Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Ups and Downs - It Doesn't Get More Extreme Than This

You might have read my blog yesterday about waking up at 3-something am.
Well, there was no more sleep to be had until sometime after 11pm.
In between was non-stop action and emotion.

First up for the day was meeting with our little Burma refugee friends.
I took another young lady who wants to help with me.
We had a delightfully crazy time with our four girls.
Funny, because we have only ever had three before but the little
three year old sister was there and very involved.

After dropping our friend back at her car
Chelsea and I headed to Isaac's for lunch before shopping for everything 
we needed for Michael and Emily's Rehearsal dinner.
On the way I got a phone call about plans for Tommy Musser's 
memorial service so when we arrived at Isaac's parking lot
I was still on the phone and stayed there to talk.
As I talked I heard another call beep in....but with the
serious nature of the call I simply decided to get back 
to whoever it was when I was done.
A few minutes later I pushed send to see who it was who
had called and it was the Pastor in charge of the Burma Ministry.
We had discussed having lunch to go over things but I hadn't heard back 
from her to finalize so thought it wasn't going to happen.
Well, the pastor and two others were at Panera Bread waiting for us.
Thankfully we hadn't made it into Isaac's and just headed across town to 
meet up with these lovely people.
Once they found out that we were dealing with a wedding and a funeral 
all in one day they kept our part of the meeting "rather brief"
 and sent us on our way.

So then we were on to Costco to grab many items for the 
rehearsal dinner.
I am so thankful that Emily and Michael are so casual.
They love the out of doors and wanted a picnic for their
special night.

The menu was:

Turkey wraps
Croissant Sandwiches
Stuffed potato salad
Fruit Salad
Chips
Six Layer Dip
Cheescake
Cookie Tray
Lemonade

So...after shopping we took all of the refrigerated items 
to our church fridge to wait for us to be ready for them.
They wouldn't fit in coolers.

Then Chelsea and I headed home where she made the 
most adorable fruit salad.
I wish I had gotten photos of it.
But everyone loved it both to look at and eat.
As Warren said, it had all the good fruit in it...not fillers.

While she did that I nailed down the final details
on a location and time for Tommy's service and 
drafted a blog post for Susanna's blog to pass on information 
they wanted to share.
I can tell you that the rehearsal dinner would have looked much 
different if Chelsea had not been available to help me 
so much yesterday.
She is such a darling daughter and sister.
And she loves her brother and soon to be sister 
very, very much!

Warren came home and we ran to the church to 
gather our food and some serving bowls that coordinated 
with our theme.

We froze as we drove the 45 minutes to the 
location because we ran the air conditioner at full blast to 
keep the cold stuff cold.
Warren and I were frozen so I can't imagine
how Chelsea felt. 
She always gets cold while we are still  sweating.

We arrived at the park, found an open pavilion and set up.
Pretty white tablecovers, flowers and food.
That was what we had to offer.

It all worked out pretty well.
I freaked in the beginning because it didn't look like
much food on the tables and I worried that I had not gotten enough.
However, we have leftovers...galore...and so 
I am glad I didn't get more.

We wanted some special touches of color so 
I went with the wedding colors of red and yellow.


Everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed each other's company.
The wedding party is sweet. 

Jonathan had to work...so we were bummed about that.
He and Michael are on different shifts.
Michael had more to learn about this day than Jonathan...so.....

As the wedding party gathered

The Eicher Arts Center....where the reception will be held.
The wedding ceremony will be in the yard behind this building.


 My friend, Belinda, the beautiful mother of the bride.
I am so grateful that she will be the other mom in my son's life.
I couldn't ask for a better family for him to marry into.
We have loved these people for years!

Oh - I had to share the photo because of the man beside her.
He is the caretaker and manager of this property.
I think many couples would get married here because of him...
even if they hated the 
property!
He becomes an integral part of the process and you love him for it!!
By the way....he once taught Tom Cruise.
So then you become famous by association.
Just another perk. 
Ha.


Rehearsal begins.
The ball roughly marks the center aisle.

 
I love the three very different personalities displayed in these bridesmaids.
They are so fun!

The guys had that discussion about where they should put their hands.
Behind the back was the final decision after "some" silliness.


The large and beautiful deck where the swing dancing will take place
during the reception.
Mikey will probably bust some crazy moves of his own.
He is quite the dancer...but not so much when it comes to 
formal dances.

We are looking forward to the wedding in just 19 days.
But first we have a funeral.
The cycle of life....
It is real.



5 comments:

Theresa said...

What a beautiful setting for a wedding! I love outside weddings and can't wait to see pictures:)

I know that your friend is thankful to have you helping her in this very sad time in her life! Friends are precious! I will be praying for all of you in these days ahead! HUGS and PRAYERS!

Vee said...

The venue is lovely. Such fun photos you've shared.

Doris said...

Bless you! Your son is gaining a wonderful family and you are gaining a wonderful daughter. I sat behind your son and his sweet girl at church on Sunday. They are so cute, so in love :) that's a beautiful location for the wedding. A friend of mine had her reception there several years ago.
May you feel the gentle arms of your Savior covering you during these busy and emotional days.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Great photos Becky! Looks like it turned out well.

The menu sounds wonderful - I'd like a picnic with that food!

The photo of the groomsmen cracked me up!

Deanna

Karen said...

Truly, a day of extremes!

It looks like a beautiful venue for the wedding and your rehearsal dinner looks wonderful as well. Very pretty!

So, I have to ask-what were the "good" fruits and what is considered "filler"? And what is stuffed potato salad? That sounds fantastic! Something you made or something from Costco?

Praying for your grieving hearts, even as you rejoice over gaining a daughter soon.