we are here

and it's lovely and green, but snowed today. yes'm.

bride, aunti and I watched the 'royal wedding',, so slept only a few hours.

tomorrow bridal shower # 3.
and I think we're catching a Renissance Fair. woohoo

up, up, and away!!!

Thursday evening will find Bride picking up two lovely ladies at the airport. My sister and I are flying out to attend a bridal shower for her.
This is the auntie's first time to this location and state, so she's excited to explore new territory. I'm happy to have some time with my sister. We have fun together, and it will be tripled to be around Bride too.


It's a short trip.... getting home on Monday evening, but long enough to get zumba with the bride and a community concert in. Not to mention the bridal shower and church.
Hope to take in the local farmers market too. Bride assures me spring is slowly sneaking in. Will be fun to see.
And of course, we plan to wake up to watch 'the other' wedding that's happening, too. 

God blessed our land with a much needed rain last night. We got a lovely slow, gentle one inch. thanks God.


And our dog blessed the huppah by burying the Easter ham bone under it!!

huppah hoopla part 4

We've gone from this

 

 with some arm stretching repairs

FOB loosing his head

AT LAST!!

Keeping with Bride's desire to be "green", this was built from her grandma's former rose arbor. The patio pavers were also part of grandparents backyard. 
Now Bride just needs to decorate it when she gets home. 

I heard FOB tell his mom yesterday about the huppah adventures. He also said while he was working on it he couldn't get a song out of his head.
"Is this the little girl I carried? .....
I don't remember growing older..
when did they?....
Wasn't it yesterday when she was small?"

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly go the days....

yes those days are going swift...33 days left!

huppah hoopla part 3

Good morning!

 guess what we have?? 

We've not seen this in a long long long time.

 

 little circles on the tulip leaf

are raindrops.

yeah!!

we desperately need the moisture

thanks God.

However, it does put a bit of longer pause in huppah finishing. 

Let's play a game. Just how many holes does 

it take for a 4 posted huppah? 

 1,2,

   3, 4, and 5, so far.

Under the tin is the hole where the sewer line

waits patiently to be fixed.

sigh...

I prefer to enjoy my bloomer's this morning! 

Wanna see them?

coral bells and a bit of coreopsis

 hanging baskets and alliums standing tall

 more regal alliums

I love this bed of bloomers.

 

huppah hoopla--part 2

I almost don't want to tell you part 2.

Hubby woke up with a plan to fix this himself, 
with help from friends.

okay? maybe, 
maybe not. 
time will tell I guess. sigh......

then he went back to digging, digging, 
and more digging for post #3

He came in the house to tell me his latest discovery.
Can you guess?

the gas line!

Fortunately he only discovered it, did not pierce it. 
whew....
 I can hardly wait to see what Mondays digging session discovers.

btw Bride....due to under-lying issues....your huppah has gotten longer. No options kiddo...this is how it has to be. I think Dad said 7 ft...so not that big of a difference...but it's not complete..so who knows?



stayed tuned in for the fun adventures of 
planning a backyard wedding!!!
 

huppah hoopla --part 1

 chuppah, huppah: 'canopy or covering'


According to the Jewish view of marriage, the purpose of marriage is both companionship and procreation. The Chuppah is a marriage canopy that symbolizes the couple's first home together.


The Chuppah is basically a piece of cloth held up by four poles. Some people use a tallit prayer shaw for the Chuppah cloth. The Chuppah is open on all sides, which is reminiscient of the hospitality Abraham and Sarah showed guests in their open tent.

The Chuppah is usually held outside, under the stars, just prior to sundown, as a reminder of the blessing given by God to Abraham, that his children will be as numerous "as the stars of the heavens."

Tell me why it is that Bride, who was born and raised in the Friends church,( Quaker), and she and RMG are currently members of a Lutheran congregation, are using a Jewish tradition in their ceremony.


Regardless, huppah making is happening.
We determined the best location for the 4 poles.
Hubby, began digging, and digging, and digging.  
He took breaks , 
he got blisters, 
but two poles have a home.

I'm sure the poles seemed this tall to the digger-man

He got the 3rd pole almost done. Just a few more inches to go...
ka-thunk. 
what?
hmmmm...
he gets a flashlight
he calls me to come see down the hole.

I'm thinking snake, frog, animal bones, something gory.
He assures me it's not alive. 


I look in the hole,
hmmmm,

You know what this is? 
That thin piece of black plastic seen in the bottom center of this photo?

A sewer line. 

Our sewer line to be precise. 

It now has a chunk missing. 

sigh...

Calling the plumber tomorrow. 

maybe...

If you have a wedding in your near future,
and if your bride lives light years away from home,
you might have places in your home that look like this.

 Which isn't bad at all I know.

 and closet doors open with dresses 

stretched to reduce wrinkling.

 it's a combo of wedding 

paraphanalia

and shower gifts that

need a ride to 

the bride. 

I won't show you the multiple sets of dishes

which are stashed under the bed.

hmmmm

maybe we should try them out for Easter Dinner.

wedding break

today I'm hanging out with my great nephew. He's visiting his grandparents and they both had commitments this morning. So lucky me gets to play with him.
It's a nice break from wedding stuff. We watched the bus's go past taking kids to school, played with Mr Potato Head. Sung songs with Mickey Mouse...and now he's chillin, watching cartoons. I'm not up on my cartoons so don't really know who this Manny character is, but all the tools are talking and we're on a construction site, so thinking maybe Bob the builder? 
Next week at this time his "daaama" and I are flying to see Bride for bridal shower # 3.  I know we'll have fun, even if the weather will be  chillier than what we have. 
Once we get back it will be crazy calendar time for me as we do the countdown to the wedding day.  


Makes today's break with this darling 2 year old boy that much more enjoyable.

'sunrise...sunset...swiftly go the days'

FOB and I watched Fiddler on the Roof yesterday. We've enjoyed this musical for many years together, especially as our kids were getting older. Having 2 delightful daughters we've always known the time would come for weddings and such. This movie is great, tender, full of funny lines, beautiful songs and dances,  worth watching many times. I've shed tears during it when we didn't have a wedding on the horizon! Between the giggling, laughing and sniffling, I 'd say we got lots of stress released. ! Especially FOB.
You might remember I was a teary momma the first weekend of this month with the bridal showers...so it was the poppa's time I guess. 

I was telling my mom how teary eyed I had been. She said, "I didn't look at it as giving you kids away. To me, we just gained another."
I assured her that's our plan too. But regardless, it still can be a tender time. 

Along with a few frustrations tossed in.
 Recently Bride and I exchanged emails of who's-doing-what-lists. It was kind of funny actually, because I was forgetting some things we had already discussed so had asked her again. When she responded "I thought we had discussed this and...." woops!!


I was telling this to my amazing sister and she giggled along with me. Then she said, "I think you and Bride need to just give each other grace. At this point you are both going to forget some things because there is sooo much to remember. " 


I come from a family of wise women doncha think?

a perfect day for a wedding

We are 6 weeks away from THE DAY. However, today it is GORGEOUS outside. A mild 77 degrees and the miraculous part is only a 3mph wind. That's like no wind really. Several of the trees are that pretty bright spring green, tulips still blooming. A few annuals are  joining the show, little yellow coreopsis and dark purple salvia...it's lovely outside. Wish you were all here so I could share it with you. It's a perfect day outside.


Just turned  the water on in the front and back yards, because we still desperately need moisture. And those 70 mph winds this past week did not bring rain, only made us more dry. sigh.  

In 2008 I celebrated a my 50th birthday with a backyard Hawaiian Luau. Another pretty evening, eventually. While we set up the wind kept us from putting the pretty tablecloths out and my brown-eyed-handsome-hubby, kept saying  "lets move this to the church." 
But we stayed the course and enjoyed a lovely evening in our yard.


If I can figure out how to upload the photos from a disc, I'll share some of that fun day with you.
Otherwise, take it from me...it was lovely, we had fun. amen


That's my plan for 6 weeks from today. 
It will be lovely..
We will have fun. 
amen

there's a party goin on !

RMG passed his prelims!!!

fyi, this is a series of big monster tests he needed to pass in order to move on with his PHD in physics!!!!

Upon getting my congratulatory text he replied, "Thanks! It's great to be on the winning side of this thing!"

We are happy for you RMG.  


On a personal note, I have my own party happenin. 
Today I got to meet one of the neighboring towns police officers.
Seems my foot was heavy. 
Wouldn't you know he was a graduate from our high school, and he was feeling VERY kind today. 
This blue-eyed officer let me go with a warning, only. 
whew!!!!!


so...me n RMG are celebrating!. A zillion miles apart,, but hey... still celebrating.










 

backyard beauties

The tulips planted in December are bloomin'.

Here's some peony-like tulips .

Mr. Frog is pondering these beauties.

 I admire this renegade. 

Be who God made you.

 Tony is sniffing the salvia.

The phlox is new too. 

Too bad none of these beauties 

will be blooming in a month.

 

numbers

Bride's web site said  48 days till wedding.

I counted up RSVP's and have 150.
Not everyone has responded even. 

guess I'll get more napkins!




 

a day of rest

After church yesterday I took a long nap. 
One of those where you keep trying to wake up..
but its a challenge. And when you do, you feel drugged.

Last evening my nose began to feel ..not quite right.
I woke up at 4:30 a.m. achey. 

So today am I surprised it's drippy nose and achey leg day?


Not really.


I think I'll go back to bed.

YARD PROGRESS

FOB and I did yard stuff this morning.

We moved this arbor to it's wedding home here.

This has a gate here that is the entrance for guests and bridal party. Rose bush on right should be in full bloom.  

Spirea on left should too. Hostas are in the bed under rose bush.

I lined up the patio chairs to see how many rows will fit in this area.

Can do 10-15 chairs in a row on that side of the aisle. More as we do a curve to optimize viewing.

Will do something similar on the other aisle side.

Shifting hoopa locale a bit to line up with the walkway.

This is taken from bride and grooms possible spot.

 Then I added another row of bricks to fill in the area, 

makes mowing easier, 

and covers the dirt! : )

I want to hit the rewind button

We had 2 very lovely days of fun. My heart has been filled to abundance, blessed beyond measure, surpassing what I ever considered. 
I want to do it again..... kind of. 
Both bridal showers were perfect. Much planning and thoughtfulness was evident. From the decor to the food, all in the wedding colors.( that's tricky since they are varied)
The attention to detail gave Bride and I delight and joy. The love emanating from each hostess was evident. These ladies made it delightful and tender. 


This mom of the bride stuff is trick-sy. Such a variety of emotions can come across your heart. I'm sure, based on the past weekend, I shall have 'waterworks' for the next 2 months. consistently. 

There's a variety of roles to play....hats to wear.
Here's my oldest daughter having nervous butterfly's in abundance, on the edge of being overwhelmed by the love being expressed to her. I put on my momma-hat, giving her reassurance she can do this, she is worthy.
chin up child, we can do this. 
Bride has many people who love her. Many in W-town I had not met yet. I put on my Mrs.-Got-rocks-I-can-walk-into-a-room-full-of-veritable-strangers-hat hoping to feel comfortable enough to do the hello's and necessary small talk. Also my desire for each guest to feel comfortable, for family to get to meet each other, the introductions needing to happen, I couldn't be in several places at once to oversee it .... ( breathe here mob)
chin up momma, we can do this.
There are questions to be answered, often by the hostesses, sometimes I have answers, sometimes I don't. On pops the she-knows-whats-going-on-hat. 
chin up ladies, you're doing great.

This next one I struggle to formulate in to words. Like Bride I am overwhelmingly blessed by the love and kindness expressed to us both. The support, desire to serve, desire to be helpful, useful, that was displayed beautifully by many of our friends. From the flowers just for me, to everyone's helpful ways in seeing family had cake, etc., the people who visited with my momma. My sister ( which warrants it's own post)....
Even though I was not able to make all the formal intros, wouldn't you know it....RMG's and Bride's family hopped right in and introduced themselves. Of course. Nor was I able to answer personally questions asked by others.
Maybe this hat is named GRACE. What I need to give myself  because I cannot do it all and be everything for everyone, and hopefully no one but myself expects that of me.
chin up momma, God gave you great friends who are more than willing to be helpful. LET THEM.


I will say... the weekend flew by, we loved it, made sweet memories, and I am blessed beyond measure. 




 

Sentimental Journey

Brides two grandmama's gave her some very special gifts this weekend. So special in fact they each caused leaky eye syndrome.
FOB's momma, known as Gram, gave a beautiful glass serving dish to her granddaughter. This dish belonged to my mother-in-love's, mother-in-love. Or to make sense, Brides great grandma. No clue's as to the age of this gift, well over 50 years for certain. The card from Gram said something about Bride enjoying serving with this dish just like her great grandma did. 
My MIL is sentimental like this and has shared family treasures with all of us, which we love.

Then my momma gave Bride something not so old, but just as sentimental. My mom makes the best pie crust. Honest. 
(I would be happy to just eat the crust and skip the filling. ...
maybe..
okay..not 
because her apple pie is fought over at family dinners.) 
Many years ago she got some pie engravers. These are cute little ceramic things you use like a cookie cutter to make designs in the top crust. Now Miss Bride is the owner of them. She's been making pies for RMG for awhile now, perfecting her own crust. Now they can be decorated with extra special love.


In case you're wondering about my mom not having them anymore....she has had to resort to a good frozen crust. Between arthritis and cancer, homemade crusts are a thing of the past for her now. We are just happy to have her around...homemade crusts we do love, but not as much as we love our momma/grandma.

New Way of Thinking

 Bride hustled and scrambled to get packed up today. Deciding what to take back, what to store here, etc. 
She was almost out the door and I commented only 55 days left to the wedding!.
Those big brown eyes got bigger a bit alarmed, almost frantic.
I do understand.
But then I said, " just think ...in 55 days no more planning and plotting." 
THAT idea was very appealing and made her cheer and grin. 

W-TOWN SHOWER

 

my gorgeous girls

 signs pointing the way

sweet, colorful tables

possibly the cutest cookies ever

lots of adorable creative cookies made by one of the hostesses

story telling bride

snack line!!

Hostesses with the mostest. More importantly, 

cherished friends of Bride.

curly, larry and moe

Tender Times

Today is bridal shower #1
 I enjoyed breakfast in the hotel lobby, listening to the little families feed their chicks..it all brought back memories. Lots of  sweet, fun, memories.

Miss Bride was just toddling around and exerting her independence. She wanted on the dining room table even though she was NOT supposed to be there. Regardless, she scoots her tiny self under the table, stretches those cute little legs up to a chair seat. Then because the chairs are pushed in all the way only her brown head is able to sneak out to see the table top. I hear this little voice.. " me do it!"

Another flash back;
In 1987 our family of 4 at the time, took a trip to the east coast. It was lots of driving at times and car seats weren't quite the necessity then as now. We had a mid-size station wagon. Little miss Bride hopped in the back to play. She was getting very restless so she puts her delicate hands on the middle seat, stretches out her pint sized body and runs. She has a grin from ear to ear, and her long brown puppy-dog-earred-hair bounces with each hop. Of course we have kid-type music cassette tapes playing so she's jogging for all she's worth to the music.  " I'm a hop hop hopping kangaroo..." She's 4 years old.

Now that Little Delight is excited and a bit nervous about today. More excited than nervous. I think also wondering if she's worthy of these gifts of love. My stars child...of course you are!

Plus.... we all know this dilema....how do you show a grateful and delighted expression when opening a gift....when all you really want to do is say.." you've got to be kidding! what were you thinking? what is this thing?"

Fortunately this child knows and shows grace. Besides the people all coming love her dearly, so she'll be fine.

The momma, on the other hand, needs a hanky. My eyes have begun to express how my heart is starting to feel.
Where did those years go?
 Did we love enough?
 Did we laugh enough?


Pray I won't be a blubbering buffoon the next 2 days.

I SHOULD be asleep

Today starts a busy weekend.
I need to be sleeping.
I leave in 8 hours for a 3 hour journey.
Gonna have lunch w/the bride and her flower girl!
Then do errands. 
Saturday a bridal shower hosted by good friends who are also bridal attendants.
Lots of lovely ladies invited. 
Good friends and their momma's and grand-momma's who've been pivotal people for Bride. Some I've been blessed to meet. 
Others I'll get to enjoy for the first time.
I'm thinking my car will be full with lots of love on the way home.


Then Sunday another bridal shower here at her home church.
Gonna be a sweet group of ladies.
Most of these have known Bride-y for many years. 
They too are women of love and support for us.

We got several wedding rsvp's yesterday.
Via mail and paperless post.
(Even though the zip code is wrong, we're still getting them.)
yeah God.
It's exciting to see who is coming.
Some of brides great aunts and uncles even.

I'm getting excited thinking of these events.


Enjoyed a delightful visit with my folks and favorite brother of the bride yesterday. Grandpa, who has a touch of dementia, was animated and having fun with that grandson. They worked on a jigsaw puzzle. We all did and finished it up even. 
Made my heart happy to see my sweet daddy's blue eyes sparkle and dance with oneriness and joy.


When we got home, I potted 2 plants, started the water on the big flower bed and went to zumba.
Worked hard there, came home, ate supper fixed by my tall handsome son, then out to yard work.
The weeds are making themselves known.
Have to get to those chores while it's warm and no wind. 


After a hot shower and good back rub from my brown eyed handsome man, I was sleeping good.


So why oh why am I awake now?