On Saturday, my family was so blessed to attend the wedding of Miss Elizabeth, our darling, gorgeous, assistant director for HPA. Now I haven't been to a wedding in 6-7 years, but I don't think I'm biased when I say that it had to have been one of the most beautiful weddings ever.
Now I don't have pictures. (Sorry, Josh!) I know, what blogger goes anywhere without her camera? Obviously this one. But one of my best friends took tons and I'll try to post some of those... maybe.
So today I'm counting wedding gifts, like somanyothers.
87. The thrills of excitement pulsing through out our house as we got ready
88. A new dress that I love
89. Hugs from the "D" family and Brooklyn as soon as we arrived
90. Josh escorting us to our seats really early, so we could sit and talk and plan and giggle.
98. Seeing friends who I hadn't seen in so long, such as Zach and Arie, Brooklyn, Libby, Genevieve, Mr. Cole and Annie.
99. Delicious cake :)
100. Hugging the bride 101. Utter happiness 102. The glee of our secret as we lined the halls 103. The look on Courtney's face when she squealed "Don't stop! Keep talking!" 104. The Wedding version of "So Long, Farewell" and "Farewell, Titanic" 105. The joy on their faces 106. The releasing of lanterns- in Tangled fashion 107. The screams and cheers and "We love you"s that followed their car 108. Goodbye hugs 109. A ride home
This painting made me smile, as I had two little three year olds watching me get ready. :)
I'm going to try to edit the song video we got and I'll try to get those pictures too! :)
{I read this today and was greatly blessed by it. I'm hoping you are too. It is by James Orr and I believe it is from the book, How to Live a Holy Life.} ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We have only one life to live--only one.
Think of this for a moment.
Here we are in this world of time,
making the journey of life. Each day we are farther
from the cradle--and nearer to the grave! Solemn thought! See
the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in
their onward march. Some are just beginning life's
journey; some are midway up the hill, some have
reached the top, and some are midway down the western
slope. But where are we all
going? Listen,
and you will hear but one answer, "Eternity!" Beyond
the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life--lies a
boundless, endless ocean called Eternity! There, you and I are
daily traveling.
Time is like a great wheel going its round. On and on
it goes. Some are stepping on--and some are stepping off. But
where are these latter stepping? Into eternity! See
that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and
tottering steps. His has been a long round, but he has reached his end
at last. See the middle-aged man. His round has not
been so long, but he must also step off. See the youth. He
has been on only a little while--but he is brought to the
stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer.
He supposed that he was just getting started--when that icy
hand was laid upon him and the usher said, "Come, you
have made your round, and you must go!" The infant that
gave its first faint cry this morning--may utter its last
feeble wail tonight. And thus they go. But where? Oh, where? Eternity!
If you were to start today and ask each person you met the
question, "Where are you going?"
and, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask
each one of earth's inhabitants--there could be but one
answer, "Eternity!"
"Oh, eternity, Long eternity!
Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity!"
Only one life to live! Only one life--and then we must
face vast, endless eternity! We shall pass along the pathway
of life but once. Every step we take--is a step that can
never be taken again.
This world is not a play-ground--or a place to trifle with
time. Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away. To
trifle away time, is indeed, to be the greatest of
spendthrifts. If you squander a dollar--you may regain
it; but a moment wasted--can never be regained. God
gives us all the time we need to accomplish all that He
purposes us to accomplish--but He does not give us one moment
to trifle away.
Since then, scarcely an hour as gone by with someone looking at it- whether it's K and I or the twins "finding the duck."
We've been "picking our presents" too. I'm thinking about a goat, while Kristin is considering some chickens. Nicholas -sweet thing- picked out the cow. I think he might be buying in on my goat though. :)
These gifts mean so much more then you could ever imagine. Tasting a fresh egg or warm milk for the first time is an experience that we would take for granted, but for a little boy in Africa, it might be just what he needs to press on- to know that his life is worth living and that he can make beauty out of the ashes.
And really? You can buy a set of chickens for the price of that scarf you were just looking at. {ahem.}
So click over. Let Jesus pull your heart towards what He wants you to give. Pray for these people. And then come back and tell me what you bought. 'cause I love hearing how my Savior works. :)
It
started with a simple conversation around the picnic table on August 31st. We were in a
giddy mood because we were finally at camp, and it was showing itself
in our speech. “Did you know that Abigail and Brian are eating dinner on
top of the dune tonight and watching the sunset?” turned into “Today’s a
really good day....” and then we started wedding plans. It was all in
fun though, and we knew better then to expect anything. Soon it was
sunset time and the whole idea was forgotten.
Time
laughed and soon the sun was gone. Maddie, Arie and I searched for sea
glass as the waves frolicked around our feet. Nan and Lid had gone back
to camp when I saw Beagle and Brian with Mr. and Mrs. L___ walking
towards the road. Being as impulsive as I am, and seeing as I hadn’t
hugged her yet, I ran up and threw my arms around her. However, in less
then a minute, I was summoned back to a growing group of girls and waved
good bye.
A
trip up the dunes was in the works, but I declined. I needed to stay
with my “charges” and we told everyone to go on without us and have fun.
After a bit more searching, we decided to stop at the restroom and then
head back to camp.
As we rambled up the sand, Lidia came by on her bike and called, “Montanna has something to tell you.” My first thought was okay, we aren’t going swimming tonight. But then Nan came riding up and exclaimed, “Lindsey. Abigail’s engaged!”
I
think I just stopped dead for a pure second, not contemplating what
that really meant. Then... I screamed. and kicked off my shoes (have you
tried running in flipflops?!?!?) and screamed again. Suddenly the
dreams and plans of the past months had become a reality.
Jesus
had worked so much though this whole night. Besides working out the
perfect story between the newly-engaged couple, He kept me from climbing
the dune with my other friends and in many other places I saw His hand.
Nan
rode back for my shoes as I stumbled across two parking lots and a
rough woodchip path. It only took a minute more of searching before I
shrieked again and ran into her arms. In the brief period when time
stood still, it had grown dark and she shone a flashlight on her hand so
I could see her ring. It was gorgeous.
The rest of the night was a flurry of excitement and calling Katherine and Jeremy and Did you hear? Did you see it? AHHHH!!
We finally settled down around W_____’s fire to let the news finally
sink in; although the whole next week someone would exclaim “Guess what!
Beagle’s engaged!!!!” and we would all shriek and scream again. But
before the clock struck eleven, we headed for the bathrooms -finally!!-
and then fell into bed. And we all knew that this camping trip could not
be any more perfect.
Photo by Mrs. B
*Abigail is the sister of one of my very best friends, and she is an amazing, gorgeous woman of God. Montanna and I have been planning her wedding for months and we're all so excited to finally attend it this summer. I'm going to cry. and it will be beautiful. That's all I know. :)*