Wedding Wednesd . . . er . . . Friday.

Guess what came in the mail today?

Four CD’s jam packed with wedding pictures!  May we all just pause right here for a brief moment of hooray-ing.

Now lest some of you think that you will be required to look at 13 bajillion pictures and this whole Wedding Wednesday thingie is never going to go away, here’s the deal.   As long as there are at least five comments each week on the Wedding Edition, I will post more pictures the following week.  When the comments start dipping below that or, of course, when I run out of pictures, we will move on to new Wednesday topics.  Sound like a deal?

So . . . . let’s get going on our latest (Postponed) Wedding Wednesday.

Flowers by Frank—the father of the bride.

The card--including a handwritten letter--that Meagan had delivered to Nathan right before the ceremony.  (The song I wrote for the ceremony was based on that letter.)


One of the really cool things that Nathan and Meagan did was to give Sheri and I each a piece of a cross to carry as we were escorted in.  (I’m being escorted by my nephew, Caleb.)
The part I carried was the outside of the cross . . . .


. . .  and the part Sheri carried was the inside. (She is being escorted by her nephew, Seth.)

We both went up to the platform and laid our individual pieces down on a table before being escorted to our Mom Row. (I’ll tell you how those pieces fit into the ceremony in just a moment.)

Next came the darling ring bearer and flower girl. . .

. . . followed by some really, really cute bridesmaids.

My little baby boy (AKA the groom) got ready to make his walk 
to the front of the church . . .

. . . and then it was all about here comes the bride.

The groom was just a wee bit entranced with the vision before him.

In fact, he was so entranced that he felt compelled to do a whole 
heap of hand holdin’ throughout the ceremony.

It was such a perfect sanctuary for their ceremony; I loved it.

And now the story of the pieces of the cross we carried in . . .At a certain point in the ceremony, Nathan and Meagan walked to the side of the platform where the two ministers gave a short exhortation about the cross.  They said the outside of it represented Nathan and his strength and the way he was a covering for Meagan.  The intricate, beautiful inside part of the cross represented Meagan, sheltered within her husband’s strength.

When they fit the two pieces together, the cross looked like this. 
Truly beautiful and so meaningful.

(Edited to add: Sheri just left a comment with some wonderful information about the cross's symbolism I wasn't aware of.  She wrote,  

"You may want to share that the cross is set on a solid foundation representing the need for the marriage to be built on Christ the Solid Rock. And three golden pegs secure the piece representing God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So Powerful! From all these comments, sounds like you'll need to stretch WW until they produce some grandchildren for us to promote. "

They received communion together and Nathan prayed
over their marriage while a special song was being sung.

And then?  It was over and we were presented with Mr. And Mrs. Nathan Smith,
an announcement which produced one of my favorite pictures of the whole day.

Post . . . Soon.

A new wedding post will be up in the next half hour or so.  Hooray!

The Taming Of The Shrubs

Well, for those of you were faithfully waiting for Thedding Thursday, I’m afraid it’s not going to happen.  Since I have already posted all the wedding pictures I took as well as the ones Meagan had already given me, she had put a whole new batch of pictures in the mail to me earlier in the week.  However, they didn’t arrive today when they were supposed to, since mail is notoriously slow reaching Manteo.   I am very much hoping that they will make their appearance tomorrow, in which case, we will be all weddingish then.
But today?  I guess we’ll instead have to settle with shrubishness.   Not quite as exciting as weddingish I realize but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!  

So Here, For Your Reading Enjoyment, Is The Story of the Smith Shrubs
(try to contain your enthusiasm)

When we first bought our house two years ago, the shrubs were just a wee bit wild.  But there were a whole bunch of other things that we needed to accomplish with our money and our time and so they had to say a wee bit wild for a while.




A couple weeks ago, however, Steve got it in his head to wade into those ol’ shrubs and get them sorted out and he called on his young and capable assistant to help him with the job at hand.  He knew enough not to call on me because he knows that if I got down on my knees to pull even one weed, we would need two hoists and one ambulance crew to get me upright again.
And hoists and ambulance crews?  They sort of get in the way of Smith Shrub-bing.














This my favorite picture of the ones I took that day.  May I just reassure you that I did not, repeat did NOT, lie down on my stomach to get that particular perpendicular perspective.  One of the big reasons I bought the camera I did (Nikon D5000) is that it features a tiltable screen which allows me to get shots that my non-flexible body would otherwise have to walk (or limp) right on by.

And now . . . .

Here are a few shots  showing what the Smith Shrubs look like after the hard work invested by the Smith Shrubbers.  This area will be especially pretty in the spring and summer because the rose bushes planted there produce the loveliest of blooms.

I’m just thrilled that our shrubs have been tamed and even more thrilled that I was not involved in the taming thereof.  

Wedding unWednesday Leading Up To Thedding Thursday

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is Wednesday. 

And yes, it has been decreed in recent weeks that Wednesdays would be devoted to reliving the happy memories of a certain wedding of a certain son and a certain new daughter-in-law. 

However, due to some unavoidable complexities,  the pictures that should have been posted today will instead have to be posted tomorrow.   And so, for this week only, we will have Wedding Thursday which I realize doesn’t have quite the same ring as Wedding Wednesday--unless, of course, we were to call it Thedding Thursday!  Or not.

However.   So as not to leave all you wonderful Meganate Fans hanging (and to bring new readers up to speed a bit on the history of Nathan and Meagan’s relationship) I am going to post a few pictures from their past years together--pictures that all led up to that Big Day that has made all our Wedding Wednesdays possible.

Here are Meagan and Nate with their families and friends.  Nathan was 14 and Meagan was 15 and they barely knew each other at that point.

They attended the formal together at the Christian Academy where we were pastoring.  It wasn’t officially a real date, though; it was more of a situation where their moms thought it would be a fun thing if they went together since we were all—them and their families—such good friends.

I have always loved this picture because it captures their quirky relationship so well.  The reason they were making faces was because were getting tired from smiling so much and they were trying to do “facial muscle stretches” to relax them.

And I love this picture from that evening too because you know what it looks like?  It looks like newlyweds leaving after a wedding!

This picture makes me smile because I can just imagine when Nathan and Meagan get their own house and start re-painting.  They will look just like this—just a few years older.

Here they are at our house with Meagan’s family and some church friends.  For some reason, we are all singing, but I have no idea why. 

This picture has nothing to do with Nathan and Meagan but I’ve always loved it so I’ll post it.  The lovely lady in the center is Meagan’s mom, Sheri.  While she and Frank were transitioning in ministry, she led the choir for a while at our church in Smithfield and this was taken at our house after a special choir performance.  It captures Sheri’s verve and personality so well.

This is actually Nathan and Meagan’s first real date when he officially asked her out.   It consisted of me taking them to the local outlet mall (Nathan didn’t have his license) where they went out to eat and then walked around the mall and shopped.  (It was mostly window shopping since there were no big bucks involved.  I picked them back up at the end of their big evening and that was that!

I have to laugh when I look at this picture because . . .

. . . some things never change.

I really do love this fella quite a lot.  He and I talked on the phone for a whole hour the other night and had such a lovely visit.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier face as when Meagan surprised him one day by a visit (from FL to NC) when he wasn’t expecting her.

Nathan has always known how to make Meagan laugh.

(Sarah had her headphones on and was completely unaware of the merriment unfolding in front of her.)

A few more miscellaneous shots. . .

And there you have it.  Wedding unWednesday, leading up to Thedding Thursday!

______________________________________________________________

Thanks to all of you who left so many gracious, encouraging comments on Monday after I posted about not feeling so well—physically or emotionally.   It meant a lot to me that so many of you shared your personal stories about your own struggles.  None of us is alone in having some down times; we are part of a circle of fellow strugglers and that in itself is an encouragement.

As for my doctor visit, he listened to my lungs and said that he heard some gunk in there.  (He used a fancy medical term but I sort of like the sound of gunk instead.)  He put me on two meds and said I should be feeling better soon.

Well, it’s now Wednesday and I’m still feeling rather lousy overall, although I think my lungs are clearing up.  So I’ll just keep pluggin’ away here and think longingly of the day when my nose isn’t red, my head isn’t achy, and my body isn’t feeling like that of a 104-year old lady. 

See ya tomorrow!

Garnish-Lovin’ Heart. And A Teeny Tiny Rant.

Every other Tuesday, we have an informal lunch at our church.  Everyone is invited and everyone pitches in with a little something; it always turns into a fun and tasty get together.

Well, last week the lunch sort of sneaked up on me and it dawned on me Tuesday morning that I didn’t have anything in the house that I could whip up and take along.  

So I sat in the kitchen.  And I pondered.  And I perplexed.  I pondered and I perplexed until a pondering-produced light finally dawned.  I did have something to take after all!  I remembered that I had a store bought container of unopened potato salad. I traipsed out to our extra refrigerator in the garage where ye olde potato salad was residing and I carried it into the kitchen, so happy to have found something in the house that was take-able. 

However, when I took the lid off the container and peered at the contents within, I felt decidedly uninspired by the blandness before me.  Something needed to be done—something easy and something speedy.

The first thing I figured I could do to increase the salad’s appeal was to take it out of the store container so that it would no longer blatantly announce the fact that it wasn’t homemade.  I spooned it all in a disposable container and set it on the counter for further pondering. 

It continued to not inspire me.

After a bit more thought, I boiled an egg, sliced it, and used it as a bland-ish potato salad garnish. 

A slight improvement, to be sure.

I added a few sprinkles of paprika.

And a wee bit of parsley.

And with a few simple and quick additions, I went from this . . . to this.

And my garnish-lovin’ heart was happy.

The end.

A Teeny Tiny Rant

I wrote the above (perky) post yesterday. 

In today’s news, though, I’m having sort of a down day on several fronts.   I’ve been sick for the past few days and am headed to the doctor this afternoon to make sure that it’s not getting into my lungs since my peak flow meter results have been headed downward.

And emotionally?  I’m tired, overwhelmed, discouraged and especially lonely.  I am rather tempted to crawl into bed and put the covers over my head for about a week.  Anyone else ever dealt with the Covers Over The Head Temptation?   Unfortunately, that particular temptation doesn’t usually allow for the fact that life and busyness continue on and all our obligations and responsibilities still tend to sniff us out, even under the covers.

I would be the first one to admit that I don’t have a thing in the world to be sad or down about.  But you know, every once in a while we all just need to give ourselves permission to not be happy.  Or even cheery.  And since pastor’s wives usually specialize in cheeriness, and listening, and lifting the burdens of others (which I count a great privilege),  I think maybe I’ve gotten a little overladen with a few too many loads--loads of others and loads of my own.

At any rate, I am making myself be up and at ‘em today (despite feeling lousy) because there is just way too much to get done.  However, I am reassuring myself with the fact that the emotional pendulum will soon swing the other way and I am also reminding myself that feelings are just feelings . . . they don’t define life, they don’t define me.  They just . . .  are. 

So.  That’s my teeny, tiny rant for the day.

Thank you for listening.

 

The Mississippi Length List

Yesterday afternoon was our day off and we had an appointment scheduled at 3 pm for a house appraiser to come by to look over our home. (We’re refinancing our mortgage.)   Steve had a list of things that needed to be done that was longer than the Mississippi and he and I were full of big plans to work as an amazingly awesome and efficient team and get every last thing crossed off that list by the time the appraiser arrived.

Unfortunately, our wonderful plan did not work quite as expected since I started feeling bad on Thursday and woke up Friday with a full fledged cased of the Flu and Cold Yuckies. Steve gallantly put me back to bed to rest and said that he would take care of the Mississippi Length List on his own. 

I dosed off and on between misery and wakefulness and sleep, feeling really bad that I wasn’t able to help Steve with the list of projects. I finally drifted off and slept until about 12:30 when I was awakened by the Mississippi List Doer himself, appearing through the bedroom door.  He was clad in his grubbiest work clothes and I knew he was up to his neck in fix-its and lawn work and repairs.

But you know what?  In the midst of all that grubby busyness, he had taken the time to go into the kitchen and make lunch.  For me—his miserable, aching, groaning, non-helping wife.

Chicken noodle soup, crackers, a grilled cheese, sparkling orange juice, grapes, and an oatmeal raisin cookie made up the menu.  And even though the picture I snapped didn’t turn out so great, the meal was especially wonderful since it was garnished with tenderness and served with a side dish of love. 

I am blessed.

 

Revisit: Words

Everyone once in a while, I like to revisit some of my writings from the Caringbridge site and today just happens to be a revisiting day. 

WORDS
Originally posted on November 27, 2009

At our Thanksgiving meal yesterday, Steve went around the table and said something that he appreciated about each person who was present. He started with me and among other things, referred to my love for words; he then smoothly transitioned that same thought into what he had to say about Sarah.

He continued around the table to his parents and to Nathan, prayed over the meal and we all started to eat—well we all started to eat, that is, except for Nathan.  He suddenly got up from the table and disappeared into the kitchen.  When he returned, he went over to Steve and handed him a Post-It note that said, "Dad, when you went around the table, you forgot to say anything about Sarah."   (Nathan hadn't understood that Steve had moved on from me to Sarah when he was talking about the love for words we both have.)

Steve quietly explained to Nathan what he had done and Nathan, looking a little sheepish and a lot relieved, sat down and enthusiastically started into his Thanksgiving feast. Neither of them realized that Sarah had overheard their conversation.

When dinner was over, I saw Sarah searching all over the kitchen and the dining room for something.  When I asked her what she was doing, she said she really wanted to find the Post-It note that Nathan had written.  She eventually gave up her search and went and asked Nathan where it was; he told her he had crumpled it up and put it in his pocket. She got quiet for a moment and then looked up at him--her brother and her hero--and said, "Nathan, those words were special to me. I want to save that piece of paper."

And so he handed his little sister the rumpled piece of paper from his pocket filled with written words and unspoken love. As she took it and tucked it away in a place reserved for precious things, my mama heart rejoiced as I saw several things to treasure on that sweet Thanksgiving evening:

• I saw a husband and father speak words that affirmed his family.
• I saw a son write words to make sure his sister hadn't been overlooked.
• I saw the same son use words to point out his dad’s perceived oversight in a respectful, low key manner instead of blurting it out in front of everyone.
• I saw a daughter use words to let her brother know that she treasured the words he had written about her.

I was reminded again of why I love words so much.

Profound.  Affirming.  Powerful.  Simple.   Words.

And to close, a few pictures worth many thousand words.