Tuesday, December 31, 2013

My Aunts go marching

My second oldest cousin got married this last weekend. Being that he is the second oldest of 14 cousins, there was a time when many of us thought he wouldn't get married. We met quite a few of his girlfriends but there wasn't one that left that spark. Well, almost two years had passed and he had been dating the same girl. (Our family didn't scare her off!) It was serious! He proposed to her Valentine's day 2013 and they planned a December 2013 wedding.

I looked forward to this wedding all year. I knew that my Aunt's would be coming in. My Dad has 4 sisters. All from different parts of the country, all with their own stories.

To me, my Aunts are amazing. I always looked up to them. They were the cool Aunts. They were good dancers. They were the ones who would let you stay up late, or make cookies, and would look the other way if you made a bad choice. They ask you how you are doing and send thoughtful presents for your babies.

They also have a reputation for coming in and taking care of business. Need a wedding hall decorated? Need a pie? Do you have a trellis that you have no idea what to do with? My Aunts have the answer.

So, with my cousins wedding--my Aunts came marching. They decorated the hall for the rehearsal dinner, for the reception and the church. They just have that magic touch. One of my Aunts, her name is Karen. Someone has nicknamed her, "Martha Karen." She is that good. They also take down their decorations--even when it's a long exhausting day, they still take care of business.

I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of the decorations they created, but we did have an awesome time catching up.



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Lighting the advent candle

There has been a bit of a conflict in our house lately....as a well meaning person has been volunteering me/our family/my hubby and I for various events. (Some church related and with other organizations in the community.)

Long story short, Monday morning I was talking to said person and was notified we were signed up to light the advent calendar at church this Sunday. No problem, right?

So, this morning by the grace of God we actually get to church 5 minutes early. As I sit down, I am handed a piece of paper that includes several readings and a prayer and a Christmas ornament--which to hang the ornament we have to make our way over an orchestra and a bench like hurdle. Ummm...I thought we were just lighting a candle?

Thankfully my sister and brother in law have also "volunteered" and they are at church earlier than our five minutes. My sister was planning on reading three of the readings, but hubby said he would read one of them. (If you know him, he likes time to plan/practice, so I was stunned when he said he would do a reading.)

My job was to light the pink candle. I was only told three times that I was to light ONLY the pink candle. (There are purple and white ones to make 5 total candles.) Of course, when my time came--I couldn't get the stupid flame thrower to work. I tried and tried. There were some chuckles--some coming from the Pastor. Then my brother in law took over. Of course he was able to get it to work without any issues.

Thankfully it was decided we did not have to hang the ornament.

So, as we headed back to our seats--I looked at my hubby and asked him how long he was going to be annoyed.

He just smiled at me, so I think we are ok.

When you are recently divorced, the firsts are no fun...

One of my good friends gave me this advice, "When you are divorced, the first's suck." First birthday not as a family, fir...