Well, I am approximately four weeks behind on blogging. I had a computer problem, and then once we finally figured out the computer problem, my phone wasn’t compatible with the newly updated computer, so we had to figure out the phone problem. It honestly wasn’t affecting any part of the computer/our lives except for blogging, so it just took a few weeks for us to get around to googling and figuring out how to fix the actual problem. ANYWAYS, here we are….FINALLY back on track. And I have lots to share!!
Rewinding to the middle of October when we had the chance to attend the most beautiful wedding and hang out with some friends who are more like family!
People ask me all the time how I know Corinne, especially because we could totally pass as sisters. Honestly, the story of how we know each other goes way back to when her Grandparents were missionaries in Nigeria and my Mom was a brand new missionary there as well. My Mom taught third grade to Corinne’s aunt and uncle. Then Corinne’s family and my family were on the mission field together off and on for the next 30+ years. I graduated from high school and left Niger (where I grew up as a missionary kid) in 2009, and shortly thereafter Corinne’s family moved there. So, we attended the same high school but not at the same time. Then after Corinne graduated, she came to Cedarville and that was when we really connected. She would babysit my kids and hang out at our house and this past summer she spent HOURS with my kids while I was so sick in bed with morning sickness. So needless to say, Corinne is really special to our family and we kinda like Dan, too ;).
Anyways…on to the wedding weekend! Because my family has so many connections with Corinne’s family, both my parents and I were hosting some wedding guests/family at our house. There was lots to do to get ready!
Before the wedding weekend began, I was at school on Thursday morning when I dropped my laptop on my foot. I didn’t think anything of it until I looked down and saw that it was bleeding through my shoe! The pain really set in and it was so hard to get the bleeding to stop. Theo came to school and bandaged me up, but I needed to keep my foot elevated the whole day just to prevent it from bleeding. It was fun teaching first grade with a throbbing/bleeding toe that needed to be propped up. HA.
After school we headed home real quick and then over to my parents house to pick up a bridesmaid and head to the wedding rehearsal! Tera was a flower girl in the wedding so I opted to stay at the rehearsal instead of just dropping her off. It was setting up to be the most BEAUTIFUL fall weekend! Corinne finished rehearsing and snagged the nearest baby (one of the bridesmaids had an adorable 6 week old!)
Friday for us was a more chill day, but the big thing was that it was Kiah’s 6th birthday! We had a random assortment of people over and had pizza and veggies for dinner as well as a cake. He’s a special kid, and this proves it more than anything- his birthday was overshadowed by wedding fun, but he still just loved it and was happy to share the fun!
Saturday morning was a bit of a juggling act as Theo had to work and I needed to attend a class at church. The class is only offered in the fall and spring, and the next time it’s offered is right around my due date. So I volun-told some of the wedding guests who were staying at my house to babysit my kids for me :). Haha. Funny thing is…I used to babysit them when they were my kids ages! My toe was in a lot of pain that day, so I sat in the back of the class with it propped up. I knew I needed to baby it before wearing wedding shoes the next day haha.
Sunday morning was the calm before the storm and we headed to the early service at church. After church it was a quick lunch and then time to get ready for the wedding!!
I arrived early with Tera for her flower girl duties and got to snap some pictures of everything set up. It was GORGEOUS.
Some more pre-wedding photos- flower girls with the groom, me and my flower girl, and my beautiful flower girl (holding a bridesmaids bouquet). The boys were not there yet, hence why they are not in any pictures.
Right before the ceremony, everyone started to arrive and it was SO FUN to have a mini mission field reunion right then and there. While I knew most of the missionary people, it made me feel SO OLD because these ladies were in Kindergarten or 1st grade when I graduated from high school!
The ceremony began and boy was it beautiful. I don’t even have words to capture how beautiful everything was- visually, yes, but also the thought and intention put into every single part of the ceremony. It was so God-honoring and such a good reminder of what marriage is and what it means. Even Theo- who hates weddings- says it was the best wedding he has been to (besides ours of course!)
After the ceremony, we had lots of great photo ops before the reception got started!
Dinner and lots of dancing happened all night long! It was beautiful from beginning to end and this was the most fun I have had at a wedding in a LONG time. I forgot I was 31 and for sure acted like I was 21. Yes, I felt it the next day. No, there was no alcohol involved. Just a lot of FUN!
Tera went to get some dessert and came back with the biggest piece of pie I had ever seen in my life. Some auntie serving desserts at the dessert table was being a bit generous haha.
Around 9, both boys started asking when they could go home to bed. HAHA. Theo graciously took the kids all home while I stayed until the very end of the night. The send-off is one of my favorite parts. Before Corinne and Dan left they had a time of praise and worship and it was absolutely beautiful.
The next day we all woke up feeling like we had been hit with a wedding shaped truck. HA- true story. I was SO tired and could hardly function so I headed over to my parents house and when I walked in the door everyone staying at that house was just laying around on the couches. We were WIPED from all that celebrating!!! This wedding is for sure a highlight of our year, and not one we will soon forget. Congrats, Dan and Corinne- now the real fun begins!
I love reading these recap posts of your life, Suzanne! Congrats to Dan and Corinne! Psalm 45
I got a good kick out of the use of the word “voluntold” because Beka was just recounting the story of the wedding weekend and that word was used. 🙂 She was telling me about how your boys loved Tom too so it was fun to see the pic of him with Kiah. Loved reading all about this beautiful event!