Wedding Preparation

Again, these picture are all out of order. I don't know why it does this.

Monica and OliviaEveryone taking a break from decorating

We didn't finish decorating until about midnight. We were all so tired!

The reception hall was on the seventh floor and there were windows all the way around. It was very beautiful. The front windows, which were behind the head table, had candles in it. The candle stick is just a reflection from the head table.

The Bride and Flower Girl

The bridesmaids were supposed to put their bouquets in the vases on the reserved tables. Brandy did such a nice job with the roses though we decided to leave them.

I thought all the tables were so beautiful!

All of the little pink flowers that lined the tables had to be cut off the stems. That took a very long time!!

We hot glued five roses on to each little plate. It was kind of funny because it ended up looking like a big rose.

Erin and Eli's Wedding

I am finally posting picture from my cousins wedding. For some reason they loaded in a very mixed up order. I guess you will just have to take them as they come.
I didn't post a picture of just Grandpa, so I just wanted to say he performed the ceremony. He did a wonderful job. He will be 90 in December so it was pretty amazing he was able to do it.

The Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Olivia and Troy

At the end of the picture someone decided we needed to do some funny shots. They decided to have the guys take the bouquets and the girls had the guys jackets. Those jackets were HOT! We had fun doing it. I couldn't keep my glasses on though. They were so big they just kept falling off.

The Bride

The Whole family

Four Generations
Grandpa, Mom, Dale and Heather

How is that for a wedding party?

Erin and Eli placed pink rose buds in memory of each of their grandparents and their pastor who died last year.

My cousin Adam and his fiance, Brandy.

This rose was place in memory of their pastor.

Is she a cute flower girl, or what???

Monica, Beckisue and I played Bow the Knee for the lighting of the Unity Candle and the placing of the roses.

Erin and Eli's Quilt

I finally got the picture of the quilt so I can post. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get any better pictures. Oh well, I think you can see them well enough.



On the picture below you can see the stitching. There is a lot!

Hey, I've been tagged by... MaryBeth!  I will be a half way good sport and do this but I won't tag anyone else. I am not that mean. ;) Besides - Everyone I know has already been tagged except Courtney and she is too busy.

Here is what I have to do:
Answer some questions
Link her to my blog
Tag six other people and
Comment on their blog to let them know.

Who is your favorite author and why?
I can't really name a favorite author. I do love the writing style of Lucy Maud Montgomery and C.S. Lewis. I would also have to say that I like the author of The Powers That Be. ;) I was really fun to read a novel and know the author. I could see him in the book so much!!

Who was your first favorite author and why?
I don't even know. I loved the Grandma's Attic series when I was little. (Actually I still do) but I don't remember the authors name.

Who is your most recent addition to your favorite authors and why?
John Piper. I just started reading a book by him called Taste and See. It has been very good so far. I think very highly of him.

If someone were to ask you right now - which author would just pop into mind?

All the ones I just named! Probably Jerry B. Jenkins because MB named him and J R R Tolkein because Hannah named him etc.

Chicago Excursion

We found out Sunday that my cousin was going to have a 5 hour stop in Chicago on her way back to Arizona. She was taking a train so she could just get off and do what she wanted for those five hours. When my dad found out that she was going to be there for all that time he didn’t like the idea of her being by herself so Monica decided we would go up and spend it together.

We left about 8:30 this morning. There were a few little mishaps in direction on the way up but nothing big. Monica had printed off directions to Union Station. There was only one problem. When we got up here 65 was closed between 80-94 and 90 which is where we were supposed to go. I tried to call my dad but he didn’t answer. I tried a few other people and finally got ahold of a lady from our church who used to live in the Chicago area so she knows it pretty well. We were able to find our way pretty easily. The traffic wasn’t ever all that bad.

When we got to Union Station, Brittany was standing there waiting for us so she threw her luggage in and jumped in before the light turned green. Then things got fun. Did you all know it is impossible to park ANYWHERE in Chicago with out paying at least $15? We just wanted to stop long enough to get some subs at Subway! So, again, we stopped at a red light and Brittany and I jumped out and the other girls drove around the block while we got the subs. We wanted to go eat at Lake Michigan and then decide what we wanted to do. The problem is we got going the wrong direction (which was my fault. I told Monica not to turn and then realized we should have when it was too late.) and we couldn’t get back! We finally got to Navy Pier which is where we wanted to be. We ate our lunch and then walked around trying to decide what we wanted to do. We thought about riding the Ferris Wheel but we decided to look around before we decided. Of course, by the time we got finished we didn’t have time. :) We walked to the end of the pier and all the way around. We had a lot of fun looking around at everything. The lake is so beautiful! We took a water taxi back out into the city a little ways. The boat ride was fun but I was kind of disappointed that it was kind of hard to see out. It was still neat though.

We had to walk several blocks back to the pier. The problem was that we weren’t sure how to get directly back so we hit a dead end and had to walk all the way around the block to get back. Some of the gardens and fountains were beautiful. We really enjoyed it. Chicago is a neat place to visit but I am so thankful I live outside of little Logansport, pop. 17,000.

When we got back to Navy Pier we all got ice-cream. We made the mistake of getting two scoops. That is a lot of ice cream! I was getting full before finished the first scoop! I got one strawberry and one chocolate. The one thing I liked about it was that they actually filled the cones! I hate it when the ice cream is only on top and then you have to fight to keep it from falling off and your cone is just plain. 

Then came the part that made me realize why my dad HATES Chicago. When we headed back to Union Station we were supposed to get on Lake Shore Dr. but somehow we didn’t. We just had to drive the regular streets. If anyone has ever told you that Chicago drivers are rude they were right!! It was terrible!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO tired of hearing people honk. At one point we got in a lane behind  a bus that decided to park in the middle of the street. We needed to get over and no one would let us which was not unexpected but then the people behind us started honking at us and yelling. I don’t know what we were supposed to do. We couldn’t get around either. We got lost driving around. I was so tense trying to read the map and help Monica drive at the same time. Yikes! I couldn’t believe how often those people switch lanes! Things would be a lot better if people would just pick one and stay there! We finally made it but by then the time was getting close for Brittany’s train to leave!  She wanted me to jump out and help her with her luggage. I thought it was just to unload out of the trunk so I didn’t grab my cell phone. She ended up wanting me to help her into the station. I didn’t mind helping her but I was really wishing I had my phone. I think my phone is like a security blanket for me. I don’t mind being by myself if I can at least contact someone! So after helping her for a while I decided I had better get back to the car. When I got back out the girls were gone! I figured they had had to leave the loading/unloading lane and drive around. But, of course, I didn’t have my phone! I just waited and watched VERY closely so I would see them coming. They came back in just a couple of minutes and I jumped in.

We decided to head down Lake Shore Dr. but as my dad would say “You can’t get there from here!” We were basically just winding our way southeast. Pretty soon we were in some areas we really didn’t want to be in. Yikes! We got out of it pretty soon. I called Dad and he said just to get over to Lake Shore Dr. as soon as we could. One crazy, funny thing that happened was we stopped at a light and then it turned green so we started to go and this guy walked out in front of us and then stopped there while he waited for the other lanes to clear so he could finish crossing. I still can’t get over how rude people are! If people would just follow the rules of traffic it would be so much better for everyone!  We finally made it back to Lake Shore Dr. and then after that it wasn’t so bad.

We decided when we got back on to 65 we would stop at Cracker Barrel and just unwind and relax. Our supper was very good and we had the sweetest waitress. The problem with being in that area is that people assume you are from First Baptist Hammond. I don’t like being associated with them! The waitress asked us where we went to church so we told her and then she told us that she thought maybe we went to First Baptist. She told us where she went to church. It was some Baptist church in that area. All in all she was one of the best waitresses I have ever had.

We had a very good day. The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather and protection from the crazy drivers and our stupid mistakes. He is always good!

The First of Many

This is the first of many post to follow on little things that Heather says.
Last night we were sitting at supper (in the dark because the storm knocked out the power) and Monica started asking Heather if she could say certain things. Monica asked her if she could say taco. She said taco. Monica asked her if she could say burrito and she said burrito. THEN she asked her if she chimmichanga her answer... "yes." We all laughed so hard! We had such a wonderful time with her yesterday afternoon. All except for the time spent in our nasty basement waiting for the storm to blow over. It was quite a storm but thankfully there was not damage.

Kindness of Strangers

This afternoon my mom asked me to grab a few groceries for her because she was going to Indy with Dad and couldn't go to the store. I ran to the store and got the few items and then headed to the gas station to fill the gas can. I still had over $20 left and never thought about that not being enough to fill a gas can. I filled the gas can and THEN looked at the total. Yikes! That is not a good idea. But I decided that even though I hated how much it was I did have the money for it. Wrong again. When I went to pay I didn't have as much money left as I thought I did. I told the woman what happened and step out of line to call someone. I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to do because my parents were on their way to Indianapolis and my older sisters were in Royal Center. I called Monica to see if she just happened to be in town. While I was on the phone this man came up to me and asked if I just needed some change. I told him it was a few dollars and he walked away. Monica was just telling me that she could give her credit card number over the phone when the man came up again and handed me his business card and $5 and told me just to send it back to him! I was pretty surprised! All I know about him is he is a construction worker with a three generation business that was established in 1944. That is what his card says. Tomorrow morning $5 will be headed off in the mail. Praise God for always providing even in the most unexpected ways.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday, Courtney! We will have to celebrate when I get back. We'll just make your birthday longer. :) Until then - Love ya, and I hope you have a great day!