Family | Love, Laughter, and Life

December 10, 2008
by Angie 2 Comments

All Hitched

December 6, 2008

Leaving the Church

It’s official. Chelsie and Collin are now married. She was a beautiful bride, the groom was handsome, and the dad (AND -aka- officiator of the ceremony) only cried just a bit. A full church enjoyed the ceremony and dessert reception which followed. It was so nice to see family and friends come together for the happy occasion – even if I didn’t get to visit with them (or even complete one entire thought!). It’s pretty weird that Chelsie is not Quantrell anymore…The mess is cleaned up (we did that part very very well), the presents unwrapped and put to use, the flowers are drying, the cool cake is gone, and Peeps and Collin have begun their new life together.

Congratulations, you 2 of our hearts. Forever keep our Lord Jesus at the center of your marriage and relationship. May He bless you for many years, and as your dad said, FOREVER, FOR ALWAYS, NEVER TO PART as long as you live. 🙂

October 29, 2008
by Angie 3 Comments

I DID NOT Steal Those Toys!

The Hill Clan

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a child. Not too young, but still the oldest in a family of four offspring plus two parents. We all lived, incredibly, crammed into a single-wide mobile home. You can picture it, lovely white and gold toned, kids and pets crawling all over the place.

As was often necessary, mom did deep cleaning. She had to, in order to keep up with the vast assortment of STUFF that accumulated in our small home. During these times of cleaning (and might I add, my siblings were really not good at keeping track of their belongings, and often stored them on the floor or under the bed or dressers), mom dug out closets, under beds, and behind bureaus. That being said, I was the thrifty type. I also was developing my super organized skills and methods of storing massive amounts of junk. (READ: packrat).

Mom always threatened us. “If you don’t clean it up and put it away, I’m going to through it away.” She was telling the truth. At the last possible moment, just before the dust pan scooped up the garbage stored on the floor by my siblings, I swooped in and rescued trash. I think I may have been one of the pioneers of ‘trash to treasure.’ I pulled out anything that was in good condition, unbroken, cool, or whatever I deemed save-worthy. I transferred my new stash items to my top drawer. Saved from certain garbage burning, I practiced recycling before it became popular to be green.

Occasionally, and my siblings employ much ganging up and coersion to share their twisted side of the story, I opened my top dresser drawer and offered specific collection items for sale (nevermind that it was back to their original owners). Inflation not being what it is today, I charged fair (scavenger rates) prices, ranging from a few pennies to nickels, dimes, or maybe quarters. Great deals, huh? After all, I needed to recoup my time and energy costs. And I had to support my horse. Horses are expensive! It was a win win situation. They got great bargains, I kept the landfill empty of good stuff, and I added the change to my cash flow.

To talk with them, one would think that I stole the stuff and hid it until it was open store time. NOT SO! They are way younger than I am, so they do not remember correctly. I was like a vulture, waiting until mom had her back turned from the pile of soon-to-be-disposed items on the floor, and I played search and rescue. Who can complain about that? I was practicing humanitarian social responsibility plus keep the world green goals.

This is to set the record straight. Back in the dark ages, when I was a kid, I practiced recycling and helping mom keep the garbage can less filled with good stuff. I did not steal the toys and assorted items from my siblings. Really. I believe I even remember a few items being given to me by a brother or sister, and then they wanted them back later. Can’t blame me for wanting to turn a profit. Let’s call it storage unit fees.

So we’re even, right?

October 17, 2008
by Angie Leave a comment

Way Back When

Look what I never published! It’s only a few months old…

My 2 Favorite Mission Friends

My bad! I haven’t blogged for numerous days…but who’s counting?

Kevin and I are preparing to head to Richmond, Virginia and Oklahoma City for appointment week. This week will be chuck full of meetings and gatherings and sharing…and commissioning for service overseas. It’s a bit overwhelming! One thing we will do is to prepare our testimony, which we will share at the appointment service. I was thinking back…

Way back when, our two children were preschoolers! Even before that, in high school, maybe middle school, I have had a love of the French people and the French culture. The extent of that was to perhaps visit the country one day, maybe study there during college (mission trip to France, yes, studied during college, no). Like my mom likes to say, I was born French, just in the wrong country.

Fast forward a few years. Bub and Bubbette (my dad’s nicknames for the 2 little Q’s) were not yet in school. I needed something to do with the kids on Wednesday nights at church, as nothing was offered. Our pastor suggested we try Mission Friends. Cool. That began my journey with missions. What awesome curriculum for preschoolers (and mom’s who teach it!). We studied cultures, foods, languages, people of the world, and missionaries and their families that lived and worked around the world to share the love of Jesus. With each lesson I prepared and taught, I fell more in love with being obedient to the call and serving wherever the Lord called. I didn’t instantly know that I was being called, but rather, grew into it. I’ve always felt a pull towards Western Europe, but thought it would be ‘in the future’ trips exploring cities and countrysides.

My babies!

A few years later, after writing for Mission Friends and Mosaic, the call to go myself, instead of just reading of others going, continued to grow. I went on several mission trips. Each trip confirmed the direction I needed to head. Kevin and I both went to Paris on a mission trip, where we served alongside workers in the city. That trip and the relationships we built confirmed the call for both of us, not just going, but the place and the people. Whoo-hoo!

To make a really long journey of manageable length for this blog, now we are getting close to heading across the water to live and work in east Paris. On June 27, in Oklahoma City, we will be appointed as missionaries. Please pray for us ~ it will be exciting and awesome! And we’d prefer not to experience any of their world famous tornadoes. In the northwest, we are used to volcanoes, wind, heat, rain, snow, dust…Not tornadoes. Show me the safe place please.

Following appointment week, we head home to prepare in earnest for living in another country. The house is gone, but too much of the stuff remains. You know, yard sale, storage unit, giving away belongings, lists of what to take (or not)…We will be at our church in Union Gap (13+ years) until December 28. We leave for orientation and training January 26th-ish, with hopes of being in Paris, going to language school, around the beginning of April!

The great news is we have years of experience…in English! The bad news is it will take us old folks longer to learn a new language! (We were informed of this wonderful tidbit.) That’s ok. I’m sure you can teach 2 old dogs new tricks – and words.

Look at how young they were!

October 17, 2008
by Angie 1 Comment

They’ve Closed My Starbucks!

Chelsie at her Starbucks

This is it. One of the last happy days before our flagship store of 15 years was closed! What a going out party! Our best, most favorite, family Starbucks was one of the unfortunate ones that had to be closed. Nevermind that it was the first in Yakima, had the best workers (especially the beautiful one above, my baby), and had a great community. Tears were abundant as baristas hung out and worked together for the last shift. But what a party!

Let’s just say, I love Nicole’s plan for happy hour…basically from 4:30 until closing (free drinks!). Throughout the day, customers had delivered flowers, so the tables were all decorated with fresh flowers in miscellaneous (ie coffee pots, vases, urns) containers. One customer brought pizza for lunch, another brought a carrot cake decorated with his phone number. Cookies, donuts, and pastries were brought out of the case and passed around. Calories were not an issue. Neither was caffeine. Photos were displayed, along with a poster board showing each barista and where he or she was being transferred. The only horrible thing was that this was the last night the store was open.

Amidst the tears, there was plenty of laughter. I had to really laugh at the dismantling of the store…which commenced promptly at 7:00. Furniture and things that had to go were walked out of the store and deposited in waiting vehicles. And then that was it. The store closed. Now it is just a shell – contractors have already removed the counters, shelves, signs…Blah. It’s the saddest corner of the whole parking lot. Empty, quiet, and dark. I know Top Foods took a hit with the store leaving. They had a great partnership. Just give me 10 minutes with Howard. This is one unhappy chick.

Now, in order to see our favorite baristas, we have to travel to 4 other stores, hoping to catch them while they are working. (I almost got in trouble today, as it’s taken me quite a while to catch up to Stephanie – sorry Steph!). Bittersweet. But wonderful memories. For more pictures, look for me on facebook.

Peeps, make me a grande, nf, xhot, 3 pump chai…to go.

September 11, 2008
by Angie Leave a comment

Upon Further Reflection

One Q catching a future Q

My BAD. And my mis-snake. The Quantrell’s DID NOT visit Bass Pro. I guess there is not a Bass Pro in Washington state, at least of which we know. That being said, we did visit a store with outdoor huntsperson items…Cabella’s!

“A wild and crazy northwestern family, the Quantrell’s, was recently spotted at a local rouge cou (red neck) watering hole off of I-5. Cabella’s was the site of family fun and silliness for this colorful family. Members of the clan were spotted gazing at the fish in the aquarium walk through, shooting laser guns (weapons) at a staged shooting range, trying on country style clothing, romping up and down stairs, walking through the ‘stuffed animal – aka game – museum’ and trying to name and classify as many wildlife as they could. Other customers were seen heading for the nearest exit or slowly backing away from this rowdy group. Employees reported that in all honesty, the Quantrell’s were just out for a good time. No damage was done.” ~Northwest Reporter

So, as you can see, we actually visited Cabella’s. It is a wonderful store, off of I-5, with absolutely nothing around it, except SEVERAL long roads, round-a-bouts…, and northwest greenery.

Looking for a good time? Take a trip and gander (not to be confused with Gander Mountain, another outdoor store, of which we do not have in Washington state) at the wildlife. Perhaps you will be fortunate enough to encounter the rare, nomadic Quantrell clan.

Taylor hits the target

September 10, 2008
by Angie Leave a comment

The Quantrell’s Visit Bass Pro!

Wow! Check out that cute family (in the header photo)! In this order: Kevin, with antlers sprouting from his back, Shrimpette -aka – Angie, the shortest, vertically challenged family member, Taylor – the mechanical wizard, tallest, Army boy stationed near this Bass Pro, and last, Peeps, I mean Chelsie, also sprouting some mysterious antlers, just like good ol’ dad.

We love our family! God has blessed us greatly with wonderful kids, not afraid to be zany and wild. Well, not as ok with it as mom, who can still embarass them in public (isn’t that a mom’s job? OUI!).

So, if you too want some cool family photos (too bad the other wildlife had to be cropped to make us fit), head to your nearest Bass Pro, and take advantage of the Red Neck (Rouge Cou) dream come true.

Ooo-ahhh.

July 23, 2008
by Angie Leave a comment

My Baby is Engaged!

Awww, they’re so cute! It’s official. As of Sunday, July 20, our oldest child (ok, he’s 20) is engaged. The happy occurence took place at a church BBQ and swim party in the lower valley. Suspicion was high for others (we had a hint of what was happening) when the 2 involved parties snuck off in shorts, swimsuits, and the piece of junk (NEVER tell Taylor I said that), I mean ’72 green Chevy. After being gone for a mere ten minutes, they came bounding back, honking the horn and flashing a lovely ring. Yahoo! No date is set, but congratulations to Jamie and Taylor! Does that mean I’m getting old?