The Promised Wedding Pictures

Two weeks ago we went to Dallas for the wedding of our son-in-law's brother Ben, and his bride Alyssa. They were married in the Alexander Mansion in Garland, TX. Here are the promised pics.

The bridesmaids - notice the bare feet. Is that a Texas thing?And here comes the bride - also barefootThe groomsmen were no less, um, odd -


Here they are cutting the bride's cake -





And finally, didn't I tell you the groom's cake was incredible?!! It tasted every bit as good as it looked.



So there you have it. That chocolate strawberry-covered cake was worth the whole trip.

Be thankful ~

Karen

And now, to add to the post about never knowing what a day will bring. . .

Friday of last week I was very busy getting Ben and I ready for our trip to Dallas and the kids ready for their weekend without mom's help, and all the kids were working. Around 3 in the afternoon, Abbie's boss (she works at the church pre-school which in the summer is a day camp) called and told me Abbie had bashed her arm on something and thought it was broken. They were on their way back from a field trip to Lake Anna, so I said I'd meet them at the church. When I got there, this is the full story I got:

She was getting dressed after swimming in the lake, pulling her shorts up on half-wet legs, when she lost her grip on the shorts and slammed her elbow into the wall of the bathroom stall, which just happened to have the heads of three screws sticking out. She was in immediate excruciating pain, and when she looked down, one of the bones in the elbow was sticking out about an inch. She held her arm close to her all the way home (about a 40 minute ride), and by the time I got there it looked like it was back in place, but swollen. We had it x-rayed and there was no fracture, so it appears that the bone was dislocated, and popped back in on its own. She iced it for two days, took ibuprofen in large amounts, and it's no longer swollen but still pretty painful. The folks at Prime Care (where I took both Abbie and Mike) asked Elijah if he was going to be the next one to get hurt and he replied, "I can, if you want." No thanks.

Be thankful ~

Karen

This one is really not my fault

The saga continues, but this time, it's not my stupidity. It's my dear husband's dyslexia. The earliest flight we could get out of Dallas was 5:10 pm, but had to check out of our hotel at noon. And we had shopped for cowboy boots as much as we could stand, so there was nothing to do but hang out at the airport all afternoon. So we returned the rental car, checked our bags and got our boarding passes, went through security and started strolling around. Got something to eat, read, watched the news, tried in vain to get a wireless internet connection (who designed that airport, anyway?), and got very bored. We had walked down to our gate which was all the way at the far end of the terminal (aren't they always?), and it was so hot down there we couldn't stand it. So we decided to sit up in the middle of the terminal until our boarding time, which was printed on our boarding passes, usually about 20 minutes before flight time. Now, I don't wear a watch, so I was counting on Ben to watch the time, which he did diligently. Eventually we met up with a Christian couple and sat talking with them for a while. As they were leaving I got my cell phone out to check the time and it said 5:43 (remember our flight time?). I got that horrible feeling in my stomach - you know what I'm talking about - and said to Ben, "Honey, I have a horrible feeling. . ." and told him I thought we might have missed our flight. He said, "No, our boarding time is 5:40. Isn't it?" Out came the passes and no, our boarding time was 4:50. Our flight and our bags were long gone, halfway to DC. So we started laughing. I'm sure God was in it, because of all the flights that day (they fly this route every hour), there was not one seat available, but there just happened to be two seats on the 7:10. Of course that one left from a different terminal, but at that point we would have rented mules to get there. Found our gate and sat until they called for boarding, and wound up sitting with a great Christian guy and had awesome fellowship for 3+ hours, even if the engine was right outside our window (I'm not kidding). God is so good.

Anyway, I'm going to get pics on a CD this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get some posted tonight.

Be thankful ~

Karen

They say everything's bigger in Texas, but I'm not so sure. The roadsigns are miniscule, and it's not just because I need new glasses. We went to a wedding at the Alexander Mansion in Garland yesterday, and the "mansion" is not much bigger than my 3/2 ranch in Northern Virginia, though it is more tastefully decorated. Makes for a pretty setting - I'll try to post pics in the next few days.

And why is it that the groom's cake is always the chocolate one? Who made the rule that the bride's cake had to be boring vanilla? This groom's cake was the most incredible - rich chocolate, iced and drizzled with dark chocolate, and surrounded by huge chocolate-covered strawberries. And there was the bride's cake - white. Vanilla. Plain. Boring. What's the deal?


This wedding was fun for us. We got to see some old friends, encourage a few, and spend time with Deb and David (my married daughter and SIL). It's hotter than blazes and to our knowledge, there is nothing to do in Dallas other than shop for cowboy boots and practice reading miniature roadsigns at 75 mph. We get lots of practice because we always miss our turns or exits. And Ben has become an expert at doing u-turns at intersections where u-turns are illegal. Don't tell. You know that saying "You can't get there from here" - it originated in Dallas, home of "Drive twelve miles to do a left turn," and "don't miss the restaurant or it will be next week before you can get back here." It's no wonder so many people died on the plains - they missed their turns and were never heard from again.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Well, you just never know what a day will bring forth.

Yesterday Mike called me on my cell phone and, in his I'm-really-trying-to-sound-nonchalant voice said, "Hi Mom. The good news is that I'm OK. The bad news is I might need a few stitches." Mike works on a framing crew so we pray for his safety every day, and it's a good thing. He was standing on the rafters (9 feet above the concrete slab) when his right foot slipped. And he had a nail gun in his hand. Now, Mike is a smart guy and thinks pretty quickly, so when he felt his foot slipping his first thought was to tuck so his arms wouldn't get ripped off on the way down. Tuck he did, and the nail gun tucked with him. Somehow he managed to smash himself on the top of the head with the back end of it - much better than the front end, but still painful. And somehow he caught himself with his shoulders wedged between roof rafters. I feel sure there was an angel there to catch him. So here he is, reclining along the roof, sitting on the top of the wall, blood spurting out of the top of his head, still unwilling to drop the nail gun (those things are expensive, you know), stars spinning like when Wile E. Coyote gets smacked with a cannonball, and Butch yelling, "Hang on Mike! I'm gettin' a ladder!" Yep. He needed a few stitches, or rather staples. Those gadgets are pretty cool - they look just like those cute little staplers we used to get for school, remember? Mike was bummed because now he has a very small bald spot with three staples sticking out, but I cheered him up with the thought that if he ever does go bald up there, he'll have some great scars. Aren't I encouraging?

Thought for the day: If he'd turned the nail gun around, he could have bashed his head open and fixed it all in one smooth move.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I just read CarrieLouise's blog about sitting in waiting rooms with small children and it reminded me of an event that happened many years ago. In 1996 we were living in Suffolk, VA (near Virginia Beach) when Abbie skipped across the yard, tripped over her own dainty feet, and shattered her right arm. To shorten a very long story, it was repaired surgically, casted for 7 weeks, pinned and x-rayed several times, and is now good as new. During the ordeal though, we made many trips to the orthopaedic surgeon's office, which usually had a very full waiting room. On one particular day, I entered the office with five children and they all promptly found seats not too far away from me, all except Elijah who was 3 at the time. There was only one more empty chair available, between me and a black lady. So I patted the chair and said, "Come sit here, Elijah." Elijah looked at me, then at the black lady, then back at me and replied, "I don't want to sit by that black lady." I was horrified, but the woman was very kind and talked sweetly to him. I took him on my lap and moved over to sit next to the lady so we could get to know her and prove she wasn't an axe murderer. I apologized a million times, and she was very gracious about it, but after that we looked for opportunities to interact with people of other races. Just a few days later we were in line at K-mart with Elijah sitting in the command seat of the shopping cart, and he had gotten his foot stuck in the hole. A black gentleman behind us helped him get his foot unstuck and Elijah actually thanked him. God knows just what we need when we need it.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Well I am having a perfectly lovely day. It's only 85 degrees, lower humidity, bright blue sky - what's not to love? Today we are having a BBQ for our SS class (college & career), so I left early to go get what I needed at Walmart before the usual Saturday crowds took over. By the time I got back around 9 am, my kids were all busy vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, washing dishes, and exercising the dumb bulldog. By 10 we had the house all done, beans in the crockpot, disposable dishes all set up, food ready to cook, and a bowl of cookie dough waiting to be baked later. You know, years ago when I had a house full of toddlers everyone thought I was crazy, but I had a plan. And today I saw the plan in action and it worked perfectly! The toddler years were a lot of work on my part, training, teaching, cleaning up after their efforts, but the work has paid off many-fold and I am very blessed. Good job, God!

Be thankful ~

Karen

One more thing. . .

And if you want a laugh, go read TC's blog here.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I've heard that when a woman is approaching menopause, her thinking gets "foggy." I've actually read this in many places, all of which are reputable medical-type books and articles. Well, I have surpassed "foggy" and am well on my way to "thick as pea soup." Not once or twice, but three times now I have written bills in the checkbook register as being paid, but neglected to actually go to my bank's website to pay the bill. Then a month later I get a bill for twice what it should be and I panic. This month was different though. When I got a Verizon Wireless bill that was astronomical, I knew immediately what I had done. Isn't that sad? That I am getting used to my own stupidity? God help me.

Last night I made the most delicious dinner (at least I remember the food). Abbie and I like to watch cooking shows when we get the chance (which is not often), and last week we saw an episode of Bobby Flay's "Boy Meets Grill." In case you don't know, Bobby Flay is the king of grilling. Anyway, he made this incredible Orzo Salad with green onions, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and dill, and served it with grilled shrimp. My family ate like starving refugees. Next time I'll cook twice as many shrimp, but I'll have to mortgage the house first. Hopefully I'll remember to pay the bill.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Yesterday I finally found some Italian tracts for Abbie to take with her in September, and ordered 200 of them. That doesn't seem like nearly enough, but she is very limited in her weight allowance, so we're trying to be careful. So Ben got home last night and I told him about it and he asked, "What do they say?" Well. That's an interesting question. How do you know what a tract in a foreign language says? I picked one that I had seen in English and I guess we just have to trust somebody to have translated it accurately. It's called "All This I Did for Thee." The tracts are free, and you just pay for shipping. What a blessing! You can get them and many other languages here.

Today we are going in search of wheat. I'm pretty picky about the type of wheat I get, preferring hard white spring wheat. I think I've found a place to get it, but it's a good 45 minute drive from here. If they have it, it will be worth it though. I've been without for a few weeks and the gremlins are grumbling. It's so hot out nobody wants to be outdoors, so we'll spend our day in an air-conditioned car getting something worthwhile done.

Be thankful ~

Karen

An update for the Courters

I'm excited because I just found out some good friends of ours have a blog here! So I visited and enjoyed lots of great pictures of the ten children, but where are the mom and dad? Sure would be nice to see them too (hint, hint). They spent last Saturday canoeing on the Buffalo River and Abbie and I were so jealous! We went canoeing with them a few years ago and it is the BEST fun!



So for their sakes (I hope they visit me here) I'll give a mini-update of my family.



Ben is working much closer to home now. He started a new job a couple of months ago and no longer has to get up at 4 am, and gets home much earlier in the evening. He and Mike have spent many of their recent Saturdays remodeling a bathroom about 50 minutes north of here. They're almost done and it's a good thing - tuition is due in 4 weeks! Ben has started teaching the college and career class on Sundays, and is enjoying it. We're starting to put together a website that you can visit here. Mike has been working on a construction crew this summer and likes it much better than his job of teaching children to swim last summer. He said the kids weren't so bad, but the parents were awful. Anyway, he's getting ready to go back to school and will be a senior at JMU. I can't wait for that graduation next May!



Leah has worked at the church day-camp this summer, as has Abbie. She says the hardest thing is that you can't switch the kids. It would be so easy to get control if you could! Instead, they are supposed to give the kids time-outs, which don't help at all. Abbie discovered making the kids (especially the boys) work, and that has proved to be the best thing. Most of the boys' problems stem from boredom, and they would rather be working than bored. One day I went to pick the girls up and they had Joshua (12 years old) outside with a bucket of soapy water and a scrubbrush, scrubbing the parking lot. Abbie said that was the happiest he'd been all day! Leah is ready to go back to school, and will be a junior at JMU.



Abbie has been working part-time at the day-camp, and also went to NYC on the Teen's missions trip. They worked with a Portugese-speaking church in Queens running a VBS, handed out tracts in the subway, and did some painting. She said NYC was overwhelming because of the size and number of people. She was glad to come back home to dinky Virginia. She is getting ready to go to Italy with some friends of ours in September, and has found a place to get Italian tracts. She will be a senior in high school this fall, still studying at home.



Elijah cuts grass with Mike, splits and stacks firewood, works on the current remodeling project with the boys, and tries desperately to train Pete. We think it's a hopeless cause. Scroll to older posts for more on Pete, the 70 pound brainless wonder. Here he is as a 10-week old puppy. Too bad he couldn't stay that way - at least he would have an excuse to be so dumb.

Elijah will be in 9th grade in the fall. I stay busy keeping everything going, cleaning, feeding, and clothing people, and making sure we all keep the schedule. God is faithful and good.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Here's some Total Momsense

You'll enjoy this. . .

Be thankful ~

Karen

My friend JenIG over at Homeschool Blogger just had a joke contest, and here's the winning joke:

"How many kids with ADD does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

"I don't know. How many?"

"Wanna ride bikes?"


Now, no offense to our brethren with ADD but that's a funny joke!

Be thankful ~

Karen