Where to begin?

We've been trying to get back into our normal routine.

It's a slow process.

In the past 3 weeks, we've moved my Mom here, graduated my youngest sister (we didn't actually go to her graduation ceremony as she decided against walking-but we did do a "reenactment" of the ceremony at our house!), had family from Holland come to stay with us for 3 days, and successfully married off (is that the right term?) one sister.

Whew.

Last week was a week filled with mixed emotions for me. I had thought Monday morning would meet me with relief, but instead, it left me feeling empty. It was definitely time for my sister to move on with her own life, but I was surprised with the sadness I felt with one less person living in our house! It will just take some getting used to. And it won't be for long as we will have another (much welcomed) house guest for awhile starting June 12th when my youngest sister comes to stay with us!

So I've finally found a quiet moment to sit down and start sorting out the events of the past few weeks. It will probably take me a few posts to catch up. I'll start with what happened the most recently, and I suppose, the most exciting of all! Sarah's wedding, of course! (Sorry, Rachel-your graduation reinactment was quite exciting but it will have to be pushed to the next post) :)

Thursday night kicked it off with Sarah's bachelorette party. I'll just say that Sarah has some pretty wild and exciting friends. I'll post a few *select* pictures in a future post. Maybe.

Friday night was the rehearsal. It was such fun! The actual rehearsal went fairly well and we got all the kinks worked out. Here's us sisters-don't mind the construction in the background!


Dinner was directly afterwards at a fun local place called Scotty's Lakehouse (I think). They had wonderful burgers and fries and I regretted that I had placed my Cobb Salad order in advance, but I ate Rusty's fries :)

Saturday was the big day. We prayed and prayed for good weather and we were blessed with a beautiful day with just a few drops of rain towards the end of the day. I had also prayed a LOT for Ella to behave well as the flower girl. She's totally unpredictable. We decided early on that her and I would walk down the aisle together, holding hands. Getting her to walk down the aisle by herself was something I didn't even want to attempt. She did great at the rehearsal so I really hoped she would do it during the wedding.

Here we go. So far, so good!


Uh-oh. Something catches her eye in the pew. I try to ignore it and keep walking.

Ok, she let out a pretty loud shriek so I should probablly try to get this under control.

And...this is me dragging her up the aisle, as she begins her meltdown.

But aren't her shoes cute?

Ok, this pic got out of order. I think it was pre-meltdown.

And...here comes the bride. Isn't she beatiful? I really didn't expect to tear up but the moment I heard the music and she walked out with my Dad, I lost it. My little sister was getting married!

I really really enjoyed the whole ceremony (other than my feet hurting so badly from my shoes that I really thought I might pass out). She walked out to the song "Kisses & Cake" which is one of the main songs used in the movie "P.S. I Love You". One of her bridesmaids sang a really pretty song by Brandon Heath-I can't remember the name of it now...Love is Near maybe? The Unity Candle Lighting was to "I'll Be By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North. They first just lit the candle and prayed as a couple.

Then the wedding party came and silently prayed over them.

Then, finally...the kiss!!

The ending song was "This Will Be" by Natalie Cole. It was perfect!

They are so happy! Aren't they a cute couple??

The reception turned out so great. Our church gym has never looked so classy! The bridal party was introduced to the song "Now that We Have Love" from the end credits of the movie Hitch, and we tried to kind of recreate that end scene-cute.

First Dance (to "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain")

Cutting of the Cake (forget what song they had during this but it was a good one!)

And...just some fun pics from the reception. Ella was a wild child! I have a really cute video of her dancing that I'll have to post later.

All in all, it was a great day and a beautiful wedding! All the hard work was definitely worth it and I know my sister is going to be so happy!

(A lot of these pics were borrowed from Amber and Anya-thanks girls!)