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