sherriknits

No, no baby yet although things are moving right along and the midwife said she is in a good place for this stage of the game.  We had a shower today and now feel all the things we were concerned about missing have happened except the fact that brother is going on the mission trip and really doesn’t want to miss out on the baby.

But first….we do have news.

Yep, another wedding!

So now we have another bride and groom-to-be!  We are very happy.

This time, I do not have to be the mother-of-the-bride so it will be much easier, so they say.  She also is pretty organized and has been collecting things for years.  It will be fun.  We have a year to get ready, too.  By then who knows if we’ll have more grandkids or what, our life has changed so drastically in the last 2 years!

This is the funny imp who knew right away that meant…wedding….when he saw the ring.

He’s happy….he loves his new sis-to-be.  She’s been part of our family for over 4 years so he already sees her that way anyway…but now he has to get straight the fact that she takes our name.  These name changes have been horribly confusing to him and he’s changed his own name with every wedding, or so he’s thought.  I used to hear him trying to work it out in his conversations with himself.

Not only did we have that big excitement today…but there was the shower, too.

It was a lot of fun once again.

Notice the little girl crawling across the top of the couch.

Notice another little girl sitting up on the couch this time.

Notice the little girls who never left her side.  They were just totally into it.  What’s cute is the mama-to-be said she got so hot because they were so close.  She loved it, though.

This little one found a place to plop down and rest.

And here is one of the games….what is in the diaper?  Hmmmm, it smells like…….

We got to play that game on the way to getting our food.  lol

I actually won one of the games.  We took the name “Sweet Pea” and had to come up with as many words made from them as we could in 2 minutes.  I came up with 29….love those word games!  I won the door prize, too, but they redrew names.  I got some sweet pea hand lotion and hand soap!  The mama’s best friend really picked up on the sweet pea thing.  She and I both had a bag full of sweet pea related gifts.

I am sooooo tired.  Tomorrow is my day off.  I am going to put together some clothes for us to be ready to grab if we have to go in the middle of the night.  The little imp will go to big sis’s house but he needs to be ready to head out the door, too.  I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep this week so I hope to manage that tonight, although I won’t mind one bit if we get a phone call!

When my older kids were growing up, they would always take their May Day flowers to the neighbors, but rarely did they ever appear on my doorstep. I think they never thought of it as much as running around the neighborhood.  Well, yesterday Daddy and Little Imp left for a few hours.  I was really tired because I’d woken up really early so they thought a nap would be nice for me.  I did nap, and I read, knit, played on Ravelry and just relaxed.  I was lying on the couch when there was a knock on the door, I opened it to find some beautiful flowers laying on the steps and saw two sweet heads poking around the corner of the RV.  I was very blessed and really got a kick out of the thrill it gave them to surprise me.

We do wash that face once in awhile but you’d never know it by the pictures. 

Today was the day I decided I’d get my elephant ear.  I’ve been thinking about it all week, I love the ones with cinnamon and sugar.

We sat in the window and watched people walk by.  The little imp had an ice cream cone, Dad had a corn dog and I enjoyed my elephant ear.  We walked into a few shops, but mostly we wanted to go for the treats.  I’ll take pictures in the daylight tomorrow of the little things I bought for baby.

I have actually been knitting but I just couldn’t make progress on the baby knitting I brought.  The peapod sweater is not hard but I’m making silly mistakes on it, it requires concentration I can’t give it in this tired stupor.  The baby surprise jacket is stalled because I’m considering how I want it to stripe (and I am mulling it in my mind most of the time). 

On my travels through Ravelry, I did find something fun, though.  I’ll give details on it later, but here’s progress.

The colors look washed out here.  As I knit, I am constantly considering whether or not to clip out the orange and yellow.  It would go from purple to dark green to rust if I did.  Since the rows are getting longer, those sections might not be too wide, though.  I’ll probably put in a lifeline and experiment a little.  The pattern is easy, I can’t show it any better right now because it’s on a 24″ needle and scrunched up.  Aren’t my felted sheep stitch markers cute? 

I have no way to print out the pattern so I’m knitting in front of my laptop screen.  This afternoon I tried to sit outside awhile.  I wrote out the directions but forgot the middle sections and decided it was too much work to add them.  Hubby was amazed that I could turn the chart into gibberish and understand what it meant.  lol

Yesterday we got the first previews of the wedding pictures, about 65 of the 600+.  Here are 2 of my favorites.

And this one captured the thing I love that she does.  When she gets really tickled at something, she does this silent laugh and her eyes disappear.

I am more than a little impressed with the pictures.

We ran out of propane last night.  Why is it that it always happens that things like that happen right after the store closes?  We were trying to get the stove to start and it just wouldn’t so we had to change dinner plans.  After we ate, hubby started playing with it while I was washing dishes and I commented that I couldn’t get hot water.  It wasn’t long before he discovered the tank was empty.  The park owners told us there was a place down the road besides the one 2 blocks away that sells propane.  The thought of a cold night made it easy to decide to secure everything and head off to find help.  Well, we found it alright…but they were closed, too.  So, we came back and settled in to a night without heat.  It actually wasn’t bad at all.  We just put on sweats.  It didn’t get too cold in here at all, even by morning. 

I barely slept last night (again) because I was a little out of sorts so I got up for a few hours and had to sit quietly at the table with my laptop as the little imp was sleeping on the couch nearby.  I got to bed around 3 so they let me sleep in.  We all slept late, but I was the last one to wake up…at 10!  As soon as I was upright, we pulled up stakes again and drove the 2 blocks to the RV shop and got filled up.  We were back in 15 minutes and got all situated before the park started filling up all around us.  Hubby was happy that we got a little more space between us and the 5th wheel next door.  Since the little guy can’t have free reign all around us any more, it’s nice to give him more space outside our door.

Note to self:  do not walk into a darkened movie theater on a bright afternoon wearing transition lenses.

We decided to go to the movie this afternoon.  When we decided to hit the matinee, we had to leave immediately.  When we got there, the movie had just started.  I led the way in and let me tell you, it was dark…seriously d.a.r.k!  I couldn’t see a thing other than the red lights lining the stairs  Hubby said he was going to suggest we stand right in the entry until our eyes adjusted but I must have barreled ahead.  I kept asking him where to sit but he was trying to get the silly boy in and carry popcorn at the same time.  I embarrassed myself a great deal by choosing a row and taking ahold of a lady’s shoulder when trying to take her seat.  I honestly couldn’t see a thing.  It wasn’t until I sat down that I realized my glasses had turned dark.  When I took them off and could see how easy it was to see I was really embarrassed.  Thankfully the movie had started and I’m sure no one was paying attention other than the lady I nearly sat on.  lol  I waited until she left before I got up.  I’m not going to say what we went to see, it was very disappointing and we’re sad we took the boy to it.  I read the review on IMDB and it didn’t indicate much of what we saw.  I think the boy was totally bored and paid more attention to his food.

Tomorrow the mama-to-be and hubby will pay us a visit!

Technorati Tags: blessings, knitting, littleimp, vacation

After yesterday (I swear I didn’t even walk more than 200 steps yesterday), we feel a little more rested. 

We decided a few months ago that after the wedding we’d get away for a few days.  Our friends generously let us use their RV so we decided if we only drove a short distance, we could do that cheaper than a motel room and all I wanted was to stay somewhere for more than one night and to do nothing unless I felt like it…in other words, veg out. 

Can’t beat winter rates of $15 a night!

I did have bookkeeping to get caught up for my real job and then accidentally realized that I needed to do my quarterly taxes for the yarn shop so it was kind of a crazy day getting things done.  We were finally ready to leave at 6:30 pm after grocery store, meat market and fruit stand trips on my part.  Hubby had to seal the roof on the RV because it leaks (can’t find the leak) and do some maintenance and wrap up a few things at his job, too.

We stopped at Wallyworld and he ran in to get who knows what….was in there  f o r  e v e r  and then we finally headed out, however he did make a wrong turn in the parking lot and we ended up having to drive out of our way rather than turn it all around, too hard with the Jeep following us.

About 45 minutes from home, we suddenly heard a huge bang and bump and next thing we know we are really riding rough.  We pulled over and hubby got out to find a flat tire.  The blowout was so loud that 3 different guys came out of their houses and one of them was across the street and way up high on a hill.  He started hollering to us…asked if we had a flat tire and said he knew the guy who owns the tire shop in this tiny town.  He called him, then came down to help us.  One of the other guys said we’d be fine to drive to the tire shop so we had to make a u-turn on the highway (yikes!) and the first fellow led us to the tire shop, limping along at about 15-20 mph.  He was really nice.  After an hour or so, we were on our way again and almost $300 poorer.  ouch.

I decided there is nothing I can do about it and God allowed it, what we have is His so we just move on.  I’m too tired to worry about it anyway.

We got to our destination at 10:45 or so and it took another forever to get parked in our spot in the dark but the park manager helped us get in.  By us, I mean hubby, I sat in the dark with a sleeping boy and played monopoly on my palm pilot and listened to a book on my iPod.  Before it got dark, I was actually reading a real book….Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon and it is just what I need, lighthearted reading.

I had no trouble connecting to the wi-fi in the park (my only request for where we stayed) but hubby had quite the time with his…and just carrying it from the bedroom to the front of the RV, he managed to hit a button which turned the display upside down.  He was having a very frustrating time trying to look at the screen and figure out what to do so I got online and found the answer…this is the 2nd time it happened and the first time we had no idea what made it right itself.  (control-alt-left if you ever have it happen).  Is that a Dell “feature” or windows?  From what I read, it was a windows thing but I’ve never had it happen.

I never thought once to take any pictures today so I’ll show you a few more wedding pics and hopefully tomorrow I will get out the knitting and return to being a knitting blog….maybe.  I might become kind of a grandbaby blog in a few months.  But knitting, yes.

Here’s a little look at how cute the lanterns looked on the table.  Love those lanterns…we keep hearing how great everyone thought they were.  Did I ever mention that for food we did popcorn and italian sodas?  It’s a fairly inexpensive way to do something really fun and people seemed to like it.  The wedding coordinator called me today and said she heard people commenting on how cute it all was.  We got sparkling cider for the wedding party for the toasts, but I think they liked the sodas.

The sis giving her toast.

Another look at the shrug … notice that the groom never seems far away from her.

I just thought this one was funny because the little imp, aka junior groomsman, was intrigued with the signing of the license.

And back to the rehearsal, … he is standing on his mark and seems to have something way down in his pocket.  He does incredibly well when given a job, though…he went right for his mark and stood tall.  Today I heard from so many people (my brother included) that there were tears galore when he walked us in and proudly walked out.  Kleenex was coming out all over the place.  I have to say I am mighty proud of that boy and we had a lot of fun talking today about all of it.

And now, to bed.  It is after 1 a.m.!  but I don’t have to do anything tomorrow that I don’t want to do!  Yea!

Ok, I was so wiped out this morning that the little imp and I stayed home from church.  Here I sit with my heated wrap on my shoulders (thanks, Bunni!) and my feet up on the ottoman.  I posted pictures on my sidebar but I thought maybe I’d try to tell a little bit about the days now.

I heard several comments about how when a daddy is excited about making it the best day for his daughter, he got all kinds of things done that the church needed fixed in general.  This is my hubby’s area of expertise….besides being worship pastor, he is also gifted in lighting and audio, but I hate seeing him on this huge ladder all over the room!

I wasn’t any more thrilled to see the groom balancing on the edge of the platform.

I’m just so tickled at how well the things all pulled together.  The bride did such a great job planning what she wanted, simple but very sweet.

We grew grass in buckets and made flowers for weeks and weeks.  They were a huge hit, as were the lanterns….we had so many people ask what we might be doing with them afterwards.

We sprinkled the aisle with more flower cutouts and then the little flower girl sprinkled more as she walked in.

Practice went well, everyone was so amazed at the calm and the sweetness.

poor daddy had a rough time, he loves his girls so much.

We had lots of fun with the popcorn..

We bought flavored popcorn from the local popcorn shop…the bride had purchased pink m&ms at Valentines day and then we also popped regular with a borrowed WhirlyPop….I gotta get one of those!

Big hit.

We had prime rib at the rehearsal dinner served in the fellowship hall by the best caterers in town (also good friends….and she is a fantastic knitter besides!)

The groom’s dad was his best man and I missed getting a picture of the presentation because I was crying too much, but his dad presented him with a sword as a “charge to keep that 3-stranded cord of Jesus as the center of their marriage”….it was so sweet and the groom took it very seriously.  To hear these parents talk out their love of our daughter was incredibly wonderful.  Our families are blessed.  The groom’s mom and I shared a very long hug and tears, tears, tears.

The big day 

Our son’s girlfriend did the hair, the maid of honor did the toes.

My niece-in-law did the simple bouquet for the bride and put together the handmade flowers for the bridesmaids.

The photographer was really sweet.  She told me she loved this wedding, that the bride and groom were such a joy and the whole atmosphere was such a blessing to her.

Here’s big sis, matron-of-honor, getting her into her dress….can’t you just see the bride’s lightheartedness?

The bride chose to wear the pearls my Grandma gave me when I was in my early 20s, they are one of my biggest treasures and someday they will be hers.

She was so happy to see her brother all dressed up. (I missed getting  a picture of the first hug because I was a little teary-eyed)

The groom waited at the altar so they could have a special moment just the two of them. (and the photographer, lol)

Then the 3 of them left for pictures . . .

Gosh….what can I say?

Very possibly the next bridal couple.  I’m so proud of my kids.

We all went to the park for pictures…here’s two silly, happy girls trying not to get windblown.

And the bridal couple arriving.

Gotta rest for a second, but can’t wipe the smile off the face!

Our happy family

One of the few shots I dared to take.

The groom’s youngest two sisters got pulled in a wagon by his youngest brother…they were supposed to blow bubbles but they got a little scared.  They were so cute.

Cutting the cake.

She wore the shrug even though I thought it didn’t really go with the dress…she asked if I was mad to see it on her because she loves it.  Yes, I’m crying.

My 3 girls.  I feel bad I didn’t get many pictures of my little mama-to-be….I took a record number of blurry pictures.

The bridal party…

We put the strings of lighted lanterns on the table, it was so beautiful.

The guests.

The son and his sweetie.

I’m happy, I have cake.

Sisters.

The big sis did a very sweet toast to her sister and new brother, it’s so wonderful to see the love.

These socks aren’t handknit, but they are crazy!  This was the keyboard player who is a long-time family friend.  I told him to behave, he had a pistol strapped to his leg but I never did get what it meant…some joke about a sharpshooter. 

And then my camera battery died.

We sent the couple off, had tons of help cleaning up and 4 1/2 hours after the wedding started, we were on our way home with everything done but cleaning out hubby’s office and the conference room.  We wanted to meet the out-of-town family for dinner.

I apologize for the multitude of pictures if you have dial-up but I just wanted to re-live the day. 

And what comes next?  Baby knitting!!!!!!!

Technorati Tags: wedding

I cannot even tell you, but I’m sure you can imagine..how tired I am.  I am way too wired to go to bed, but the day is done and all went well….I mean, really well.  I can’t think of one catastrophe or even one thing that went wrong.  If it did, no one told us.

The happy couple did such an awesome job of it all, they wrote their own vows and they were beautiful.

The little imp was a huge hit, he walked in the grandparents and me and he did the greatest job of it.

I will tell more later, but I will just say it was all I had hoped it would be and more.

Pictures in the sidebar, I can’t figure out a better way to do it right now.

Picture heavy post…all wedding related.

We went to the church at 10 today and we came home at 9 pm.  Busy, busy. 

The little imp spent a lot of time hanging out in the pastor’s office doing spelling and drawing lessons..

Then he moved to the youth pastor’s office (his brother-in-law)…

See the Easy button?  He must have pushed it hundreds of times.  They have one in the main office, too, and the receptionist said he pushes it every time he walks through the room…I asked if it bothered her and she said the smile makes it worth it. 

And what were we doing?

Those babies took a long time to put together.

These are tinier ones and they were a much bigger pain to get popped out and the wires inserted.

The groom worked most of the day at this.

And the imp did lend a hand.

And then entertained us awhile.

He talked into the live mic but of course when I tried to take his picture he got a bit of an attitude.

Lots of activity in the conference room….

The fruit of our efforts.

And then the bride got a surprise….this friend attends college in New York and wasn’t coming home until Monday, but she managed to get released early from obligations because she pleaded with the Dean of Women to let her come home to her good friends’ wedding.  She is our son’s girlfriend’s best friend and she surprised her by picking her up from work tonight when she was really expecting our oldest daughter to pick her up.

And then we headed home. 

 All I wanted to do was come home and watch one tv program but I got home late and got a phone call in the middle of it so oh well.

We’re back at the race tomorrow, but we got a lot done and hopefully will get some down time tomorrow before the rehearsal dinner (prime rib by the best caterers in town!)

Technorati Tags: wedding

No pictures today and actually, boring for anyone but me.  I just want to post for the record so when I ever look back I’ll remember these days.

We’ve been getting our hair cut and foiled.  Dad brought the Little Imp in to get his hair cut while my hair was processing.  Oh my gosh, have I ever regretted not having my camera after that experience.  They have never seen anything like it.  Hubby was curious but the imp was scared scared scared.  He would not come close, hid behind Dad and kept tight hold to the back of Dad’s jacket.  He was the first to get a hair cut and it was so cute.  His big brother’s girlfriend does all of our hair and he’s so good for her.  It used to take 3 of us to cut his hair before she came along…and we feared the police being called because he freaked out so badly.  Literally.  We used to do it on the deck in plain view of the neighbors so they could see we weren’t abusing him.  It actually makes me cry for how awful it was.  (showers, the same)

Well, while Dad got his hair cut, the Imp stood as far from me as he could.  At least by then he’d talk to me but when I asked him if he’d come over by me, he put his hand up like a stop signal and murmured “uh…uh…uh….NO!”   It was comical and he did relax after awhile.

Yesterday, the bride got her hair cut and foiled and she is adorable.  She ripped a nail off so we treated her to acrylic nails.  I had mine done yesterday and she went today.  Then she got to go get her facial that her sis and I purchased for her as a shower gift.  She’s just glowing.

Her bachelorette party was Monday night and the girls made her the sweetest scrapbook with pictures of themselves with her as younger kids and memories of time spent with her.  Of course, I cried…as I have all week. 

After she got home from all her pampering, her dad and I headed to Olympia to Cash n Carry, Costco and Party City to get what we need.  The guys will go to get their tuxes tomorrow.  The girls will be decorating and everything else.

I’ve been falling asleep early and waking up extremely early for me…this morning I was awake before hubby’s alarm went off at 5:40.  Here’s a good one.  I had to come down to the restroom earlier and I must have been dreaming about my dress not fitting so I worked hard at not waking up all the way and tried my dress on to assure myself it was fine (it was) and hung it up on the tv cabinet (not sure why) and went back to bed and back to sleep.  Everyone wondered today why my dress was hanging there with the jacket inside out.  lol

We got the little boys’ tuxedo shirts dyed pink this week and they came out great.  The wedding colors are pink and brown and the Imp looks adorable in those colors!  Tomorrow I better remember to buy him shoes.

Ok, much much much to do tomorrow so I’m off to bed.

Technorati Tags: wedding

In a week it will all be over.  I have so much running through my little head right now, so many details to think about.  The little imp’s tux is altered and safely at Auntie’s house so he won’t be tempted to put it on.  (it had dirt on it when she took it home because he’s put it on more than once)

He has been doing his job almost daily:

He gets so intent on spraying the grass that he missed his favorite person in the whole world coming to pick him up.

Oh!  There’s my dad!

The grass is going to be on the tables.

Last Saturday it was 80+ degrees here, very unusual for us.  This Saturday?

Snow!

We didnt’ get any more than this, but places not far from us got 6 or more inches!  We have no idea what to expect for the wedding…hot, cold, or anything in between?

Friday night, we ate in the car on our way out of town for our date.  This gave us extra time so we drove out to our favorite place…it was cold out but the sun was shining and the climbing rose vines are looking pretty good…someone has already been taking care of them.

We watched a sailboat for awhile and then drove to the bookstore.  We’re both so tired but we really needed the down time.  We read for awhile and drank coffee and decided to head home early.  While I was returning my book to it’s home, some friends of ours showed up and we ended up having a party because after we’d been there awhile, the mama and papa-to-be showed up, too.  We had a great visit and it was an hour and a half later when we finally headed home.

Hubby told me that while he was waiting for me to come back, he could have laid his head on the table and fallen into a serious sleep.  He didn’t want to get up and walk around carrying my purse.  It’s funny how you can revive when people show up.  They hadn’t expected to find us anywhere around but we said it was our last time to play before the wedding.

We hit snow on the way home, not sticking but wow it was really coming down.

Since this IS a knitting blog…here’s a sad attempt at something.

Another burp rag and the latest Simply Knitting and toy that comes with it.  This is actually kind of cool.  I don’t know if I’ll actually use it, but it’s a row counter.  Does anyone else love getting the toys in the magazine?  I’m excited for next month’s…a little clear bag with 3 holes in the top for the yarn to feed through.  I actually do use the knitting bag I got from them last year.

And now, I am going to try to take a nap.  It was a tearful time during church today…as the bride-to-be sang two songs during worship, I started thinking about the fact that her childhood is over, next week she’ll be married and she’s still my little girl.  Then I got even more overwhelmed over the fact that my kids have all found such wonderful people to share their lives with and we are so fortunate.  All 3 of those coming into our family love the little imp and will be willing to take an active role in his life.  Can’t beat that!  They were good tears I cried, but it is an emotional time and I do hope I make it through this week.

So, not sure when I’ll be around, I’m sure at least once in the coming days.

Technorati Tags: blessings, wedding

Haven’t really been sleeping well so I’m not sure I can pull my thoughts together.  I’m not stressing at night about the wedding, but I think I am more keyed up than I realize.  We’re on the countdown now!

Yesterday, we had to have the little imp try on his tux so his auntie could do the alterations needed.  This all occurred while she was working and he refused an help getting everything on.  What do you think?

He won’t get away with no help on the big day. 

I have to say a big thank you to Susan!  I won her bloggyversary drawing and yesterday I got this in the mail!

Every knitter needs a little journal to stick in her knitting bag and I am due for a new one so that is where this will go.  I love, love, love journals so I will enjoy this one a lot.  Thanks so much, Susan!

Today I had an interesting experience.  I had to revisit a very painful part of my life.  Looking back, I can see some very good things coming out of it, but it was difficult at the moment.  You know what is good about having to go back and face something that is very hard to look at?  You can measure whether there has been healing in the time that has passed.  I was happy to see that I have indeed made a lot of progress in my emotions and I found some very good thoughts buried in the midst of the pain.  I have worked hard to get to this place, still haven’t “arrived” but am definitely on my way.  I don’t like circumstances to dictate my feelings, but they often do.  It’s nice to know I am at peace and to know, also, that I have good friends around me.  Tonight, I rest in the gratitude of that as I continue to sort through my thoughts and emotions so I can actually journal (somewhere else) what is going on inside me.  It’s like the thoughts are floating around in my head and I need to grab them and put them together in a way that I can make sense of it all.

To end on a happy note, I got to read the little program the bride and groom put together  for the wedding and it was so sweet.  Wow, it is really something to know that your little daughter will only be living in your home for a few more days and then will embark on a whole new life….leaving us to wonder how this all happened so fast.  It didn’t really help when she said to me the other night, “You know, when I pack to leave…I will never come back to live here again.”  Even she realizes that might not have been a wise thing to say to an already emotional mom. 

Technorati Tags: blessings, friends, littleimp, wedding

We started our day earlier than usual because it was our Sunday to serve bulletins.  The little imp was a little off target today, he had to be constantly reminded to actually give them to people rather than stand there staring at anyone who stopped in front of him.  He was sleeping so soundly when we woke him up that he apparently never really arrived.  That’s ok, I have off days, too.  He did get to go help with the candy bags for new visitors again today and was more with it.  Dad told me to go look at the graduate clipboard, we’ll be honoring those soon who graduate…and guess who had put his name on the list. I don’t think anyone will believe he’s graduating from high school, though.

We had another shower for the bride today.  It was held at the groom’s apartment so we didn’t have to move things over there later.  Here’s the pre-shower prep.

I got sent to Walmart 30 minutes before the shower because they didn’t have a ladle, but otherwise these girls had it all together.

This is one side of the room…I didn’t get a good picture the other direction because I always manage to get someone really looking awful so I won’t show them. 

We had a game where they had the bride go in the other room and then everyone had to write down everything she was wearing.  This ended up bringing ridiculous laughter because the girl who won is a friend who all their growing up years, has been momentarily mistaken for our girl.  They have the same build and often the same hairstyle.  Well, look how she came dressed to the shower today!

Couldn’t have planned that one better!  And as an aside, these girls will be auntie to the same baby once the wedding takes place so they’re family by marriage.

Before opening gifts, our #1 daughter wanted to pray for her sister.  She started to thank everyone for coming to share in the joy of the upcoming marriage and to bless her sister.  She broke down crying and it was some time before she was able to go on.  Lots of tears wiped away all over the room.  As a mom, I cannot tell you how blessed I was.

Here was a particularly hysterical moment when the bride opened some knives and thought she heard the giver say they were really good ones.  She turned and said, “They’re really good knives?”  The giver said something on the order of she hoped so.  Bride said, “oh, I thought you said they were really good” and the whole room exploded in laughter.  She was so embarrassed, but she handled it well.

And then…as soon as the shower cleared out, several of us started making flowers for the wedding.  I’ll tell you more later about how we’re going to use them.

These were taken when we were still fresh. Below is my stuff before I got going.  I shared the table with the girl who was assembling all of the flowers and I was cutting leaves and gluing them to wire.  We made over 100 and they had 2-3 leaves on each one.  I am a little sick of green right now.  We had a lot of fun, though.

We took a little break for the girls to practice getting the bride into her dress..it’s a big deal.  We won’t talk about what I had to go through to get the dress to the apartment today. She neglected to ask me to get it from it’s current home when it could have been done easily.  But, we got it there and the girls managed to get it on her.  I don’t think the shrug looked quite right with it and am going to encourage her to just use it for something else…and I’m ok with it.

Then we must have worked on flowers for another hour when I decided we needed to eat.  The mama-to-be called the local pizza parlor to order delivery and somewhere along the way, we started falling apart and the poor girl could barely talk, she desperately wanted to tell the clerk on the phone that we weren’t all drunk because the lady had to keep waiting for her to pull herself together.  (I guess it was a day for falling apart all over the place!)  Here she is after the phone call:

and

This is the groom’s mom sharing the couch with her and she is never going to let this girl forget how silly she looked running into the room waving her hands through the air trying to get my attention as I was running from the room to the little girl’s room because it had all gotten so ridiculous. 

And then…the pizza order was wrong, instead of half and half, we got everything mixed together into one.  And I about fell over when the bill was $25 for one large pizza! (next time, we ask)  So, one of the girls called the pizza parlor and told them the order was wrong and they brought us another and let us keep the one we had.  Almost $30 for 2 pizzas felt a little bit better.

I am so exhausted and I’m sure I could have told the events much better if I’d waited until tomorrow but it’s going to be a VERY serious get- things- done day after we do the blogiversary drawing.  Depending on what’s going on, I’ll post as soon as I can.  I plan to sleep in and then we’ll see how much of the day we have to do what we need to do.  But for now, this tired mama is going to crawl up the stairs to bed…and I hope and pray I don’t wake up at 3 or 4 like I’ve been doing!

And thank you all who have participated in the contest!

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