The Serven Clan

Wedding Day Prep

2009-11-17T00:52:00.005-06:00

Fret not! More photos are coming, but all in good time.

"Blood is thicker than water."

Some of the magnificent flower arrangements.

Picture with the Bride, the Photographer/Brother-of-the-Bride's prerogative.

She Was Counting Down the Days

2009-11-11T00:28:00.000-06:00

First Sunday Together

2009-11-08T21:55:00.000-06:00

Happily Married!

2009-11-08T21:46:00.006-06:00

Watch Steven and Rebecca's Wedding Live!

2009-11-06T09:12:00.004-06:00

A welcome message from Steven and Rebecca.

Tune in no later than 4:00 p.m. Central Time to watch our wedding!!!

Thank you for your prayers!!!!!!! : ) Going to start getting ready for the big day . . .

Bye for now, and incredibly blessed by the Lord,
Rebecca : )

The Final Hours Are Upon Us!

2009-11-06T01:11:00.003-06:00

Practice makes perfect.

Fun at the rehearsal.

Less then twenty-four hours to go.

Rehearsal dinner.

Mark Your Calenders for the Big Day!

2009-11-04T00:58:00.007-06:00

Steven and I would like to invite you, dear blog reader, to witness our wedding vows this upcoming Friday, November 6th, at 4 p.m. Central Time. You can watch the live feed on our new family blog, www.srloomis.com.

Resting in His joy, during this busy and exciting season and incredibly blessed by our gracious Lord,
Rebecca

P. S. This may (?) be my last blog post! It's been a joy to get to know you all. : ) Now, off to the joyous calling of being a wife to my beloved Steven!

Four days and counting...

2009-11-03T01:29:00.006-06:00

Did you know that watching people prepare for a wedding can be quite interesting?

Going to get the Marriage License.

Five Days and Counting...

2009-11-01T21:23:00.005-06:00

Six Days and Counting...

2009-11-01T01:26:00.005-05:00

Creativity in the Midst of Chaos

2009-10-26T18:07:00.007-05:00

Creativity strikes when you least expect it.

While we are in the midst of slide-shows, pie plates, packing, wedding dresses, bridesmaid's dresses, sequins, trips to Peoria, company, wedding programs, shopping, emails, websites, phone calls, and kind gifts from dear friends, one of our young lads was inspired with a fabulous idea: making shoes!

All the cutting and piecing has taken a few days.

Sewing on a sister's borrowed machine.

Coaching from a big sister [Editor's Note: Preview of a Bridesmaid's dress!].

Important P. S. and Caveat: PJS, Hopefully these pictures give a little more context for this post.

Live from the Field

2009-10-26T17:39:00.011-05:00

Direct quote from Ben: "If I were a girl, I'd be screaming right now."

Insanity.

Hilarity.

Craziness.

Oh wow. Ok. Now back to work on the slideshow.

Men's Advance 2010

2009-10-24T22:49:00.004-05:00

The Men's Advance in Troy, Missouri.

The Battles Men Fight
February 26-27, 2010

Troy, Missouri
Sponsored by the Genevan Foundation
Hosted by Covenant Family Church

Save the date for the 2010 Men's Advance in Troy, Missouri. Join historian Bill Potter, pastor Marcus Serven, and musician Nathan Clark George for a inspiring weekend designed to encourage men and their sons. Bring the rest of your family to join in the dinner and concert on Saturday night!

Keep a watch for more information on ServenClan.com, GenevanFoundation.com and CovenantFamilyChurch.net!

Photo Reports from 2009 Men's Advance (scroll down for pictures), 2008 Men's Advance, 2007 Men's Advance.

Dated Cuteness

2009-10-21T16:39:00.003-05:00

Guess who?

Working on some special projects for the wedding!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

2009-10-14T17:39:00.005-05:00

Visiting with a lady from Steven's church.

While Dad and I were visiting Steven in California, we had the joy of meeting and visiting with many friends and family, new and old.

Pastor W. used to be a member of our congregation when I was a little girl. Now he pastors Steven's church!

Recounting stories of God's faithfulness.

An elegant Sunday supper, thanks to Mrs. W's lovely table!

Visiting with future family: (another!) brother Ben and my almost mother in ~~law~~ love!

Breakfast with one of Steven's mentor families: Mr. R. not pictured.

In and Out with Grandma and Grandpa B.

Visiting with a family from our very first church, from 30 years ago: dear Mr. K.

Sweet Mrs. K, who is a florist extraordinaire, showed me some ideas for wedding bouquets. We'll use a different flower combination, but it was very helpful to see how to tie the ribbon properly . . .

Plus, I got to enjoy this beautiful example bouquet!

I can hardly wait to be Steven's wife . . . besides sharing the added blessing of living near new and old friends! What a perk! : )

Dinner: Potato Soup

2009-10-13T22:26:00.002-05:00

Dear Foodies,

Here is a recipe that is a family favorite, at least in my home, and will soon be in yours, if you try it out. I made it last night for the first time (that is, made it myself).

Potato Soup

1. Bring to a boil in soup pot and simmer or cook at very gentle boil until vegetables are tender:

8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped small (I didn't peel the potatoes that I used. Figured it would be more healthy with the skins on)
1 onion, chopped
1 quart water

2. Remove half the cooked potatoes and onion and set aside.

Read the rest a www.fieldtofoodie.blogspot.com

Anticipating a Transfer

2009-10-12T13:42:00.001-05:00

The two most important men in my life.

Farmer's Market Bounty

2009-10-09T09:52:00.004-05:00

Picking out Gala and Fuji Apples.

When my father and I went to California to visit Steven, there were several things I was hoping to locate. A good farmer's market was near the top of the list. We tried out this farmer's market nearby, and the Lord blessed with an amazing and providential connection with a 'pastured poultry' chicken farmer! He gave us leads on eggs, milk, meat . . . Wow. What an answer to prayer!! : )

Some lovely flowers with which Steven surprised me. Aww. He is so sweet. : )

Fruits and Veggies ready for travel in this handy dandy compartment of Stevens (and mine!) mini van.

Sipping a Kale, Almond Milk, and Banana Smoothie. It was delicious!! We got a chocolate one for Dad. : )

You mean, like the Medes and the Persians?!

2009-10-08T10:47:00.006-05:00

Right around the corner from our new home together.

One evening after Steven and I had attended a pre-marital counseling session with our (new to me!) Pastor Gary Wagner, we were hungry. It was a busy day and we hadn't had a chance to catch some dinner. Being in an adventuresome mood, we thought it would be fun to eat at one of the establishments Steven frequents.

Yay! They are still open at for a few more minutes.

Up for a culinary adventure!

The owner of Cafe Persia, and our gracious host. They were closing down shop, but happily they were open for us to get a quick take out dinner.

Steven ordering . . .

. . . and translating from the menu.

The kabobs on the grill.

While we waited for our order, the owner was kind to give us some Persian tea to sip.

Taking self portraits in the mirror. : )

As we left the restaurant with our take out order, Steven told the owner "Good-bye!" in Farsi [Editor's Note: This is how 'Good-bye' is written in Farsi: خداحافظی . Don't ask me how to pronounce that!!!]. "How can you remember things like that!!?" I exclaimed. "Well," Steven modestly replied, "I couldn't remember how to say 'Good-night'". I have an amazing and brilliant fiancé. : )

Not your usual take-out: fresh basil, raw onion chunks, and spices . . .

. . . throw in a very vinegary cucumber and tomato salad . . .

. . . add some flat bread, which when spread was the size of the large cookie sheet . . .

. . . and combine with this, um, very interesting looking combination of roasted tomatoes, saffron rice, and ground lamb and beef kabobs . . .

. . . to make a lovely dinner! It doesn't look so bad on the plate! And it tasted delicious. :)

Steven and I enjoyed a lovely dinner that evening in our new-house-to-be. Just one of our many adventures during the week! What a wonderful time living life together. : ) We are so excited to enter this new joyous season of marriage!!!!!

Back from a Wonderful Visit!

2009-10-08T10:33:00.005-05:00

This looks familiar. : )

Dearest Bloggy Readers,

Sigh. : )

Dad and I have returned from a blessed, restful, wonderful visit to my fiancé, Steven. I miss him very, very much. He is such a tenderhearted leader. I can't wait to be his wife!

So . . . back to the grindstone of wedding preparations. : ) But with renewed energy as we are working towards our goal! The labors are not a vain thing . . . they are looking forward to a joyful culmination in our wedding!

Check our our new family website for pictures (Warning: still under construction!):
http://www.srloomis.com

Resting in His joy,
Rebecca

Creativity

2009-10-05T14:04:00.001-05:00

Stacking Wood

2009-09-30T15:32:00.007-05:00

It was a nice fall day.

Yesterday the boys and Dad stacked the wood to prepare for the coming winter. Here are some pictures.

What! Juggling logs!:)

The start of the first stack.

Wood.

One down more to go.

How many can Ben carry?

15. Not bad.

4 for Joel.

What about Andrew?

One more!!

10 for the 10-year-old.

Almost 2 stacks.

Can't Ruger help?

2 and some more.

Finished.3 and a half stacks.

Thanks for stacking the wood Dad,Ben,Andrew,and Joel!

Sweet and Diligent Sisters

2009-09-30T08:08:00.004-05:00

Unwanted sequins.

Dear Fellow Seamstresses,

Sarah and Lydia have been working very faithfully, using these and these, to remove some unwanted sequins off of the wedding dress fabric. And they finished the huge task!! It looks beautiful!! Many thanks to these sweet sisters of mine. : )

We decided we wanted a more elegant look rather than the glitzy look which the sequins gave.

The wedding dress is not sewn, but is half way cut out. Still some important preparation work to do before being able to put it together (no more clues!!). I'd appreciate your continued prayers for diligence and that the Lord would bring it together in his time.

This week I'm excited to take a hiatus from wedding preparations as my father and I journey to California! We'll be focusing more on marriage preparations for this week, then it will be back to wedding prep! This is the first and only time that Steven and I will have seen each other in person during the engagement, so it is a very special trip! Many thanks to my dear father and beloved fiancé for making the trip possible.

Resting in His joy,
Rebecca, the bride to be

P. S. The Styrofoam Hummer was representative of a Styrofoam bowl which collected the sequins. The nail clippers and tweezers were used to snip and remove the sequins, and the books were used for a stable work surface. Thanks for all your guesses!! Some very creative ones. : )

At the Pacific Ocean in early August 2009.

Sushi

2009-09-28T15:07:00.005-05:00

Dear Foodies,

A friend of mine reminded me about a food experience that I had forgotten about. So, now I have to tell you about it.

I was helping (another) friend, run a booth at the Farmers Market in Ellisville (it is held in the Straubs parking lot if you ever want to come). We happened to step inside Ellie's Cafe and noticed the display with fresh sushi in it.

My friend said to me,* "I know! Why don't we get some sushi for dinner, and we can eat it on the way home!"

And I said, "Wow. I don't do sushi. Raw fish? Yech! What about mercury poisoning and all that . . . "

Read the rest on www.fieldtofoodie.blogspot.com > >

More Wedding Dress . . . Hmmm

2009-09-26T19:13:00.002-05:00

Clipping with safety.

A few additional tools being used later in the afternoon. I have three sweet siblings helping me! Lots and lots of work to go!

Books for many uses.