Weddings: Sophia & Joseph

In February our family was honored to be invited to a wedding in Ohio. Along with the invitation came a request by the bride and groom, Sophia and Joseph, for our photography-crazed family to bring along our cameras. 

Photo credit ~ Natasha

When we arrived mid-morning at the church, I was ushered into the bride's dressing room. With me, were seven of our daughters. The girls and I quickly realized that we had been entrusted with the critical role of recording the ceremony preparations, including the dressing of the bride. We pulled out our cameras and set to work.

Since there were six of us working as a team, we were able to capture more of the details than any one or two of us would have been able to. This was especially important since this was our family's first "official" wedding shoot, and we so wanted to honor the bride and groom and their families! The photographers were Zhenya (20), Sarah (18), Tatiana (16), Natasha (14) and Amy (11) and me. Kirsten forgot her camera, but helped with the set up of pictures. Each contributed something to this post.

When we arrived Sophia was still in her street clothes, being dolled-up for her once-in-a-lifetime day by a family friend. The trusting eye contact between the two touched my heart.

While the bride's hair was being curled, her mom was a few feet away doing the same to hers.

Meanwhile, numerous friends were pulling together the last minute details. Could any wedding come together successfully without friends willing to serve sacrificially?

The room was filled with beautiful flowers.

   

While the work was being finished, there was also some fellowship taking place amongst the girls in the bride's dressing room.

While the morning preparations proceeded, the girls and I had the opportunity to take Sophia's stunning dress outside to photograph it.

We took along a critical accessory ~ Sophia's signature red shoes.

Photo credit ~ Tatiana



Photo credit ~ Amy

While we photographed the gown, the wedding cake was adorned with red- and cream-colored roses. 

 

We found upon our return that the bride's locks were curled, and she was ready to don her dress.

  

Her mother prepared the the gown and then helped Sophia into it.

My heart melted at the loving interaction between mom and bride. They both radiated joy as they shared the most important day in Sophia's life. Never was a cross word exchanged by them in a very stressful situation.

Joseph's mother joined the effort and helped make sure every detail was perfect by trimming threads.

  

At last, it was time to lace the back of the gown.

  

Photo credit ~ Natasha

Photo credit ~ Natasha

  

Then the bride was ready for her tiara and veil.

This photograph is special to me as an adoptive mom. When we met the young woman whose image is reflected in the mirror, we learned that she, too, was adopted from Russia, just like nine of our children!

Once the mother of the bride finished preparation of her daughter, she turned her attention to her youngest son.

The groom's sister, one of the bridesmaids, offered to make sure someone would see to it that the wedding cake made it to the reception hall. The cake was made by the bride and a friend.

A quick picture with dear friends...

...and then it was time for photos outdoors in a brisk February breeze.

As the girls lined up, laughter was exchanged. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.

Okay...okay, I love the Lord's gift of this photo also!

The girls went inside without Joseph getting a glimpse of his bride. The groom then led the men out.

Jason seemed a bit tense at first but relaxed as he and his brother, Joseph, teased one another.

The final posed picture with the men was of Joseph with both fathers ~ his on the left and Sophia's on the right. Starting a marriage with this kind of genuine support from both families will greatly enhance the young couple's chances of making 50 or 60 years. What a blessing!

In-laws play such a critical role in whether a marriage flourishes or flops. Looks like Joseph is blessed to have the favor of his father-in-law!

While the men were outside, our girls took more photos of the ladies indoors. I love how Sophia's youngest brother wandered into the photo. Big families are such fun!

The stained glass brought color to the beautiful details of Sophia's gown in new ways.

Photo credit ~ Zhenya Reynolds

And, of course, we couldn't resist yet another shot of those wonderful shoes!

Photo credit ~ Sarah Reynolds

Here's our Sarah's artistic take on Sophia's endearing footwear statement.

Not only were the bridesmaids adorned in rich, sumptuous fabrics, but so were the flower girls.

But it wasn't just little girls that threatened to steal the limelight at this wedding, this ring-bearer was irresistible. The credit for the pictures of this young charmer goes to Zhenya.



The last of the formal photographs was taken in the sanctuary, and then everyone retired to their dressing rooms for a bit of rest before the ceremony.

Little Elise, age three, quickly snagged the seat right next to the bride.

Their sweet interaction arrested my attention. This photo was not posed!

Here Sophia is smiling at her sister, Christianna, the maid of honor.

The guests began to arrive...

...including our son, John.

Everyone was ready for the strains of music that would signal the start of the ceremony.

The next down the aisle were the groom's parents...

...followed by Sophia's father and mother.

Then came the trios of flower girls and ring-bearers

Finally the moment arrived for which Joseph had been waiting since he first felt led by the Lord to make Sophia his wife.

Sophia's mom eagerly awaited the first glimpse of her husband with their oldest daughter on his arm.

Sophia's dad placed her hand in Joseph's in a symbolic gesture of passing the leadership and nurture of Sophia to her husband.

For this couple, their commitment to purity kept them from kissing until they stood before the altar. This was their FIRST kiss!

Then followed those transforming words..."I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Manion!"

And we were all off to the reception hall.

Joseph and Sophia proved again and again that while they may have started out as novices in kissing, they're quick learners!

Of course, we all enjoyed watching what they would do as they fed wedding cake to one another.

Let's just say they were fairly kind, but each fed the other an enormous piece of cake.

As the ceremony wound down, we departed knowing that this couple had started their lives as one-flesh on their knees before their Savior and King, making Jesus their rock. Because of their commitment to Christ, we left with the hope that their marriage will go the distance in a culture where so few marriages last until death parts the spouses.

And all who attended were blessed to have witnessed the beginning of Joseph and Sophia's forever-union.

What's Worked for Us: A Weekend Routine That Blesses

photo credit ~ Natasha

About 17 years ago we made a shift in how our family views weekends. We decided to use Sundays solely as a day to focus on the Lord and for family time. Up until this switch, we'd accomplished a number of the things on our to do list each week on Sunday. We'd also done quite a bit of playing on Saturday. In order to have Sundays freed up from work, we had to make the commitment to work hard on Saturdays. So for our family, Saturdays are a dedicated "Work Day". There's nothing rigid about this. Some Saturdays, we throw work to the wind and spend the day at the zoo. However, most Saturdays you'll find us at home whittling away at our task lists.

Despite how unappealing this may sound, we've come to find the day one of many rewards. On Saturdays our family functions as a well-oiled machine. We're a team in the best sense of the word. Each person in the family has their role and only if we each accomplish our part does a true rest on Sunday become possible. We're blessed with a real sense of satisfaction as we efficiently accomplish much more than any of us could do working alone.

Another reward of setting aside Saturday for a work day is that for the most part the twelve of us living here are all at home. Other days of the week activities carry us far and wide, especially now that almost all of our children are teens or young adults. But on Saturdays, we get time to catch up with each other as we work side by side. This rich fellowship leads to a great deal of laughter and enriches the friendships we share.

Finally, another reward to our Saturdays is the delicious meals that punctuate our work. Tonight we grilled a Russian favorite ~ shashleek. You can see from the photo that shashleek looks just like what we call shish kabobs here in America, but the Russian version is marinated in the most scrumptious blend of seasonings. Yum!

We don't skimp on the quality of Saturday's meals, and we don't rush this weekly chance to enjoy being together. We sit down to delicious food and conversation ~ a practice so rare around the table in America. We might talk politics. Or our conversation might turn to the even more important topic of our faith, our desire to follow Jesus, apologetics and ethics. Sometimes our table talk is much lighter and revolves around funny videos we've recently seen on the web, and we laugh until we're convulsing in our chairs. Again, the fellowship is rich.

So while we work hard on Saturdays, we don't dread the day. Working together and laughing together is a sweet combination. And on Sunday? The reward for Saturday's intentional emphasis on work is a sabbath of complete rest ~ a chance to breathe despite the chaos of modern life. Our Sundays are an antidote to the exhaustion that builds from busyness during the week. For nearly two decades, the freedom to focus on the Lord without being haunted by duties demanding to be done yet that weekend has proven to be refreshing to body and soul. This weekly routine has been like being blessed with 52 extra days of vacation each year. God is so good!

Our weekend routine isn't for everyone, but, by God's grace, it's worked for us.

Baking with My Youngest Buddies (recipe included)

 

This morning Dad took the older kids on our weekly grocery run. He left Amy and Oksana with me so that I could invest in them. As numbers 11 and 12 of our twelve children, they are learning most of their cooking skills from their older siblings as they help prepare meals. However, they haven't had much baking experience. This month Amy will turn 12 and Oksana 10 so it's the perfect season of childhood for them to learn the unique skills required for baking.

 

Our goal? To make Monster Cookies, a long-time family favorite. The recipe was passed on to me by my boss and dear friend when I left my position in hospital public relations 22 years ago to be home full time with our first three children after our twins, John and Lissie, were born.

 

Amy got out one of the key ingredients and at the same time discovered that we had four jars of peanut butter open. Oops!

 

The girls are still mastering the art of cracking eggs so there was a bit of egg shell to dig out of the bowl.

 

 

Happily, even with this one teaching session their skills improved!

 

Photo credit ~ Natasha

One of the things that makes these Monster Cookies so yummy is that you can add whatever extras you want to them. Today we threw in M&Ms, Heath Bits, coconut, and raisins.

 

Dad returned just in time to stir the massive amount of batter for us.

 

Photo credit ~ Natasha

 

The final product.

(Recipe below)

 

Monster Cookies

Mix:

6 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups white sugar

1/2 pound butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Tablespoon Karo syrup

1-1/2 pounds creamy peanut butter (2 generous cups)

 

Add:

4 teaspoons baking soda

9 cups oatmeal

 

Add to taste:

nuts

raisins

chocolate chips

coconut, etc.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes a huge amount, but these freeze beautifully. Recipe can be cut in half. Enjoy!

Senior Photo Magic

Today I took Matt and Kirsten, our two high school seniors, out on the town to take their senior photos. I also had along the greatest crew ~ Sarah, Tatiana, Natasha and Amy. They also took pictures and hauled equipment for me as well. Sarah was a tremendous help in posing our seniors.

This morning we went downtown to an area of restored buildings and took photos with that popular urban look. Then this afternoon Kirsten's horse-riding trainer gave us the opportunity to take pictures of Kirsten with Pinch, the horse on whom she's trained for about 2-1/2 years. It's been a magical day, our family working together as a team to capture the photos that will mark the milestone of high school graduation. Pictured above with Kirsten is Tatiana (holding the camera) and Matthew (foreground).

An Updated Family Photo

Getting a group picture of our tribe has always been a challenge considering our size. And now that our oldest daughters, Anna and Lissie, live in far away states with their husbands, the opportunities are few. However, Eric and Lissie's wedding presented the chance and photographer Lauren La Plante blessed us with this picture. The only change to the family is Lissie's small-but-growing bump.

Back row: (left to right) Brielle (15 months) Aaron Nix, Kirsten, Jim (Dad), Lissie Reynolds Moores, Eric Moores, Alexander, John (Lissie's twin), Matthew
Second row: Evelyn Rose (Seven weeks) Anna Reynolds Nix, Natasha, Zhenya
Front row: Amy, Denise (Mom), Oksana, Sarah, Tatyana

This was to be our Christmas card picture, but the cards are gathering dust on my desk since before my surgery in late December. If you're on our Christmas card list, please know we loved getting your greeting during the holiday season!

Our Marriage: We've Stumbled


(Please note: this post was originally penned by me [Denise], but because it is about OUR marriage we edited it together. Thus all the thoughts here are joint sentiments and learnings)



Photo credit -- Lauren La Plante at Eric and Lissie's Wedding October 2014

After three decades, Jim and I knew we needed a marriage refresher.

So while we each read Paul Tripp's STELLAR book on marriage, What Did You Expect?? several years ago, we're reading it aloud together this time.

A couple of nights ago we came upon a page that well sums up what we've found to be the greatest danger to the marital union. We would say "Yes! And amen!" to Tripp's thoughts below. We also want to own that within the last year, even after 30 years of marriage, we've both found ourselves struggling with the "disease" Tripp discusses here. Please bear with this long quote!

"2 Corinthians 5:14-15 reads 'For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again" (NIV). The apostle Paul summarizes here what sin does to all of us. Sin turns us in on ourselves. Sin makes us shrink our lives to the narrow confines of our little self-defined world. Sin causes us to shrink our focus, motivation, and concern to the size of our wants, needs, and feelings. Sin causes all of us to be way too self-aware and self-important. Sin causes us to be offended most by offenses against us and to be concerned most for what concerns us. Sin causes us to dream selfish dreams and to plan self-oriented plans. Because of sin, we really do love us, and have a wonderful plan for our own lives!

"What all this means is that sin is essentially antisocial. We don't really have time to love our spouse, in the purest sense of what that means, because we are too busy loving ourselves. What we actually want is for our spouse to love us as much as we love ourselves, and if our spouse is willing to do that, we will have a wonderful relationship. So we try to co-opt our spouse into a willing submission to the plans and purposes of our claustrophobic kingdom of one.

"But there is more. Because sin is antisocial, it tends to dehumanize the people in our lives. No longer are they objects of our willing affection. No, they quit being the people we find joy in loving. Rather, they get reduced to one of two things. They are either vehicles to help us get what we want or obstacles in the way of what we want...We are kingdom-oriented people. We always live in the service of one of two kingdoms. We live in service of the small, personal happiness agenda of the kingdom of self, or we live in service of the origin-to-destiny agenda kingdom of God.

"When we live for the kingdom of self, our decisions, thoughts, plans actions and words are directed by personal desire. We know what we want, where we want it, why we want it, when we want it, and who we would prefer to deliver it. Our relationships are shaped by an infrastructure of subtle expectations and silent demands. We know what we want from people and how to get it from them. We seek to surround ourselves with people who will serve our kingdom purposes, and we evaluate them not from the perspective of the laws of His kingdom but of our kingdom.

"This side of heaven, there is a constant war between the kingdom of  self and the kingdom of God. Every battle you have with other people is the result of that deeper war. When you are losing this war, you live for yourself, and invariably it ends in conflict with your husband or wife." (Paul Tripp, What Did You Expect?, pg. 47)

The recent bout of selfishness that has infected our marriage snuck up on us. Slowly we began waging quiet, subtle turf wars with one another. Eventually, we began to recognize the frightening turn our one-flesh union had taken. We then found ourselves confused as to what on earth had happened to our storybook marriage. God was faithful, however. We cried out to Him, and he is lifting the veil for each of us on how self-oriented we've become as the stresses in our lives have increased.

Now we're on guard. Now we have a clearer understanding of just how likely we are to sin against one another, even after three wonderful, glorious decades. We're not all the way there yet, but our marriage is healing. We are again learning to romance one another. We're also working at treasuring our friendship and protecting it. We're relearning that in order to have a storybook marriage, you must live, "There is no me. There is no mine. There is no mine." (Matt Batterson). A mere six words that are breathing life...beautiful LIFE...back into our marriage. Selfishness out! Death to self in! Only God's way works!

Seven? Already?

When our family was all together for Thanksgiving, we were startled to realize that seven of our twelve children are now adults. Boy, did that sneak up on us! All the clichés about how fast time flies as you parent are just plain true!

Pictured here are (l-r) John (22), Matthew (18), Anna (23), Lissie (22), Sarah (19), Zhenya (20) and Kirsten (19). This incredibly barren couple thanks God for the miracle that each one of these wonderful blessings is to us! Seven! Seven adult children already, and each one of them a dear friend! Aren't we BLESSED?

(Some of the names listed here are different than you've seen on this blog before and until I make the time to make the change, they are also different than the names on the side bar. Now that these kiddos are adults, we'll make the change to their real names. We'd chosen to use blog names for security when they we're children.)

Remember the Chant?

Mrs. Beaver:

I remember jumping rope to this ditty as a little girl:

First comes love...

 ...then comes marriage...

Bet you've guessed it by now--

...then comes B.A.B.Y. in a baby carriage!

We're thrilled to announce that Lissie's is expecting! Eric and Lissie's first child is due September 27, Lord willing, right around their first anniversary. The baby's gender is as of yet unknown.

Lissie is in week 12 and, by God's grace, doing great. Both Eric and Lissie love babies and are filled with joy that the Lord has blessed them with this pregnancy!