Are You Sick Of Bob And Jan Yet??

Things that remind me of Jan:

A snazzy purse,
Seeing a child standing in a parking place while the mom maneuvers the car around to be able to put her vehicle in that spot,
A car stuck on top of a curb stop which can't go either forwards or backwards
A mother controlling her rowdy child, while in a store, without attracting attention,
Having coffee out.
Talking temperaments
Not losing control of situations.
Flashy shoes,
American Idol,
Laughing a lot,
Competitions
Bingo


Things that remind me of Bob:
Cleaning bathrooms, I heard lots of stories about you and your boys cleaning bathrooms. In fact it made such an impression on me that I sometimes pick up a couple of paper towels and tidy up a bit.
Scripture memory,
The way that you make hard things so easy to understand in your teaching.
Keeping tuf and tender.

Happy Anniversary!
Marge Crumby

What I love most about your mom is her commitment to being who she really is. She doesn't try to meet other's expectations or fit into any role, but is quite happy being herself. By her example, I learned not to apologize for who I am or to live according to what others wanted or needed me to be. I remember she said (many years ago when I was in my early twenties, trying to please parents, 3 children, in-laws, husband and all the people at church), "I realize that I can never please everyone....so I just please myself." Glory hallelujah! This is what we all need to hear. "Thank you, Jan, for this marvelous message and for living the life so uniquely your own. I believe it is what makes you one of the most interesting people I have ever known. We need more phenomenal women like you in the world."


Much Love!
Sharon Martin


Dear Bob and Jan,
Congratulations! As you celebrate what God has done in and through your lives over the years please know how grateful I am to have been a part of your life and family. My year living with you, which begun at Duck Pond Road was a great year. If it were not for being a part of your family, I probably would not have gone to the Philippines, attended Law School, married Cynthia, had 6 children, run for office, been elected, and now be at Prison Fellowship. In short, it was a life changing experience. It marked me forever in very positive ways.

I have some fabulous memories of our times together. Here is a random strand -- waxing that blasted slate kitchen floor, running till I puked, trying to read and run at the same time, eating Amy’s pancakes for breakfast, using leftover pancakes for sandwiches at lunch as I tried to be the maintenance man for Racquet club apartments, destroying more things at Racquet Club apartments than I fixed, changing Suzanne’s diaper while eating a peanut butter sandwich – a feat that held me in good stead later with my own children, working one night at the Nav office when a couple crashed through the doors fighting one another(there was good police response in West Chester as I recall), Jan’s serene nature in the midst of occasional utter chaos, Eric’s love affair with high school academics, Bob’s annoying capacity to actually remember what he reads, Bob trying to get Stevie to eat on his terms, Stevie trying to eat on his own terms, doing laundry, doing laundry, doing laundry, Tony and Vinnie, Stevie sitting in the middle of the floor on his first day at the house, great meals together, POWDERED MILK! (By the way I have tried to introduce the delights of powdered milk to my family on more than one occasion – I would have had more success getting them to eat ferret on a stick!, great times in the word, a sense of being loved, a sense of profound gratitude that endures to this day!

Thanks for being faithful to your friends, your family and to one another. Dare I say the best is yet to come?

Love,
Mark Earley


Dear, dear Jan,

What a great friend and mentor you were to me during those great years we spent in Virginia and Texas together so very long ago. You taught me how to really love my children and how to enjoy them in the process of teaching and training them. Our children were so close together I never took the time to really enjoy them. What a difference it made in my parenting style and in my attitude toward them. My goal as a mother was more on performance rather than on relationship in those days before I met you. This was also true in the way I sought to disciple other women. Thank you so much for teaching me these vital lessons in the early days of our discipling ministery with The Navigators. Thank you for so deeply impacting my life. I am sure my children and grandchildren would thank you as well for these vital lessons you taught me.

Also, I will never forget your love and friendship you displayed to me when you took the time to come to my house and teach me how to make a jumper dress for my daughter Melanie when she was five years old. I think you invested several days in doing this for me over the course of several weeks. To me that was the sign of a true friend! With much love and gratitude,
Mary Lou Duke