The Fisherman and the Princess

     Once upon a time there was a little girl who had big dreams.  She was the middle of five children- three sisters and a brother.  Her parents were self employed in the floor covering business but faithfully sent their children to a Lutheran school to get a Christian education-even though they spent most of their time at the store. She is the scraggly one on  the left! She really never did feel like a Princess!

      One of the dreams of this little maiden- due to the love and care of her 2nd grade teacher- was to become a teacher just like Mrs. Amt.  She played school at every chance and couldn't wait for summer to bring all her school books home to set up school in the basement for her little sisters.  She, of course, was always the teacher.  One of her favorite all time gifts came when she was in 5th grade- a black board with a roll map on top- perfect for playing school!
       Another dream that she and her sisters had was to be married and be a mommy.  Every time a big flock of birds would fly over they would shout, "There goes my wedding!"  She would dream  of her dress, the church, but never really had a face on the groom.

       This child knew of Jesus from an early age- thinking she saw Jesus in a train car on her way to Charleston to be with her daddy in the Navy during WWII.  They were in a sleeper car and getting ready for bed when she peeked her head out and saw a Nun who had removed her black habit.  She announced to the whole car- Mom!  Come see Jesus!  But...alas...she didn't really "know" Jesus at this point. That would come later!
       Middle and high school became the time to begin to develop relationships with the male species.  Since she had a very rough relationship with her own brother- she didn't really know how to be a "friend" with guys but always longed for and usually had a "boyfriend".  There were two special boys in high school who treated her kindly, loved her and eventually she had to discard because she did not know how to receive that kind of love from a male and it felt uncomfortable.

      Eventually she graduated from high school and went off to college to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher..  Her time had come!  The very first night there she got a call from her RA saying there was a young man who "saw" her and wanted to take her out for pizza that night.  She felt pretty safe at this school since they  all had the same Religious background and asked a few key questions about him- so- she and her roommate set out with these two guys to get pizza.She  was awestruck!

This guy was a Senior and the most gorgeous male she had ever seen- and he had chosen her !  That date turned into several more- and then he began dating her  roommate and her  at the same time-  oh well.  That year it was on and off as she would await a phone call-usually Friday afternoon- saying-  Want to go dancing tonight?  She  was always available And could he ever dance!  Goldie's in Oak Park was their hangout and J8 on the jukebox  "Primrose Lane" was their song. . One of their  early dates was to go fishing- his favorite pastime.!

As the year progressed the relationship cooled somewhat and after Christmas a new crop of males arrived as Transfers from another college.  Among these was another gorgeous guy- and she began hanging out with him and liking it. One night The Fisherman came back on campus to find her  only to find she was out with "the other guy".  This led to a passionate pursuit by  him and he eventually asked her to commit to a relationship of not dating anyone else to which she asked no questions about what that meant for the future but said, "Yes!" At one point in this period he said, "When we get married...."She took that as a proposal even though the subject never came up again.
      The following year The Fisherman had graduated and moved to Northern Wisconsin to teach school.  They  seldom saw each other as he was 300 miles away  and their communication was a weekly phone call and letters.  Nothing was said about their  future and she  was not going to bring it up!  During that year she  decided to take things into her own hands and go out after the summer semester as a "supply teacher". She  interviewed for placement and told them she was getting married!  Well...he had said......WHEN we get married!  So..she was also placed at a Christian school in Northern Wisconsin- just 30 miles from The Fisherman. Their  relationship during that year was on/off as she  would wait by the phone wondering if he would call. She was in a tiny town- no car- no friends-  pretty lonely year.having room and board with an elderly couple.The young Teacher saw that this relationship was really not going anywhere so decided she best return to college the following year to pursue her education degree.  She was re-enrolled, packed up to leave Wisconsin- when she got a phone call from a School in Arlington Heights to come and teach second grade for them and in return, in addition to a regular salary- they would pay for her  to finish college at nights and summer This was a deal she  could not  resist so she took it and moved to Arlington after summer school. 
      That year she shared an apartment with 3 other teachers, enjoyed teaching 2nd grade, went to school at night and saw the Fisherman occasionally.  At Christmas that year she went home to be with her family and then returned to spend time with the Fisherman and his family.  This had gone on now for 3 years so everyone was pretty comfortable with the situation.-..except for the young teacher.  So on New Year's Eve that year they were invited to a party given by his sister and brother in law in a town about an hour away.  The evening was spent playing cards- snacks- pretty mundane for the Princess who just really wanted to be pursued by The Fisherman Prince.   She just wanted to be with him!  After midnight the party broke up and they were to head for home.  He wanted to go to his friends home in another town (he had other plans)  but she just wanted time alone!  That really didn't happen.  They went back to his home and said good night and went to bed. (In separate bedrooms of course!)
      A short time later after she was snuggled in her bed with NO visions of sugar plumbs dancing in her head-   she heard a knock at her door.  The fisherman said , "Can I come in?"  He said he had one more gift for her and handed her what looked like a box of earrings.  When she opened the box- to her utter surprise- was the ring that signified the beginning of the next 51 years of joy and companionship with The Fisherman!

David Hasz  and Marybeth Tessman  were married on June 22 the following summer

and lived happily ever after!

50 wedding anniversary- 2013  Dave and Mary Beth Hasz

  

          

And THEN there were 27!  Four children, 4 children in love, and 17 grandchildren.  To GOD be the GLORY!

Happy 76th Anniversary Mom and Dad Tessman

1. 
   

   Mary Beth Hasz

   
   

   
   

   76  years a go today the union of Henri Tessmann and Edith Snyder
   

   

   began a generation of now 50+ people. The oldest of these is Pat Tessman Sittler- their first born and the youngest is great-great-grandchild Johnny Udave.
   

   

   Their four children, Patricia Ann,  Jon Gale, Carol Ruth, Mary Beth and Sandra Lee all married and had thirteen children.  Most of these children have married and have ???? great grand children for Henri and Edith.  One of these great grandchildren, Brittany, daughter of Carol, has a son, Johnny Udave. This is Cindy, Carol's daughter, and her new grandson, Johnny Udave.
   

   

   T%heir lives began together in Sycamore, Illinois where Henri sold chickens.  They moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1941 or 1942 where he went into the furniture business and lived there until retirement in 1968 which took them to Clearwater, Florida.  They were faithful members of the Lutheran church and raised all their children in the faith.  I thank God for the godly heritage they left us with so that now many of this family are following the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior!

Celebrating our 50th by Ourselves!

The morning of our anniversary began as a beautiful day...just like 50 years a go.  We had kind of wondered

just how we would celebrate since none of our family would be with us.  I was up in the night the night before...seeking God and asking HIM what we could do to make the day special.  I felt He unfolded a great plan for us...I shared that with Dave when we woke up.  Here goes!
     At 5:45 we were up and ready to embark on a new work out plan called C25k...an ap that gets you ready to run a 5k in 8 weeks.  That was fun!  I did the jog/walk...Dave walked.

    We got home by 6:30 and were ready for activity 2- our favorite of each day.  THE HOT TUB!!!Here we are ready to go out to the hot tub with our coffee frappe mocha and oatmeal.  You may think that oatmeal sounds boring but not the way we make it.  Oatmeal...strawberries..apple...blueberry and roasted almonds.  Yum!  This has been a morning ritual for years.  We have actually been enjoying mornings in the hot tub for 21 years!!!

After the hot tub we headed down to the dock for our morning devotions and prayer time together. 

Time to head to Tyler for a day of fun!

Our first stop was just down the road at an estate sale.  We both found some random items that were fun.

We finally
 made it to Tyler....and our first stop was a store we like to shop for fun housewares.Ross!!!  If you know Dave you can see he came up with a classic Dave item!  And even in gold for our golden anniversary!!

By now it is hot and we are ready to rest...so we went to one of favorites ...Jason's Deli and split a one trip through the salad bar!

Now, being well fed and totally rested we are ready to move on to our next adventure.  Normally, when we exchange cards for these special occasions we go to our box of recycled cards where we have saved, birthday, anniversary, valentine cards for over 30 years and pick one we bought previously.  It works!  BUT...this being our special 50th...we decided to go to the Just $1 store and splurge for a 50cent card and a one dollar gift! 

( I can't figure out how to get rid of the underline!)

Being that this is East Texas and June 22 it is HOT!  So we head for McDonald's for a special drink and to write out our cards which we will exchange at dinner.

Across the street from McDonalds is Hobby Lobby....I wanted to get some mosaic materials for starting a project and we found the perfect sign for our house!

There are several reasons why this is so special and will have a prominent place in our home.  One is that being raised in the Lutheran church...this blessing was pronounced over us at the close of every service...so for 30 some years we had in spoken over us every single Sunday!  (No wonder we are so blessed!!!) The second reason is that Dave spoke this over our children every night when he tucked them in and now...they are speaking it over their children!  At our 50th anniversary family service, David closed the service with having the children and grandchildren stretch out their hands to us and speak this blessing over us!  What a BLESSING!!!!

    Just down the street is the $1.00 jewelry store where we went to buy jewelry for my new top!(Also a gift from Ross)  I got 12 pieces of jewelry for $10 since they were having a special!!! My man knows how to please his wife!!!

Now it was time to be off to our favorite restaurant for our anniversary meal and the exchanging of cards!  Villa Montez in Tyler!

Super fun and special!!!!  The cards were wonderful and filled with such love and sentiment!!
Our final destination was Big Sandy for dancing.  We started ball room dance 10 years a go when we went on an Alaskan cruise for our retirement.  We saw people doing ball room and said...we ought to learn that.  So we went home to Florida and found the SR centers all around us taught Ball Room.  We were dancing 3 or 4 times a week the 2 1/2 years we lived there.  Now...we only have East Texas dance halls but find music that we can do some ball room to and love it!

We brought a cake and sparkling juice, grapes, cheese and crackers and celebrated with our friends, Jan and Ray Baker.  What a wonderful close to a wonderful day and 50 awesome years together!  To GOD be the GLORY...great things HE has done.  So loved He the world that He gave us HIS SON...and 50 years together!  I love you David Hasz!!!

50 Years of God's Grace

o

June 22, 1963-June 22,2013
Yes!  God sustained this marriage for 50 years by HIS grace and blessed us above and beyond what we could have ever asked or thought.  Standing in front of the altar of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and pledging our troth!  Promising to forsake all others and support each other in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, till death do us part...we could never have dreamed of the way our Father God would bless us!
     He led us to a deeper relationship with Himself and each other and blessed us with four children, four great spouses for these children and seventeen grandchildren.
     We were blessed to serve Him in Christian education for most of our lives.  We made many  friends all over the country, lived in Wisconsin, Colorado, again in Wisconsin, again in Colorado, Florida and currently in Texas.  We have traveled the world and had wonderful vacations..  He has blessed us with amazing homes, and now ten years of retirement.
    All glory and praise to HIM- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our children hosted a party at our home on May 18th for friends and family.  Two of our wedding party were present.  My sister, Patty, and my college roomie Gay Joy Traster.  We thank all of you who sent greetings and wish you could have all been here!

All of our children and grandchildren were present along with many others.  We were so blessed!

We thank God for the amazing journey He has taken us on these past fifty years and continue to look to Him for everything.
     Since last posting on this blog our children have been moving around a bit.  David and Jon left Teen Mania a year ago and moved to the Houston area to work for a company there.  David since then left and moved to the Minneapolis area to be a part of the Bethany School of Missions ministry.  Amy and Brian just moved from their home in Little Elm to a 100 year old home in Frisco.  They are busy renovating this home.

We held our 7th annual Grand kids camp the week after the anniversary party with 15/17 grandchildren attending for 4 days.  It was so much fun!

We look forward to what lies ahead...trusting that God is in control of our lives.  He always has many surprises for us!  We love it!  Thank you Jesus!