March 18, 2017 by Ellen

Engagement and Marriage

We started dating in the fall of 1972. The summer of 1973 we traveled to England with a Christian Rock Group on a concert tour at schools in England for their religious education classes. At night we’d have community concerts in churches or community halls. Dear’s niece Jenna was born while we were in England and we were able to meet here when we returned. We were officially engaged in September of 1973. Jenna is our oldest niece.

We had another tour in England in the summer of 1974. After being hosted by a few great English families we got to return the favor to some and show them around the Los Angeles area when they came for a visit. I have a post about our tours in England here.

Our wedding was in December of 1974.

Dear’s family upper left. Dear and me with my little maternal babushka. Lower left me and my sisters. Middle, my brothers. Lower right my parents.

Our honeymoon was a drive up the coast of California as far as San Francisco and home again.

Today is Saturday the 18th of March. Looks like our granddaughter is arriving sometime on the 20th of March, the first day of Spring. Sweet! We will keep you posted on the actual arrival time and we hope induced labor won’t go too long.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

January 19, 2017 by Ellen

The Greenhouse Reception

The party reception for Joseph and Hannah was held in a greenhouse on the Orchid Farm property. The greenhouse was transformed with many Turkish touches. Joseph and Hannah became interested in each other during Joe’s second semester in Istanbul as a leader and Hannah’s first semester in Istanbul as a student. I’m adding the long description of the course from Westmont College just to give you context into why Joe and Hannah embraced these Turkish touches on their marriage. (warning…photo overload in this post!)

During this semester you will live in Istanbul, aka Constantinople, a city that is of the past and of the future, of grace and grit, of culture and politics, of faith and skepticism. It is Eastern and Western, a modern megalopolis of 20 million people and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is both cultural capital of a developing Asian country and was chosen as Europe’s “city of culture” in 2010. Istanbul’s skyline is punctuated by medieval mosques and minarets while swish modern cafes and bars dominate its street life.

You will be encouraged to experience another culture from the inside, studying Turkish, navigating your way around the city and interacting with Turks on a daily basis. You will develop relationships with your neighbors and Turkish university students while also engaging with the city’s various minority and refugee communities.You will for a season become an urban person, and learn to be comfortable negotiating a foreign metropolitan landscape.

You will also experience what it means to live in community in a new way. Removed from familiar social, relational and religious support systems, all the while being confronted with some of the most challenging issues facing the world today, you will need to rely on each other.

There was assigned seating with place cards tied to a stalk of rosemary and sections of the long tables were assigned names of cities from around the United States and the World. You found your name under a city on the large board outside the greenhouse and then traveled about the tables to find your city and then find your name on the place card. We sat in the Seattle area next to Nuevo and Jerusalem. The head table and Joseph and Hannah’s spot was draped with a Turkish cloth below.

The most traditional, and most often consumed beverage in Turkey, Çay (black tea) is a staple upon which the Turkish societal system functions.

These traditional Turkish tea cups and saucers were chosen by Joe and Hannah for the wedding guests to enjoy tea in and then to take home as a wedding favor. The card in the glass explained, “In Turkey, Çay (tea) is offered when entering a home, after a meal, and over conversations. We wanted to extend this symbol of hospitality to you as you share in our celebration!”

Joseph and Hannah’s reception and wedding came about with many helping hands working together and now it was time to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening with good food, very good encouragement and glorious acknowledgement on what God has done for them and all of us.

My brother Steve, nephew Levi, and brother Leonard.

Kelly (mother of the groom) and our son Dan.

My dear old pop managed to walk the quarter mile from the wedding ceremony to the reception area with his cane and we sat him down at his spot at the head of the table with a large mason jar of lemonade. What a trooper he was this day.

Dear and my pop having good conversation.

Our niece Michelle with Jamie and Dan. (Dan is our second born son and Jamie is our DIL)

Our niece Debbee with Laura and Josh (Laura is our DIL and Josh is our first born son)

My brother (the father of the groom) and our niece Kristin.

Kelly, my brother Leonard and my sister Lana.

Obligatory selfie of the cousins! (not my photo I nabbed it) Several of the photos following were taken by others.

Niece Melissa, Michelle and our DIL Laura.

My sisters Kathy and Vera with my dear old Pop.

Family, upper right wacky sister with nieces shot, lower left is our Katie and Andrew, lower right niece Hope and grand niece Avery.

This Magnolia tree was such a beautiful backdrop for the celebration.

Cousins…

My dear old Pop and his descendants. The sisters are holding our tea glasses and saucers.

My siblings with our Pop.

Dzeda, my pop, with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Pop saying his goodbyes to the bride, his newest granddaughter.

The bride, groom with Josh and Laura.

The cake was gluten free and so delicious. After cake we took our leave and the party continued into the night. There were other desserts made by friends for the party, too. This next photo was taken by Joseph’s cousin Kyle Nessen who is an amazing photographer. It was a sparkling send off for the newlyweds!

May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

And I am our of words to describe what a glorious day this was from the weather to the location, the food, the dancing and all the beautiful thought out details. May God bless you both with many good years on this earth Joseph and Hannah!

January 17, 2017 by Ellen

The Wedding of Joseph and Hannah

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea. Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm is located in Goleta just north of Santa Barbara. It is a venue that can be rented for many different types of gatherings and it turned out perfect for a wedding.

Our nephew Joseph married Hannah last Saturday the 14th of January. Joseph is the youngest of four brothers. My brother Steve and SIL Kelly are his parents.

The majority of the guests rode a shuttle bus to the venue from a nearby elementary school. The walk to the wedding ceremony site was about a quarter mile from the reception area. After several days of rain and clouds in southern California Saturday’s weather was clear and warm with beautiful blue skies.

Our Washington Family really enjoyed soaking up the sunshine since we left Seattle in 20 degree weather. Dan and Jamie’s home in eastern Washington varied from 8 below to 15 degrees before they flew south.

Our dear old pop was so happy he could manage the trip and the time spent at the wedding. He got a special ride to the ceremony stage.

Before the Processional there was a reading of “The Marriage” by Rumi.

May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk,
this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade
like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness here and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

The procession began with Joseph walking to his parents and on to the platform.

Now the attendants (all 28 of them) two by two made their way to the platform.

Joe’s three brothers and their wives were part of the wedding party. Levi and Timothy with their wives in the upper photos and Caleb in the lower right photo. Caleb’s wife is in the lower left photo. Caleb was one of the best men so he is walking with one of the maid’s of honor. Two of Hannah’s sisters shared the maid of honor roll. Caleb and Joe’s best friend growing up shared the Best Man role.

It was now time for the cutest flower girl there ever was! Eleanor is Joe’s first niece and belongs to Tim and Jessica. She is our grandniece.

Here Comes the Bride! Hannah was escorted by her mother and father. When Hannah and Joe were hand in hand the families declared their support and the Officient asked everyone to refrain from taking photos. The Officient, Jim Wright led a semester in Istanbul from Westmont college that Joe was a part of as a student first and later as a leader. I’ll write more about that in my post about the reception. A Prayer began the ceremony, O Come, Oh Come Emmanuel and For the Beauty of the Earth were the unique songs that were sung and scripture readings from Numbers 13. That’s not a typo for those of you who are familiar with the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. The personal Homily, vows, and exchanging of rings and declaration of marriage wrapped things up!

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bagdanov were introduced and the recessional signaled the time I could turn my camera on again.

My brother’s family.

Dzeda Bagdanov with Joe and Hannah.

I didn’t take this photo and I’m not sure who to give credit to but it is a gorgeous shot!

I’ll be sharing the reception photos soon and all the unique details that Joseph and Hannah chose and why.

Congratulations Joseph and Hannah! Your wedding was a joy to attend and one that will not be forgotten!

Dear is home now and I’m still in California for another week. I’m staying with my sister Vera. She’s getting a new internet company on Friday with speedier connections so it should be easier for me to post. This post has taken me a very long time. Besides the beautiful wedding that will take another post or two my nieces had a baby shower for Jamie on Sunday which was so much fun. Our Addy was showered with love and gifts and delicious food. I have the beach house and beach time to share and now I’m getting in sister time and more time with my dear old pop. On Monday I’ll be attending a memorial service for a friend’s mother from the Russian Baptist church we were part of in the 60’s and 70’s. Dear says it’s raining in the Seattle area.

September 4, 2016 by Ellen

Mosaic Monday

Last Saturday Dear and I attended our very first Chinese/Vietnamese Wedding Banquet. We had a wonderful time and we were happy to be invited and introduced to this cultural experience.

Dear was the groom’s boss. The banquet was at a restaurant in the greater Seattle area called Joy Palace. We brought the traditional Red envelope with a money gift for the bride and groom. There were no gift registries that we could find. It was good to google Chinese/Vietnamese wedding manners that were very helpful in giving us an idea of how the evening would unfold and what to expect.

What a culinary experience it was. I tried every course except for the Steamed Fish. My favorites were the Shrimp Stuffed Crab Claw and the Walnut Shrimp. These were all dishes I had never experienced before. We had to leave after course number 9! We missed the dessert courses. The Fried Rice Mix was different from the local Chinese restaurants we go to. It had the added ginger ingredient that I enjoyed.

Have you ever been to a Chinese or Vietnamese Wedding Celebration?

I’m linking up with Maggie at Normandy Life for Mosaic Monday.

September 10, 2015 by Ellen

Wedding Signs

These are all the fabulous signs from our son’s wedding this past June. He worked on putting the boards together and a friend of our new daughter in love did the printing. For some of the signs they bought old framed paintings from thrift stores and re-purposed them with blackboard paint and chalk paint. The wedding venue was in a remote location off a primitive road so the signs at the turnoffs were a great help.

I’m linking up with Lesley for signs, signs.

July 9, 2015 by Ellen

The After Glow…

After the ceremony was over we quickly filled the appetizer table with goodies (forgot to take a photo) and the wedding party went off to take photos at a spot nearby. Many helped to set up the tables for dinner.

We were thankful for the ever increasing shade.

Father and daughter!

Katie and Andrew

Our nieces on Dear’s side of the family, Jenna and Annie. Their sister Kacie was unable to come.

The Bayles cousins!

Dan’s hunting buddies!

The Bayles, Bagdanov cousins!

The wedding photographer is also a friend!

Father and sons…

A photo bomb by dear little Andrew, our newest nephew!

Waiting for the first dance!

Dan and Jamie’s first dance…

Cheers! Until I get permission to post some of the professional shots this will be the last post from the wedding!

This morning our house is quiet as all the wedding guests are now in their own homes tucked into their own beds. My brother and his wife were the last to leave last night and before they left they vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the main floor bathroom and washed and put clean linens back on their guest bed. That is quite a nice treat for me.

I’ll be taking it slow and easy today, how about you?

July 8, 2015 by Ellen

The Ceremony…

Our son Dan waiting to catch a glimpse of his bride.

Our son-in-law Andrew and our daughter Katie got to walk down an aisle again together.

Our son Josh was Best Man and Jamie’s best friend Maili was the matron of honor. Maili’s daughters were the flower girls and one of her son’s delivered the rings to Dan and Jamie at the right moment in the ceremony.

Jamie and Dan’s sweet flower girls. Little Leini is battling leukemia and is now in an intense part of her treatments to fight off the disease. Please pray for Leini whenever God puts her on your heart and in your mind. She really was serious about dropping the petals as she walked down the aisle.