A Wonderful Wedding Weekend

We were so pleased to be able to travel to Mississippi for the marriage of my brother, John Thomas, to the sweet and beautiful Laura Kathryn.

On Wednesday morning we left the house just after 3:30 a.m. heading to the airport and had two great flights with three great kids. Lydia slept and ate perfectly, Sarah contently read, colored, snacked, and enjoyed the window seat, and Josiah napped and snuggled. We made it to Hattiesburg in time to end the day with dinner at Chick Fil A.

In the event of an emergency, at least these two will know what to do!

Manly man :)

The kids were super excited to spot Josiah's suitcase!

Lydia, meet your Uncle T

Thursday started with a treat- getting my nails painted! Dave and I then had a birthday lunch with my sweet friend Lisa and enjoyed an afternoon at Target (our closest store is 45 minutes away!). Mrs. Glenda came over for one of my favorite MS dinners. Cornbread and butter beans (picked by the children that morning) can't be beat. The Patriots won to top off the evening.

Dave's artsy picture of my less than photographic fingers.
Colored fingernails were fun for a change, though!

Friday the real excitement began. We all headed north about three hours to Yazoo City and got settled into our hotel. Mom and Mrs. Glenda were the most at home as they put together flower arrangements for the rehearsal dinner in the breakfast nook. My cousin Mary Helen and Aunt Susan kindly came to watch Josiah so we could be more fully present at the rehearsal. Our family rehearsal highlight was Sarah walking down the aisle with her sassy hand on her hip every time. Thankfully her hand was occupied with tossing flowers on Saturday! Dinner was yummy and the toasts were sweet and funny. Laura Kathryn gave Sarah what she has fondly dubbed her "bride baby," and then we took our exhausted girl back to the hotel for bed.

"Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton . . . " for wedding week!

Saturday started with a brunch for the ladies. Sarah was all about the orange juice and I loved meeting Laura Kathryn's family and friends. She has a super sweet entourage! It was special spending time with Aunt Karen and Mrs. Glenda at the brunch and throughout the weekend, as well. The kids got solid naps during the afternoon and we dressed up and headed to the church for pictures. Sarah unfortunately let herself get overwhelmed by the mere thought of picture time, but did a lovely job sprinkling her flowers during the ceremony. The service was so well planned and full of worship from start to finish. Afterwards we headed down the street to a beautiful building call The Manchester for dinner, dancing, and yummy cake. I love that Dave had the opportunity to meet some of my cousins for the first time and we all enjoyed seeing so many of our family and friends. Lydia topped off the evening by going 8 hours between feedings!

Boys didn't get brunch, but they certainly made their own fun

When you're two you don't have to nap with dignity.

. . . or when you're four. Dave is just thankful I don't have a picture of him napping :)

Lisa captured some great memories!

Hey, we tried our best for a family photo while we were all dressed up!

Our friend Ms. Lydia holding our little Lydia behind the groom's amazing cake.

Sunday began with a leisurely breakfast and rehashing of our favorite wedding moments. Dave and I then met our friends Haley and Sam for lunch on the way back to Hattiesburg while Mom and Dad took the big kids to visit Aunt Marthy. Once home we unpacked, watched football, and Dave and I enjoyed getting away to visit the evening service at Temple Baptist Church. Boiled peanuts and milkshakes were the best end to the evening!

This does a heart good! Thankful for these newly weds. 

On our last morning in Hattiesburg we tried multiple times to take the children to Krispy Kreme while the donuts were in process, but it was not to be. We did enjoy a nice morning strolling around Southern Miss and taking pictures on the ancient oaks just like when JT and I were kids. After nap time we headed south and enjoyed Chick Fil A in the south one final time before getting settled into the hotel and saying our "see you soons" to Goggin and Papa.

Monday started early and we had another great day of flying with the kids- praise the Lord! Once home we decided to have one last adventure and found the newest closest Chick Fil A to us. It opened September 4 and is about 10 minutes from the airport in Rhode Island. We made it home around 5:30 and had time to fully unpack and begin life on Tuesday ahead of the curve.

It was a whirlwind of a trip that was a joy from start to finish. Living so far away I feel like we measure the way our family grows by our trips to see family. The kids looks more grown, they have different likes, know new songs, and say more silly things each time and I am thankful for the imprint this wedding week will leave. Thanks for saying yes, Laura Kathryn!

Vacation With the Howells

Tired and yet somehow refreshed, we have returned from vacation in Mississippi and Alabama with the Howell side of our family. It was a great trip, the kind where you wear yourself out and sleep well. 

First, Emily and the kids flew down to spend some time in Hattiesburg while I stayed behind. I made myself useful caring for our lawn and tackling our upstairs wallpaper/paint project. I didn't tell Emily about it until I got there, but I knew she had been wanting to do it for a while. Every since we had taken down the wallpaper and painted our downstairs, we both wanted to finish the job upstairs. But there never seems to be a good time to get out a ladder and paint bucket when you have small children to play with. When they left for a few days, I saw the opportunity. 

Goodbye, last of the wallpaper.

Hello, paint!

Then I flew down South and Emily picked me up to take me to Dauphin Island, AL. Emily's parents and cousins had all rented a house on the beach, where we would spend most of our vacation. We fished, kayaked, swam, played on the beach, and played board games until we wore ourselves out. Then we took a nap and did it all some more. 

Sarah putting sprinkles on some cupcakes under the supervision of her cousin Maddy.

Yay for the beach!

Baxter and JT flounder gigging under the Milky Way

Josiah swinging like a big boy.

Sarah is loving the swing more and more now.

Josiah's first snow cone.

It was cold, but then he asked for more.

The kids loved swimming. 

Sarah even let us let go of her some so she could float. 

After a few days together in Hattiesburg with Goggin and Papa, we flew home to Cape Cod and settled back in. Then everyone got some much needed sleep!

Christmas Day

Christmas is a wonderful and beautiful time- one which came even more alive as we celebrated it with a baby boy of our own. From great worship services the two days before to opening presents to feasting to visiting friends, we had a great great time. We got to enjoy all of this with the Howells, making it all the merrier.

I spent most of Christmas Eve leading a rehearsal and three worship services, taking some family pictures after one of them.

Christmas morning we woke up to a veritable pile of presents, cinnamon rolls, and breakfast pizza.

Josiah quickly showed his preference for wrapping paper over presents

Papa and Goggin gave Sarah a shopping cart, which soon became the holding area for all her other gifts

After a light lunch we headed to the Eversons' home for a proper Christmas dinner.

There were all sorts of good things on the floor to play with

Sarah was given an abacus by J and Kim Everson

Finally, we came home- some of us more tired than others.

MegaTrip: Comforts of the South

Part Five in a series chronicling our first big family road trip. 

I hadn't worn anything with the Methodist cross and flame in quite a while. Then again, I hadn't worn choir robes in quite a while either. Yet there I sat in both, feeling just a little out of place.

Gagen had talked me into singing with her in the Heritage Sunday choir, and I was enjoying the challenge of sight-reading once again. It made me thankful for a skilled accompanist who made the parts easy to hear. We sang some old songs from my Methodist upbringing, and a few I hadn't heard of. Great fun in all.

One of my favorite things about Emily's home church is the welcoming atmosphere. You get the picture when walking around the church lobby that people really want to be there- and are glad you came also. I'm proud of OBC for being this way as well, but it was nice in a different way to experience this as a visitor in a church. It's right for church to be a happy place.

After Sunday Worship some of Emily's family friends came over for lunch and a good time. Some of our favorite Howell treats were on the menu: grilled redfish with caper burre blanc, red potatoes, cornbread, jambalaya, and fruit pizza.

Aside from the sight of her husband in a choir robe, the time in Mississippi became a comforting symphony of the familiar for Emily. It's nice to have a week of gas pumps staying on, stores having what you need, restaurants that you know are good, old friends, family, and a familiar college campus. I think Hattiesburg was to Emily what Louisville was to me.

I felt right at home with them, too. Except for the choir part.

Sarah feeding the ducks at the zoo

Papa, Goggin, and the grandkids

Family portrait at the USM campus