7 Quick Takes (Volume 97)--The Wedding Edition!!

1) We had a FANTASTIC time last weekend when my brother Jeff got married. Here he is with his sweet, lovely bride Trisha. Don't they look happy?


I've always thought he looked a bit like NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Don't ya think?

2) My brothers are twins. Here's the ying to Jeff's yang--Jason and his wife Jaime.


When our brothers were born I was ten and my sister eight. We were thrilled to each get our own real live baby. Teri was afraid of handling Jeff since he was very small at birth, just 4 pounds, 1 ounce, so I claimed him. Jason became her baby.

It's weird, but my sister-in-law Jaime looks more like my sister than I do. Here's proof. Teri is the blond to the right of me. (The adorable dimple girl on the left is my cousin Jami who we grew up with.)


Kevin pointed out at the wedding how Teri and I resemble our "baby's" wife more than we do each other. Funny! So Trisha, you and I have this odd pairing now (lucky you!). Brunettes unite!

3) I'm feeling a little guilty glossing over my cousin Jami like that (she was so much a part of my childhood, we're almost like sisters), so I should back up a bit. I grew up with a close extended family. We spent weekends together all the time. Our aunts, uncles and cousins were our social network. To this day the whole smack of us gets together once or twice a year. It may sound odd, but my kids are very familiar with my cousins' kids. I love it! They are a fun bunch of people as you can tell by this.


Nearly all the people in this picture are my relatives. I see my aunt, my nephew, lots of cousins and their kids. If you look closely you can see Kevin's and Drummer Boy's heads. I'm in the mix somewhere. Do you see Miss Innocent One towards the back with the yellow sash?

Drummer Boy had to take a picture with my cousin Jill. He was the ring bearer in her wedding fifteen years ago. She's taken great delight in hounding him ever since, never missing an opportunity to embarrass him with a hug or kiss, even in his high school years. By the looks of this picture, I don't think he's minded all that much.


4) And speaking of fun times with cousins, my kids had a great time hanging out all weekend with my siblings' kids. In our childbearing years, my sister and I took turns having four kids each (I had one, she had one, I had one, she had one . . .), so our kids are pretty close in age, but Jason's kids are much younger at 5 and 3. The age difference and the distance Teri's family lives from us hasn't prevented our kids from developing close relationships as these pictures confirm.














Somehow my youngest and Teri's youngest were not in that mix, but here's proof they were there. Drummer Boy got a little camera happy. Poor Miss Innocent One didn't know what hit her!


Here's my niece Sweet Cheeks taking advantage of the dollar dance to have Uncle Jeff all to herself. Isn't she sweet?


Boy, in this picture my brothers do look like twins.

5) Here's the woman responsible for it all. I LOVE it when people tell me I look like her. What a classy lady.


It's all your fault, Mom. THANK YOU!

6) The only downer to the day was the absence of our dad and Trisha's mom who passed away from cancer five and six years ago respectively. More than a few tears were shed over the lack of their presence.

Dad and Nancy--you were missed.

7) All in all it was one of the best weekends we've ever had.


I am overwhelmed with God's goodness. My family is wonderful. We felt like a real unit. My heart smiled at the way our kids are so familiar with each other and I don't think I've ever seen Jeff so happy. Plus I had some tender moments with my brothers I will treasure forever.

Welcome to this crazy tribe Trisha and congratulations to you and Jeff! Thanks for getting married and throwing this amazing shindig reminding me how awesome my family is. We love you and are happy for you!

And anxiously awaiting more cousins!

Looking for more Quick Takes? Wander over to Conversion Diary.



P.S. I should give credit where credit is due. I didn't shoot ANY of these pics. They came from Drummer Boy, my cousins Leigh and Jami, and a shot or two by Kevin and Miss Innocent One. Thanks for capturing some great moments!

Our Wedding

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Five things that could have ruined our wedding.

1. The pastor I grew up with was too ill to do the ceremony. Our second choice, a pastor who had also been one of our professors in college, was unavailable. We ended up with a guy named Reverend Bump. Our initial meeting confirmed his name suited him.

2. It rained HARD all day and my cousin called to say we wouldn't be able to use his Model A because it didn't have windshield wipers.

3. The zipper in my dress split open when my mom zipped me into it. Being the smart cookie she is, she tried again, nonchalantly suggested we put a few pins in for good measure and didn't tell me about it until the next day.


4. We wanted to take communion as our first act as a married couple. Due to my miscommunication, we discovered a few minutes before the ceremony we had no bread. We scrounged the church kitchen and found some croutons. We later wished we would've checked the expiration date when we spent half the wedding digging them out of our teeth.

5. We decided to do traditional vows AS WELL AS our own statements to one another. Did you ever have to give a really important speech in front of 400 people when your insides were already mush?




Five things that DIDN'T ruin our wedding.

1. Reverend Bump turned out to be a pretty decent guy. He apparently listened intently to our personal statements and used them later in his message to make things more personal for these kids he'd only met once. Most importantly, the marriage is still legal!

2. It quit raining toward late afternoon and the sun came out. The rain served to cool off what could have been a hot August day. We had a beautiful evening and the time of our lives cruising to the reception in the rumble seat of the Model A.




3. The dress held secure with no mishaps until we didn't want it to anymore. Enough said.


4. We still laugh about the croutons. Chewy! Ew!

5. When I finally got down the aisle and saw how excited my man was to being marrying me, I didn't think too much about other people. He held my hands tight as I told him what was in my heart and it felt like we were on campus after one of our romantic walks, planted in front of the Jesus window, dreaming about our future together. I could hardly stand still as we recited our vows knowing our future as husband and wife was finally beginning.



Fast forward nearly 22 years and we're still together. Still. God is GOOD!


Are you a sucker for romance? Read more wedding stories at Chrysalis.