More Wedding Festivities

Our friends had their last child get married this weekend...number six!  It was a groom, so Mom and Dad were a little less stressed than when it was one of their girls!  We were asked to the rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding itself.  I'm sure some of the bride's family was wondering what we were doing there, but, the Lord put these special ones in our lives and we feel like we are part of their family.  The rehearsal dinner was really fun and following the tradition they began when their oldest daughter got married, people shared fun stories about the bride and groom. Hearing some of the stories from their childhoods was priceless.  Some of the stories about not so long ago were also amazing!

The wedding itself could not have been more beautiful.  The ceremony took place outside in a vineyard here in North Texas.  This bride had a lot of faith for the weather, I must say! Everything went as planned and the weather cooperated fully.  

The aunt of the groom invited TBO and me to come to her home for breakfast on Sunday morning...once again, I am thinking some of these people don't even know me, but we went!  It was such a fun time getting to know Auntie's in-laws, and hearing the story of their courtship. TBO said it seemed as if they were doing a stand-up routine it was so funny and well done.  They will have been married fifty years in a couple of months.  I love hearing of marriages like that. We only have fifteen more to go to make it to fifty...ooh, I am feeling kind of old all of a sudden!

So tonight, I am vegging.  Seriously vegging.  I cannot find a thing on DirectTV I want to see, so as soon as I finish this post, I am going to locate my favorite chick flick, pop some popcorn and veg out to the max!

The Queen

Many of you know about our almost 18 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Sweet Pea, aka the Queen.  She lived with us for the last 5 years of her life, and I think she enjoyed her life with us.  Yesterday, I had to make that decision which all owners of older pets dread.  The Queen left us quietly, in my arms to go to the place where her deafness, blindness, arthritis, confusion, and "inappropriate eliminations" will no longer be  problems.  She will be missed.

 

Blog Fodder

TBO and I met Janie, from SoundingForth, for lunch today.  She was in town on business and had time to stop before heading west.  It was, as always, a treat to spend time with her.  She makes me tired just listening to her schedule!

As we were leaving, she was headed to the ladies' room, and I remembered the time TBO wandered into the ladies' instead of the gents' on our way home from a conference in Branson. According to Janie, there is no statute of limitations on blog fodder.  So here goes.

We are tired, cranky and both in need of a bathroom.  We pull into a Love's in eastern Oklahoma somewhere.  I race into the store and locate the restroom, barely making it into the stall in time. 

As I am about to leave my stall, I hear a rather familiar voice talking to another definitely MALE voice.  I'm thinking, OMG, I've gone into the men's room by mistake.  I tell you, I can flat fly out of a stall, wash hands hastily-no time for drying-and beat feet out of there.  As I open the door, I look at the sign.  It is DEFINITELY the little girls' room.  I go back in and call out to TBO and say, "Is that you?"   

"Yes, it is."  came a rather sheepish reply.  I asked what he was doing there and he said, "I don't know, the guy who followed me in here and I were talking and not paying attention to the signs, obviously!"

I hurried out of the way so as not to embarrass the other gentleman.  When we got into the truck, TBO said, "We kind of thought something was wrong when it was so clean and there were no urinals, but we both had to go too bad to leave!"  Shades of Working Girl!  We laughed all the way to Oklahoma City.

Every time we stop at a Love's, you can bet I check the signs carefully-and listen for familiar voices!

Cold Wedding

We traveled to Navasota, Texas this weekend for TBO to perform the wedding of a young man we have know for a long time and his fiance.

The wedding was held at the bride's family home, under some amazing trees of some sort...sorry, I am ignorant of most things botanical except for the most obvious! The guests were seated on hay bales, which, by the way, make pretty comfortable seating, and there was standing room only. The only drawback was that it had been raining for most of the week, and although it was not raining during the ceremony, it was DAMP, and a very cool wind decided to kick up. There were blankets around for people to use, but I had to go back to our truck to retrieve our "travelling" blanket! My "balemates" were three older people, one of whom did not have a coat...I shared! I was very glad to have had said blanket by the end of the evening.

The bride and groom were beautiful and handsome, their attendants were stunning, and their flower girl and ring bearer were scene stealers. Lovely dinner, watched the cake being cut, then decided we were too old and cold to stay for the dancing.

When we returned to our motel, I put on all the clothes I could find and piled up in the bed to warm up. I was very charming looking, I must say. The best was the sweater on top of the nightgown, and the socks. TBO laughed, but I did get warm!

As some know, I am not a great fan of gray, dark, rainy days. I am OFFICIALLY ready for a little sunshine now. The weather forecast is not looking promising until Friday. I will be looking forward to Friday with great anticipation!

Showered Out

Yesterday my friend had two, count 'em, two showers at her home! One, a baby shower for her youngest daughter and two, a wedding shower for her last unmarried son's impending nuptials.

Since we live on the opposite side of the county from my friend and her husband, TBO took me up to their house yesterday morning and dropped me off at 7:30 am on his way to a men's meeting. Only my friend and her husband, whom I had awakened with my agreed upon phone call were up...for a few moments. The oldest of the four grandchildren staying with them soon joined us and we were busy with the feeding and watering of them, then the youngest was up, nursed, and I got to play with her for a while so her Mom could get a shower.

Full blown prep mode ensued for the baby shower at 10:00. Arranging the tables, making sure the drinks were ready, giving lessons on telling time to the anxious little guys about the arrival of their much beloved cousin, generally trying to help. The shower was beautiful, food sublime, lots of wonderful gifts for the sweet little guy who is due to make his appearance in about 7 weeks...can't believe it's time already!

Clean up, load the dishwasher, wrangle the baby, visit with said baby's parents and aunt and uncle a little, enjoy a little down time with my special, God sent friend who never lets me whine! Then, whammo, it is time to begin preparations for the next shower. We work to find the best arrangement of chairs and tables for the food and drinks. The caterer arrives-such a sweetie-so accommodating and willing to work with my friend and her desires. Another bout of time telling lessons, and now it is time for the next shower.

Again, lots of fun people, lovely gifts and a grand time had by all. Looking forward to seeing all these people in about a month at the wedding! TBO and I left about 9:30 pm to make the trek home. Amazing day, but I was ready for my bed. Hope things are back in order in the north portion of the county!

I am so blessed by the Lord with wonderful friends who allow me to participate fully in their lives and the lives of their children. And for their children who allow me access to them, too!

Busy

This past week and a half has been amazingly busy for someone who does not work outside the home. I got home from helping my Mom on the 15th. We had friends who were in town for a conference staying with us, which was wonderful. They left on Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon, some other friends from the conference came by after lunch and stayed for the evening. The Wii got a good workout and we all had a great time together!

Sunday we sort of vegged out and read and did laundry. Monday morning we went out to run errands and to pick out a replacement vacuum cleaner (thank the Lord for extended warranties!) Our friends from Midland called on their way into town for the wife to get her hair cut and colored by the colorist and stylist extraordinaires here in the DFW area.

Tuesday we had breakfast with our friends, then TBO and her hubby went on their way, while we began the beautification process! I was just the cheerleader, really, and even left for a while during the coloring process. We met up again for an early dinner, then they left for a few days at Lake Granbury.

Tuesday night about 9:30 I got a call from our friends...the lake house rental was not quite what they had expected. So they came back and stayed with us for the night and began looking at rentals again!

Off our friends go on Wednesday morning, inviting us to come down on Thursday evening for dinner. Errands to be run, grocery shopping to be done, bank deposits to be made...

Thursday I met our daughter-in-law and newest grandson and one of my friends for lunch. I tell you that this little guy is the cutest fellow...no pride involved, of course. Then we drove to Granbury and had a tremendous time. We took a boat ride and looked at the gorgeous properties and came back and enjoyed a "gormay" dinner! I wish I could say I stayed awake on the way home, but I'd be lying!

Friday was spent with a lovely young couple for lunch and fellowship, then home to crash.

Saturday saw me running up I-35 to a baby shower, which was a lot of fun. Home now blogging about my week...

Next week I am subbing for three days...I will be ready for the weekend again!

Leaving Mom

I am getting ready to leave my Mom on her own after her surgery. It is a little more difficult than I had thought it would be, but I need to go home, at least for a few days.

Mom and I have a rather full day planned for today. She is going to get dressed for the first time since we left for the hospital on September 2! We are making some really important stops today: the bank, the license tag office and the public library. We are hoping that I can do the standing in line at the tag office, and that they won't require her to come in. The library is a little more of a challenge...I could probably pick out a book or two, but Mom is such a prolific reader that I'm not sure I could find things she hasn't read!

My sister and I had a little "chat" with Mom yesterday about THINGS...like wearing her "I've fallen and can't get up" necklace, instead of hanging it on the bedpost, asking for specific help-which she doesn't seem to be able to do, remembering that the doctor has said no lifting, pulling or pushing...offers of staying at my sister's house, etc. I really think that once we get the staples removed from her incisions tomorrow, she will feel better, but I don't know if I will feel all that much better! If she were eating better, maybe I'd not be in such a snit, and she does seem to be a little better today.

Knowing she is on the mend is wonderful, yet I struggle with the leaving. It is now that I wish we weren't three and a half hours away, that we were much closer, so I could check on her daily, yet let her have her independence. My control issues are bubbling to the surface. I will have to entrust her to the One Who cares so much more for her than I do and do my checking via telephone.