With This Ring....Part 1

*Edited to add a different picture and to correct a few tired-brain errors.

I hope all of you had a nice Mother's Day! It's good to be back, and I'll be trying to catch up with all of your posts throughout the day.

I decided to do this past weekend justice, I would have to divide it into two parts. And even at that, this half is not exactly short.
So, grab your cup of coffee, sit back, and come along with me to the wedding...but hold onto your fancy hat! Because those prayers that a few of said on our behalf, actually helped in ways we weren't exactly expecting...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday morning found us hurrying around in a hundred different directions. My littlest one had ballet\tap class... then back home so that I could pack, do a few dishes, take care of the dog, make a few phone calls...and then make sure I had each and every thing put into the car that was on my mental list. Whew!
Oh, keeping the girls from climbing through the sunroof onto the roof of the minivan while making trips to the car was also a priority. (Insert extra minutes taken for discipline here.)

We headed straight from the house to our destination...a Christian Renewal Center across the street from Silver Falls, deep in the wooded hills. It's been a place near and dear to the bride and all of her family since they were children. We would be going there for rehearsal, and then spending the night at my mom's house, about forty minutes away. My husband, who was not in the wedding, would be arriving the next morning. Everything seemed to be falling into place...

Hitting bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway? No problem. I still had left in plenty of time. Probably....
My youngest fell asleep in the car...this was good. And finally, I was off the freeway and heading towards the renewal center.
Hmmm....according to the signs, it's a little farther than I had thought. We might be cutting it a bit close, but we should still be there close to starting time...

As I find myself zipping along curves and watching the clock, suddenly our big minivan starts acting...well...funny. As I tap on the breaks, I notice they aren't working right at all! I push down with all my might on the pedal, just so that I can slow down and pull over to the side.

OK. Staying calm....Suddenly, another vehicle pulls next to me, with a male driver. (Staying calm, here...getting ready to hit the lock button) He simply wants to know if he missed the Falls exit, and I tell him I didn't think so, and he drives on. Okay... Slowly, I start my engine and ease back onto the road, but the brakes are still not working right and the engine is shaking badly.
Again, I pull over into a clearing and take out my trusty cell phone. What would we do without our cell phones? But what was this....searching for signal...Oh. no.

Panic started to set in at this point. I was alone with my girls on the side of the road, no cell phone access, and now officially late for rehearsal. After praying, I turned on the engine once more, hoping to ease down to road to a more public place, at least. After about a mile or two, I saw the parking lot for the Falls, with the sign for the wedding party directly across the street! The gravel road led up the hill into the woods, and I didn't think the car would make it, so I parked at the lot, and told the girls we would just walk up the gravel road.

And walk...and walk...and walk.

My poor girls...I was hurrying them, because of the rehearsal and thinking it would just be a short jaunt. It turned out to be two miles, up hill and around curves.

We got there, huffing and puffing...and one of my sisters in law was there, who in turn, got someone to give us a ride up to the chapel, which turns out, was up the hill even further.
Of course, everyone was sympathetic when we explained what happened. And we made it time for a second run-through.

Afterwards, the founder of the Christian Renewal Center, who has the honor of giving away the bride, offered the girls and I a ride back to the dining hall in his little golf cart. He was such a sweetheart...and since we were exhausted, I took him up on the offer. But I held tightly to both girls on my lap as this octogenarian whizzed around the trails, hoping everyone had the sense to keep out of his way.

Safe and sound at the dining hall, I hesitantly asked one of my brothers in law if he could please drive us back to my mom's. Most everyone else was spending the night there in the cabins, but the girls had their hair appointment near my mom's house at 8:00 the next morning.
Oh, and my oldest had a cold...and by now, we were all ready for a warm bed.

He was very nice and graciously agreed. But why did it seem so much longer from the renewal center to my mom's house than I had remembered? ("Uncle C", if you're reading this, we are still indebted to you!)

I called my husband to inform him of the ordeal, whereupon, he asked me many detailed questions about how the vehicle sounded, felt, looked, smelled as well as its general overall mood, just as I knew he would.

I tucked my girls into the bed that once upon a time, was mine... And before we were anywhere near ready, it was time to wake up again and get ready for hair-dos.

I must say, that through this entire time, my girls were incredible troopers. Especially, given that my oldest was sneezing and wiping her nose, and they were both a little nervous. I was so proud of them this weekend!

We went to the little homey beauty parlor where I actually got my hair done twelve years ago for my own wedding. Two of the ladies still worked there, and remembered me, and they were very impressed at how well the girls sat still for their styles.
But as you can kind of tell by the pictures, I think it was partly due to their being still half asleep... poor babies.



















Soon, their daddy arrived and we set about finishing getting ready. We were about to put on their new shoes, when I realized I must have left them in the minivan. I retrieved everything else but these, apparently....but not to fear, we'd just stop at the parking lot and ...what?
Dear husband informs that the minivan is no longer there but towed back to our house. His dear wife (me) has a tizzy fit. (Not sure where this expression comes from, but I grew up hearing this and, believe me, it fits well here.)

Suddenly, husband makes a phone call, and then tells me that the driver will leave our girls' shoes with a lady in a nearby tiny town. (A town, by chance, where my father once worked as a chief of police in his twenties- his only stint in the police force.)
I cannot tell you the relief I felt knowing the flower girls would not be in their stocking feet for the wedding! And this turned out to be even more crucial when we finally arrived, and the weather had turned to a teeth-chattering temperature... as we posed for what seemed like hours in the grassy field, with drizzly drops of rain occasionally falling on all of the wedding party and groups of relatives.

Here, you can see some of the shivering relatives, waiting for their turn in the photo shoot. (My mom is in the very center.)

And here are my sweet little flower girls...

And with the beautiful bride...


It was so cold, that we had to tell the girls to put their shoulders down and relax- which they finally did for these pictures.

Later, I heard of couple of my husband's brother and sisters joking conversation: "See that gal with that big furry coat? I'd give her fifty bucks for that coat."
"I'd give my life insurance policy."
"And if someone dares come by with a hot cup of coffee, they can have my car..."

I'm not sure why my brother in law was in on this...the men were the lucky ones, all snuggled up in their suits and ties.

Oh, and did I mention that my sister in law has married into an Egyptian family? Their family seemed so very nice...and I noticed a slight similarity between their culture and that of Greece- at least to this very American girl.

But more on that in part 2... So, I'll leave you with all of us still posing and shivering

outside, bartering for jackets in-between photos...