Sunday, May 18, 2008
Wedding Bells
We had a beautiful day yesterday, pretty hot for May here, about 89 degrees and bright sun. It was gorgeous, though, and in the later afternoon some breezes and shade arrived to relieve us all.
We all went to a family friend's daughter's wedding yesterday, and our children looked so beautiful. The wedding was in our friends' backyard, which is gorgeous, they are extraordinary gardeners, and there is a pond and stream and gazebo, with bridges and benches. Several photographers there were grabbing shots of our little ones, all dressed up. The older three boys were in shirts and ties, Amira was in a pretty yellow floral dress and Jerome was in pinstriped pants and a white, short sleeved dressy shirt. They looked so nice, and except for the heat causing them some trouble during the ceremony and a little fit from an almost two year old who needed a nap and got a stern talking to, they behaved even better. All of them were so excited to see the wedding and watch the ceremony. Amira was disappointed because we didn't get to see the couple open the presents. She kept asking when present time was going to be.
The children played with our hosts' grandson and had fun watching the tadpoles in the pond. While the reception was going full swing, they were watching squirrels in the trees and racing around the lawn. At one point, they took over the golf cart, then Rich took the keys out so we wouldn't have to worry about them running themselves into anything. It was a lovely day.
Rich and I got to dance to the first song we ever danced to, nearly 14 years ago, and we were able to visit with some friends we haven't been able to spend a lot of time with lately. The mother of the bride, and another woman, are two women I used to meet with weekly. I'm trying to work it out so I can start doing it monthly, at least, and it was nice to hear that they still missed me. These are women who prayed with me, cried with me, rejoiced with me, helped us unpack when we moved here, and shared so much of their lives with me. It was wonderful to be there with them and share in this celebration. We knew the priest who married the couple, Rich had worked with him on a Cursillo weekend a few years ago. This was the last child married from this home, and they are blessed to have approved of and gotten along with all of the men their daughters married. Each wedding has been a cause for unadulterated joy.
Watching the young couple at the altar, I again thought of how close we are to something like that. We're still measuring the distance in years, but they will rush by, I know. Alexander, Dominic and Amira were watching the proceedings pretty intently. I think Dominic and Amira had a special interest in it, since Amira is all about weddings and being married and a mother, just the other day she was telling me about how when she grows up and gets married, she will be "preganent," and Dominic has had his bride picked out since pre-school. He has also told us that they are having 10 daughters and living with us. He has since amended that, he wants at least 10 children, but they don't all have to be daughters now.
Our children know the service well enough to be able to follow along and participate without a service book, so we helped with the responses, since it seemed like many of the guests didn't know what to say or do, and there weren't any service books provided. You could tell which of the readers were used to standing up and reciting scripture (or anything else), and who had been picked for other reasons and didn't practice, nor have the familiarity with the process enough to speak slowly and clearly enough that they didn't trip up and have to start sentences over again. I had not thought of that as a benefit of our church until now. It is a skill that is useful to have, not quite public speaking, but a sort of preparation for it anyway.
Since it was so warm, and I am so pregnant, we were getting ready to leave just before the bride and groom. We stayed long enough to throw lavender at them as they made their get-away, and then headed home to rest. Amira still feels cheated that there was no present opening.
We all went to a family friend's daughter's wedding yesterday, and our children looked so beautiful. The wedding was in our friends' backyard, which is gorgeous, they are extraordinary gardeners, and there is a pond and stream and gazebo, with bridges and benches. Several photographers there were grabbing shots of our little ones, all dressed up. The older three boys were in shirts and ties, Amira was in a pretty yellow floral dress and Jerome was in pinstriped pants and a white, short sleeved dressy shirt. They looked so nice, and except for the heat causing them some trouble during the ceremony and a little fit from an almost two year old who needed a nap and got a stern talking to, they behaved even better. All of them were so excited to see the wedding and watch the ceremony. Amira was disappointed because we didn't get to see the couple open the presents. She kept asking when present time was going to be.
The children played with our hosts' grandson and had fun watching the tadpoles in the pond. While the reception was going full swing, they were watching squirrels in the trees and racing around the lawn. At one point, they took over the golf cart, then Rich took the keys out so we wouldn't have to worry about them running themselves into anything. It was a lovely day.
Rich and I got to dance to the first song we ever danced to, nearly 14 years ago, and we were able to visit with some friends we haven't been able to spend a lot of time with lately. The mother of the bride, and another woman, are two women I used to meet with weekly. I'm trying to work it out so I can start doing it monthly, at least, and it was nice to hear that they still missed me. These are women who prayed with me, cried with me, rejoiced with me, helped us unpack when we moved here, and shared so much of their lives with me. It was wonderful to be there with them and share in this celebration. We knew the priest who married the couple, Rich had worked with him on a Cursillo weekend a few years ago. This was the last child married from this home, and they are blessed to have approved of and gotten along with all of the men their daughters married. Each wedding has been a cause for unadulterated joy.
Watching the young couple at the altar, I again thought of how close we are to something like that. We're still measuring the distance in years, but they will rush by, I know. Alexander, Dominic and Amira were watching the proceedings pretty intently. I think Dominic and Amira had a special interest in it, since Amira is all about weddings and being married and a mother, just the other day she was telling me about how when she grows up and gets married, she will be "preganent," and Dominic has had his bride picked out since pre-school. He has also told us that they are having 10 daughters and living with us. He has since amended that, he wants at least 10 children, but they don't all have to be daughters now.
Our children know the service well enough to be able to follow along and participate without a service book, so we helped with the responses, since it seemed like many of the guests didn't know what to say or do, and there weren't any service books provided. You could tell which of the readers were used to standing up and reciting scripture (or anything else), and who had been picked for other reasons and didn't practice, nor have the familiarity with the process enough to speak slowly and clearly enough that they didn't trip up and have to start sentences over again. I had not thought of that as a benefit of our church until now. It is a skill that is useful to have, not quite public speaking, but a sort of preparation for it anyway.
Since it was so warm, and I am so pregnant, we were getting ready to leave just before the bride and groom. We stayed long enough to throw lavender at them as they made their get-away, and then headed home to rest. Amira still feels cheated that there was no present opening.
Labels: Family
