A little Wordless Wednesday

*** edited shortly after posting***

ok, yes I did just realize it is actually Thursday.  I'm  blaming it on the cold, or my children, whichever sounds like a better excuse to you.

  

      

Christmas, The Blog. Part 1.

Let me just start with the most simple description of our last two weeks...Crazy, Beautiful, Blessed.

Now, since I haven't blogged since the 20th, when I was still spinning in wedding pictures (which I really still am) I suppose I need to go backwards.  There were many December pictures that did not make the blog prior to leaving for Ohio.  I thought I should share at least a few...

Lily had her first real lead role in a play! Our Church Christmas Musical was wonderful and she loved every minute!

                                               

Dax and Finn sang two songs before the play began.  The little ones were toooo cute!

 

This was Finn's first time on the stage.  I think he might be a natural!

We really did put up a tree.  We even hung lights on the outside of the house, before December! (although I guess I have no photographic evidence)

Lily officially passes on the priveledge of putting the star on the top of the tree to Dax this year.  This was the same star that sat atop my grandparent's tree throughout my magical childhood Christmases.

And there you have it, what seems to be a sampling of all the Christmas pictures I have prior to heading to Ohio...  I guess maybe after the wedding I went on a little camera hiatus.  We did bake lots of cookies, we wrapped a few presents, we took ornaments off the tree and put them back on, we moved the nativity set around the house, we are still minus one set of angel wings, and on camel head...but all is well! 

*

And more from home...

Seems my little hometown is a media sweetheart at the moment.  As funny as it seems to me I pray that this attention brings only hope and great things for that place I call home. 

Wilmington was featured on 60 Minutes tonight for the second time and thanks to a friend here in Illinois who called and reminded us, it managed to get recorded.  (thanks, Beth!)  Funny things is, the second time they were featured on Rachel Ray I got a call from my good friend, Sarah, reminding me too.  I have to say I love these Illinois friends who are making sure we don't miss our Ohio news.  I also loved being able to take my friends here on a little home tour with Rachael Ray's Thanksgiving show.  (which will be rerun on Christmas Day)

I love so many things about Wilmington, and it makes my heart hurt to see them broken.  However the tide is shifting.  Summer of 2008 standing in Wilmington was sad, depressing,  and gloomy...it felt like there was a darkness that hung over the town and the people in it.  Even then, though, I could feel it, this vibration right beyond the darkness.  It felt like hope, like faith, just off in the distance.  There was no doubt that God had huge plans for this place.  Plans to prosper and not harm.  I feel blessed to have grown up in a town with a faith.  I pray that each day this town is used to show God's love and what can happen when the spirit of hope, and the spirit of love push back the darkness.

For those who didn't get a reminder call tonight, here is the segment from tonight's 60 Minutes...

(please excuse the viagra commercial...what man decides, hey, yeah, lets talk about erectile disfunction right here...)


Watch CBS News Videos Online

...And just to make it more personal...

The auctioneer at the beginning was once upon a time Mike's business partner

The man who's house was foreclosed worked with my dad.

My family moved to Wilmington with Airborne Express 29 years ago.  I remember sitting with my Dad as he painted the Airborne Logo on some of the very first planes.  (this wasn't his job...he was just an artist lending his talents)

The pediatrician who is leaving is my niece's doctor, and no, they don't have a new one yet either.


The ped's office that is being closed is where Lily went.


The hospital is where both Mike and Lily were born.

The soup kitchen/food pantry is where Mike's brother works and where my sister in law and nieces spend much of their time.

Mike an I have both spent some summers doing community theater with the mayor, his daughter, and his niece.

Laura Walker (The lady with the horses) made my wedding cake.

...and on it goes...

I am grateful to be headed home Wednesday to spend my Christmas in Wilmington, Ohio with my family. I have no doubt that when I walk out of church to the sound of the bells ringing at Midnight on Main Street that the spirit of Christmas and of all things beautiful and holy will be right there, in that parking lot, just as it is each and every Christmas Eve.

The photo challenge...

I took the guys out do do pictures like these....

They requested a picture like this...

Then they offered up a challenge to the girls, sure that they would never sink to this level....

Oh boys, they met your challege and had fun doing it!

Mom said these aren't the kind of pictures you put in a wedding album.  I think they are just the kind of pictures that will make their grandchildren giggle, perfect for a wedding album.

Pictures that should have been blogged in October, but weren't...

Until now, and the post that might have accompanied them....

Pajamas in the Backyard

Hanging with Chloe

or

 Look, there is the picture frame that shood be on the wall but mom hasn't taken out the store family photos

Just Hanging with Bucket Head

Superheros and Damsels in Distress

Cake Winning?

Up

Blessing of new wonderful neighbors on a beautiful Indian Summer Day

Some posts should not have titles...

Studly Superheros in Sunshine Save the Day ....or Something

Attitude, Captured

Best line of the day...

Lily brought home a worksheet from school of the Chinese zodiac explaining each year and what the personality traits are.  While reading her sheet she announced that Dax was a rooster. 

Dax looked shocked, slightly offended, and said "No!  I am a Sheep!"

It took me a minute to "get it", but I just listened to see where this conversation was going. 

Lily, "Dax, there is no sheep.  There is a goat, but you are a rooster."

Dax, "No! I am a sheep!"

Finally, I asked, "Dax, does you being a sheep have anything to do with Jesus?"

Dax, "I was a sheep at church, Jesus is a shepard, I am a sheep, mom"

I love these moments!

Only at a wedding do you get a mix like this...

and so many more!

Ahh...and I thought it might remain a mystery...

The Wedding is over. The party was lots of fun.  My camera did not break, run out of batteries or make any weird noises as I had dreamt it might over the past several nights.  I have over 1600 pictures to edit and try to pull out a few good ones! =) 

In my brother's words, "it is what it is". 

There were CD's forgotten for the ceremony, maps left laying beside computers, bras, earrings, cuff links, and various others things gone missing for a time here and there.  Boys who ended up wearing superhero pajamas to the reception, girls who went barefoot, freezing bridesmaids, and a cake topper that wouldn't quite stay on top.  There were flasks snuck into the church, wild after parties that some of us are glad we were too old for, crazy photo challenges, children allowed to dance and party way too late into the evening and I'm sure many other improprieties.

 It is what it is and there was much laughter, dancing, and joy and I think that is how everyone should start a new life together.

Well, that and a lot of love.  Love for each other, love from family, love from friends, and a deep, abiding love for God. Dosh and Jessy are blessed in the love that flows from them and all around them. 

Yes Amy, it was infact, the cake topper...

There was a little trouble with him staying on top of the cake, but my story for how the picture below came to be involves not a fall, but a mad dash up the side of a frosting covered mountain to save a damsel in distress!

My brother, Ryan, played Mr. DJ (he does this in his alternate non bank manager life) and he did an amazing job with the music! 

The music brought laughter, memories, and even a few tears. 

I could go on and on about the music, because, really it's something that almost breathes to me, but I'll stop before I ramble on and run you off!  I will share a couple, but believe me, there will be more coming!

Dosh and Jessy came strolling into the reception to this little ditty...

Their first dance was a "smash up" (for those Glee watchers)

Combining this...

          and this...

Jessy and her step dad danced to this..

.

And then there was the one moment of the evening to brought me completely to tears.  My baby brother dancing with our mama...

To this...

The wedding has come...

In about 16 hours my baby brother will be getting married.  My own little men will be carrying ribbon covered pillows down the isle, and I will be freezing it all in time behind my camera lens. 

I'm sure if you read the last post you know that I'm struggling a bit with doing this without my dad.

Now that I'm here, in Ohio in the middle of the hubbub of rehersals, rehersal dinners, decorating, and just being with my family, I know he is here. 

He is here in the lights, in the music, in the love, and the laughter. 

He is here because he taught us how to do this. 

I saw him tonight in my little brother, Dosh's smile, the way he stood, the expression on his face. 

I heard him tonight in my brother, Ryan's voice, in his laughter, in his need to watch the Browns game during the rehersal dinner. 

I saw him in the Browns winning tonights game... =)
I caught a glimpse of him tonight in Finn's funny faces. 

I felt him tonight standing in my parents bathroom, the smell of Polo and the thought of him getting ready for a wedding danced through my mind. 

He is here with us in the Christmas lights, in the music, and in our hearts.  He would love today, at least once we get to the party, and so will we. 

He would also love this....

Any ideas what it might be?

Gratitude.

Today

Precious ornaments shattered on bathroom floors.

An angel lost her wings, a camel lost his head, the nativity looks a bit misshapen.

The bank computers went down, causing debit cards not to work.

The van was searched for $0.93 to pay for the pictures already printed.

Late to preschool...again.

My grandpa died today 25 years ago.  Somehow the memory of that day danced in my head.

My heart hurt.

I thought about a wedding this weekend. 

The thought of doing it without my dad seems ludicrous.

Ornaments fell.

Boys yelled.

Boys fought.

I yelled.

No one listened.

I cried.

I sent a pathetic sos to Mike on Facebook.

Lily showed up early.

She was kind.

Hot tea.

A movie for the boys.

Picked up my Bible.

Some Journaling.

Smiled.

Mike came home early.

He tagged in.

I tagged out.

45 minutes curled up in Lily's bed. 

It used to be mine.

It felt like home. 

Mike started to fix things.

He ironed my shirt.

Lily wrapped my gift.

Hot shower.

Hugs and kisses.

Dinner with friends.

Laughter.

Joy.

Gifts.

Beautiful Cross.

Friendship.

More laughter.

Home to children sleeping.

Laundry done.

Dishes washed.

Mike stayed up with me till midnight to watch One Tree Hill

Silly, but lovely.

Checking email before bed.

Email from the man I've been with for almost 20 years.

Words that reassure me. 

Blessed.

Grateful.