Not Again!

This time it is the front of my car that got smashed! (See the August 9th post for the rear end crash!) We had been visiting the baby twins in Charlotte on Friday night and were on our way home, when hubby crashed into the side of a truck. The truck was speeding through a light and both drivers thought they had the green light. The insurance companies will have to decide because no tickets were given. Both my car and his truck had to be towed. We have not yet heard if the adjuster will total my car. There are two BLESSINGS in this event. None of us were hurt... not even a scratch! The other is that Katherine had also been visiting the twins at the hospital and arrived at the crash scene about 2 minutes after it happened. She was able to drive us back to our home which is about an hours drive from Charlotte. Now that is a blessing indeed!

Wedding Detail #5

Katherine moved to a new teaching position and a new town the year before her wedding and had the opportunity to make many new, devoted, friends. There just wasn't enough room in our church to have all of them as bridesmaids so she came up with the idea of honoring each one with a long stem white rose and preferred seating. There was a written sentiment attached to each rose, from Katherine, expressing her appreciation for their friendship and attendance on her special day. Each friend told the usher that they were an honored guest and he ushered her (along with her date/husband) to this vase where they selected a rose and were then seated in a special area, where they could have the perfect view of Katherine's face as she said her vows to Jared. (This area of our church is where the hand bell choir usually plays and is just empty space when they are not playing, so we put the choir chairs in that area adding about 5o extra seats... which we definitely needed- there was even enough seats to honor many of our long time friends as well!). They all felt very special about being honored, they got to arrive at the best time for them with a guaranteed seat, we were able to have our special guest in an area close to the ceremony, and we were able to utilize the empty floor space. FRIENDS... are a BLESSING indeed! (Now about that ugly fire extinguisher... I am showing off my technological inability to crop my pictures!)

Wedding Detail #4

At the reception, Katherine decided to have a "Candy Station" with all of her favorite kinds of candy. It was like being a kid in a candy store... you can see Ben and Jenny (my son and DIL) enjoying their favorites. The table was decorated with a variety of containers full of colorful candy, including a candy tree full of suckers ( more about this detail in an upcoming post). Katherine always loved candy and kept a stash hidden in her room, so no one else could eat it. The candy was given to her by loving grandparents and aunts,along with the treat bags from birthday parties or the bags she purchased with her own money. She hid the candy for a number of years- until I told her that mice would find her candy and make a nest in her room... oh the things a mom has to do to keep order in her humble abode! Well that bit of wisdom was a BLESSING indeed because it worked; so from that day forward, there was a "family" basket of candy on top of the refrigerator for all too share. When planning for the reception, the idea of a "Candy Station" was one of the best ideas that evolved. All of the children loved it, the adults raved about what a great idea it was, it added just the right splash of color to the room and Katherine had her delicious stash of candy without worrying about mice! p.s. there was a lot of candy left over from the "Candy Station" and Katherine took the huge stash to her classroom to give out for prizes- "bribary"!

A Letter to My Great Nieces

Dear Ella and Mattie, You are simply a celebration, a reason for rejoicing, a masterpiece of divine design and you were created by God to SHINE! God BLESSED us all on the day that you were born. You are a precious miracle, a special gift from God, and you are so lucky to have been born into a loving, supportive, Christian family that will teach you about God's love. You will be loved unconditionally, not only by God, but also by each member of this special family, who will be right by your side- no mater what. We have a large family but that will just provide you with more arms for hugging, and more wisdom for guidance. It will provide fun, excitement, laughter, and strength, but most of all it will provide you with all of the love that you need to grow up- happy and healthy! I love you both and look forward to being a very special part of your lives. All my love, Auntie Nancy

Detail #3

Katherine wanted a way to memorialize her relatives that had died and could not attend her wedding. The perfect solution was a small arrangement of calla lilies in each window of the church, with the name of that person listed in the program, along with a card containing their name beside the arrangement. Katherine's 3 grandparents, an older brother she never met, and her husband's 3 grandparents were all honored, allowing the guest to realize how much the relatives were missed on this special day. If you click on the picture, you will see that this arrangement was in memory of the only grandfather she ever knew (the other one died before she was born). It was a blessing and a comfort to look around the sanctuary that day, surrounded by the presence of loved ones that could attend and "fresh visual reminders" of those that were looking down from heaven!

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