Women

One of my favorite parts of a wedding is the bridal room. I love all the girl stuff.
Hairspray, makeup, dresses, slips, mimosas…

Laughter, secrets, spiked heels, little spats…A bunch of women and girls in one room provides plenty of drama and plenty of stories.

The more women in the room, the more the bride is supported and loved.

And, the more women in the room, the more stress, anxiety, nerves getting stepped on.

The atmosphere reminds of of the scene from Gone With The Wind (minus the napping)

The best part of the bridal room is getting the bride into the dress. Especially when the bride’s Mom is the one helping her.

Sheila’s Getting Ready was even better because she had her Mom, Grandma, and her sister to help her!

How lucky is this bride!?

One Week

Josh and Abby and Evie live with us, but some nights if we have errands or social activities after work, Evie is already in bed when I get home, so this week I didn’t see her at all.

Do you know how much a person can change in one week when she is only 10 months old!?

I had her in my arms for a few seconds yesterday afternoon when she so sweetly and gently leaned her little lips into mine. Abby and Josh said she wanted a kiss. Sure enough, over and over she did this sweet little ‘leaning in’ to my face over and over on command.

Tonight, once Evie warmed up to my Dad and my uncle (why they were both here is another blog post) she sweetly offered them her kisses too.

Goodness. This baby steals my heart!!

Warming up to Great Grandpa

Kisses for Great Grandpa

Getting to know her Great Uncle DAve (actually, truth be told, Great-Great Uncle Dave)

And…the kiss.

Be still my heart.

This Girl

This girl,

Sheila…

She’s been a part of our family since she first showed up as a youth group leader for Abbie when Abbie was in 6th grade.

Sheila and Abbie have been big sister/little sister ever since. She is our stand-in first daughter, and we became her Bellingham Mom and Papa. She comes back to town and sleeps at our house or Abbie’s, calls and chats, lets me know when there might be a case sale on wine on the other side of the mountain…

And then, one day we got a call from Sheila asking if she could bring someone to meet us. Someone she wanted to meet at the front of a church, with friends and family and Have Rick ask, “Do you?” and she wanted to say “I do!”

Yesterday was that day.

Our ‘other’ girl pledged her love to a man who has pledged his oath to honor and protect.

He adores her.

And he will protect her.

She will bring him joy.

And keep him on his toes…

All of his days.

Congratulations and best wishes, Mick and She She. Your Bellingham Parents love you both.

Belated

I came across these pictures today. They are from Abbie’s birthday 4 years ago. She was only 19 and just a baby.

It was a cold day and we had walked down to the lake.

And everyone was silly and fun

I wish I could remember what was going on here,

and here.

It seems weird to be post these now, 4 years later, when so many people are missing.

But that day, this was it.

These were all the kids we had and knew.

Happy Belated Birthday, Abbie!

Who would have thought back then that there’d already be 4 more people in our family by now!?

All’s Well that Ends Well

For a Friday night, this one was not starting out very well.

I had a good hour and a half workout planned after work, and just enough time before catching the last bus back to Sudden Valley. In the dressing room, I pulled off my work clothes, put on my workout gear, jog bra, tank, reached in my bag for my black yoga pants and …pulled out a long sleeved black tee. Back on with my street clothes, back on with my boots.

Rick decided to come pick me up instead of me riding the bus. The car broke down on the way to town. He managed to get it home and got the other car to come pick me up.

An hour later, when I got in the car we decided to deviate from our eating plan and get a pizza. To Go. 45 minutes later we asked if our To Go order was coming out soon.

10 minutes later when we got in the car, Rick opened to box to look at our pizza. They left off the olives.

10 minutes later we were on our way home.

And now, 3 hours after I left my office, pizza eaten, movie going on, comfy in my pajamas, I’m happy to say, nothing about tonight will really matter 10 years from now, or 10 days from now, for that matter.

Oh, and last night I was looking through pictures on my external hard drive and found folders of photos that I took a few years ago and have never done anything with. A nice project for our long days of dark rain this winter. Here are a couple:

(notice the little out of focus spider on the left?)

So, all’s well that ends well.

Nostalgia

I’m feeling nostalgic tonight.

I miss my parents.

Not my parents as they are now; my parents as they once were.

This picture taken by Michele Waite, dancing at Caleb and Hannah’s wedding is the last time I remember them being “normal”

Tunis: Video Update

Last weekend I posted about my brother-in-law in Tunis. The school he works at there was attacked, looted and burned. Marty posted this video today, so beautifully done, I wanted to share it here.

Minus all the details of the past week, the day to day struggle and questions, investigations that Marty has kept us informed of, this will give you a visual update.

Just beautiful.

Two Things

ONE:
Text Message from me to Abbie:
Me: I’m thinking about a perm. What do you think?

6 hours later:
Me: I’m thinking about a perm. What do you think?

1 hour later:
Me; I’m thinking about a perm. What do you think?

2 hours later:
Abbie on the phone: Mom, no! I can’t let you. Your hair is too short, you’ll look like an old lady!
Me: Gasp! Ok, nevermind, how are you?

TWO:

I got home from work tonight to my husband and my uncle working on my uncle’s car.
My dinner is not made.
I am hungry.

I wish my Dad was here, or my Grandpa, so my husband could make my dinner.
Admittedly, I am spoiled.

And a man’s work is never done.

(Truthfully, I’m very happy we could help my uncle out)
Cheers!

Baby Cows

Sometimes, I’m so tired in the evening I can’t read blogs I follow if there are too many words.

So I skim the ones with words, look at pictures and then shut it down.

So, in honor of men and women everywhere who are too tire to read a blog post, I give you baby cows, or calves, as they are commonly called.

No thinking required. Just look at the calves, feel the stress of the day leave you as your look at their docile little faces

…with their big Doe Eyes

…their big baby cow noses

and their funny teeth.

Goodnight.

When News Hits Home

You know how the news is always spitting out terrible stories around the world? And you know how it’s easy to ‘TSK’ and shake your head and change the channel? Maybe find something lighter, like Seinfeld re-runs?

That’s how I am with worldwide news. I don’t really ever let it reach me. Maybe because it’s so far away it doesn’t seem real. Maybe because to get emotionally involved would be too painful, and it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t effect me.

The problem with that thinking is that news stories are about people. And everyone has someone somewhere who loves them and prays for them and when disaster strikes in that far away place, and someone you love is there, suddenly, you, at home are facing something you have no control over and suddenly you can’t flip the channel and pretend it’s not real.

When the American Embassy in Tunis was attacked last night, we received an email from Marty, Rick’s brother, who lives and teaches there. Over the past almost 24 hours Marty has sent updates that have gone from something like, ‘everything’s fine, don’t worry’, to this morning, ‘things have gotten a little crazy here, but I am safe’, to something a little more urgent.

(Bridged came home last week to be with her family during a family medical emergency, and so is here with us, while Marty is there)

On our way to work this morning I told Rick that I feel anxious and kinda sick at my stomach, having a brother so close to all this, “Imagine how Mom and Dad must feel!” I called my Mother-in-law this afternoon to see how they are doing. They have been in close contact with Marty via Skype and email this whole time, but she did say she feels pretty weepy. I can only imagine.

Before you read this article that appeared in the Bellingham Herald this afternoon,

This is my brother in law and his beautiful family:

And after you read the Herald article, remember this:

Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

So, Martin Keith, keep yourself safe. We trust you to our God who sees you and knows where you are. There are people praying for you all over the world. I will hug and kiss your wife tomorrow at breakfast, and we will skype with you very very soon!