weekend rewind

This weekend, we enjoyed many things, including

dinner to celebrate August birthdays (Sarah, David M., David G., yours truly),

Becca, me, KJ, Sarah, Blair

Mud Run 2010,

Coolidge Park chilling with our sweet friends,

...new book club, church, sewing projects, porch time, Rochas time and even some relaxing thrown in the mix.

It was a perfect it's-not-fall-yet-but-it's-starting-to-get-close weekend.

battle scars

Last Saturday we were out at the lake with the Bryants like any other summer weekend. All of a sudden, Harley and Rascal (one of their miniature dachshunds) starting fighting. Now, let me just say, these are dogs who have never liked each other. Harley loves Bear and Rascal, but they despise him. Fortunately, they have all learned to tolerate one another which is nice for us since we're around kind of a lot.

I have no idea what made them snap this time (or who was really responsible), but they were really going at it. Kevin was finally able to break them free, and Harley took off to the car right away. He is really fine, but Rascal did get him pretty well. He had a big cut under his eye, and it swelled up pretty badly the next day.

So, I took him home (instead of spending the night like we had planned...) and he did a bunch of this:

Now, a few days later, it has started to scab over and it just looks nasty... and like a black eye. 

Poor puppy! Although he hasn't been in any pain at all, it still makes me so sad that he was hurt! I don't know how people with real children handle their ailments...

... and so am I.

25, that is.

Yep, David is 3 days older than me (but I was a year ahead of him in school!). When I met him at camp, I was bummed to find out that he was a sophomore, because I had always said I never wanted to date a younger guy. Boy was I happy when I learned that he was actually older than me by three whole days :).

Our 24th year was definitely a good one full of lots of fun things:

• Celebrated year 2 of marriage (with a nice dinner, a massage/facial and a trimmer/edger)
• Trips to Vegas, New York (me), Virginia/Maryland (here, here, here), Texas, South Carolina, Sanibel
• My first triathlon
• David's completion of his MBA
• 3 trips to the hospital (cyst, flu and cut)
• lots of crafts and projects (costume, bench, soap, outfits, box) 
• a cold, snowy winter
• Parents moving to Florida, brother moving to Boston
• Visits from friends (Rhineharts, Earleys, Kristen) and family
• Freeing Harley from his cage during the day
• Changing tennants and re-renting our Birmingham house 
• 3 repairs on the Accord (we've been hit 3 different times in that car... I'm currently driving a rental)

For some reason I've really been dreading this day. That has never happened before. Recall my calendar pie chart? I usually love my birthday. I can't explain it, but I'm just ready for it to be overwith. I think maybe I'm celebrated out... our anniversary, graduation, David's birthday and mine are all a bit much to acknowledge in three short weeks.

I am, however, looking forward to enjoying time with our dear friends tomorrow night for an August birthdays celebration and this amazing cake. Oh, and I'll be snacking on this sweet gift from a co-worker all day :)

PS- GREG MOVES TO BOSTON TODAY!!! He and my parents are heading to Atlanta as we speak. Pray for him (and pray for them). I cannot believe it!

wedding day- part 3

The Ceremony

We wanted our ceremony to be/do two things: 1) share the gospel of Jesus Christ and 2) be short. I think it accomplished both objectives.

Things to remember (for me, not you) about our ceremony:

• At the rehearsal on Friday night, my dad was very concerned that all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen made 90 degree angle turns when they walked off the stage to leave the church. Military man, you think? 
• Greg (brother) and Mary (cousin) sang "Before the Throne of God Above" after the mothers and grandparents were seated. John, Cliff and Alex all accompanied them and the whole crew didn't have a chance to put that together until the rehearsal. They were pretty frazzeled, but it came together and was beautiful.
• I walked down the aisle to Cindy Morgan's song Make Us One. I totally stole this whole thing from James & JaNell Frisby's wedding, but it was the most special part of the ceremony. I'm listening to the song as I write this, and it still gives me goosebumps.

James and JaNell Frisby at our reception

• My dress totally didn't fit. My last fitting was a few weeks before the wedding and it was perfectly snug, but the week of the wedding was super hectic and I (for the first time ever I think) lost weight from not eating much. Thus, the entire day of the wedding I was slumped over or hiking my dress up to keep it on- exactly like I wanted to avoid.
• We didn't want to spend tons of money on flowers, so we just had one arrangement and two ferns. I have no idea what happened to the big arrangement, but the ferns came back to our house and hung on our front porch the whole first year of our marriage.
• The candlesticks on the stage were my maternal grandparents. They have been in most of my aunts and uncles' weddings (including my parents?) and my sweet Uncle Tony spent tons of time polishing them and bringing them from Savannah. It is still so special to me that they were there. I have no idea why we slapped bows on them...
• Jerry (the pastor who married us) mispronounced my last name. He said (as most people do) "Bork".
• Cathy had popcorn (?) with her for Brianna to keep her calmed down through the ceremony.
• My grandmother didn't want to a) be seated as a grandparent, b) have her coursage pinned on, c) take family pictures or d) all of the above? D.
• My grandmother had a limo take her and my aunt/uncle/cousins to and from the hotel-church-hotel. We rode in my sister's Pathfinder.

Maid of Honor/Best Friend

Sweet pop!

Oh my word, they are the cutest boys ever.

favorite

Fortunately, we had asked our dear friend Jordan Saas to sit strategically so he could get some good shots during the ceremony. He and his dad were so thoughtful to take pictures the whole evening, and his are some of my favorites from the whole day!

This picture cracks me up... it looks like our parents and grandparents are the only people there!

Married!

wedding day- part 2

Wedding party

Greg (my brother), Jayme (David's bro-in-law), Mike (ms/hs friend), Andy (best friend/man), Brady (college friend), Matt (college friend)

Jamie (college), Kara (college), Ashley (sister/MOH), Beth (David's sister), Sharon (college), Mary Beth (hs/college friend)

Sadly, this is the only picture of me and my mom from the entire day... that makes me want to cry! Doesn't she look gorgeous though?!

The whole gang!

My sweet cousin Mary loaned me her shoes to wear and she sang (Before the Throne of God Above- with my brother) in the wedding. That song was the only time I cried during the whole ceremony, and fortunately it was before I walked in.

Denise, my mentor/friend since 7th grade, loaned me her sixpence to wear in my shoe! She helped so much the day of the wedding, and it was so special having her there.

Mindy was our family babysitter while I was growing up, and it was such a blessing to live in Birmingham and get to babysit her three kids during my college years. I have consistently said that Mindy and Joel were a HUGE reason I made it through my freshman year of college, and I love their family so much. Just like Denise, she helped so much the day of the wedding, and it was so special having her there.

quarter of a century

Today is David's 25th birthday!! Happy Birthday, babe! In honor of you and your special day, here are 25 random things that I LOVE and celebrate about you:

1. You call your Grandma every Wednesday just to chat, and in the fall you talk to her about college football.
2. When I'm traveling, you track my flight online so you know exactly where I am at all times.
3. You give people the benefit of the doubt.
4. You suggest that we have a celebratory dinner for Keith's new job. And you cook. And you send me emails saying, "I like making dinner and letting you play with Kate and Becca. It is my way of serving you!"
5. You are a peacemaker.
6. Every single night you pray for us and kiss me goodnight.
7. You kiss me goodmorning, even when I'm still asleep.
8. You are professional.
9. As much as you pick on her, you think to call your mom to see how her first day of work went.
   Oh, how I hope we have sons who do the same!
10. You drive and let me sleep.
11. Since we got married, you tell your family "I love you" when you get off the phone.
12. You say "you're my girl" and you call me Emmy Lou.
13. You remind me that I'm your best friend nearly every single day.
14. The first thing you do when you get home from work (after hugging me) is pick up our dog and cuddle with him.
15. Even when I don't think you've listened to me, you surprise me by praying for specific things I've mentioned throughout the day.
16. You are so sensitive to pregnant people. For example, you always let Becca choose what/where we eat and you suggest that we stop and pick up her favorite ice cream on our way to their house.
17. You let Brianna paint your fingernails and put make up on you- and you do it for her too.
18. You have never left the toilet seat up, and you keep all of your stuff so organized in our room.
19. You drive the boat (safely and responsibly) for hours on end, and never complain about not getting your turn to do fun things.
20. I've said it before, but it is worth repeating- you never complain.
21. People always think you are at least 30. I know this is partly because of your grey hair, which you have no control over, but it's also partly because of your wise-beyond-your-years maturity.
22. You regard MS simultaneously like a little sister and a close friend. You love HayHay like a baby sister that you want to protect and take care of.
23. You think to let John drive when it is just the two of you because you know he is nervous practicing with his parents.
24. You secretly like to watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette (I know because you get mad if I delete it before you've seen it).
25. You appreciate when I cook- even if the meal is crappy- because you know how much I dread it.

I am so thankful you were born 25 years ago, babe. You are my favorite person! Love you so big.

wedding day- part 1

Getting ready

Oh, I wish my hair had stayed like this all day...

Beth did my make-up- she's so good!

My mom made the jewelry for the bridesmaids, it was beautiful!

We couldn't figure out how to get my dress on (over the stupid crinolin thing), but the resolution was to lower it over my head from the staircase. We got a good laugh out of that one.

I have no idea why we thought I couldn't just sit in the car like a normal person, but we (me and Ashley) thought this solution was better... more good laughs came from this!

Together at last

The morning of the wedding I hung out with my sister. We got our hair and nails done (after a comical event of trying to find an open nail salon and me eating a cookie monster at the mall) and got ready back at my house with all of the other bridesmaids.

David and I knew we wanted to see each other before the wedding so we could take lots of pictures (which turned out to be a tad unnecessary since I was disappointed in 80% of the pictures), so we met up at the rose garden at the Choo Choo.

2.

...years that is.

David and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on August 9 (yes, more than a week ago... so, I'm behind on the blog...) and I can hardly believe it has been that long! These two years have been the best of my life- no exaggeration. The best part about being married to David is that we are on the same team (Team G!)- no matter what the circumstances. I'm so blessed to have a husband who is truly my best friend.

Looking back (through my blog) I realized I never really did a full recap of our wedding weekend. Probably because, though wonderful, it was exhausting and I've needed some time to recover. That, and I was so disappointed with our pictures that I didn't want to show them to anyone. (A bit of advice: Use a seasoned professional for your wedding pictures. You only get one chance to get it right. You get what you pay for and the pictures are the only tangible piece of the wedding you will keep forever! I learned this lesson the hard way...)

Now I think it's time to recap the whole weekend of events!

Thursday: Honeymoon Shower

Since we knew that nearly everyone coming to the wedding would be traveling in from out-of-town, one of our main objectives for the weekend was to include as many people as possible in lots of activities. That began Thursday evening with my Honeymoon Shower and David's dinner & a ballgame outing. Ashley and Greg bought our honeymoon as their wedding gift to us (most generous gift EVER), but their one stipulation was that it be a surprise to me. So, Ashley (with the help of Courtney and Casey) threw my shower to reveal the location of our trip. Thus, it was a Mexican themed party!

Casey, Ashley and Courtney- the best hostesses!

This is how they revealed the location of our honeymoon to me!

(and yes, this was 2 days before our wedding)

The only pictures I have from this party are ones I stole from facebook. It makes me so sad that I don't have pictures of everyone that was there because so many sweet people helped us celebrate.

Friday: Play day at CVP
This was one of the best parts of the entire weekend. Jerry let us use the waterfront at camp for several hours Friday morning so we could just play and hang out with our family and friends that were in town. Lots of people made it in time to play and we had SO much fun.

Dad blobbing Greg!

Friday: Rehearsal Dinner at Coolidge Park
Once again, we decided that we wanted to include as many people as possible in the rehearsal dinner, so we had Sticky Fingers BBQ at the Walker Pavilion at Coolidge Park! The Lord blessed us with the most beautiful evening ever (especially for August in the South!) and everyone was really able to enjoy the night.

Oh, and our photographer decided not to come to the rehearsal dinner (and didn't bother telling me), but fortunately Becca had her camera with her and was gracious enough to take pictures! All the ones we have from that night are from Becca, hence the impeccable quality.

My Aunt Doris and Uncle Denny brought us leis straight from Hawaii!

Kate wasn't even here yet! I can hardly remember life pre-Kate!

Sweet, sweet friends.

Kara Rhodenbaugh (Andy's sister and like a little sister to David) and Mindy Barber (mother of the ring bearers but more importantly, my dear friend)

love them!

Stole this one off facebook, but I love it!

Up next: Wedding day!