flower girls
an afternoon with my sister
We did errands, 
and found the perfect sweaters for the flowers girls!
I bought the sheet music for a song for the wedding: Great Is Thy Faithfulness. The version John and I chose is by Fernando Ortega. He completely rewrote the music, but kept all the lyrics the same. It is so lovely!
Then we got our makeup done
and did some preliminary price checking on paper goods for the wedding.
There were several other errands in the midst of all that, so we had a long, yet wonderful day together.
You fill up my senses like a night in a forest,
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain, like a storm in the desert,
like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.
Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,
let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms.
Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you.
Come let me love you, come love me again.
– “you fill up my senses”, by john denver
getting ready – 45 days to go!
-for all who have asked to see the rings-
– and mine, too –
invitations
they have all been mailed!
before i go to sleep ….
Tonight I realized that there are seven weeks left until the wedding. Seven. Oh. My. SEVEN!!!!!!
thought of the moment
I miss John so much. So very much. And love him, too! (Did I need to add that?)
Am I dreaming such absurditiesI’m flying, and you’re here with me
We fingerpaint the sky
Chase constellations sliding by
Connect their dots and dance on tightropes in between
We twirl and laugh about these crazy things we dream
And then I kiss you
And I wake myself
Still laughing
It’s daybreak, and the whole world’s new
The sun smiles, but where are you?
Wish I could hold you again
Nothing a daydream cannot mend
You smile and promise me you’ll always be around
I whisper hallelu’s and sing your name out loud
But no one hears me
Well, at least for now I’m smiling
…
“amusing” by chris rice
wedding updates
Oh, wedding preparations here are going well.
Very well.
There have been tears along the way, but, my goodness, when you put two (or more) very opinionated women together, tears happen. It’s not as if any of the females in this household lack an opinion, or the conviction that their’s is the correct one! We are learning grace, as well as laughter.
In other news, I have another bridal gown. Why? Because the seamstress altered the other one. More than I realized she was going to. In ways that I can’t fix. Number Two is gorgeous. Gorgeous-er than Number One. It will be stunning. Mom asked me what I thought my Darling John will say about, and I replied, “He won’t be able to say anything.” That gorgeous. Oh, yes!
A friend from church has offered to help make it fit absolutely perfectly (it’s already pretty close).
John and I are getting a bit antsy. He told me, “49 more days until I fly out there.” 49 days. Seems as if those days are dragging by at a snail’s pace, but moving they are.
beauty for ashes
[Christ has come to] provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
…and everlasting joy will be theirs.
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Isaiah 61