I have been gone all weekend and just returned home at around 2am. Then I was awakened by a phone call this morning saying that our house was going to show after lunch. We officially went into freak mode and cleaned the house from stem to stern before escaping 3 minutes before showtime. Later we received another call to say that the couple didn't like my wallpaper and wasn't interested. Some way to spend Labor Day, huh? Doing LABOR all morning ... just to have my wallpaper insulted. Geeesh. I like my wallpaper.
The weekend was marvelous. My oldest niece, Katie, got married to a most excellent young man, Billy. (Or Billy-Billy as he was deemed in a poem on rehearsal night.) (smile) Brad has always called him, "The Billy". Not sure why, but it stuck.
The event, itself, was extraordinary. Such a beautiful ceremony ... and the reception was over the top. It was held at an outdoor pavilion/lodge on the banks of the Cape Fear River. Yeah, THE Cape Fear River. You've heard of it?? SCARIEST movie I've ever seen. Thankfully the only thing that got the old "hack and slash" at the reception was the whole pig they roasted. It wasn't looking so good by the end of the night. Although all the guests looked quite content ... and oily. :)
Gotsta love NC barbecue! Greasy, yet oh so satisfying.
I can't begin to explain the roller coaster of emotions I felt as it all passed by. Katie is the first person I have ever seen walk down the isle that I held when they were literally just minutes old. I remember holding her when she was all pink and squishy and thinking, I wonder what she'll be like? I wonder what she'll look like? I wonder who she'll marry and how she'll look in her dress? I hope we'll be close and that she'll love me with all her heart! All this went through my sixteen year-old mind as I held my first niece and marveled at her perfect little self. Now ... this past weekend ... all that came into focus. At times, I thought I would explode with tears. I wanted to sob out loud when she played the video of her growing up years. I wanted to squall when I hugged her one last time before she made her way to the narthex to walk down the isle. I wanted to boo-hoo uncontrollably when I watched as she and Billy ran through the lineup of sparklers and make their way to the getaway car. Ooooohhhh ... it was one of those life-moments that goes in Matrix slow-motion. So surreal. So surreal.
The blessing in it all, for me, was this.
God allowed me the joy and privilege of living all these years in Katie's life. All those questions I thought the day she was born, now have an answer. Here they are:
I know what she's like. She's authentic, funny, blunt, no-nonsense, fully committed to Christ, and a little bit sassy.
I know what she grew up to look like. She was "made for the lamps", as Dickens once wrote. She's never made a bad picture and her smile lights up every camera she's ever seen. She looks just like I thought she would ... and she's beautiful.
I know who she married and what she looked like in her dress. She married William Michael Steele, and she looked like an angel in her dress.
And as for hoping we'd be close and wanting her to love me with all her heart? Well, let's just say that we talk a million times a week, and she's one of my very best friends.
So, although my tear ducts lynched me several times throughout the weekend, they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of love, joy, and thankfulness.
Katie is all grown up now. And I've lived it all with her. What a gift to this old "Auntie Em".
As a side note to the bride and groom:
AND what a gift to know that the two of you waited on the Lord ... saved yourselves as the ultimate wedding present to each other ... and gave Him all the glory on your sacred day. I'm so proud of you both!
So ... Katie and Billy, here's to you! CONGRATULATIONS and I hope you are setting Denver on fire tonight! You've earned it. :)
It's gonna be a Song of Solomon week this week, baby! (big smile)
I love you both!
The weekend was marvelous. My oldest niece, Katie, got married to a most excellent young man, Billy. (Or Billy-Billy as he was deemed in a poem on rehearsal night.) (smile) Brad has always called him, "The Billy". Not sure why, but it stuck.
The event, itself, was extraordinary. Such a beautiful ceremony ... and the reception was over the top. It was held at an outdoor pavilion/lodge on the banks of the Cape Fear River. Yeah, THE Cape Fear River. You've heard of it?? SCARIEST movie I've ever seen. Thankfully the only thing that got the old "hack and slash" at the reception was the whole pig they roasted. It wasn't looking so good by the end of the night. Although all the guests looked quite content ... and oily. :)
Gotsta love NC barbecue! Greasy, yet oh so satisfying.
I can't begin to explain the roller coaster of emotions I felt as it all passed by. Katie is the first person I have ever seen walk down the isle that I held when they were literally just minutes old. I remember holding her when she was all pink and squishy and thinking, I wonder what she'll be like? I wonder what she'll look like? I wonder who she'll marry and how she'll look in her dress? I hope we'll be close and that she'll love me with all her heart! All this went through my sixteen year-old mind as I held my first niece and marveled at her perfect little self. Now ... this past weekend ... all that came into focus. At times, I thought I would explode with tears. I wanted to sob out loud when she played the video of her growing up years. I wanted to squall when I hugged her one last time before she made her way to the narthex to walk down the isle. I wanted to boo-hoo uncontrollably when I watched as she and Billy ran through the lineup of sparklers and make their way to the getaway car. Ooooohhhh ... it was one of those life-moments that goes in Matrix slow-motion. So surreal. So surreal.
The blessing in it all, for me, was this.
God allowed me the joy and privilege of living all these years in Katie's life. All those questions I thought the day she was born, now have an answer. Here they are:
I know what she's like. She's authentic, funny, blunt, no-nonsense, fully committed to Christ, and a little bit sassy.
I know what she grew up to look like. She was "made for the lamps", as Dickens once wrote. She's never made a bad picture and her smile lights up every camera she's ever seen. She looks just like I thought she would ... and she's beautiful.
I know who she married and what she looked like in her dress. She married William Michael Steele, and she looked like an angel in her dress.
And as for hoping we'd be close and wanting her to love me with all her heart? Well, let's just say that we talk a million times a week, and she's one of my very best friends.
So, although my tear ducts lynched me several times throughout the weekend, they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of love, joy, and thankfulness.
Katie is all grown up now. And I've lived it all with her. What a gift to this old "Auntie Em".
As a side note to the bride and groom:
AND what a gift to know that the two of you waited on the Lord ... saved yourselves as the ultimate wedding present to each other ... and gave Him all the glory on your sacred day. I'm so proud of you both!
So ... Katie and Billy, here's to you! CONGRATULATIONS and I hope you are setting Denver on fire tonight! You've earned it. :)
It's gonna be a Song of Solomon week this week, baby! (big smile)
I love you both!
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