Goin' to the Chapel...and she's gonna get married...

My little sis, Chrissy, got married a couple of weeks ago. The wedding was outside at the beautiful Chateau on the Lake in Branson, MO. I don't have many pictures of the wedding yet including ANY of the Bride and Groom. They will show up here eventually, though. The night before the wedding, the families of the Bride and Groom met at Branson Landing and we had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. There is plenty of entertainment here and the food is pretty good too. My boys had a GREAT time dancing to Macarena and YMCA and wearing the silly hats. They wouldn't go dance with the waitresses though!

Kobe and his cousin Keaton being silly.

Pat (the hubby) getting ready to chow down!

Me and Kyler. Do you see the sash? The Maid of Honor made us all one.
Yeah, I'm old, mine says Matron of Honor.

Kobe and his new Uncle Ken hanging out. He loves Ken.

The Dam at Table Rock Lake

A nice view of the Ozark Mountains

This is where they got married...picture was taken from their room on the 9th floor.

The Cake!
The Candy Bar. First time I've ever seen a Candy Bar at a wedding. Cool idea. Kids loved it.
Congratulations Ken and Chrissy - We Love You!

It soothes my soul...

It had been a stressful two weeks. Lots of responsibilities at work. Lots of responsibilities at home. Some traveling. Some illness. The weather had been up and down.

I got home that evening and peeked outside. The scents were wonderful. A beautiful mix of Lilac, Honeysuckle and Warmed Earth. The few flowers that I had had the chance to plant were starting to turn their faces toward the sun and spread out their arms to welcome the warm weather that was starting to stick around. I padded outside in my bare feet and headed downstairs to see what was happening in the other areas of the yard. The first thing I saw were the toys everywhere. Hot wheels cars, tiny figurines, sand box toys. Nothing new about this.

I grabbed my clippers and basket and crossed my rock path and as soon as my bare feet touched the grass, my stress started to melt away. I was going see the Lilacs. They were in full bloom and as beautiful as they have been in the nine years since they were planted. I was amazed as I walked up to them how big they had grown. They were at least 2 inches taller than I was. I took in the scent and realized that spring is truly here.

As I walked to other parts of my garden I let my thoughts wander to everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Nothing extraordinary. But stressful nonetheless. As I'm pondering the weight of my responsibilities, I see a hummingbird feeding on one of the Weigelas and I marvel at it's beauty and the beauty of these shrubs. With each step I take, my stress melts away even further. The hostas are fully opened now. The Hydrangeas are starting to get buds and promise beautiful flowers later this summer. I walk a few more steps. The Daylillies are full and green and the garden will be filled with colorful flowers in the next few weeks.

Stress melting.

The Lirope and the Coral Bells have popped up. The Astilbe have a hint of pink at the tips of the buds.

I stop to pull a weed and glance around at everything that is starting to bloom and realize that I am most at peace in my garden. I feel as close to God there as anywhere else. It wouldn't matter where I lived - whether I owned the home or not - or if it was in the city or the country.

As long I can dig into the earth and plant something and watch it grow then my soul is smiling.

I'm in Forks in case you're looking for me...

I've been reading every chance I get. I'm completely hooked on the Twilight Book Series. Who would have imagined that I'm enjoying reading about vampires? Stephenie Meyer has pulled me right in to these stories and I can't put any of the books down until I finish them. I can't remember when I have been this enthralled with a book series. I highly recommend it. I'm starting on the 3rd book (there are 4). My family is ready for me to be done with these books too. Somebody was hollering about needing clean underwear yesterday...I just don't have time for laundry right now!

I promise to come back here when I leave Forks, Washington...