RENEWING VOWS - PART 2

(In this pic Matthew, Tracey, Pastor Rob, Kyle, Michael)

I love weddings. It is always an honor to be invited to join the celebration as people you care about cross that portal from singleness into marriage. Being invited to share in the celebration of renewed marriage vows takes on a whole different level of special. There is something wondrous about witnessing couples who have lived the day to day of married life and say "I still choose you."

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I have been to several vow renewals, each one a cherished memory. I remember sitting with my friend, Carole, in a salon as she was getting her hair done. She was surprising her husband. He thought he was officiating as my husband and I renewed our vows. I sat in the chair next to her as the hairdresser was styling her hair into a beautiful updo. I was transfixed as I watched her transforming from my dear friend, into a beautiful bride. I thought I had never seen her lovelier, until I saw her standing across from her adoring husband, a total expression of love and devotion radiating from her face. Breathtaking!

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My sister-friend Tracey (that's her and her family in the photo above) can "out Martha" Martha Stewart. I have seen her fashion beautiful roses from toilet paper (during a shower game!) She always adds these incredible touches to anything she decorates. I was sitting at a ministry meeting waiting to head out to my friends' house for their vow renewal. My cell rang and it was Tracey. "Can you come. I need you right now." I don't even remember if I said goodbye as I sprang from that room to go help my friend. Remembering that moment reminded me of how much I love this friend and how often she has come to my rescue. Tracey looked stunning. Again, she was transformed from my dear friend, into this beautiful bride. Her home was perfectly decorated, all these touches of flowers in just the right places around the rooms. I recall how much she had put in to this event, wanting everything to be special and beautiful and romantic as she looked in to her husband-groom's face and said "I still do!" Kyle choked up as he said his vows and I loved him for loving my friend so much that the thought of their union evoked such emotion.

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This summer, one of my favorite couples, Amy and Craig, will be renewing their vows. Everyone can see how they love each other, how they take care of each other. A family with two children now, they haven't lost that sparkle in their relationship. I cannot wait!

TUNELESS

So, I think I may have told you that I really do not sing well. I like to tell people that Rachel was the only baby who ever cried when mom sang a lullaby.

Last night we discovered that not only can I not sing a tune, I cannot tap a tune either! Rachel introduced me to this game on her Ipod. "Hail to the Chief" was the one that made her fall out in side-splitting laughter.

While we are sure she got her musical genes from her dad, we KNOW she got her laughter genes from me!

Image taken from here.

MY DAUGHTER'S TREATING!

She's read the book. She plays the music. She's seen the movie.

Time for her to see the stage play!!

<3

Image taken from here.

HAPPY STUFF FROM MY PAST MONTH

1. Quote of the Day - "You won't find a sea in an ocean!"
2. Watching Jack L love his farm animal toys.
3. Hearing Tina Fab sing on Easter.
4. A couple 70 degree days.
5. Five 1 minute sprints on the treadmill after not having run in over a year since I sprained my ankle.
6. Video of Jack A singing and coloring Easter Eggs.
7. An unexpected phone call from my great-nephew Jeremy.
8. The daffodils sitting on my table.
9. Finding out the Phyllis has her money for her mission trip.
10. Playing Balderdash at a big family get together.
11. Loving God so much (and knowing you are loved back) you want to shout!

MY SURPRISE GIFT

I am NOTORIOUS for guessing presents. My first married Christmas, my mother-in-law mailed our packages from Florida. We opened the large shipping boxes to find brightly wrapped presents inside. As I picked up each present and read the label, I would shake the box and say something like, "Hmmm, feels like a pair of jeans." Turns out I was right on every package. My new husband jokingly informed me that I had ruined Christmas.

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One of my closest friends doubted my gift guessing abilities. I was at her house and she told me her father had been trying to guess his Christmas gift for a couple weeks. She dared me to try and guess, confident that I wouldn't have a clue. I begged her, "Louise, please. I don't want to ruin your dad's Christmas." Finally, after she dumped the present in my lap, I picked it up. "Are you sure you want me to do this?" I asked. "Go ahead. I am telling you there is NO WAY you will guess this." I picked it up. Shook it and pronounced, "A set of rachets." I will never forget the look of disbelief on her face! Or how hard her dad was laughing!

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My daughter's first Christmas, my brother said, "You will never guess what I got Rachel for Christmas!" "Volume 2 of the Beatrix Potter books?" There was no gift or package involved to shake this time, but once again...nailed it. He had that same shocked look on his face that Louise had a few years earlier.

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That brings me to this year. I knew what my daughter was getting me for Christmas because she needed me to help pick out the model I wanted. But then she put this other gift under the tree and said, "This is your surprise gift. Be very careful because it is fragile." Oh, you know that I tried to feel the package, but very I did so very gingerly because I was afraid to break it. I had no clue. The weeks before Christmas, I would ponder and ponder. Gentle little prying poke of the package. Nothing.

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Christmas morning I could not wait to find out what this was. She had wrapped a water bottle and flip flop to throw me off (yes, that is a photo of the actual thing). My REAL surprise gift was Season 2 of The Office. She knew if she had wrapped that up I would have probably guessed it.

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I think I had that same confounded look that my brother and my friend had had on their faces when I opened my surprise gift. I laughed for about 20 minutes. And now, my daughter has become legend for out-witting her mom. This will be my favorite gift for years to come!!!

PARTY ON, GARTH!

Wow, did I have a wonderful weekend. Friday, I had dinner with a friend from high school. She also stood up in my wedding. We had a number of years to catch up on. It was wonderful to hear about her family and the many ways God has blessed her.

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Saturday, we began repainting Rachel's room. Off to Lowe's to pick out paint. The young kid at the paint counter told me I made his day. That was because I enlisted him to assist in pranking my daughter. I got him to put a horrible color on the paint can lid when he was done mixing the right color. It only took her a few minutes to figure out that mom was up to her shenanigans again. But it was fun. We painted the rest of the day, picked out a new lamp, new curtains, and a few other odds and ends. Her room is looking pretty good!

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Sunday was the cherry on top of this delightful weekend. My friends Manly and Juney and I attended a service at Evangel Ministries. What a great time!! This church loves Jesus. And loves whoever walks in their doors. It was a total party....celebrating, dancing, learning, giving and receiving. I haven't had this much fun in a long time.

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I walked in to work this morning and one of my co-workers said "You must have had a good weekend. You look rested." I would say it was peace and joy more than rest!!

WAS THAT WHIZZER WHIZZING BY?

My neighbors have a white dog named Whizzer. Yeah, I don't think he got that name for being fast. They have asked several times(and I don't believe they were kidding) if we were perhaps looking for a dog. One day I saw Whizzer running down the street and was able to entice him to me with some very splendid dog treats. When I returned him, his owners clipped him to a leash INSIDE the house. I thought this very strange until I heard stories about their "wireless" fence and many other failed attempts to keep Whizzer in his own yard.

A week or so later, as I stood over a counter preparing some things for my mom's daily rituals, I saw a very tired, white dog hurrying home in the early morning hours. Was it? Why yes, it was Whizzer. That was the first of many mornings I have watched Whizzer returning from his canine adventures, tongue lolling to the side, laboured breathing...but definitely a look of smug satisfaction on his whiskered face.

This makes me laugh. I look for Whizzer every morning now, hoping to witness this triumphant truant returning in all his glorious splendor. I don't know why this makes me feel happy....but it does.

Image taken from here.

THINKING ON THE HAPPY

Having a rough, tiring, overwhelming day today, so I decided to think on a few happy things:

1. My daughter had her nose pierced and it looks very cute.
2. My friend, Kelly, sent me two pics today, one of her baby boy on his daddy's lap at the piano, and another of her pregnant and totally beautiful profile.
3. When I unpacked my new work laptop the other day, there was a pink breast cancer support key ring, and it made me think of my friend.
4. My mom's neighborhood had a block party on Saturday. I got to meet a lot of people who I wouldn't have met otherwise and also to visit with a few old friends.
5. Your blogs were fun, and interesting, and vulnerable, and....well, they feel kind of cozy to me. Hope that makes sense.
6. I got a secret message from a friend in an email that made me laugh.
7. God...thinking about God. He makes me feel happy.
8. The movie I watched last night...The Green Mile....it made me cry but I was glad I watched it.
9. I planted these yellow daisy like flowers, and they always look like they are smiling.
10. The rain. I like the rain.

IMAGE TAKEN FROM HERE.