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MERRY CHRIST-MAC From Evan, Kathy, Mac, Tater & Hobbs! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for our blessed family and friends, and
giving us the greatest Gift of All - Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Our 12th Halloween together & Celebrating Evan's 60th birthday today! A wonderful birthday get-together with Evan's brother Scott & beautiful family at their home last week. Interestingly... Halloween was also my father's birthday. If he was alive, he'd be 84 today. My Mom created delightful, homemade costumes for my brothers and me as youngsters. Our traditional Halloween meal was cheeseburgers with cheese cut in the shape of pumpkins and tater tots, before we went out trick-or-treating! A crystal-clear memory from my childhood is dressing up as this bride as a 5-year old in 1969 (above). However, my memory does not match up with this photo at all!! At the time, when I put on this costume I felt transformed into this magnificent, beautiful creature--the most wonderful thing in the world--a LOVELY BRIDE! Apparently, I decided to cut my page-boy bangs, and ended up with this catastrophic hair-do (LOL)! The following year I was a 'fairy princess' in the same gown. It's amazing what a good haircut can do!!! :-) I had a dream of being a real bride since age 5! Here's a pic from our wedding day in 2007 -- Some dreams take a long time to come true! Here's a shot of Dad (Harry Jakubowski), age 32, who shared the same birthday - today - as Evan!
Father's Day 1967 with my brothers It’s two months ago today that Mom passed away. We miss her a lot. These slides are taking me on an incredible journey. Each shot is like a time capsule bringing me through forgotten, happy memories of the past, sadness for our present deep loss, and hope for the future. One day we'll all be reunited again in heaven--young, happy, and completely whole. Several years ago I heard Rev. Gary Wood speak at our church about his experience in heaven. Yes, he went to heaven! You can read about it in his book, A Place Called Heaven, here . I highly recommend it. It gives a glimpse of his experience in heaven and what our loved ones may be experiencing now. “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-- but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.” Psalm 139:7-12 Just 25 years-old and taking care of three little ones while Dad worked all day-- that must have been very difficult! (L to R: Douglas, Kathy, John C.) If you subscribe to the four temperaments theory, I notice from these photos how our personalities (in general) are developed even at this young age! John C-- exuberant sanguine, Douglas-- peaceful phlegmatic, and Kathy-- quiet melancholic... Interesting!! “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:13-16 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;” Jeremiah 1:5 What happy thoughts do you have of your Mom?
"When it All Falls Apart: How to Recover from the Loss of a Loved One" Audio Message by Dr. Carol Ministries I follow Dr. Carol's "Relationship Prescription" podcast, and found today's episode's about grieving helpful. If you're dealing with the loss of a loved one(s), check it out. (This link takes you to her webpage. You will have to click on this title once there.) Special Guest Photographer: Harry Jakubowski (Dad) • I join the family!I was scanning a sleeve of Dad's slides yesterday that included images of family events in the spring/summer of 1964. I don't remember ever seeing these, and once again, am blown away by the "time capsule" images of our young family, my childhood home in Glen Burnie Park, MD, our relatives, and surprisingly-- my pregnant (with me) Mom! Dad took these pictures using a manual Voigtländer Prominent Synchro-Compur 35mm camera, which he (apparently) obtained during his college years in the 1950s. By the 1980's when the popularity of Kodachrome (slide) film ebbed, and I believe he moved onto a higher-quality Nikon, Dad gave me the Voigtländer to use when I took photography classes in high school. Photography was definitely something we had in common, and I wish Dad and I could have discussed photography more. He had quite an eye, and many of his photos (below) are stunning. Whenever I look at our young family, I find the 'baby' pictures of my brothers John Christopher (now 56) and Douglas (deceased) especially adorable! (I realize this post is less specifically about Mom, but wanted to share these photos.)
For those who’ve experienced loss, you might identify with these quotes from C.S. Lewis’ A Grief Observed, “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear,” and “The death of a beloved is an amputation.” Ironically, on this roller-coaster called ‘grieving’ we also have these powerful promises from God’s Word, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed,” Psalm 34:18 (NLT) and “[The Spirit of the Lord] has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,” Psalm 61:1 (NKJV). Amazing!
I purchased a device that allows me to scan Dad’s slides to my computer. I am pretty speechless to see these romantic photos of Mom and Dad, ages 21 and 26. The love and joy I see on their faces is beyond words. These were taken the week after their wedding on July 8, 1960 at the "Honeymoon Capital of the World"--- Niagra Falls! Thoughts, Memories, and |
Thank you for landing on my blog! This a collection of photos, art, poems, thoughts, and other stuff on my creative journey since 2010.
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