Anniversary

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Caleb and Amanda!

Your wedding was an awesome way to celebrate the 4th of July.

Music Monday

The Wonderful Cross

Megan and Zach chose this song for their wedding. We sang it while they took communion and prayed together as husband and wife. Powerful words.

Music Monday

Everlasting God

 The third song from Caleb and Amanda's wedding. Another fantastic song focusing on God Almighty.

Music Monday

Come Thou Fount

A song from Megan and Zach's wedding. I had a hard time finding a version that was the same. I think this is lacking a few verses, but you get the idea. Good hymn. Great words.

Music Monday

Be Thou My Vision

Another song from Caleb and Amanda's wedding. This has been a favorite of mine since college days.

(I like the group singing this song, but not real sure how the pictures on the video fit with the song. Just listen to the words.)

Music Monday

Lead Me to the Cross
 
This is a  song from Megan and Zach's wedding. I actually bought the Hillsong CD this is on just for this song. 

I watched Megan singing this during the rehearsal and the wedding, and the love and passion she had on her face was something I just can't put into words. It does send me to my knees in thankfulness for her love for Christ.

Here's a picture of them singing during the wedding.

See what I mean?

Music Monday

As my readers likely know, both of our kids have gotten married in the past year. Sometimes I wish I could relive those wedding days. They were so special and fun and exciting. We praise God for the spouses our kids chose. It's wonderful to think that Amanda and Zach will be a part of our lives for a very long time.

One thing that really moved us about the kids' weddings was their choice of music. An 83 year old friend said she really liked the music at Zach & Megan's wedding. She liked that it focused on God and not "all that lovey-dovey stuff." I must say I agree with her.

I have a reader in Tennessee would has said she loves the music videos I post. So I thought I would share some of the wedding music with you all. Music Mondays is my cheesy title for that. So, for the next several Mondays look for some great music.

This is a song from our son's wedding. It still brings tears of gratitude to my eyes just to think about how our son and daughter-in-law desire to have Christ be the center of their marriage.

Center

It Was an Epic Weekend

I am down to my last load of laundry. I am quite weary of hauling laundry around, especially the wet loads. After one more load, I will be caught up with laundry from the wedding week. Only my husband and I have this nasty habit of wearing clothes and getting more clothes dirty. SIGH.

Okay enough of the whining.

Last week was quite epic. We knew things were underway when the Groom, Zach, picked up one of his groomsmen from the airport. After getting his passport with the visa granted two days before, the groomsman flew in from Thailand! We all enjoyed getting to know him and he even liked my cooking. He wrote on my Facebook wall "your foods are awesome." I think I will quote him often. :)

Friday we finished up the decorations. The Bride was happy.

Friday evening was filled with rehearsal, dinner and a bonfire.

Have I ever said how happy I am my new son-in-law is a terrific cook? Look at this pork he smoked for the rehearsal dinner:

I wonder where the leftovers are? Yummm!


I took this picture at the bonfire and was very happy with my little camera:

Zach's mom brought the fixings for S'mores. But they weren't any normal, boring S'mores. She did have the traditional Hershey bars, but she also had different flavors of Ghiradelli chocolate squares! Mmmm.

Saturday morning brought rain and a pretty sick Bride. She was on day three of a nasty cold. But she was filled with such grace and peace the whole day. That all added to the fact that she was a stunning bride.

I will just finish this off with several pictures from the day. It's hard to put into words all the emotions I felt that day. But I will say that sheer joy for Zach and Megan was at the top of the list.

A Sneak Peek

Here's just something to wet your appetites for pictures of our daughter's wedding.

I need to get out from under the mountain of laundry that accumulated after having 10 wonderful, fun people at our house. And that is a smidge of a challenge when I don't have a functioning washing machine at home. I haul a load of wash to the laundry-mat and bring it home to dry since the dryer still works.

More pictures and stuff about the amazing weekend and amazing wedding!

The Day Before

I just haven't gotten on here like I thought I might. We have 10 people sleeping here, so I guess I'm busy feeding people and stuff.

Today we were busy with decorating the reception sight and with rehearsal. I won't say a lot about it now, but below are a couple of photos to give my readers an idea of what's to come.

Working on the decorations:

The awesome lights:

Megan and her dad:

Aren't they cute?

Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day!

No Pictures

I didn't take pictures of anything today. I should have.

The hubby and I picked up 41 white tablecloths and a bunch of table skirts. The garage is getting full of all sorts of things to decorate the church and mostly the reception sight. There are Christmas lights, tealights, glass bowls, floating candles, round paper lantern globes, greenery, 32 purple table runners (hemmed by the slightly nuts MOB), and probably a few more things I don't remember right now. Friday will be a busy day of decorating for sure!

This afternoon the daughter and I headed out to get pedicures. Twice. For some unknown reason, this MOB brain of mine wrote down the wrong time. I was off by 1 1/2 hours! Sheesh. (my hairstylist who owns the salon, is so patient with me getting times wrong...) When we finally got there at the right time, we enjoyed a wonderful three hours together getting pampered. Another of those moments I will treasure. Daughter got a lovely shade of pink painted on her toes to go with her gorgeous purple wedding shoes. I got my favorite shade of red. Our feet are ready for the wedding.

Tomorrow I will work at getting my camera out.

Another Day Closer

Another day closer to Saturday!

There were a few more things accomplished today. I went to the grocery store today and bought more food than I have bought in a very long time. I even managed to dodge the rain.

The picture of the day:

I don't know how well you can see the plant on the left. It's kind of yellowy and brown. We bought a couple of months ago it for decorating at the church for the wedding. It didn't make it. Enter plant on the right. Prettier green and healthier looking. We bought it only four days before the wedding so it will still look good on Saturday. Hopefully these will make it and Megan and Zach can have some nice house plants.

Tomorrow things start picking up some more with more wedding prep and more people arriving!

The Week Of the Epic Wedding

When Caleb got married last summer he named the wedding: The Wedding of Awesomeness. Megan and Zach's wedding he has dubbed: The Epic Wedding. He's a journalist and just has a thing with words, wouldn't you say?

Today has been rather low key. The calm before the storm? I don't think the wedding day will feel like a storm, but the week will get busier as the days get closer.

Here is how I spent the latter part of the morning:

Our washing machine has given up, so every couple of days I head to the laundry mat and wash a load or two and bring it home to dry. Like I really needed more stress in my life right now, huh? I have had a couple of friends offer me the use of their washers and I probably will. That does seem like the ultimate "airing your dirty laundry" scenario. I have observed some interesting characters in those laundry mats. Today's grandmother screaming at her 2 year old granddaughter to stop screaming was classic. And sad.

Zach, the groom-to-be, has been to the airport to pick up one of his groomsmen who has flown from Thailand to stand up for Zach. Zach spent a couple of summers when he was in college doing mission work in Thailand and made some really great friends during that time. Zach and his Thai friend will be here for supper. We're having pizza. Very American!

There is randomness ahead. Be prepared.

Wednesday was our last Small Group Bible Study meeting. We have been a part of this Small Group for close to nine years. The people have changed over the years and we have enjoyed them all. We decided to end it with a meal together. Here is a shot of them in our dining room.

Oh I will miss those people.

Okay. New subject before I start crying for the umpteenth time.

I thought it would be fun to capture a picture of some of our different wedding shoes. Which do you think are cuter?

They are (clockwise, top left) my hubby's, one of the flower girls, Megan's (a beautiful dark purple) and mine.

I'm hoping to post a picture or two every day this week. I intend to savor every moment from the lunch I had with Megan and her dad today to the last kiss at the reception.

Working on the Wedding

We have just a bit over 90 days before the daughter's wedding. It's been fun to work with my daughter in the planning.

One fun thing I have been able to do is to look for flower girl dresses. Last week I ordered a couple online and after they were delivered, I just had to have the adorable flower girls come over to try them on. Thankfully they fit perfectly! Aren't they sweet sisters?

Then, because this is an important little girl thing, we tested them to make sure they twirled properly:

Pretty sure they passed the test! Love the smile on the girls' faces!

Daily Photo Journal - January 9

We spent a good part of the morning working on some wedding planning. The picture is of the sight of the reception. I know it looks like basketball courts, but just wait until we get done with it! It will be awesome. It's nice to have so much space to work with.

IKEA

A conversation with my mom today reminded me that I never posted about my fun trip a couple of weeks ago to one of my favorite stores: IKEA

I first discovered this store when we lived in Singapore. When I was in the mood for shopping at Target (which is nowhere to be seen in Singapore), IKEA was my substitute there. It doesn't sell the same things as Target, but it was a great substitute. I was so excited when I heard there were building one in the Twin Cities several years ago.

I was on the hunt for some bowls for decoration for Caleb & Amanda's Rehearsal Dinner I headed to IKEA.

Here is my cart right before check-out:
Yep, I found a few more things than just the bowls. Those stacks of plates? Only 99 cents each! I bought 50 of them for the rehearsal dinner. I was excited to find them! I was so exctited I think I may have done a happy dance right there in IKEA. Really.

I'm glad to have a chance to use the plates in some other way after the wedding. (Maybe they'll make good gifts someday...)

Something else I love about IKEA is the quirky things found there. I thought this comforter was cool and took a picture of it and told Caleb I thought of him when I saw it. He was a bit taken aback that an outline of a body reminded me of him until I explained it was because I thought he would think it was cool. He was relieved to hear that. :)

Continued....

This is basically what the tables will look like for the rehearsal dinner. Navy blue tablecloths and green and yellow napkins and clear glass plates. A vase of daisies in between.

To answer some questions in the comment section of my previous posts:

I am okay with the way the lemon and lime slices are sunk, floating or suspended. They have been in the bowl for over 24 hours now and still look okay.

Jenny -- does the tablecloth "anchor" it enough? Caleb would probably shoot me if I put glitter on the tables...it sticks to everything. :) And thanks for the offer to help, Jenny, but the wedding is in Kansas. Pretty sure the hubby doesn't want to go there for the 4th. :) We have some friends who will help, I'm sure.

Michelle: I guess we'll find out what happens if the lemons are overly juicy. It is a fun, cute idea Megan came up with. Looks very summery.

I hope I remember to take pictures of the whole actual set-up.

34 Days Until These Two Wonderful People Get Married!

How to Say Good-bye

Eight weeks from today my first born, my only son, will watch his beautiful bride walk down the aisle and they will vow their lives to each other. It is a day I am so excited for, yet part of me wants to scream, "Wait! Slow down! It wasn't supposed to go by so FAST!"

Michael W. Smith wrote the words I feel. Grab a box of tissues (seriously) and listen. The words are below. (If you want to see the MWS video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxWihfpboxY&NR=1)

Caleb - this is for you, sweetie.

Tell me when the time we had slipped away
Tomorrow turned to yesterday
And I don't know how
Tell me what can stop this river of tears
It's been building up for years
For this moment now

Here I stand
Arms open wide
I've held ya close
Kept ya safe
Till you could fly

Tell me where the road ahead is gonna bend
And how to harness up the wind
And how to say goodbye

Tell me why
Why does following your dreams
Take you far away from me
And I knew that it would

Tell me how to fill the space you left behind
And how to laugh instead of cry
And how to say goodbye

Here I stand
Arms open wide
I've held ya close
Kept ya safe
Till you could fly

Tell me where the road ahead is gonna bend
And how to harness up the wind
And how to say goodbye.

-Michael W Smith.

And the winner is...

Here are The Shoes that won The Big Debate. These really are more comfortable and I just really like how they look. I liked them even before I ordered them from Zappos.com. I was thrilled when they fit AND were comfortable AND went with my dress.


I put the picture of me wearing my shoes on Facebook as well and got quite the response!

The tally:

Pointy-er shoe: 7 votes
Buckle shoe: 1o votes
Pleas for comfort: 7 votes
One of each: 1 vote
Favorite Comment: "What? Caleb's getting married??? I need to be caught up! And I vote for the buckle... :0)"

(That comment is from a friend I hadn't talked to in eight years and just reconnected with her on Facebook.)