Where have I been??

Where have I been for the last few weeks??? Well, my blog wouldn't accept any more photos . . .so I had to wait until last Friday when I was off and could sit down and follow the directions to purchase some more storage space. My friend, Kat, tried to help me but alas . . .her idea would not work. So what have I been doing? We've been attending weddings!! I think I need to rename my blog . . .the wedding guest . . . or something equally as silly. I have loved attending all of these weddings. We love the folks getting married and so it has been a pleasure. The McKaskles are like our family -- they have twins also!! They had one wedding last fall and one wedding this fall and we were able to attend both. This wedding was in Atlanta and it was at 11:00 a.m. so we decided to drive over very early on Saturday morning . . .yes, that is the sun rising in that first picture.  It was dark when we left our house.  Our trip was made much more fun by the addition of two church friends - Tina and Lisa (another Lisa!! . . .who just happens to read my blog).  I told them that it was their job to make us laugh all the way to Atlanta and back . . .and they did a pretty good job!!!

We laughed a lot. They did a really good job!!

We arrived at Peachtree Road UMC and the church was beautiful. We toured the main sanctuary and we actually talked to a docent . . .I was surprised that a church had docents who would give tours. They were doing flowers on the altar for an evening wedding and it was a huge arrangement.  After our tour, we went into the chapel. The chapel had its own pipe organ.   I didn't take any pictures during the ceremony . . .just this one of the acolytes coming in to light the candles. I wish that I had taken a picture of the back of the chapel. The pipes in the back came out of the wall like long skinny horns. I was talking to Scott (friend and choir director at our church) about those horns and he said, "Oh!  the Trompette en Chamade" - I said, "whatever!!"  (I did not remember what he called them and I have just googled images of pipe organ horns until I found some similar ones!!)

Isn't this car amazing? This was the car and chauffeur for the bride and groom!! I've never seen a female chauffeur, have you?

The reception was held at Chastain Park. Very cool location. We had the hardest time finding the place. We were within a block or so but our GPS kept telling us to go the wrong way. We should have followed Guy and Phella. They called us from the parking lot and we had to turn around!! The centerpieces were all kind of "earthy" - sticks and small stumps amongs the flowers - very pretty.

Speaking of Guy and Phella -- here they are. They are so photogenic!! (those are the sticks from another flower arrangement coming out of the back of Phella's head!!)

Hayden and Jan gave the most unique gift to both of their girls. They had an artist come to the reception and paint the reception while it was happening. The girls will have the painting forever. That is such a wonderful gift.

This was the view from the porch of the room. We were looking out over some folks training their horses. It was too hot to stand out there for very long.

The reception food was yummy. They served mimosas (you can see that is what I was drinking) and cranberry juice & vodka (I've always called those a poinsettia but Lisa called them something else . . . .) They served all sorts of brunch items like hash browns (my fav) and eggs (Mark's fav) and then they had a table with mac and cheese (I think??) and slaw and these really neat BBQ roll ups (on the right of the plate). The guy was making those roll ups as fast as the group could eat them!!   By the way, this was a small plate NOT a large plate!!  The thing under the corn is a fried green tomato and it was yummy!! Oh by the way, the reception was a Jazz Brunch.

Here is a picture of pretty Tina. We have been to several weddings together and have sat together at several wedding receptions in the last year or so!! I love Tina. She is married to our youth pastor and they have three gorgeous little girls. I feel like Mark and I have been so blessed because we get to hang out with some of these amazing young adults and young parents.   She was nice enough to snap a pic of me!!  I have on my "wedding" dress.  I have several (depending on the time of day and weather) so you will seem the same dresses over and over in my pictures!!

In this picture, Jan and Hayden had just entered the room and they were greeting us (which was kind of easy because we were sitting at the table right inside the door!!)

I think they were as happy to see us as we were to see them. For the last five or six years, we have all been at the beach together (Guy and Phella, Hayden and Jan, Mark and me) on this same weekend. Kind of neat that we were able to still be together even though we weren't at the beach.

Look at Jan's cool skirt. It reminds me of Belle's dress in Beauty and the Beast!!

Mark and Hayden were so happy to be together. They are so funny together. Jan and Hayden are our friends who can make us laugh until we cry!!

They did a lead out and Hayden and Jan entered first.

Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bridesmaid's skirts and sweaters were so cute and just perfect for a morning wedding. I'm never going to a wedding without my real camera again (I say that but I probably will!!)  I love my phone and it takes great pictures but the operator (that would be me) was not doing such a great job on this day.  Oh - you can see more sticks in this picture.  They were really very pretty.

Here is the sweet bride (and of course, the groom!!). Her dress was perfect for a morning wedding.

If you are tired of looking at pictures . . .I'm almost finished!!! Tina and the girls - Rebecca and Anna Claire.

Here is a sneak peak at the painting. Look - you can see Jan in her yellow skirt!

The cake and all the flowers were beautiful. It was a lovely wedding and it was great to spend time with friends. The tall vases had wood down in them.  It was very unique but very attractive.

Stay tuned - more weddings to come!!  I was really sad that we had to miss one wedding recently - it was in Memphis and we just couldn't figure out how to get there and get back and Mark had a prior commitment but oh I hated to miss it.  The daddy of the groom (Duane) and Mark have been friends for a long time - they meet every Tuesday morning (at 6:00 a.m.!!!!)  in a men's accountability group (Emmaus reunion group) and they have been doing that for 10 or 15 years.  They've been meeting since our kids were in middle school.  The groom's mom (Terrie) and I were in Thursday morning Bible studies together back when I was a stay at home mom.  We are all in the same Sunday School class and they are sweet friends.  You can see the lovely bride in the post about Whitney's Tea.  I was so happy that I could help with the tea and attend another party since we weren't able to attend the wedding.

ok - more weddings to come . . .