Love

Dearest People!

Well, the past weeks have been really, simply amazing. There are few thing more fun than watching your siblings fall in love. :D *twinkles*  So beautiful!! The Lord is faithful, and He is very good.

And so. How it happened.

After weeks and months of visiting at church and Wednesday night fellowships and many talks around the island with an assortment of folks, all of us sitting on the counters and talking...after praying and considering, talking with parents and more praying and considering, after cutting hay and some sweet tea ;) Tayte courted and won Martha. Then...

He drove over on a blue sky afternoon in October, and asked to take her on a walk...

Only he didn't get very far because he had something he really wanted to know. :)

And she said yes. :)

They came back over to the front porch and all her brothers were grinning, hands dirty from yard work, as they took her hand and looked at her ring, hugging, while Tayte watched, everyone smiling...

And Daddy cried, and we all did, as we saw the goodness of the Lord unfold in front of us, her smile and looking into her eyes, yours misty over her laugh. A father's hug, and Tayte standing there...

And then they went on another walk, this time farther down the road.  Laughter. Pictures.  Before they left, Tayte walked over to his truck and, smiling, pulled out two frappes, the cream piled high, and  they walked off together, engaged. As a couple. The beginning of a beautiful, glorious, hard and wonderful walk together that will last 'till death parts them or our Lord returns to get us...

And that road is good.
Thank You, Lord.

And then, later, family pops over to see them, and we drink juice and ginger ale and eat hotdogs and beans and laugh and talk and look at each other every once in a while, wide eyed and smiling, "can you believe this!!?"

'Ana and her Daddy (and her precious baby doll)

So incredibly happy!!

Us around The Island. Where the most fun is had.

Outside, where we take a few pictures and it starts sinking in a little bit, seeing them sitting there together, and it feels like sunshine watching them.
Looking back through the pictures later and laughing over that ridiculous wrench. The swing was in mid-glue that afternoon.

Perfection! Fresh cut hay and your sweetheart. (Yayyyy for M&T!!!)

"Mean while, back at the ranch"...we all stand around and glory in the man's steel beast.
 "10-4. 'Ello. Who's 'dis? Yep. Over. Tayte Alexander has a good setup. Over. Who's there? Answer me. Over."
Andrew pulls 'Ana off amidst great weeping. John inspects his pick-up bed...Wesley checks out the cab...... 

And then, he had to go. But he came back that night and had dinner with Martha (and us, of course :) and she told him goodnight out by his truck,
the porch light on,
and the stars over head.

And so it happened.