Wedding Weekend: Rehearsal

I finally have a few moments to devote to the blog that's been oh-so-neglected.  I have a zillion photos from Friday's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  I'll try to pick the highlights.  I think most people that read this blog are in the pics, so at least a few people will enjoy it!  I had a hard time picking.  :-)

{Sarah and SMoo with the bow bouquet}

David & Norene

 

Sisters

This is one of my favorite parts of our sanctuary.  The baptistry is right in front of it (you can't see it), but I think it's such a great verse from Revelation that applies to new life in Christ and a new life two people build together.  

Some of my girls!

Ms. Teresa was the wedding coordinator, and also my Sunday School teacher when I was little.  It was so neat to have her be a part of this with us.  She's great at (nicely) keeping everyone on task.

Pops came this weekend, and had help from Tammy.  She went everywhere with him and made it possible for him to come visit.  I loved having them there.

Vicki B. from BSB was our pianist.  She was so instrumental (ha!) in coordinating all the music.  She worked with our soloists (Chris & Diane), the strings and brass groups to make everything seamless.  We had A LOT of music, which is one of my favorite parts to remember from our wedding day.  

Troy's girl, Sarah, came down with him for her first wedding...ever.  Pretty amazing!

I love this pic.  Sharon (in red) is my Aunt Jenny's daughter, and that's her husband, Whit.  They are good buds with Papa & Jonita.

Shay Sandwich

I think I'm trying to explain to Adam what the heck is going on.  He looks a little unnerved!

Adam's college pastor came down from Wisconsin.  We loved having Nate & his wife, Amanda, there with us.  

Several of our groomsmen were firemen and had to work that night.  Papa was one of the stand-ins for us.  He and Anna look so cute up there.

The boys are here!

My girls all lined up and ready to walk down the aisle.

Love this pic of me and my Daddy.

House party friends--Katelyn, Lyndsy, Gentry & Natalie

Feather sign-in pens became props.

Love the smile on Adam's face as my dad and I are walking down the aisle

All smiles!

Quiet boys...

We're married!  Just kidding...almost there.

Troy's job included holding the boys for the few minutes they stayed on stage.  He literally held them with a vice-like grip.  They did so well on our wedding day, though...they just had to get their wiggles out.

Here we go!

Papa with his youngest grandkids.

Looking back at all these makes me so happy.  I loved having everyone I loved in one room.  Sheesh.  That's gotta be one of the best things ever.  

Stay tuned for more pics from the weekend...

Dear Self

Dear Self,

If you'd been asked what your first month of marriage might look like, I don't think you could have answered correctly.  

I mean, you knew Adam would be sweet.  But did you know that he would pack your lunches and drop your work you left at home on your desk saying, "These looked important--thought you might need them."  I don't think so.  Did you know that you would go to bed laughing and wake up laughing together, too?  Did you know he would set up all your utilities and grocery shop when you didn't have time to go together and just take extra-good care of you while you're super busy?

You might have guessed that the month would fly by with boxes being packed, but did you think that you'd not have to buy a single one?  It's the little things that make a big difference!  Did you know that your mom would come over and pack and pack and pack, and your dad would bring both of you lunch and you'd all hang together out and watch the Baylor game?  I don't think so.  And then could you have guessed that mom and Adam would come back over and keep packing and taking things off the walls and doing little things that were so helpful, you just didn't know where to begin?

Did you know how hilarious it would be to keep the boys with Adam?  You might have guessed it, but nothing could've prepared you for the laughs and the lessons you both learned that night at the ball park. I'm sure you could've guessed what happens when Knox eats a huge scoop of beans at Dickey's BBQ...but you couldn't have known it would go through his little body so quickly and make such a loud noise for such a small person.  (The kid can toot...)

Did you know that you'd be getting to do so many cool things at work and smiling about your job all. the. time?  I don't think so.  Even though your first big event to plan there is coming up, I don't think you could've forseen your experiences filming a segment at Channel 5 or getting your photo taken with the Mavs' NBA Championship trophy.

And I don't think you would've guessed that your mom would show up at your doorstep with a tiny little ball of fur named Bella.  She has become your new little buddy, and even came to work with you one day when you dog sat for her.

And after nearly a year of growing out your hair, would you have guessed you, too, would go with the "post wedding chop" like so many brides do?  You surprise yourself sometimes.

It's been a great (almost) month so far, and it's flown by.  Who knows what adventures you'll have next!

Crazy Dreams & a Week in the Life

This week, crazy dreams have started.  I thought I would share a few with you and also just for myself, so I wouldn't forget.  I am just so glad to be sleeping, that I will take any crazy dreams I have and funny things I've been doing...

• I dreamed that our awesome photographer showed up in waaay-too-tight black and white plaid pants, looking really unprofessional (totally not her style!).  When we got to the reception, no tables were set and the band was not there.  Patricia, our hotel wedding coordinator, was there blowing bubbles and singing kid songs to entertain the guests while I set tables. Ca-raz-y.
• I've dreamed that there were tiny little geckos in the kitchen of my and Claire's apartment.  As soon as I'd rescued one, several more would show up.  This has nothing to do with the wedding, but still strange.
• I'm also very slow to get sarcasm these days, I've noticed.  If someone says something that I know is supposed to be funny or sarcastic, I laugh, but it takes me a good five mintues to figure out why it's actually funny.  I eventually figure it out, but I'm hoping that this returns quickly after the wedding!

{Knox shows us his Vampire teeth}

Saturday night, Adam and I babysat our ring bearers, "The Boys."  They bypassed me and went straight to Adam.  I am just the girl who puts their food on the table. ;-)  Adam got hugged by Graham right away, and they were so excited to see him.  They got out their Nerf guns and swords and had a ball.  I wasn't bothered one bit that they like Adam so much.  In fact, I love it! 

Adam has also been working super-hard to make his apartment extra clean since I'm about to move in.  He's deep cleaning the bathroom, putting the lid back on his dryer that's been off for 2 years, and lots of other little stuff.  We are moving a chest of drawers over next week and bringing our new bedding over.  I'm really excited to finally be setting up a few of our new things!!  He's been working so hard and running lots of errands, and I wanted to make sure he knew I appreciated it all.  While he was down playing sand volleyball, I hid little bears around his apartment for him to find...

My family and close friends often call me "Shay Bear."  It's always been my name.  Adam shortened it to "Bear" and it stuck.  It's actually rare that he uses my real name, and it throws me for a loop somtimes when he does.  :-)  So I played off of this and had lots of things that "Bear Says."

We are getting boxes and boxes of gifts each day at my parent's house.  It's unreal.  People are so generous, and it's been lots of fun to open so many boxes and find out what's inside. 

I have no photos of this, either, but last night AMP and I went up to Claire's school for dance practice and her school's game night.  She LOVED showing us her world, and we had a lot of fun watching her interact with her little fourth graders.  I'm so glad we got to go!

We are EIGHT DAYS away from our wedding, and we could not be more excited.  We are a little nervous (the good "butterflies in your tummy" kind) and we have most of the little details ready.  I am taking of next Thursday and Friday and then will be gone for a week after that for our honeymoon.  I'm so ready for vacation!

Life Lately From my iPhone

Today marks one month until our wedding!  People in my office think it's so funny that I can rattle of excatly how many days until the wedding.  :-)  It's a combnation of sheer excitement, knowing what all needs to be finished between now an then, and then taking a vacation that has me counting down the days.

Friday I took  half day off so we could go to our last tasting for the reception food.  Then Adam and I went to get his wedding band.  We decided he looks quite grown up with a ring on his finger!

{Getting a caffeiene fix and showing off our latest purchase}

Next we looked at a tux to rent.  They want you to pick a vest color from a two-inch square of fabric.  Ha.  Thankfully they offered to order a few options for AMP to try on, which meant another trip to Al's on Tuesday.  We finally got it figured out, and he will look quite handsome on our wedding day!

We also looked at a rental house on Friday and spent less than five minutes in there.  Yikes.  We need to be moved in somewhere by November 1, so we're kind of in that time of 30 to 60 day notices being up.  It would make me feel a lot better if I was able to picture where we're going to be next, but that's just part of the process.  I know it will work out.  Patience just has never been my strongsuit in these types of situations!

{Bachelor Pad--before}

I am really glad to know that we will live in Adam's apartment for the month of October.  To make it more "ours," he's really working hard to clean stuff out and make room for me.  He's always had a clean place, which I appreciate, so it's nothing gross or anything.  We took down the framed posters that I helped him hang last August. 

We spent a good chunk of Friday night trying to find studs in the wall and hanging these shelves up.  I watched a lot and helped when needed.  :-)  I've had them since college, and they've lived under my bed for two years.  I was really excited to have a place to hang them again! 

{After}

Saturday we met the Wharton boys up at church to ask them to be in our wedding and practice walking down the aisle.  They will be so great on the wedding day in front of a big group of people, but they were just all over the place on Saturday!  It didn't bother me at all, because I know it won't be perfect, but that'll be what's so cute!

We had our Couple's Shower on Saturday night, which was loads of fun. Adam and I felt so honored and loved.  I'll have to do a separate post on that because it was just so fabulous!

Yesterday, I lost my wallet.  {Turns out it had fallen out at home.}

I wear my hair in a pony tail to work about half the time these days {A sign that I'm too tired to fix it}

My room looks like clothes exploded,

and until yesterday when Adam cleaned it out, my car looked similar.  {Thanks, AMP!}

Thankfully I have a lot of help with wedding planning and with life in general, becuase I need it!  :-)



Snow Day 4 hit with actual snow!  We got 5-6 inches here, and it was beautiful.  Adam knows much better how to drive in the ice and snow, and we went over to my Aunt Laura's house just for a change of pace.  {My 4 Wheel Drive was quite useful this week!}

My mom was over there, too, so we just got to see more people!  AMP loves projects.  It worked out great, because Laura's front porch was completely frozen and snowed over and was quite hard to walk on.  He worked super-hard to clear a walkway, which was a huge help.

Then we tried to build a snowman, but The Iowan told me that the snow wasn't wet enough to roll.  I said, "Wait, you can actually roll snow??"  I had no idea--I thought that was only on movies with Charlie Brown or something.  :-)

  

 

I'd planned about a month ago to babysit the boys on Friday night.  I didn't feel comfortable driving about 30 minutes on the highway, so Adam volunteered to drive me over and help me keep them.  {Such a huge help and a treat!}  

We got to the door, three little heads popped up at the window.  They were bouncing up and down with huge smiles on their faces.  They weren't smiling at me, which is fine, because they were so excited to see Adam!  

In the three and a half hours before they went to bed, we played Candy Land, ate pizza, watched The Wiggles, and they were just bouncing off the walls, climbing all over Adam.   Finally I asked them if they had a big puzzle or something.  Graham brought down that huge number and letter puzzle, pictured above.  They all worked together to build it, and then Adam and I hid the letters and numbers all over the downstairs.  It was a HUGE HIT!!  Later, I was reading with Graham and then went up to see what everyone else was doing, and Adam and Knox were playing Sorry! and then Tinker Toys.  {Can you see they have the attention span of a gnat?!}  

The boys went to bed a little before 9.  I told them that if they got out of bed, they wouldn't have their dessert the next day.  It worked, because they stayed put!  Adam and I sat down and just looked at each other and reveled in the silence.  It was great--three boys are quite loud.  Then we played Rock Band until Jack and April got home.  I sang vocals and Adam totally rocked the guitar, which is much harder than I thought it would be!  

It was so nice to have Adam around helping me with the boys, and I know they loved having him there.   Today, the sun is shining finally and melting all this slush.  

Thank goodness!   

Happy Weekending, my friends!

The Christmas Card Challenge

A few Sundays ago, I went met "The Boys" and their mom & dad down in Deep Ellum to take some Christmas card photos.  I took 150 photos and got about five that would work.  Two seven year olds and a three year old make for quite the afternoon.  

Here are a few good ones and a few out-takes.  They're equally as cute to me!

They look like angels, but don't be fooled!  They're still precious, though.  I just love 'em to pieces.

Can you tell who's the ham??  He definitely enjoyed himself the most that afternoon!

See that yawn?  This was the end of the photo shoot.  Posing is hard work, you know!

Stop, Drop and Roll

As a surprise to the three boys I babysit, I took them to get their "own, real-life, private tour of the Fire Station with Adam."  They were so excited when we pulled in.  Adam was riding the Rescue, so the Ambulance was gone when we got there.  I explained that this was part of it...you never know when they might get a call.  So we went to Sonic for some ice cream, and then waited just a few more minutes back at the station.

I should've thought about the sugar rush ice cream has...oops.

 They were hanging out the windows, looking out the back of my truck and so ready for their tour!

 Adam came with me once to babysit, so they'd met him before.  But Knox decided that he would introduce himself and his two older brothers to anyone who would listen.  It was precious.  

Jake checks out all the dials on the Engine, and Adam was incredibly patient in answering their thousands of questions.  Graham would usually ask one, and Jake would say, "Oh, I already know what that is!"  They practically ran circles around the Engine and Ambulance the whole time we were there.  

In the back of the engine.  Their mom called me later today to let me know that the big boys have lice.  Awesome.  I was paranoid the rest of the day...yikes.

They thought the exhaust tube was the coolest part.  It slid back and forth from the ceiling, and they loved trying to attach it to the truck.  

Checking out the ambulance.

Adam explains how he helps people while they're in the ambulance.

Playing with the water hose at the station.  

They use it to clean the trucks, so it's not your typical garden hose!

Knox looks like he's about to lift off the ground!

Knox loved this.  So cute.

Adam asked them what to do in case there was a fire, what number they should call, and where they should go.  They knew all the answers...little smarties!

After about 25 minutes, the alarm went off and the loud speaker let them know where to go.  The boys ate that up, too, and Jake came home and told his Dad that we had to leave because there was an "injured person on Forest Lane.  I know where Forest Lane is, Dad!" 

I got them all buckled back up eventually and was totally worn out.  Getting three kids in their car seats  made me sweat, not to mention trying to think while they're talking/yelling.  I have a renewed respect for moms.  Whew.

I knew the trip was a winner when they came home and pretended to put out fires in the backyard.  Babysitter success!   

It was Halloween, so they were getting ready for a party when I left.  Have you noticed they haven't been still in any of these photos?  'Tis a boys' life!

To infinity, and beyond!