I mean if they are getting older, does that really mean we have to also?

This weekend we had the privilege and honor of seeing Zach's best friend marry his girlfriend of seven years.  I distinctly remember all those years ago when they were sophomores in high school and Trevor's mom shared with me that Trevor and Kelsey were becoming great friends, or so they said.  MaryJo believed that they were becoming more than friends.  We saw that relationship blossom through proms and high school graduation (they missed each other's graduations because they occurred on the same night) and on into college.  While Trevor and Kelsey got closer, so did Zach and Trevor.  They became amazing friends, and Zach served as one of the best men at the wedding.

Trevor's parents have grown close to us for years through weekend group at church, sports, and finally all those high school football games where we sat together.

As Kelsey came down the aisle, we were unable to see her from our seats, but I had a clear view of Trevor.  His reaction was priceless as he tried to compose himself.  I learned later that he had actually already seen her as they did a first look for pictures. Kelsey's dad choked through the statement of giving her away, and thus started a beautiful, God-honoring ceremony.  

My reaction to Kelsey's dress was that it was very much a replica of the dress Julia drew years ago and stated that was her dream wedding dress (you can see my blog post about that here: Dreaming-- just a note on that post, Julia ended up being taller than Savannah and me)  You know the dress is perfect when you get in your vehicle to head to the reception and the guys comment on how great the dress is before the girls do.

picture credit to Adam (Trevor's brother)

picture credit to someone I don't know on FB - it tagged  Zach automatically

I loved watching Andy and the kids have fun together on the dance floor.

They clean up alright, don't you think?

I did not get many pictures of the bride and groom.  I am hoping Zach will be able to get some to share.  I did not want to interrupt their fun to ask for pictures.  It was a huge wedding with many guests to greet.

Trevor throws the garter.

I suggested one normal picture. Well you can see how that turned out.

I have looked forward to this wedding for months and it did not disappoint.  I could not find coverage for my shift at work, so my boss was gracious enough to come in and cover my last hour and fifteen minutes.  It was such a race to get home and changed that I ended up leaving my phone at home.  I took my camera or these pictures would not exist.

It was a beautiful ceremony.  Zach has spent just about every Saturday night of college at Trevor's house, so we have jokingly said this might be harder on Zach than Trevor's parents.  I do have to say it was a sentimental day.  We have a couple of kids old enough to marry.  Trevor's parents had two children move out of their home at the same time, and the week of the wedding, their youngest picked up his driving permit.  MaryJo shared that she wants a few months without milestones.  What a ride!

So I can't finish this post without sharing how much harder it gets to send Savannah back to school.  She came home overnight for the wedding and had to get back pretty soon after church so that she could get some studio work completed.  It was the first time we've seen her since we helped her move in six weeks or so ago.  Julia did her hair. Savannah helped Wyatt with chemistry, and as Zach was tied up with the wedding, and I worked right up until the wedding, we saw her the least.  Zach was disappointed to learn she had returned to school before he made it back from church.  Our family went to three different services today :)  I think after seeing so many of my kids' peers get married this summer, it really hits home that every time we send her back, it may be longer before we next see her. For all intents and purposes, Savannah has moved out of our home permanently.

It's been a minute

I'll be back, but life is just so busy right now.

Just a little recap:

I committed in August to make no new commitments for a month that rivals Christmas in extra activities, meetings, etc.  I failed to communicate this to Andy who made one commitment for me which wasn't a big deal, and the month was as insane as ever.

I thought I would catch my breath in September, but two jobs, two kids in different fall sports, and a work schedule that has been the most intense in years has left me pretty drained.  I had a really challenging week the week before last and looked forward to last week as a breather, but that was not to be.  I missed the fact that Julia had two games on the schedule, one of which conflicted with a meet for Wyatt which also conflicted with a practice for Andy.  Fortunately, that all occurred on a day Zach has no classes.  Then we followed that week with a  very busy weekend, and tomorrow I head into an intense work week.  So crazy we are.  I have definitely been depending on friends to help get my kids to everything.  We all lean on each other, and I am so fortunate to have that help.

We've had some fun. I hope to remember all the hilarious quotes from Ira when he and Regan came to watch Julia play soccer.  

We've had some stress.  A monsoon this weekend brought the reminder that our roof leaks and needs to be addressed. A drawer broke from the refrigerator, and I can't find a replacement. The other drawers are on their last legs, and we have a broken door shelf, so I am extremely disappointed that it looks like, a not so old fridge, is going to have to be replaced- buyer beware - it's a Kenmore side by side - never again!  I should have done laundry today as I have quite the pile and have an extra work meeting sandwiched between my two shifts tomorrow, but I spent the afternoon coloring in my Inspire Bible and looking for replacement knobs for the two that have broken off the China hutch I inherited from my parents.

We did have a really nice visit from Andy's mom and his sister this weekend.  They came to see him play drums at a local church.  He's been getting more opportunities to play and is loving it!

Andy's mom brought us a beautiful, engraved silver tray to celebrate our silver anniversary.  It was when I placed this in the China hutch that I found the second broken knob, both of which broke off the same drawer, so I have to fix that situation in order to open the drawer.  

Anyway, not expecting to catch my breath soon as this week will be worse than the week prior to last.  It's all just part of life.  I am praying hard that I can get coverage for my Saturday shift so that I don't have to miss Zach's best friend's wedding.  I have had it on the calendar and been looking forward to it for months but had no say in my work schedule.  I have asked everyone and even offered to work most of the shift if someone can just work the last two hours for me, but nobody is available. This inability to get coverage is a first for me.  Please join me in praying for that.  I will get off work at the time the wedding starts, so I will be able to head straight to the reception to celebrate this terrific couple, but I really hate to miss all they planned for their special day.

Soccer Victory

Tiffany and Paul love watching soccer and are both former soccer parents, so they showed up to watch Julia play and brought a couple of surprises with them.  

I believe Ira entertained the crowd with his banter.  With 15 minutes left in the first half, he announced, "15 minutes till the real game starts!"

This was a truly disappointing game for Julia as she got minimal playing time - the least she's had all season.  She's used to playing more than half the game.  At one point Ira yelled, "Go Julia - even though you are on the bench!"  

He had all of us laughing.  The other parents recognized them from my social media posts and really got a kick out of them.  Isaac could not attend.  He's got one more shot at seeing a game this week - not sure whether he will make it or not.