Top 25 list for Nick and Whitney's Wedding

                                        
Brett and I attended the last of our three weddings this weekend.  We made an overnight trip to St Louis to attend the wedding of Nick and Whitney.  Whitney is the oldest daughter of one of my dearest and closest friends Elaine.  Congratulations Mr and Mrs. Nick Strubhar beautiful wedding.

I wanted to come up with a different way to share this wedding, since you are probably all tired of my wedding updates.  So, here goes.

Top 25 things I loved about the Strubhar wedding - in no certain order.

1.  I loved that we have known Whitney since she was 4 years old and they first came to Park Church.
2.  I love that we got to travel back to St. Louis to attend this wedding.  That I got to spend some more time with "traveling" Brett.
                                         
3.  I loved the gift bag and personal card when we checked in to our hotel.
4.  I loved the simple but eloquent decorations on the church stage.
5.  I loved seeing so many old friends.
                                    
6.  I loved that Elaine called me that morning crying, but she did awesome through the whole evening.
7.  I love that Nick is a cubs fan and  loved his Cubs grooms cake.
                                 
8.  I love that all the siblings were in the wedding party.
9.  I loved the tiny little flower girl, that was hesitant to walk down the aisle (at all three weddings, each flower girl brought a chuckle from the crowd).
10.  I love that the person officiating knew Nick and Whitney so well, that made it so personal.
                                  
11.  I love that you can always count on the fact that Ron and Pat Berger, and Dovie Wood never age.
12.  I loved the cupcakes, made by the Brides sister (way to go Lynds wish I had another).
13.  I loved that the Mother of the bride and Mother of the groom were escorted to their seats by their husbands.
14.  I loved the table decorations, who knew burlap and mason jars could be so eloquent.
15.  I loved the brides dress it suited her perfectly, it looked  like it was designed just for her.
16.  I loved the best mans (brother of the groom) speech, and the presentation of a cubs jersey to Whitney with her new name and the #12 so so she will always remember the year she became a Cubs fan.
18.  I loved the view of downtown St. Louis at night from the reception loft.
19.  I love that they make such a cute couple, and both have a conviction to have God at the center of their marriage. 
                      

20.  I loved the shoe game, that was so cute.
21.  I loved getting to take pictures with some wonderful women who played such an important role in my life, the women I raised my children with.  I love that these women all had such an impact on my kids.

                                                                                                               

                                 

22.  I loved that Nick and Whit held hands through out the whole ceremony.

                                    
22.  I loved that the bridesmaids all had the same color dresses, but each had one that suited their own style and taste.
                        ..     
23.  I loved sharing a table with the Rosetta's.
                        
24.  I love that we have stayed in touch with this family after leaving St. Louis and that they all still feel like family.
                       
25.  And last I loved that after the lighting of the unity candle, both sets of parents prayed a blessing over this couple.

Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it".  It is very obvious that both sets of parents have done just that.  They raised their children to love, honor, and respect God.  To put him first in their lives, and because of that I am confident as this couple starts out their life together, God will be at the center of it.  Does that mean things will always be easy and run perfectly smooth?  No, this next year will be a year of learning and growing for both of them.  But I believe as they face changes this next year, and grow as a couple, they will remember those things their parents taught them, and they will cling to those lessons they learned growing up.  Nick and Whit thanks for letting us share in your celebration we love you guys.
Thanks for reading.

A Daughters Choice

You can not attend three weddings in a month and not reflect on your own.  Weddings have changed so much since Brett and I got married 32 years ago.  When Brett and I got married, you had the ceremony upstairs in the sanctuary, and then a cake and punch reception in the basement of the church.  I love that weddings now are an all day event and such a celebration of two lives joining together.

There are so many decisions a bride must make.  Location of the wedding and venue for the reception, a date that is open for both, choosing who is in the wedding, colors, dresses, flowers, decorations, cake, and food, the list goes on and on.  As I watched these three brides there was one decision I was glad they didn't have to make, Sarah, Kayla, and Whitney were all walked down the aisle by their Dad.  Dads they grew up with.

As a young bride of 18 one of the toughest decisions I had to make was who was going to give me away, my Dad or my step-Dad.  I came up with this awesome plan.  My Dad could walk me down the first half of the aisle to represent that he was there in the early years of my life.  He could walk me half way to Gary shake hands and hand me off.  Gary could walk me to the end to represent that he raised me through the middle years of my life. He could give me away to Brett to spend the rest of my life with.  Unfortunately, that plan didn't come to me until many years later.

So, I had to make that tough choice.  After many hours of soul searching I made the choice to have my step-Dad walk me down the aisle. I then had to write my Dad and explain my decision.  I received a letter back from him, telling me he understood and respected my decision but that I must also respect his decision not to be at my wedding.  That was very heart breaking for me, but I took it in stride.  I handled it like all other hurts and disappointments in my life.  I stuffed it deep down never to be thought about again.

Now in the second half of life, after working through all those buried pains, hurts, and disappointments, I can be  grateful.  I can be thankful that the decision was so hard, because I had two wonderful Fathers to choose from.  Jeremiah  29:11 says  " For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Even before I was born, God knew I would have these two wonderful men as Dads.

So, on this day set aside to honor our fathers.

Harvey - Thanks for being a great Daddy, for giving me life and making me feel like a princess in the early years of my childhood.  I love you and miss you and would give anything to have just a couple of hours to sit down with you.
                                    
Gary -  Thanks for being a wonderful Dad. For ALWAYS treating me and loving me as if I were your own. Thank you for raising me through those difficult years and for always being there.  I love you.  Happy Fathers Day.

  

And to Brett thanks for being a terrific Dad to Brittany and Chris.  To all those great examples of wonderful fathers in my life Grandpas, uncles, brother-in-laws, nephews, and friends HAPPY FATHERS DAY!
Thanks for reading.

Trip to Arkansas/ Kayla and Evan's Wedding

Brett and I attended our second wedding of the summer this past weekend.  This one in Fayetteville Arkansas.  Congratulations Kayla and Evan Reynolds.  This was an outside wedding, which can be a gamble in June.  But the weather was beautiful just enough of a breeze to make it a perfect evening to be out.  Though the breeze did play havoc on the beautiful full veil.  But the bride had an awesome Dad who did a great job of keeping it under control walking down the aisle.  Way to go Kendal.

It was a beautiful entourage of men in black tuxes and girls in beautiful flowing yellow gowns.  The flowers in mason jars, hanging from ribbons made beautiful isle decorations.  And the two flower girls dressed in white were precious. One stole the show with her attitude.  Not sure if it was an attitude of I am scared and don't want to mess up, or an attitude of I don't really have time in my schedule for this.  But it was a crowd pleaser either way.  There was a good recovery on the grooms part over the vows in the exchange of the rings.

The reception was beautiful, in a converted horse barn complete with horses in the corral outside.  Good food, good company, good band with lots of dancing.  Loved the sparklers as the bride and groom left the reception.  Lokers and Reynolds what a wonderful celebration of the beginning of two lives and families joining as one.

For Brett and I was a great chance to get out of town for the weekend, and a great chance to stop by and see Brett's Dad and Martha on the way back.  Spending seven hours in the car on the drive down Saturday was a great chance to reconnect.  To spend time talking, holding hands, joking and laughing together.  Maybe it is just us but we both become different people when we travel.  As the miles put us further away from responsibilities we both begin to relax.

We talked about that a little on the ride. I actually made the comment "I like this Brett, why can't he come home with me?"  And I know he could honestly make the same comment.  Why is that?  For Brett and I, I know a lot of it is technology.  Because here we are at home both sitting on separate computers, the TV is on with the sound off and we are listening to the Miners game on the radio, with phones beside us both.

Those things that were created to help us stay in touch with others, can actually pull us away from those people who live in the same house with us.  

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  This verse is talking about where you invest your money, is where your heart lies, either in the things of heaven or earthly things.  Can't the same be said for my time?  What I spend the majority of my time doing shows where my priorities lie.  Technology itself isn't a bad thing, but if it takes up all my time, and I don't have time for Brett, then it becomes a bad thing. So, what is the answer?  Maybe for Brett and I, it means an hour a night spend with each other no phones, no computers, no TV, no DVR, no facebook. Maybe we designate one night a week as no technology night.  But the important thing is that we find a way to bring those traveling people in off the road.
Thanks for reading.

Brittany's Surprise

I am sure it seems as if all my posts recently have revolved around a kiss or a wedding, but hang with me. Chris and KC just announced their engagement, and Brett and I are in week two, of four weekends out of three having weddings.  So my mind is kind of in wedding mode.  And lets face it, who doesn't like a good wedding story?  It is why sitcom TV shows always ended the season with a wedding or a birth.  Especially the older ones.

This wedding story revolves around a bridesmaid.  In an earlier post I stated that Chris and KC had a lot of their wedding planned before the proposal.  They had already chosen who was going to be in the wedding party.  Chris had chosen Will as his best man, and he had told me KC was going to ask Brittany to be a bridesmaid.  Chris had talked with Will, but KC had not had the opportunity to ask Brittany.

A week or so before the proposal Brittany and I were out getting a pedicure and doing some shopping. A fun girls day out.  While getting our pedicures there was a girl getting her hair in an updo for prom.  Brittany said ahhh I want to go to prom again.

Then while we were shopping we saw a couple other girls with their hair ready for prom.  Brittany said, I told Will it isn't fair he gets to dress up for the wedding.  Then she started joking around with comments like, do you think KC would think I was a stalker wanna be bridesmaid?  If I just went along with them to get my hair done, and got a dress the same color as theirs, and maybe the shoes and jewelry?  And I went along to get my nails done.  We were having fun joking around, but the whole time I was cracking up, because I knew KC was going to ask her. It was so fun knowing this thing she wanted was ahead in her future.  And it was all I could do to keep from telling her, but I didn't.

A couple of weeks later they were all coming to our house for lunch along with the Smiths.  KC came in carrying these two really cute girly gift boxes. They were full of nail polish, lip gloss, bath stuff, and Tylenol. She gave one to Angie and one to Brittany.  Brittany had that funny look on her face she gets when she isn't sure what is going on.  Then she pulled out a card that read, will you be a bridesmaid?  Brittany actually squealed with childlike, girlish, joy and delight. I think there might have even been a tear in her eye.  Uncommon for a Sapp girl   It was the perfect reaction. As a Mom, it was so much fun to get to witness such delight in one of my adult kids.

I wonder is that what it is like for God?  When I am talking,and praying, and dreaming about a hearts desire, and He knows it lies just down the road.  Psalm 37:4, Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  God, when I receive those hearts desires, please don't let me just be grateful.  Let me squeal with childlike, girlish joy and delight.  Cause as a parent I know it must bring a smile to your face.
Thanks for reading

SEALED WITH A KISS / JAKE AND SARAH'S WEDDING

This past Saturday we had the privilege of attending the wedding of one of my favorite nephews. Congratulations Jake and Sarah.  It has been fun watching this relationship grow and mature over the past few years. They make an awesome couple and it is going to be fun to see what God has in store for them in the future. We are so glad to have you as part of the family Sarah, even if you are a Cardinal's fan.

The wedding was beautiful, perfect weather, a spectacular church out in the country.  Complete with a handsome groom and beautiful bride.  An entourage of good looking groomsmen and pretty bridesmaids.  The cutest flower girl and ring bearer you could imagine. (Sorry they were, even if they are my great niece and nephew.) Way to go Adelyn and Hayden.  Throw in bright colored flowers, wonderful singing, and the support of lots of family and friends.  A perfect wedding.

Though there are always those few little things that make each wedding special.  Getting everyone there on time, the flower girl who got cold feet and tears, and the "get away" bus running out of gas.  And I noticed something during the ceremony, that I thought was just a sweet gesture, but after thinking about it, I thought maybe it was one of those cute wedding glitches,  

The priests said at the end of the ceremony there are times for applauding and this is one of those.  Please applaud with me as I introduce for the first time Jake and Sarah Buhnerkempe.  As they turned around the bride and groom squeezed in a kiss. I thought how sweet, then I realized, oh no he missed saying you may kiss the bride.

So, I decided to do some research on "you may kiss the bride".  One of the sites I looked at said that not all catholic weddings include the kiss. I don't know if that was the case in this particular instance, or if it just got skipped, but I love that Sarah and Jake made sure it got in there.

I started researching to find out where the tradition of kissing the bride began.  Before researching, I thought it was just a way of sealing the marriage agreement, you know the saying "sealed with a kiss". Some do trace the tradition to ancient Rome, whereby the exchange of a kiss signified the completion of a contract.  And yes marriage is a contract between two people, but more importantly marriage is a covenant between those two people and God.  See Rob I do listen to your sermons.

But I did learn something new from my research.  (Even in the second half of life there is still room for learning. Maybe more room because the older you get, the less you realize you know.)  What I did find out, was that many people hold to the belief that the kiss symbolizes the exchange of souls between the bride and groom. Binding them together forever. Which fulfills the scriptures in Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:6-9 "that the two shall become one flesh".

So, good job Jake and Sarah on getting the kiss in.  I am sure that your two souls will abide happily ever after.  Thanks again for letting us share in your special day.  We loved it.
Thanks for reading.