2007 McInturff Family News
Happy New Year! If you can stand to wade through another journal, here is the latest!
January – My dad turned 75! What a miraculous gift from God after he had bulbar polio at the age of 23 and is still going strong! His daughters here in town surprised him at a Mexican restaurant for lunch!
Klint was asked to lead worship (vocally and on guitar) for the first time at 1st Southern Baptist Church in Scottsdale. His cousin, Brad, normally does it, but he was out of town. It was a great opportunity!
Greg and I attended an amazing 8-week study at our friends, the Demmitt’s home, on prayer.
Klint and his buddies left on a road trip to Big Bear in CA to go snowboarding. The original plan was to go to CO where Greg’s sister offered her hospitality, but there was a major blizzard going on and the driving conditions were unsafe. So they went the opposite direction.
We hired our nephew-to-be, Ryan Simon, as our handyman to fix some home repairs. He and my neice, Joanie Holaway, planned to get married and move to New York in June so we took advantage of his skills while he was still here and available! It was fun to get to know him better.
Klint resumed business classes again at MCC. He continued working at In-N-Out Burger and was chosen to be “safety captain”.
Hayley’s car was rear-ended on her way to work. Praise the Lord she only suffered minor injuries that sent her to the chiropractor. She and Clay asked us to meet them that night for dinner. While there, they announced that they had our first grandbaby on the way! Woo Hoo! The hard part was that we had to keep it a secret for a few weeks until they were ready to spread the news!
February – We hosted a superbowl party here with Klint’s buds and their parents. What a great group of friends he is blessed with!
Klint was asked to play drums in a band at Grace Community Church where we attended. Later that month he played his djembe (a hand drum) for a missions Sunday focusing on Africa for all of the services. He told me his hands were actually bleeding after the last service!
We had the family over for dinner for Clay R. and Hayley to let their siblings know about the new addition. They put a plastic baby (12 weeks in size) in the bread basket and when Clay and Rachel went to grab a piece they pulled out a baby. We all looked surprised, and then they made the announcement. Clay Mc randomly said he wanted to be called “Uncle Bucky”! That gave us a good laugh!
My sister, Debbie, spoke at a mission’s conference in Phoenix. It was such a blessing being able to attend and to see how the Lord is using her as a single missionary in Mexico! The ministry is thriving!
Our Uncle Donny, on Greg’s dad’s side of the family passed away in Texas. We shared some wonderful family vacations together with him, Aunt Dawn and the girls over the years. He is so missed!
My mom’s cousins, Esther, Becky, and Dottie, and all of my sisters got together for lunch. How fun to get a chance to know them better after all of these years.
We attended the memorial service of a close family friend, Jim Stitt, at Mesa Baptist Church which was more of a celebration of his life. What an impact he had on so many people! It was like a reunion for many of us who came from our connection so many years ago at Scottsdale Baptist. From that event and the relationships we reestablished, we decided to start attending Mesa Baptist on a regular basis.
March – A close family friend, Bethany Lewis, got married and Hayley was one of the bridesmaids. My mom and I helped Hayley alter her dress since she was starting to show. :)
My dear friend, Nancy Demmitt, celebrated her 70th birthday. What a blessing she is in my life as a mentor! Her daughters surprised her with a “bridal shower” party I attended with a few of her friends.
My neice, Tiphanie Elliott, was in town to play water polo for San Diego State against ASU. When I showed up to her game, my friend, Michele Schwaninger, was there too. We discovered our nieces both play on the same team and our sisters (their moms) in California are also good friends. What a small world!
April – Our friends, the Codiers, moved into a new home, handicapped accessible, in our neighborhood for their daughter, Bonnie, who was diagnosed with mitochondrial cytopathy. We used to be in a home school co-op with them for several years when our kids were young. Bonnie has been bedridden for quite some time. I have had the privilege of “Bonnie-sitting” once a week while her mom works part time. What a blessing that has been in my life watching both Bonnie and her parents trust God in their extremely difficult situation. Bonnie has become one of my closest friends even though we are years apart! I love her dearly!
We went to an ASU senior recital for Rachel’s sister, Deborah. During the reception I got a phone call from the kids of my friend, Dawn, saying they were trying to track her down because her daughter-in-law was in labor with her first grandkid. When I found her to tell her, she screamed with delight and promptly raced home to write a fun song to sing to the parents and baby. Her friends from out of town were visiting so the next morning they all dressed up in cartoon character costumes and I met them at the hospital with a video camera to tape them singing in the hospital room. We all got a lot of weird looks – I was wishing I was in a costume covering my face too! :O
We attended an open house for our friends, the Demmitts, 50th wedding anniversary. They have been a huge influence in our lives as mentors in so many ways, but especially in the area of communication. Greg meets weekly with Dallas and a small group of men.
A longtime friend and mentor, Edie Tracy and I put together a Scottsdale Baptist Young Married’s Sunday School Class reunion. We spent several weeks planning, contacting, scheming, shopping, and preparing for the event. We had 70 people show up. We made BBQ beef on buns, coleslaw, baked beans, and cookies. The theme was on running a race so we used white running shoes stuffed with red flowers and black and white checkered racing flags for table centerpieces with a Bible verse on a pick stating Heb.12:1b and 2a. “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Steve Evers (our on-site photographer) took photos of each couple and then a group photo. We ate outside in the Larson’s backyard, then came inside to watch an old video taken at the Tracy’s home years ago called “Hocus on the Family”. Ha! As former president of the Young Marrieds' class, Greg was our emcee for the evening. He gave away some awards then opened it up to share memories of the good ol’ days. Next Tom and Edie Tracy both shared from their hearts with us, just like old times. They talked about being at the home stretch of the race and passing the baton to us to become mentors and to finish well. It was profound! We ended by singing Amazing Grace and presenting the Tracys with a surprise album full of photos and letters of appreciation for their years of sacrifice and pouring themselves into our lives. It was such an honor for me to spend such precious time with Edie organizing the event and having so much time to catch up. She is an amazing woman full of wisdom and faith!
My daughter-in-law, Rachel put on a bridal shower for her sister, Deb. She let me help her which was such a blast! My mom hosted it at her home. The theme was bees since Deborah means “industrious bee”. We called it a bee-ridal tea. Everything was done in bees and black and yellow with touches of her wedding colors – monochromatic shades of purple. We had finger sandwiches, chocolate-dipped pineapple spears, blueberry scones, flower and bee cookies, and various flavored teas. Rachel and Clay interviewed her fiancé on video and played it at the shower as a surprise.
May - My friend, Dawn, and I co-hosted another bridal shower for a home-schooling student and friend, Jaki Wieler. We did a beach theme since she was getting married on the beach in Mexico. It was similar to what I did a couple of years ago for another shower. We made Death By Chocolate desserts with crushed vanilla wafers for sand. We served them in miniature neon-colored pails with spade-shaped spoons topped with a chocolate seashell and toothpick umbrella. We offered pina colada slush punch for drinks. I got a surprise video of Jaki’s fiancé (taped by his mom) answering specific questions. We then asked Jaki to see how many matched. For each wrong answer she had to chew a piece of bubblegum. She ended up with a huge wad in her mouth! She was a good sport!
Klint turned 19 (our last year of having a teenager!). He auditioned for another band at East Valley Bible Church for the college group on Tuesday nights. He plays guitar and sometimes drums – whatever they need each week. He enjoys the Bible study with his friends. He also plays periodically on Sunday mornings at various churches too. He loves it!
Clay R. graduated with a master’s degree from ASU in Real Estate Development. This was a new program and the first graduating class. After the ceremony we attended an office party in his classroom. His boss later hosted a reception for him in his home. Clay and Hayley celebrated with a trip to Kauai, Hawaii and stayed in Uncle Gary and Aunt Teresa’s rental home. For a graduation gift they enjoyed a luau on the beach.
My “old” ladies camp girlfriends got together to go kidnap one of our gang, Sandlin, for her 50th birthday. We wore purple with red hats as a joke and decorated my Tahoe with “Honk, I’m 50!” We went to eat at a Mexican restaurant and had some great laughs. A little boy saw us and said, “What happened to you guys?” That cracked us up!
Greg helped Dallas Demmitt organize a men’s retreat at Bison Ranch with Steve McVey, the author of Gracewalk. It was an incredible life-changing time together.
June – My sister Brenda, Mom, and I put on a surprise family bridal shower for my niece, Joanie, at Dragonfly Café. While making the arrangements with the owner, I discovered that he is a client of Greg’s. They let us decorate the tables on the patio. I brought extra serving tables and helium balloon bouquets. Mom made tablecloths, and we used her wedding china teacups. .Brenda made centerpieces of purple tea pots filled with greenery to give as door prizes. She also made tile coasters on stands with a Bible verse printed on them for each place setting as a party favor and a poster collage of old pictures of the bride and the family both decorated with purple dragonflies and pink hearts. We had tea with quiche, scones, fresh fruit, and petit fours. Both Mom and Becky (Joanie’s mom) shared some words of wisdom.
We attended 2 family weddings the same weekend. On Friday Clay and Rachel were in her sister’s wedding, and Saturday was our niece, Joanie’s wedding. Both were lovely, meaningful, and unique!
Dad McInturff turned 75! Mom McInturff had the family over for delicious homemade ice cream and cupcakes. Praise the Lord he is a picture of health!
We went on a trip with Klint and his buddy, Bryan, to Coronado Island with the Brown family. We shared a rustic hotel suite that included a kitchen. We enjoyed the beach, bike riding, shopping, reading, chatting, and playing games. Greg and I took the guys to Sea World one day too.
To celebrate Father’s Day for Greg, we rented a cabin in the White Mountains in Greer (where Greg spent his summers growing up working at a lodge) for a weekend. All of our kids were able to come and stay. It was quite the slumber party with 9 of us sharing a cabin for 6! Talk about togetherness! We had a great time fishing, hiking, and playing games. When we met the hostess there, Harriet, during the course of our conversation we discovered her dad (who passed away several years ago) was the ENT doctor who God used to save my dad’s life over 50 years ago! When she mentioned she grew up in Tucson (like me) and her maiden name was Bernstein it rang a bell. I called Mom and Dad and verified it. What a gift from God! She lives there in the cabin her dad built many years ago. She spent her summers there (as did Greg) and probably saw each other as children and teens growing up. Unbelievable!
July – Klint flew to Colorado Springs to go to Summit, a 2-week worldview camp with his buds.
My sister-in-law, Becky, gave a family baby shower in her home for Hayley. It was so special! She used her china and linen tablecloths and made chicken croissant sandwiches, a fancy green salad, pasta salad and fresh fruit. The cake was gourmet! She decorated with fresh flowers and pink and blue napkins. It was simply elegant! Aunt Brenda made Hayley a surprise DVD set to music of her life from birth, to marriage, to expectant mother. What a tear-jerker! Aunt Sara, a critical care pregnancy nurse, had earlier recorded the baby‘s heartbeat and put it inside of a Teddy bear that can be heard by pushing a button.
Mindi hosted a school friends’ baby shower for Hayley in her new home. She did an incredible job! She did a circus theme and made adorable mom and baby elephant invitations. I assisted her with the planning, food, and decorations. Together we made a 3-layer “cake” centerpiece out of diapers – about 90 in all! We decorated it with ribbons and small baby items. Greg’s mom and Rachel came over to help us make the mini soft pretzels, and to decorate sugar cones to be used for clown hats to go on a scoop of ice cream. We also served mini corn dogs, popcorn, peanuts, mini caramel apples and fresh veggies displayed in a circus train for the baby to keep. Grandma McInturff made a beautiful Beatrice Potter quilt for the baby and Grandma Holaway crocheted 2 pairs of booties (for a boy or a girl) since Hayley and Clay chose to not find out the sex of the baby ahead of time. Mindi asked me to share a few thoughts so I interviewed all of the moms and grandmas in the family about their birth stories. They were very entertaining! I also shared a poem my grandmother (Red Mamma) wrote and sent to Hayley when she was born.
A long time friend, Peggy Donaldson, started a club for grandmas and grandmas-to-be. Being a Hallmark employee she scheduled the first gathering on “Gorgeous Grandmas Day”. The purpose is to share photos of grandkids and pray for all of them. We also share ideas, book reviews, and helpful tools such as blogging, and do projects to serve other grandmas here and abroad in hard circumstances. We made paper beads to send to grandmas in Africa so they can make jewelry and sell it to support their orphaned grandchildren. The jewelry is beautiful – you would never know it was made from magazine pages! For Christmas we made gift baskets and invited the grandpas to go caroling with us to deliver the baskets to homebound grandmas and pray for each of them. We enjoyed it as much as they did!
Hayley’s friend, Heather Haupt, and a couple of other close church friends gave a church shower for her. The decor included limes, oranges, and lemons. They served delicious homemade gourmet finger foods garnished with orange gerbera daisies. It was stunning! Clay’s mom, Charlotte, and I prayed specific scripture passages for Hayley. I made the baby a white blanket identical to the one Hayley was attached to as a child.
August – As we were getting ready to go out of town, a storm came through and tore down our 30-year- old elm tree out front! Our neighbor and long time friend, Rob McLeod, came over with his chain saw to help us clear it out. I couldn’t help but think about the memories of all of our kids climbing and making houses in that tree! Klint and his buddy, Aaron, hauled it off to the dump. It took 3 huge truckloads!
Greg’s sister, Teresa, and her husband, Gary, generously treated our family to an Alaskan cruise! It was the trip of a lifetime! Since Mindi had just been accepted into a nursing program after a long wait and Hayley was in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy neither they, nor their husbands, were able to join us. We flew to Seattle with Clay Mc, Rachel, and Klint a couple of days early. We rented an SUV and toured the city. The flowers were astounding! After shopping at Pikes Market and visiting the original Starbucks, we drove to Vancouver, Canada where we spent the night and met up with Greg’s folks. We took a long leisurely walk to a park the next day and enjoyed an art festival. The following morning we boarded the ship, embarked, and headed to Ketchikan. Greg, Klint, and I went on a rock climbing/rapelling/rope bridge/ziplining excursion. It was a challenge but exhilarating! From there we landed in Juneau where we shopped around town, toured the state capital building, and hiked up to a gold mine. It was breathtakingly beautiful! When we got back to the ship to get ready for dinner, we got a phone call from Clay R. in AZ telling us that Hayley’s water broke (3 weeks early!) What a shock and disappointment that we couldn’t be there! We decided we had 2 choices. Either be bummed or enjoy the rest of the cruise and time with the family and trust God that it was His plan and His timing! We chose the latter. Meanwhile back home, fortunately Mindi and Rey were there for Hayley and Clay along with my parents and Clay’s folks, Trey and Charlotte. Clay texted us (thankfully we were in port early that morning in Skagway so we could be reached by phone) and told us the news that Tory Kate was born at 6 lbs., 12 ozs. What a blessing! I went shopping and bought Tory a baby Eskimo doll to commemorate the occasion. We went on a bike riding excursion from the summit of a mountain to the base. It was pretty much coasting the whole way down for 15 miles. Many of the local people in each town told us we had unusually gorgeous weather! We even wore shorts a few times. The Princess cruise ship was amazing with over 2000 people aboard. Both Teresa and Gary, and Greg and I celebrated our 27th and 30th wedding anniversaries, respectively, on the trip. Delivered to our room were tuxedo-looking chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, compliments of Teresa and Gary. Our door was decorated with a Happy Anniversary sign and balloons! We felt like royalty for sure! I gave Greg a picture album I made entitled “30 years of Wedded Bliss” and a custom made deck of cards featuring our wedding picture. He gave me the gift of picking out a new wedding ring since my stone fell out of my original one. We disembarked at Whittier. We had all day there so we took a hike to a waterfall. On the way back to town we saw a lady walking a reindeer to work. She owned a reindeer shop in town. (Only in Alaska!) Late that afternoon we hopped on a scenic narrative train ride to Anchorage to catch a plane home. The minute we got home we all showered and raced over to Hayley and Clay’s home to meet 4-day-old baby Tory and congratulate the new parents! Mindi greeted us at the door with Tory while Hayley had the video camera rolling and Clay was snapping pictures. They made it so special for us!
We attended yet another 8-week study with the Demmitts called Gracewalk. Klint came with us and absolutely loved it. We plan to host the same study in our home in the coming year.
Our long time friend, Steve Tracy, turned 50 so his wife, Celestia, had a surprise party for him in their home. What a blessing it was to hear from his family and friends how God has used him in countless ways over the years to touch lives as a pastor, professor and dean at Phoenix Seminary, author of “Mending the Soul” and co-founder with his wife of the ministry by the same name, loving father, and husband. Since he recently returned from a mission trip to Africa, they invited an African American choir to sing praise songs at the party. It was thrilling! They sang until the house shook!
September - For my birthday Greg took me scouting for Elk. Woo hoo! :O Actually it was really fun. We looked for signs of elk and found a place to camp out for his upcoming hunting trip. We enjoyed the cool weather and even saw a full double rainbow as we were driving back. We went to dinner at The Beeline Café - a hole in the wall we have been wanting to try for years when passing by. We also shopped at a honey store.
Greg left to go archery elk hunting with his buddy Steve Brown. Dawn (Steve’s wife) and I left to join them the next day. We had planned to meet them for a steak dinner at a lodge before heading to our campsite. Unfortunately, we (better known as Lucy and Ethel) got lost and went miles out of our way. By the time we turned around it was getting dark, we were out in the middle of nowhere, and we had no cell phone coverage. We had to keep pulling over to shine our headlights on signs to figure out where we were going with my ancient map! We finally arrived at the restaurant 2 ½ hours late! The two of them were standing outside (worried sick) waiting with our doggie bags in hand. The steak house had closed so they were told to leave. They were never so happy to see us! It wasn’t quite the romantic dinner we had imagined. :O That first night a herd of elk came through our camp bugling. It was so neat to hear. While the guys hunted we cooked the meals, read, chatted, and enjoyed the great weather. The last night we played cards and celebrated both of their birthdays with a cake.
Greg started teaching college kids at Mesa Baptist on Wednesday nights. He is loving it!
My niece, Tiphanie, was in town again, this time to play soccer for San Diego State University against ASU. Her mom (my sister Linda) and dad flew in from CA and I went with them to watch the game. While they were in town we had a girls lunch and two of my sisters made a surprise birth announcement! My youngest sis is expecting a baby and my oldest sis a grandbaby both due on 6-7-08!
October - My friend Dawn and I started weekly sewing days with our daughters for our new granddaughters. Hayley sewed a skunk costume for Tory and let me assist. It turned out so cute!
I surprised Greg with a trip to the Red Setter Inn Bed and Breakfast in Greer, AZ. Our friends, the Browns, joined us. It was a late birthday gift for our husbands. We hiked to Amberian Point Lodge where Greg and I spent our honeymoon 30 years ago – a gift from his neighbor who used to own it. Greg also worked there every summer from the time he was 9 years old into his late teens. He told us lots of wild stories! The lodge has been remodeled, but it looked familiar when they gave us a private tour.
Greg and I participated in “Trunk or Treat” at church for the community. We decorated our car trunk, came up with a carnival game, and set up in the parking lot. We made homemade rootbeer with dry ice and went through 150 cups! It was a crazy!
November – Greg and I flew to Golden Colorado with his folks to surprise his sis, Teresa, for her 50th birthday. It was her hubby’s idea! We just walked right in the house on a Thursday night with party hats and noisemakers that Gary had waiting outside the door. She got a good laugh. We went shopping and to the Titanic exhibit in town on Friday. On Saturday we decorated the house and had a party with her friends that night. Gary had it catered with delicious gourmet food that was to die for! We surprised her with a slide show and memory album displaying letters and pictures from family and friends. On Sunday we went to church with them and flew back home that afternoon. We had an awesome weekend together.
I organized a group of 25 women to go to a Women of Faith weekend in Glendale. We heard Beth Moore all day Friday, stayed overnight at a nearby hotel, and heard several other phenomenal speakers and vocalists on Saturday. It was incredible! I left the conference at 5 pm and drove 53 miles to Queen Creek (picking up Greg on the way) for a 50th birthday celebration for my dear friend, Terry Lynn. She never ceases to amaze me with her creative talents! The decorations and food were remarkable! The next day we attended a 50-year celebration of Mesa Baptist Church. We sat by a missionary couple, the Humbles, who stayed in our home periodically when I was growing up. We stayed for a luncheon afterwards and then headed directly to Phoenix for an afternoon wedding of our longtime friends’ son, Sean Codier. It was at The Boojum Tree – it felt like we were in the Garden of Eden! Sean’s sister, Bonnie, my special 24-year old bedridden friend, was a bridesmaid and was able to go down the aisle in her wheelchair. She looked absolutely gorgeous! Her parents are amazing too, always smiling in spite of this ongoing trial.
I hosted Thanksgiving for the 2nd year in a row. This year most of my kids and Greg’s folks were here.
My mom turned 75. My sisters and I “kidnapped” mom and decorated my car with glass chalk with captions like “Honk I’m 75!”, “The Hottie in the front”, etc. We took Mom out to lunch and then to see The Rockettes. We got lots of honks. When we got home Dad was waiting with another surprise for her – a table set with candles, sparkling cider, a cake, and a new wedding ring.
I helped with flowers and food for a wedding. Both the bride and groom’s families are long time friends, Jenni Barr and Pete Jacks. It rarely rains here, but it was pouring when we were transporting food from the cars to the reception hall! We looked like drowned rats! It was such a neat wedding!
December – My Aunt Mary (Dad’s sister) went to be with Jesus after a long battle with ovarian cancer. We will sure miss her. I loved the farm, her home in Arkansas we visited several times over the years.
The night before my side of the family Christmas celebration, my mom and dad were both sick. After making 9 dozen tamales for 40 of us, they had to call and cancel. We went to church the next morning with Clay and Rachel at Cornerstone, and afterwards we chatted with pastor Linn and his wife, Lisa, whom we have known for many years. That night we went to Hayley and Clay’s home with Clay and Rachel to watch “White Christmas” projected on the wall. During the movie I got a phone call that my mom was in the hospital having an appendectomy at 10 pm! The next day I went with my sisters to visit my mom. We prayed for her and sang a Christmas carol. We were told she would go home that night. Greg and I went to his parent’s home for Christmas Eve dinner with the kids, then to church. On Christmas Day, after we had our own family Christmas brunch, I discovered Mom was still in the hospital. So Greg, Klint and I drove over in santa hats to take our gifts to Mom and Dad to open. Mom had complications after surgery and developed a pleural effusion. After going home she had to get readmitted for another surgery – a thoracoscopy scheduled for after the first of the year. Since they weren’t able to use the “Annie” tickets we gave them for Christmas, Mindi and Rey took their place and joined us with Greg’s folks. We brought in the new year with the entire Brown family playing Crazy Bridge and watching a fireworks display from their balcony.
Well that pretty much captures our year. We are learning more and more what it means to walk by faith and to trust God in every situation. We are so thankful for family and friends like all of you. You are truly a gift from God! “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17 May God richly bless and encourage every one of you!
Much love,
The McInturffs
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