Sunday Snippets

"It is important that we not measure our spiritual health by the people around us."
--Francis Chan, Crazy Love


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"Every time I write I feel as though my soul has exhaled, like I've been holding my breath until my pen hits the paper again, and I can breathe."
--My personal journal, May 2009


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"Today marks a profound and bittersweet milestone for all of us, as we bear witness to both an end and a beginning. And while we must continue on, we must also be grateful to have been blessed with someone who has so ably guided us to where we are today. When there has been so much love and happiness for someone, it is natural to be reluctant to close such a wonderful chapter in our lives, for moving forward is rarely accomplished without considerable grief and sadness. And while our sorrow may be profound, the clouds will clear, and the sun will shine on us again. And in that warm, bright light we will find ourselves facing a glorious future. A future of exciting challenges and infinite possibilities, in which the horizon will stretch out before us, trimmed in the heavenly glow of the sunrise of our tomorrow." 
--The Prince and Me

...and We Welcomed Everyone with a Party.

Before we left for Florida, I had a pretty good idea of who would attend my wedding.  By the time the Welcome Party rolled around, I had completely forgotten.  I think this was a good thing to forget because I found myself constantly pleased to see someone else, excited that he or she would be present for the big day (as if the days leading up to the "big day" hadn't been "big" enough). 

After the Welcome Party, I wanted to be with my Hub and my friends.  I hadn't planned to feel that way, but I did. So, we all went back to bridal party's house.  We sat in the living room and chatted and laughed.  We were loud and silly and I think I could've stayed there forever, at least until the food ran out.  If I let myself get quiet, though, the back of my mind started whispering, "you're getting married tomorrow, you know?"  I think Hub's mind was whispering to him, too.  I could tell by the look on his face. 

When I got ready to go Hub drove me home, and I can't for the life of me remember what we talked about, but I'm sure it had something to do with how quickly life passes and how impossible it seemed that tomorrow we'd be married.

July 23, 2010: The Ladies had a Luncheon...

The dining room was quaint and daintily decorated in shades of blue.  We gathered around tables and nibbled our salads in between stories and giggles and photo opportunities. When we'd finished our fruity dessert and the last photo had been taken, we all went our separate ways with hugs and well wishes and see you tonights.  It was just a little luncheon with some of the most important women in my life, but I think it was a luncheon I'd always dreamed about.  I felt calm.  I felt ready.  I was ready to get married. I was ready to grow into the woman I so desperately want to become.  I was ready to accept advice.  I was ready to believe in something bigger than myself.  I was ready, really ready, to walk down the aisle.  Saturday was coming, and I was ready.

Sunday Snippets

"Joy is always possible."
--Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts


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"Isn't it here? The wonder? Why do I spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it? Do we truly stumble so blind that we must be affronted with blinding magnificence for our blurry soul-sight to recognize grandeur?  The very same surging magnificence that cascades over our every day here.  Who has time or eyes to notice? All my eyes can seem to fixate on are the splatters of disappointment across here and me."
--Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts


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"It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong."
--Henry Longfellow; GreatestQuotes, Twitter


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"You cannot tailor make your situation in life, but you can tailor make your attitudes to fit those situations."
--Zig Ziglar; GreatestQuotes, Twitter

Sunday Snippets

"A measure of the circumference of each student's wrist will provide a reliable result, but it would be absurd to use the scores to indicate reading ability."
--James H. McMillan; Assessment Essentials for Standards-Based Education


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"One life-loss can infect the whole of a life.  Like a rash that wears through our days, our sight becomes peppered with black voids.  Now everywhere we look, we only see all that isn't: holes, lack, deficiency."
--One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp 


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"A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth."
--Ecclesiastes 7:1


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"I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?  And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
--Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll

...and had Dinner.

The food was delicious and the atmosphere delightful, but the company was even better.  The rehearsal dinner was the time when our friends and family toasted to Hub and me.  They told funny stories and said the nicest things and everyone laughed a little and cried a little bit more.  I don't recall another time in my life that I have felt so loved, so appreciated, so special.

The time spent at Bistro Bijoux in the picturesque party room illustrated more brilliantly than any other life experience the true meaning of family, of love.  Family isn't only about flesh and blood.  Family is about love and friendship and honesty and trust. I firmly believe you can be somebody's sister or brother or cousin or niece or nephew without a single relative in common.  I know this to be true because of the people in my life who have taken care of me, leaned on me, believed in me, and loved me.  
These people are my sisters and brothers and uncles and extra mothers and cousins and nieces and nephews.  These people raised me.  These people have tested me.  They have seen me fail.  They have seen me succeed. They have made me a better person. They have taught me about love and life and hope and happiness, and for them, I am eternally grateful.
Knowing these people is an honor; loving them is a privilege; and being loved by them is a blessing far too immeasurable to put into words.