(Thanks to my handsome, personal technician, he was able to reinstall, jiggle and cajole our scanner into working long enough to get the following pictures scanned in.  And, since this post is about him, he has given me special permission to include his personal story.  The following story is true... well, except for the stuff I added to make it a tad bit more interesting.  heh heh)

***My name is Norman Ward and I approve this message***

THIS IS YOUR LIFE...

Norman, your humble beginning started 40 years ago on November 7th, 1968.  Each mother has her own birthing stories, but this one is, indeed, different than the norm.  But, instead of writing about it, I'll let this newspaper article describe the events of your birth:

We all still chuckle when we read this article because it describes your parents so well.  Your mom is “matter of fact” and the type to be in charge of the situation, where you dad is, well, more excitable. 

As the article states, you were welcomed into the family by 1 sister and 3 brothers.  (And, just for the record, the article had one brother’s name wrong.  It should be “Cedric” instead of “Frederick”.)  Your family was also joined later by a sister, Molly, and another brother, Reggie.

Your younger years were mainly spent at your farm house near Bowen, IL.  With 5 rambunctious boys in one household, it made for many a tale to tell later to your own boys.  One, in particular, that they like to hear is when your family was butchering chickens and one of the chickens jumped up onto a tree limb a second after the fateful blow had taken off its head. 

You started your school days at Golden Elementary in Illinois.  But, in 1976, your family moved to Ottuwma, IA, where you finished your education and graduated from high school with top honors in 1987.

During those formative years, the spiritual teachings of the Bible from the church and home started to grow and take root.  The fact that Jesus had actually died for you so that you might live eternally with Him became very personal to you.  That’s why, in 1983, you obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ by having your sins washed away through baptism.  Since then, you have committed your life to the continual studying of God’s Word and serving Him.

After graduating from high school, you decided to go on to college.  God led you into the technical field and after getting a degree, you started working at Motorola in Mt. Pleasant, IA, troubleshooting and repairing radios.  This paid well and was satisfying work, but you realized that there was still something missing in your life.

“Uggg!  Me need woman!”

That’s when a fair maiden caught your eye. 

In the summer of 1991, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a letter from you, written on the backs of vegetable can labels.  How appropriate, since my CB handle was the “Jolly Green Giant”.  Also, this should have alerted me to the fact that you might be just a little bit “corn-y”. 

It didn’t matter, though.  I knew that my life had just made a turn for the better.  After our first date to an Acapella concert, we continued getting together on a regular basis… picnics and eating out, touring Victorian homes, going to Adventureland, visiting family, etc.

Norman quickly progressed from giving recycled stationary to expensive roses.  Money wasn’t an object.  Hee hee. 

The main thing was that we just plain enjoyed being together. 

Everything was going fine, until one day...

“I don’t want to put any ideas into your head or anything, but have you considered the possibility of getting married?”

Norman thoughtfully considered this.

And decided to snatch her up while the snatchin’ was good. 

Being a very wise man, Norman married his fair maiden on June 26, 1993. 

We started out in a trailer house on the south side of Mt. Pleasant.  We felt very isolated and cozy since all we could see out our windows was a hay field.  This was nice, but we longed to have a house of our own.  A little over a year later, our dreams came true… we were able to buy our very first house!

The first few years of our married life included traveling to Florida, Texas and other places as well as working together to make improvements on our house.  You did the major things, like replace part of the foundation, and I added flowers and put in a garden.  We desired to add to our family unit, but it wasn’t until after several miscarriages, that God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy in 1996.

Our firstborn has brought us lots of joy, but God’s plan for our family wasn’t finished yet.  Again, after more miscarriages, another healthy boy was born in 1999.  Our second son came close to following in your footsteps as he was born only 45 minutes after we arrived at the hospital.  That was a little too close for comfort, especially the nurse’s since she was afraid that she was going to have to deliver him.    Thankfully, the doctor on call (not my regular doctor) came just in time.

Now, with our family complete, we have continued to grow and move on to wherever God leads us.  We homeschool our boys.  You have since gone back to school and have gotten a new job, fixing copiers and other machines.  We have also moved to another town, where we are closer to family and the church.

We are very thankful for you, Norman, and we hope that God blesses you with many more chapters in your life story.  Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith and we trust that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.  (Philippians 1:6)  After your final chapter is written, however, we will be looking forward to the sequel.  And, this one will never have an ending.

With all my love,

Connie

(Hugs & 's)