I've Been Everywhere, Man!

I'm feeling like I should be singing the Johnny Cash song, "I've Been Everywhere, Man". for sure!

(Christmas Day - 2014...at Magic Kingdom in front of Cinderella's Castle)

 On Friday, December 19th, early, early in the morning, we loaded up our vehicle and began a journey to Kissimmee, Florida.  It rained for all but about 30 minutes of our trip that first day, where we spent the night in Pensacola.  The next day we thought would be an easy trip, but it turned out that EVERYONE on the entire east coast must have been traveling that day, as well!  The traffic was horrible, but we made it to our destination Saturday night....tired and ready to be out of the car.

(Cinderella's Castle from behind)

 Sunday we worshipped with the Main Gate church, which is a part of the Concord St. Church of Christ in Orlando. I've mentioned it before, but it's such a great work that I want to mention it again! The services are held in a hotel which is owned by a Christian couple. Every week, visitors to Disney World and perhaps other entertainment-type places around there, meet together for worship and class.  It's such a blessing to have worship just a few blocks from our rent home! It's a blessing to see so many Christians from all over the place come together to worship Him!  I love it!  And we're very thankful for the good work they do!

(Sorcerer's Hat icon at Disney's Hollywood Studios - Dec. 22, 2014. The hat will be removed from the park tomorrow, January 7, 2015.)

 We spent a week at the Disney World Resort, visiting the four main parks.  We took special time to get a picture in front of the icon hat at Hollywood Studios (HWS). It's coming down tomorrow :(.  It's sad to us, but many of the older days of HWS are glad to see it go.

(Breakfast at Chef Mickey's before heading towards home - December 27, 2014)

We got back home from Florida on Sunday, December 27th, after worshipping on Sunday at Opeloosa, LA, and in the Dallas area that evening. (Can't think of the congregation's name, but the singing was GREAT and so was the lesson!).  We got home at 11:45!

Monday, the 29th was a day at home. We were all excited to have that day at home!  But the unpacking and repacking for the next road trip took up a lot of that day.  The next day we headed to Denver, Colorado, where our niece was getting married on New Year's Day!

For the wedding, our oldest two boys served as parking attendants.  It was COLD, but they were glad to serve.  Wedding guests parked down the street in a school parking lot, and walked to the theater where the wedding was held.

 I love this picture, seeing so many family members working together to get the theater ready for the wedding!  We couldn't get into the theater until a few hours before the actual wedding, so it took lots of help from everyone to get it all done! (I'm not showing much of the wedding because my sister-in-law is blogging about it and leading up to the actual event! If you would like to keep up with her posts, it's at www.wawawaughs.blogspot.com. There's a link on the side of my blog, as well, if you're on a computer.)

Our youngest was in charge of handing out the wedding favors. Here he is stacking them.  They are pears!  I'll post more about that later, as well!

The drive home that New Year's Day was pretty. There was snow, heaving, blowing snow, then just pretty snow on the landscape.  We were expecting really bad roads the closer we got to home, but it turned out not to be too bad.  We arrived home at 12:45 a.m.!  And had another one day at home before the next trip!

(Beautiful iced trees somewhere between Paducah and Matador, TX.)

There were ice warnings all over our area and all around us, so we were thinking we might have some trouble getting to our next destination - Lubbock, Texas.  Thankfully in our area, it stayed a few degrees above freezing, so instead of the dreaded ice, we got the much-needed rain!  However, a few places along our route got the ice.  The roads were clear for most of the time, but eventually even the roads were slick. It wasn't too bad, just had to take it slow.

(Icicles hanging - on the Loop at Lubbock)

Taking the roads slower than usual gave me plenty of opportunities to take pictures!  Such a pretty site to see!

We stayed in Lubbock from lunch until that evening, leaving before the temps got too cold and the roads froze too much.  We got home around 9:30 p.m., and everyone went straight to bed!  

We really haven't been EVERYWHERE....but we sure feel like we have!  We're thankful to be home, for the most part, and in our own beds.

Thank you, God, for the world you've given us.  You created such beautiful things for us to see. Thank you for allowing our family to visit just a few of those places these past few weeks.  May we never forget that it was YOU would created everything. 

In Jesus' name,

Amen

Happily Ever After

The first Saturday in August was a special day.  Our oldest nephew on my husband's side of the family got married!  Many relatives traveled to Memphis, TN, for the special occassion.

The wedding colors were various shades of green and gray.  It was a vintage sort of theme, using mason jars and chalkboards that are very popular right now.

The groom's two nephews and one niece were a part of the wedding, so it was fun watching them.  This was a sweet picture of one of them getting all ready with help from his daddy.

This big family picture is our side of the family, plus the groom's dad's side.  It's big, but that's only about half of everyone!  And all but a few of these people traveled from SW Oklahoma!

The expression's on K's face were so funny! He was having a great time at the wedding and rehearsal.

After her flower girl duties, T was excited to get "Elsa and Anna" rings from her dad. As the best man, he had tried to pass them on to the groom for the wedding rings, but it didn't work!

The reception was beautifully decorated! 

 I loved all of the special touches the bride (along with her mom and aunt) had planned and made for the special day.

 The three individual wedding cakes were so sweet.  Extra cake servings were brought out from the kitchen.  That was a great idea for someone wanting a smaller wedding cake look.

 Each table had a Chevron green/ivory runner (or gray polka dot print below), a tree stump, and a mason jar filled with fresh flowers.

 Also, there was a little bird figurine on each tree stump and cookies from a favorite bakery.  (Answer to the question from my sis-in-law in the comments: The cookies were favors for the guests, and the tongue depressors were for writing a "date night" idea to give the couple.) So sweet!

 My mother-in-law made the groom's cake.  The chocolate covered strawberries (in addition to her chocolate cake) were a huge hit, of course!

 The food buffet was delicious. See the strawberry topiary?  It was beautiful!

 The buffet table featured burlap, fresh flowers and bird houses.

This was my favorite part of the reception area.  The bride was from Florida. The groom from Oklahoma. But they met in Memphis.  "I'm so happy we both showed up here."  God worked this all out!

 There was an Oklahoma side, a Florida side, then the Tennessee in the middle.  Love it!

 The bride and groom as they entered the reception.  Happily ever after!

 Before the cake cutting.....

 The groom's "new" sisters were junior bridesmaids.  If you read "Shine Like Stars" regularly, you may remember reading about their adoption last year.  It was so special for them to get to be in this wedding!  Love their smiles!

 The cousins got together and worked out a plan for the "getaway car"!  This play on words was pretty clever, since the groom's name is Justin and the bride's is Mary!

 Leaving the reception as bubbles were blown...

Yes - "How Sweet It Is".

Probably the sweetest thing about the whole wedding was after the groom did his vows and slipped the ring on her finger. He sang to her, "I Love You With the Love of the Lord".  She was already teary-eyed, but by the end of the song, both of them were - and many of us were or were close.

We wish for you many "Happily Ever After" years together. We're thankful that God worked this whole thing out and that you both ended up in Memphis, TN - right where He directed your paths.  We love you, J and M.E.!

Rehearsal Dinner Decorations

Our nephew asked me to decorate for his wedding rehearsal dinner, which was last weekend. Being held at a BBQ restaurant (Central BBQ) in Memphis, TN, it was something I had never done before! I was excited to be a part of the celebration!

The wedding colors were shades of green and dark gray. The bride chose to use some burlap and wood, as well.  The colored chairs in the restaurant added a bit of whimsy to the room.

 I found cute chalkboard, "They Lived Happily Ever After" placemats on Etsy, and ordered personalized little bags from "For Your Party" for the napkins and silverware.

 Also from Etsy, I ordered this personalized cutting board for the wedding gift.

 The hardest part of the decorating came as we began to put placemats at each setting. It would be easier if we knew everyone!  But, it worked out fine.  We finished decorating just a little bit before the guests arrived.

 These two guys were my helpers. These looks are meaning, "We're done! We're not doing any more!" Ha ha!

 And here's the bride-to-be and groom-to-be.  Such a cute couple!

And here's the rest of my family, minus my husband, who was unable to go to the wedding (conflict with a 69 year old tradition at his work).  We had a lot of fun together!

I'll post wedding pics soon!