Blended! Penni's Story By Lois Hudak Penni and Ken were single and they both were vehement about it! “No Attachments” might as well have been stamped on their IDs. She had had it with men; he was still in love with his wife who had died with ALS (Lou Gering’s Disease). Four months after the first date, on August 1, 1987, they were married at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Schaumburg, Illinois, in the presence of their newly blended family. Skeptical — she had come from a difficult marriage. Easy-going — he had assured her that it “would all work out.” She understood what he meant; she had been embraced by his love. Penni and Ken Linnemann were 38 and 47 when they made the decision to blend their families. Penni’s boys, Robert (then 14) and David (then 16) gave their mom away at the wedding, while Ken’s daughter, Terri, 18, and sons, Jeff, 16, and Dan, 20, looked on. When each parent spoke with the biological children to announce the marriage and family plans, the children’s reactions had been a mixture of emotions — apprehension, fear of change, the normal teenage stuff. But there was some good thrown in for balance:“All anyone has to do is look at my father’s eyes light up when you walk in the room,” Terri shared with Penni. In fact, Terri affirmed Penni when others cautioned her about the implications of blending a family of five children. Indeed, each of the seven individuals had their own issues and personalities coming into this blended family. Working out the details could have been impossible. But as godly parents and stepparents, Penni and Ken practiced their faith and attended worship services together as a family. As time went on, the children learned that they actually had fewer daily family responsibilities when all the tasks were divided between them. The children matured and learned to settle their differences between them. Today they are adult friends. Penni sums it up this way: “I totally trust the promises in God’s Word. We can only know God is love as we read His Word.” And it is His all-encompassing love for us demonstrated by Jesus Christ on the cross that works a willingness in us to lay aside the “No Attachments” sign and put out a welcome mat. Lois Hudak, Graphic Designer for the Quarterly, met Penni at St. Peter, Schaumburg, Illinois, where she is also a member.