2-22: Jimmy and Stephanie's Day

February 22nd, 2008 was a very special day.

That was the date Jimmy and Stephanie were joined in marriage in a wonderfully moving and joyous ceremony. The joy is continuing throughout the weekend as we enjoy family time together in Colorado's Estes Park. We trust that their joy will be full for many years to come.

For the significance of the date 2-22 check out the insightful essay Jimmy wrote here. He and Stephanie decided there could be no more appropriate date for their wedding.

So as not to keep you in suspense, here's a picture from after the wedding. In this picture, I see them smiling ahead at a bright future together.

Before I go any further, let me give kudos to Antonio and Lissa, photographers par excellence. Antonio took the pictures for this blog on his digital camera. Lissa took pictures for later development. ¡Muchisimas gracias!

Here is a picture of the venue, Stonebrook Manor, minutes from our homes. What a wonderful, peaceful location for an event. Check out their website here. Jimmy's friend, an elder in his church, presented them this wonderful gift.

Antonio took some great pictures of the beautiful bride. Here's one in the gazebo.

Jimmy with his mom.

Jimmy and Stephanie's pastor, Jeff, conducted the ceremony. In it, he told the remarkable story of their meeting and subsequent decision to spend their lives together. Believe me, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. We knew parts of the story, but it was very interesting to hear it from Jeff's point of view. He was very much a part of the story, as he introduced them shortly after Stephanie started attending the church. The sequence of events leading to their meeting reminded me of the six improbable fortuities in Milan Kundera's book, but in this case we believe it was the guiding hand of a loving Person bringing them together through innumerable improbable events.

One of the events that brought them together soon after meeting was climbing Mt. Bierstadt, a fourteener, together with some members of their church. (For you non-Coloradan/non-mountain climbers, a fourteener is a mountain that is higher than 14,000 feet in elevation.)

When Jimmy and Stephanie said their vows, we needed a few boxes of tissues, but only had one tissue among us!

Welcome to the family, Stephanie! We are so blessed to call you daughter.

Their unity candle and marriage license.

Just a fun picture they took after the ceremony.


The happy couple!

Steph's Mom and Dad, DeeAnn and Terry, with the newly married couple.

Kathy and Jim with Jimmy and Stephanie.

Here's a picture with Lissa and Antonio, who are not in many of the pictures since they were the photographers!

In the car headed to the house for the reception.

Arriving at Antonio and Lissa's for the reception.

¡Bienvenido!

Cutting the cake.

This is a sword made of Toledo steel, in the pattern that would have been used in the time of Columbus. Out families love symbolism. Jimmy was born in Spain, very near the place from which Columbus sailed to the New World, hence cutting the cake with the sword! (Not to mention the fact Antonio is from Madrid, where he and Lissa met, and the reception was in their home!)

Lissa and Antonio and their boys, Chris and Stefan, have been such a big part of our children's lives, ever since we all lived in Spain. Lissa followed us to Spain, where she met Antonio. We followed them to Colorado, where so many wonderful things have happened to our families, but that's a story for another day! Jimmy has many fond memories of fun times spent with their family. It was very special that they could be such a big part of the wedding.

Here's a nice picture of Jimmy with his old(!) and new Dad.

I like this picture of the two of us on the bridge at Stonebrook manor. Jimmy crossed a very important bridge into a new life yesterday!

A nice picture of Steph's folks, Terry and DeeAnn.

The mother and father of the groom.

I call this picture "Payback." At Lissa and Antonio's wedding, Jimmy had his eyes crossed in all the pictures. You can read more about this on the tribute Bonnie wrote yesterday.

As with any celebrity wedding, there are the inevitable paparazzi!

After the reception our families shifted location to Estes Park, to the exquisite, peaceful home of our dear friends, Jim and Sue. Their house is truly a "House of Peace." I'm convinced that it's not just the house or the location. It's the peace that is such a part of their lives. They are a true blessing to everyone they meet, and they have been an especial blessing to Kathy and me. They are now blessing our entire family as we stay in their Beit Shalom all weekend.

Here's a view from the back of Beit Shalom. Colorado weather is so marvelous, yet so changeable. We have been blessed with a truly great weekend. The mountains are snowcapped, but the sun is out, and the weather is clear here in scenic Estes Park this weekend.

This is a view from the loft office in which I'm putting together this blog.

Portrait of the Blogger in the Loft Office. (Jimmy came in and took this picture as I was finishing up. )

Here's the living room, directly below the loft office picture above. A leisurely afternoon at Beit Shalom.

Here's Hannah enjoying a private showing of The Miracle Worker!

Here are Chris and Stefan with Pam and Jill playing DDR.

Well, I hope this has given you a little glimpse of the immense joy we have all experienced in seeing Jimmy and Stephanie united. Many thanks to them for allowing us to be such a part of it. Pam was appalled that we were all going together to Estes Park after the wedding. How could she go with them on their honeymoon? Who ever heard of such a thing?

Our family's never been afraid of being different, and Jimmy has never hesitated to be an iconoclast, whenever an icon needed to be broken! So this is one of the best ideas ever. We are having a blast and getting to know Stephanie and her parents in the bargain. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

So now, we'll fade out from the new couple with a blurred vision of The Kiss.

Many blessings upon you, Jimmy and Stephanie. Love from all of us.....

A is for Abba

When I started this series about words, I promised to highlight "the many languages from which English derives," but so far it seems the only other language I've highlighted is Latin. The word abba goes all the way back through Latin and Greek to the Aramaic and Hebrew. It derives ultimately from one of the simplest words in one of the world's oldest languages, ancient Hebrew. The root of abba is av, the Hebrew word for father. I say it is one of the simplest words in the world because it is formed from just two letters, and those two are the first two letters of the Hebrew alefbet, which evolved into the first two letters of the other western alphabets.

The word abba in modern Hebrew is an affectionate term for father. It is formed by adding an additional alef to the end of av. Anciently, in Aramaic it seems to have had a slightly more formal connotation.

The word abba comes to us in English through the Greek of the gospels and the letters of Paul, and it is currently defined as "a title of honor for bishops and patriarchs in some Christian churches of Egypt, Syria, and Ethiopia."

The English word abbot (the superior of a monastery) follows a similar etymological path back to abba and av. At some point in this series, I would like to discuss the alphabet and the inherent meanings of the individual letters, but for now—enough.

Here is a link to a very nice story about one Abba and his family.

http://www.aish.com/family/heart/Celebrating_the_Seder_With_Abba.asp

Orig: 6/3/08

Thankful to be so Thankful!

Thanksgiving 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

In thinking over our many blessings this year, it came to me that I am thankful for being thankful, that is, I am thankful that I have so many things for which to be thankful and for the ability to recognize them as such. There are those in this world who know hunger and thirst. We have known neither. There are those who lack shelter. We have never lacked a roof over our head. There are those who suffer under oppressive political regimes and live in fear for their lives. We have never experienced what that oppression and fear is like.

Beyond lacking necessities, there are those who lack the ability to obtain the “non-necessity necessaries” that make our lives both interesting and rewarding. We have never lacked these either. There are those who want to travel but lack the means. We lived in countries around the world for 25 years—Spain, Italy, Canada, Japan. We visited dozens of others. We travel around the states virtually at will to see family and friends.

Perhaps saddest of all, there are those who lack companionship. The world is full of lonely people. We have friends and family who care about us and enjoy spending time with us. This is an incalculable source of richness and joy in our lives. May we never take any of these things for granted, but above all, may we never take each other for granted and the love and friendship we share.

—We love and appreciate all of you!—

Moreover, may we find a way to befriend those lonely ones all around us, bringing the warmth of human companionship to their hearts.

May this Thanksgiving and the days, weeks, and months ahead, be the most thankful of all our lives. May the One who makes all this thankfulness not only possible but obligatory grant us the desires of our heart to share the love that comes from above one with another.

Love from Denver

A Turkey By Any Other Name

The following is an article I wrote some years ago on Thanksgiving that may be of interest:

Thanksgiving Day 2004

Dear Family and Friends,
The column that follows is my latest Hebrew "Word of the Week,” which I have been writing for a few months. Also, there's a "Rest of the Story" to this column relating to our family and its India connection. (Note for non-family: Kathy’s father and his five siblings grew up in India at a school in the Himalayas for missionary kids. Coincidentally, Kathy’s mother grew up at the same school, where she met Kathy’s father!)

It seems that the meaning of Tarnegol Hodu in Hebrew is Indian Chicken. (Through a delightful coincidence the word Hodu also means "Give Thanks,” in addition to referring to the nation of India. Our Jewish friends eat turkey (Indian Chicken) during Purim in reference to King Ahasuerus, who reigned from India (Hodu) to Ethiopia (Cush) according to the first verse of the book of Esther.

Many languages use variations of the English word Turkey (we use the same word for the bird as for the country). Interestingly, in Turkey, turkey is called Hindi, which means "coming from India"! In Catalan, it is gall dindi or Indian cock. In Basque it is Indian hen. Many languages refer to turkey as Indian chicken, rooster, or hen. In Russian it is Indiuk and in Yiddish Indik (both relating to India). Danish, Dutch, and Finnish, among other languages, refer to the bird using the name of a town on the southern Indian coast (Danish kalkun).

Some languages go far afield of either Turkey or India. Portuguese calls the bird Peru, in reference to another country a world away. Standard Arabic makes reference to India, but two dialects call the bird "Ethiopian" or "Abyssinian" roosters. Malaysians call it "Dutch chicken." Finally, in Macedonian, the word for the bird is misir (the Turkish word for Egypt—Arabic for Egypt is Misr and Hebrew is Mitzrayim).

A few languages pay no attention to country. In Chinese, the term "fire chicken" may come from the red coloring around the face. Japanese shichimenchou means something like "seven-faced bird." This may make reference to the various colors reflected by the turkey’s wattle.

Spanish pavo comes from the incorrect association of the bird with the peacock (which could also be the source of the India connection. Pavo Cristatus is a large pheasant native to India.) It was our mistaken identity of the turkey as a type of Guinea fowl (and a belief that those birds originated in the country of Turkey) that led to our word for the bird.

Now that I have everyone thoroughly confused, let me mention one more delicious (!) irony. The turkey is a native North American bird, yet most languages of the world associate it with India. Seems a certain Italo-Spanish explorer made a similar mistake in the 15th century! So we have one more Native American designated with an Indian misnomer!

Having traveled around the world linguistically, let's get back to Hebrew and remember that Hodu also means "Give Thanks," so the next time some jokester casually wishes you a "Happy Turkey Day," remember that he or she is really saying “Happy Hodu Day” or "Happy Giving-Thanks Day!"

Hope this whets your appetite for a juicy bird this Thanksgiving—no matter what you call it! Happy Thanksgiving, Jim

QUOTE

Davar HaShavua
The Word of the Week

I love Thanksgiving. It is the one holiday set aside by our American forefathers (and foremothers!) to give thanks to the Creator for all the blessings bestowed upon us.

This week’s word is Hodu. Hodu in Hebrew means “Give thanks,” as in “Hodu L’Adonai Ki Tov Ki L’Olam Chasdo.” (Give thanks to the LORD for He is good; His Mercy is forever). (Psalm 107:1 among many other references.)

The root of Hodu is Yadah, meaning to praise, to give thanks (from the root Yad, hand). The word may have to do with throwing up the hands in praise and thanksgiving. The word itself holds an interesting lesson. It is spelled Yod Dalet Hei. The middle letter means “door,” and the outer two letters (Yod Hei) spell the shortened name of God (Yah). Thus thanksgiving (praise) is the door to the living God. Also, the meaning element of the letter Yod is "hand" and of Hei is "breath." Thus we enter the door of praise by using both hands and breath!

The final Thanksgiving lesson comes from our dear Hebrew teacher, Ori. She taught us that the word Hodu in Hebrew also means turkey! Ironically, a turkey is a Tarnegol Hodu or (Chicken of Giving Thanks)! One of the many things for which we can be thankful this Thanksgiving season is the Hebrew language, which holds so many delightful lessons for us. All for now.
Shavua Tov, Chaverim!END OF QUOTE

Happy Birthday, Jono!

Six years ago today, we received a phone call from Australia saying that our first grandchild, Jonathan Santiago, was born. Here were two of the first pictures we received through the miracle of the Internet.

And a short time later came a picture of mother and child.

Jonathan comes from a Hebrew name meaning, "The LORD has given," while Santiago is a Spanish name, which in English means "St. James." Ultimately, in a rather obscure way, the name James derives from the Hebrew name Ya'akov (Jacob), who is later renamed Israel. He fathers a nation through whom the world is to be blessed. So we could conceivably interpret Jonathan Santiago as "the LORD has given one through whom the world will be blessed." We pray that Jono may be the fulfillment of his name in the most blessed and complete way.

The picture on the left below shows Sabba (Jono's paternal grandfather) and on the right is Jono at an equivalent age. Is there any resemblance?

And here's the birthday boy in a great picture taken just the other day by his mom and posted on her blog.

We wish you, Jono, a very Happy Birthday! Love, Sabba and Nanny

Happy Birthday, Jimmy

Tonight we celebrate Jimmy's birthday. It was 32 years ago today, at the Rota Naval Hospital in southern Spain that Jimmy came into this world. Since then, he has spent nearly a third of his life in that wonderful country, as well as residing in Italy, Canada, Japan, and even some time in his own country!

Here he is with Bonnie in front of the hospital in which both of them were born.

At a much earlier birthday party for Jimmy, Bonnie watches her brother blow out his candles.

Here is Jimmy at another celebration with the ever-present Siamese cat, a part of our family's tradition that started in Kathy's childhood. Her parents had the first Moti (means "pearl" in Hindi; the cat was named for an acquaintance of Kathy's mother in India).

Jimmy was always active in sports: baseball, soccer, and swimming.

Living overseas as much as we did, we always jumped at the chance to participate in family events. Here is Jimmy lighting the candles at "Aunt" Lissa's wedding. Lissa and Antonio and their boys have been an often present and very blessed and welcome part of our lives on two continents.

Speaking of family, we always enjoy spending time with Uncle John. Here is Jimmy sitting on Uncle John's cart, on a day his dad and UJ were playing golf. This was the occasion of the famous "hot dog incident," in which the young lad dropped his hot dog into one of the many creeks we crossed throughout the course of the day. Jimmy has since taken up the game, and we have enjoyed some pleasant evenings together on the links.

No real story here. I just love the picture. Dad and Jimmy posing for a picture, probably either in Ohio or Spain, but I'm really not sure.

A school portrait that manages to capture his ultimately indomitable positive spirit.

Portrait of the photographer as a young man. This was taken on the day of his sister, Ellie's, wedding, on which he took the wedding pictures.

That same day, a nice picture of Jimmy and Ellie.

Labor Day 2007 at Lissa and Antonio's cabin near Estes Park. Jimmy on the camera taking the group picture. (Doby's helping!)

And here is today's birthday boy on that same day, with Stephanie and his sister, Hannah.