Wedding Week Part 1-In Which Cleveland and his Brothers try on their Strollers

Tuesday, November 29, 2011.....in the evening

Well, they're all in! The beautiful gray stroller suits for dearest Cleve's wedding!! Dark gray, luscious wool, all soft and rich, with dusky, silvery lavender ties. They are paired with the most stunning dove gray wool waistcoats!

We're all here in the barn, having the most hilarious time with all eight of my adorable brothers, Kress, Rach and Daddy and Mama-pulling things here, adjusting there-laughing, joking and general merriment. I'm sitting here on the couch (alas, feeling like I'm gonna throw up-it's so annoying when you get to feeling bad when you want to have fun with everybody else) anyway, I'm here on the couch with Kress and Marth, who is dressed in her beautiful bridesmaid's outfit (yayy!!) and looking gorgeous. I really am in wonderment. To have all eight of Daddy and Mama's sons in the same room at once all lined up, and in matching outfits, it happens so seldom, that I'm just drinking it up. It is truly beautiful!! Hooray!To see eight men standing there, and then my little mother sitting there in her chair, directing the changing of a shirt or the adjusting of a cuff, and then to think that she carried each one for 9 months, and then birthed them, nursed them, and that she and Daddy loved them and trained them just leaves me wide eyed with such joy and amazement, gratefulness and a rich feeling. To see their fruit standing there in eight glorious pictures of manhood. Praise God!!! And now the third one married, in just 5 days!!! Oh, gracious-I am so. so. excited.

Oh, this is so fun.
OK. Alrighty, now we're moving on to more pictures!The aforementioned ladies on the aforementioned couch. Wow. Lovely shot, eh?
And The Man!
Suave. Generally stunning. Looks smashing in lavender. Not to mention being a mighty ox. "Honey, your shirt cuff should come this close to....""Ahahahah! Arnold! Because I'm huge!"
Thanks for another glorious shot, Tom darling! :D It was my evenin'!
Norman Rockwell would be so proud.
Paul has such a heritage of manhood in his father and brothers.

Thank you, Lord, for You are the source of all of the good things in our lives.Few things are more delightful to me then to have all my brothers in one place-It's hilarious and one can hardly stop smiling. Brothers are just like good medicine when they all get together!!
Shoe Swap. We had a shirt swap, too, but we won't blog that...Wes, I love you! And your shoes. Glorious fill ins!
Oh, yes, here it is-my favorite picture. This is what I was talking about. It is just so beautiful. Mama and her eight sons.
(And I couldn't decide...color, or B&W? Which do you like better?)

And I just love, love the way I can see my Mom's head.

How blessed, how very, very blessed we are in her. She is a virtuous, Godly woman whom I praise with a grateful heart! Ah, and my Daddy-a kind, manly, Godly father who is an excellent example of the kind, firm leadership that the Lord intends a man to give his family-sharp and firm as rock on the things that matter, flexible and understanding on the things that don't.
These boys have a high mark to live up to. And they are doing it, by God's grace - each one crying out to the Lord, walking with Him themselves. I wish I could blow these up to ginormous proportions so I can see their expressions and hang them on the wall. I love all their faces.

Oh, and they're cute. cute. cute. All eight of them!! And funny. And handsome. And a million other things that are fully wonderful!!!

So.
Oh, and on Wednesday night, we fixed a huge supper and lit candles and and sat down together in the midst of wedding preparations, to honor Cleve as we shared his last meal under Daddy's roof as an unmarried man, under his jurisdiction. Next time, he will have a lovely, precious wife on his arm and will be the head of his own home. Won't that be amazing and lovely?!

We sure are going to miss you, Cleve. We're so excited for you. You are wonderful.


Love,

Poog

p.s. Tomorrow we leave for South Carolina!! I'm off to pack!