My brother's words

I stole, I mean borrowed this post from my brother, Charles. It is his take on the wedding and I agree with his summary:
This past weekend, I officiated the wedding of my father to his new bride, Lou Smith. The comment I get the most is, “Wow, that was quick!” And its true… It hasn’t been quite a year since we buried mom. In truth though, my mother’s illness removed her from our lives years ago. Quite literally, I said “goodbye” to my mom over three years ago. Dad’s grieving had been a long process that did not begin at her funeral, but like mine had also started years earlier.
Dad and Lou started hanging out together with some friends for breakfast, then they started hanging out for game nights, then they became joined at the hip! I have known Lou’s family all my life. We all went to church (West Side) together. Jennifer and Brandi were friends of mine and Beth. My mom and Lou were friends – good friends in fact.
Lou lost her husband about 4 years ago. So while it was a bit of a surprise, their relationship and happiness all just seems to fit. …and I think everyone, including Beth and I, are very happy for Dad and Lou.
Besides that kiss… The wildest thing for me to come to grips with is that my tribe has increased. I now have a whole new “step” family with sisters and brothers-in-laws, and nephews, and everyone else!.

Before:

After:

And here’s that kiss… I was waaay too close for my own comfort!

And then Zach puked

What? You say. I'll tell you the story.

We cruised through the wedding ceremony. Nine grandchildren, four children, two parents, one nephew, and one great neice all performed flawlessly. A traditional Baptist reception (you know cake and punch) was well underway when...you guessed it. Zach puked. Abby received a direct hit while Cayln and I received significant bounce off the floor hits. The room cleared rather quickly clearing the way for the newly wedded couple to leave for their honeymoon. Here is a picture taken just before they left.

They look happy. Don't they?

Change and the Big Day

Saturday is my dad's wedding. Wow! A year ago, I never would have believed I would have just typed those words.
But Saturday brings change, even more change. I firmly believe that this is what is best for my dad. He deserves to be happy and have a life partner. He now has a reason to get up each morning. He was always loving and dedicated to my mom and he deserves to be loved again. Lou is a fantastic woman and brings out good things in my dad.
But change is change and is usually hard.
Will you please pray for me on Saturday? And for my brother as he performs the ceremony? Will you also pray for joy for all those that attend the wedding? I know I am not the only person who misses my mom and it is hard for people to separate my dad from my mom. It is also hard for people to not tell me how great my mom was when they see me, which at your dad's wedding can be a little awkward.
Thanks!

The Week in Review

I am borrowing this idea from one of my favorite blogs. We have been so busy since I last posted that maybe a review is in order.

Calyn and I went to Wichita Falls to attend the wedding shower of my dad's fiance. Cal threw-up the whole way there but was fine once we arrived. Car sickness maybe? The shower went well and we made it home with less drama.

Tim, Zach, and Abby attended a birthday party and picked Grandma up from the airport.

We survived the first week of swimming lessons at Tech. The new leisure pool is amazing. We got rained out one day but were fortunate to have on our suits because it poured on us.

We had a nice picnic at Legacy Play Village and a fun time at gymnastics.

Papou arrived mid-week and joined the festivities.














We hosted our weekly summer Bible Study and again had only guys show up.

I got to spend precious time with Leah, Annerson, and Janis.

We finally slayed the green monster living in our backyard.











We had lots of sweet treats: cookies from Mrs. Camp's and custard from Sheridan's.














We are thankful and blessed to have Grandma and Papou visit each summer. Papou treats us to many meals out and Grandma does a lot with and for the kids.

Next week, we have another week of swimming lessons and then we head back to Wichita Falls for my dad's wedding.