No one had any trouble enjoying the fabulous food, except Thomas, who wanted to make sure it wasn't poisoned, first.

Thomas digs in, Ben talks to one of his groomsmen, James, as Kaylee and Rachel look shifty.....

Sara and Kelsey practice CPR on a rabbit. Live, little bunny, LIVE!!!!

What is a party without a jump rope? Joshua looks very enthused!

Brian found an isolated corner to enjoy his food in peace.

The shower included a variety of games, like chess. Nothing like a little "war on a board" for a groom's shower.


The best part about a party? GIFTS! Free stuff, free stuff! Oh, right, and the people are nice too......


Ben opening his gifts, while his best man makes sure he writes down who gave what. Forget about being a paramedic, Thomas. You are just too cute as a secretary!

Do you know the muffin man?

Handmade potholders, absolutely beautiful!! Second only to homemade pots!

Tools for the man of the house! Ben is still very secure in his masculinity!

Tiff might try to steal this one.....

No home is complete without an apple peeler!


A ladle, nearly big enough to double as the bathtub....

Behold, a schizophrenic chair! Scroll down to see it switch personalities.......

Wait for it, wait for it.......

Boom! Now it is a stool! How cool is that?

Anthony and JT playing patty-cake. They are sooooo sweet!

Um....... I really don't know what this is all about.

Hat game, hat game! Everyone loves the hat game!

The blushing bride....I mean groom!

Mr. H and I have had 26 wonderful years together. There have been challenges and setbacks along the way, but the blessings have far outweighed the disappointments. We feel that we have gone full circle now and are so thankful to watch the process start all over again in our children.

Ben asked me to extend a heart-felt THANK YOU to our dear Patterson friends for honoring the Lord, Tiffany and him with this ancient tradition. He promises that he will live up to all our expectations.

There was one person who was greatly missed at this grand event. She knows exactly who she is!

with love,
Mrs. H

More from the half empty house

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Friends,

We are still without Ben and the women. Thomas has worked the last two days and I worked yesterday. So how do you think Matthew, Nick, Anthony and Jonathan did all by themselves? They did great!! Let's take a look at the last two days.

Nana has been invited to lunch. She also does our Friday singing lessons. Let's throw some spicy shrimp on the barbi. The date on Jonathan's pictures is dd mm yy. His clock might be a little off.

Nick loaded these little beauties up with all kinds of peppers and cayenne. Aye Caramba!!

This was the day that the propane tank decided to go dry. Camp stove to the rescue!

Everything is ready for Nana's arrival.
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Let's jump to Saturday morning.

Donuts made from scratch!! Don't play with your food Matthew.

Done to perfection. The foil makes clean up a snap.

Just like Krispy-Creme!!

The cats are glad I'm home. It's been a little chilly these past few days and a car hood is a great place to warm up.

Matthew and Anthony are working hard to expand the orchard. These nasty bushes serve no purpose and they have to go.

The back fence was in pretty bad shape, but it's looking better now. The sheep won't be visiting the neighbor anymore.

Lunch was left over lasagna. The rice noodles kinda busted up, but they still taste great.

The RV was past due for an oil change. Anthony is learning how it's done, much to Nicks amusement.

Texas tea.

Pizza for dinner, also from scratch.

Masters at work. Yum!!

These guys won't have any trouble leaving the nest. They are dialed in!!

Church clothes are prepared for tomorrow. Tonight's devotional reading was 1 Cor. 10:13 and Psalm 119: 1-16. They tie in very nicely with the reading from Galatians.

A little wood to keep things warm for the night, and we're off to bed.

Living without a big chunk of the family is okay for a while, and we manage as best we can (as this picture will attest). But we don't want to live this way permanently. Come home family!!

be safe,
Hec @ 19

Bachelor life

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Friends,

Ben ran off to Illinois and he took all the women folk with him. Fear not, this is merely a temporary development. It does, however, leave our household to be be run by men. Things are different when the ladies are gone.
thanks to Matthew, our primary photographer for this post.

A busted stove is soon repaired when men are around. Tools arrive, parts fly in all directions. Problems are identified, strategies are formulated. Action is initiated, order is restored. TA-DAA! It only took two trips to the hardware store.

The only thing better than making repairs in the kitchen is dragging the problem out to the ultimate man's lair, the garage. Want to make a garage more comfortable? Fill the shelves with copious amounts of hazardous materials. Be sure to stay upwind if this baby ever catches fire!! Can't you just feel the father-son bonding?

We planted apple trees. This is where we get back to our organic roots (no pun intended). Each tree gets a big dose of horse manure to get it off to a good start. Hey Ben; You're in charge of fencing!!

Shovels are handy for lots of jobs. The dog food starts out in the bucket with the red lid. The dog eats it. Later on, the dog leaves the reconstituted dog food on the slab in his pen. This new product is shoveled into the other bucket and moved to an obscure part of the property. It's a simple system, but no lady has EVER been expected to do this job. This is men's work!!

World domination, even when it is reduced to child's play, has long held the interest of the H boys.

What could be more manly than eating a quesaldilla for dinner on a table strewn with tools and stove parts? Some of us even ate together, but there was very little talking going on.

KP is an all hands affair. Duties are assigned and executed. No problemo.

The next order of business is devotions. Tonight's reading is Galatians 5: 16-26. This is a big meaty topic with lots of in your face concepts to grasp. Perfect for an all-guy event. Knitting helps to foster true masculine confidence. Anybody want to make something of it???? I didn't think so!

What better way to wind down the day than with a hearty milkshake? There was a choice of secret ingredients from which to chose. Yes, Nick took his enzymes.

The mood was light.

A display of weaponry is expected, and is barely noticed.

The end-of-the-day festivities brings everyone to the mega couch for a little work-out on the Wii. This is male bonding at its best. We don't even remember where the poker chips are kept.

Run Mario, run!!

Man is triumphant!! The household continues to function, even in the void left by our traveling wife, mother, daughters and sisters. But to tell you the truth, it just isn't the same. Come home women folk, and bring Ben with you!! We miss you!!

be safe,
Hec @ 19