Saturday, December 21, 2013

Gracie's Wedding Shower

There are few things more delightful, I think, than getting a beautiful invitation in the mail from someone you love, to celebrate with them.
Bridal showers are so special, and recently we had the honor of going down to Florida for Miss Gracie S.'s amazing afternoon that her dear sister and sister-in-law threw for her.

 It was a complete blast! Observe, dear people, the massive amount of genius, creativity and love in details such as the one above-my word! (How cute are the tux buttons!?)

 I just couldn't get over all the loveies scattered here and there, the joyful greetings and the general dreamy-ness (white tulle invokes such princess-ish thoughts!!) of the decorations.  All that, though, paling in comparison, to the sense of love and joy that was there surrounding you. It is so good to celebrate with people who love Jesus.

Our day begins with:
"Travels with Kennedy!!!!! The next season come out on the 10'th. So amazing being featured!!"

Words can't say how much we love this girl, or how fun and risky it is to travel several hours with her. :D The shower being a few hours away, we, being the thrify people that we are, and knowing the town was surely destined to have some goodwills and the like, left early in the morning and made a day of it all! So, here we be, in the back, cuddled in our girl nest, where Mother fed us cinnamon rolls and Chik-fil-A nuggets, and orange juice. (I have recently been into turbans.)
Mother Dearest and Paul (unseen to the right) were up front...It's SO fun being with your Mom...and Paul was a darling escort to we ladies, and received many hair tussles for his sweetness. Here we are stopped by rolling steel!
We found this amazing thrift shop where we found almost nothing. (save Kennedy a suave necklace, and Mother a button-down or two for the men) It did have a gorgeous formals section, though. It's so fun having your sister engaged, because now we can look through wedding dresses for a reason!!! :D (Martha!!!!! :D Yayyyyy!!!)
She found The Dress!!! The playful colored flowers and ruffled bustle were the drawing card.

(LOL, no-but, the dress was actually kind of cool, just not for your big day...wedding stuff is so fun!)
And I found real fur heels. Aren't they awesome!!!? :D They were, like, almost 200 dollars so I left them there. 
(Oh. Wow. Speaking of shoes I found the most amazing men's shoes while we were there. They were made in Italy, of leather, brown, with an incredible patina that would make you swoon. They had obviously been worn a few times, but the quality of the shoes only displayed it's wear to it's advantage. Gloriousness. I almost bought them and put them in my Hope Chest for F. H. :D Haha! There are few things more beautiful then exquisitely crafted footwear. Too bad they wouldn't fit any of our guys. *sniff* That's the only sorrow of thrift store shopping. You find perfection, in price and product, just in the wrong size.)
Speaking of perfection, I give thee chocolate truffles! Mama is so sweet.
We passed by a wedding party getting their pictures!! Congratulations, kind unknown people!
We are indeed! Thanks for helping us figure that out. :)
Panera Bread Co. is so perfect for rainy days...steamy soup and a savory sandwich, with us all splitting a raspberry cream danish for dessert.
Mama and Martha

Our table.


And then...we arrive at the party!!
The beautiful lady of honor. Her sweetness and love for the Lord are a true blessing.
The food that was laid out was really gourmet, and the flavors were exceptional together. These herbed cheese and tomatoes were excellent with the smoked salmon and toasted french bread rounds. Then there was fruit, strawberry shortcakes in little footed cups, and poppyseed muffins (in the darlingest polka dot papers!) as well as numerous other yummies. Culinary deight!
"In the usual manner of, elegant females..."
Sarah loves her "Marpa". :D
The games were so fun! Bridal shower games are always a blast.  
Felt like an idiot, though. How many words can Adeline write out using the letters G-r-a-c-e-D-a-v-i-d? Very few, I discovered. At least I didn't have to show anyone my paper, LOL. :D Pictured is Kennedy's genius.
Me and Mrs. Jennifer's youngest little munchie-she was so super cute and the happiest baby!
Isn't it all so beautiful?
The table I got to sit at....
...and some of the beautiful ladies I got to go through the line with! We are so grateful to the Lord for the S. family. We love them so very much. This is such an exciting time.
Sharing and singing together...
And then come the ohhhhs and ahhhhs!! Gracie is going to make a beautiful home, I know. Homemaking is such a delight. You just love it!! (It's so neat watching the girls start homes of their own, seeing their styles and methods and talents come out from their little houses! So beautiful!)

We had to step our earlier then we wanted, as we had to get back before it got too dark, but the time we got to be there with them was a great blessing to us.
On the way home we opened the little white favor boxes that were laid on the tables, only to find all types of chocolate kisses!!

These two pictures make my heart smile every time I look at them. It is so good to be together.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel for a potty break and amuse ourselves in the splendid mirrors their powder rooms offer.
("What big hair you have, Grandma.")
It was so, so amazing how the Lord let us meet this godly man. On our way back to the car, we passed him and his family going in, and Keni saw his hat that said "Pearl Harbor Survivor"-so we ran to the car, got my journal, and headed back in to meet him and get his autograph. It was such an honor and joy to hear this gentleman share the gospel with us in such a simple, heartfelt way, and for him to be willing to share with us stories from WWII that he had lived through. We got he, his wife and daughter's signatures, and also their contact information, as he said that he loves to go and tell people about the stories and what the Lord had done for him. It always amazes me when God allows our paths to cross with others in such a way that you know it was Him drawing our lines to intersect for a few minutes in a far-away restaurant. His appointments are the most beautiful.
Our dear Paul Man.
"Here is a series of terrible pictures, which are the finalist for our ever-faithful car game, "Who Can Take the Worst Self Portrait?" The Turtle, The Rhino and The Swine are this evening's contestants, so cast your vote for your pick for, The Worst Self Portrait. Back to you, Todd."
Riding home...after a wonderful day of joy, celebration, chocolate, happy wedding thoughts and a whole day with dear, dear mother and most precious friends...
I shall end with a picture of the lovey couple! The most heartfelt of congratulations to dear Gracie and David!!! (we can hardly wait for the big day!!! And I'm sure they're looking forward to it, too. :)

Love to y'all, kind readers.

The weather was almost perfect today. Blue skies, in the 70's with the clean piney Winter smell in the breeze, and a golden moon rising tonight to end the day. It was truly beautiful.

Love,

Adeline

Friday, December 20, 2013

Brooke and Daniel's Wedding Weekend!!

Ah, weddings are so glorious. And especially those of dear friends who love the Lord and each other with their whole hearts. :) What an honor and joy to witness Brooke and Daniel's marriage ceremony and to praise the Lord together with them, and with other precious friends who gathered for this amazing day.

It's also wonderful when same said joyous occasion brings some of your favorite people in the world to your home for the weekend. :D We were so glad to welcome Cleveland, Lise Marie and Liam from Texas (So glad to see them!!!) and the reunion was so. so. happy. Ah, love them so much...and then the wonderful K.'s and C.'s were there!! And our darling Dorothy, Noah and Ennie-Wnnie from Alabama!! Family...I guess there're no words to describe the joy, except just to thank Him, because it all is because of Him-that we are His and that we are loved.
They're here!! All gathered on the front porch, laughing and everybody tearing up and hugging, swing going back and fourth, and the children greeting Liam...
So wonderful to have them here!!!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...after we all hugged around, it was back to the kitchen, where Andrew fries chicken!!! There is no chicken to be thusly compared to Sir Tom's magnificent poultry.
Happy Mama!!!
(his secret...)
Alan!! Taste Tester.
And the boys were precious and made the pies.
Garlic Art
The boys are so fun. :)
Then out side where we take a quick family shot. Laughing over several things that are funny in this picture. LOL...candid is classic.
We all gather for....C&L's baby's gender announcement!!!

It's a-a-a...

Oh, never mind. :D
(Oh, and of course, I guessed wrong. One always has to keep these old traditions up, even if it costs you.)
A BOY!!!! :D Liam is going to be the best big brother. I love watching brothers....
And here's Wesley, keeps us laughing. I love humorous people. What a crack-up!!! (Can't you hear Uncle Tom and Daddy laughing, Lise, Dee, Alan!? When I look at this, I can really almost hear it...so fabulous...)
Cleve and Lise brought home a beautiful gift for Mama, a new blue pitcher to add to her collection!! Isn't the newest addition cute!? It's a baby one!
The next morning we breakfast on cinnamon rolls.
The golden morning sunlight was just stunning on the brass and cotton, but I wasn't able to capture the way it really looked. So here is a picture of what it did not look like. ;)
Martha and Mariah, before the caffeine has kicked in.
Uncle Andrew and Liam!!! Don't you love him in those footie pajamas!!? (Liam, of course, not Andrew)
Don't you sometimes wonder what babies are thinking?
"What? This? For breakfast? Heavens, the edge is burnt to crispiness. Besides, scrambled eggs give me awful flatulence, and I have an appointment at 10:00, not to mention Mother won't be pleased to see I've breakfasted before 9:00....