Trishelle (the wedding coordinator, pictured left) and I are worked closely together to make sure the day ran smoothly...for which I'm quite thankful that it did. There were no real emergencies except for the fact that Michelle's seamstress had forgotten to complete her alteration job on the wedding dress. Oops! Michelle's Aunt quickly sewed it prior to the wedding and after the pre-wedding pictures. Kudos to her for doing such a great job with that.
So Michelle made her way down the isle with her freshly altered dress just fine. The ceremony was beautiful and was a testimony and witness of Michelle and Andy's genuine love for the Lord.
Everyone in our small group but Amy was able to make it to the wedding. We did our famous (or infamous) dog pile. The tradition has begun I'm afraid and there's no stopping it. I didn't capture it on the camera...but I know one of the girls did and I'm hoping to get a copy of that. There's just something crazy about seeing eight girls dressed for a wedding piled on top of each other on the dance floor. It definitely makes for a good laugh. For now a perfectly tame picture will have to do.
The day after the wedding I came home from church and fell into bed. I didn't even bother with lunch I was so tired...and that's unheard of for me. I slept for a good two and a half hours and then decided to tend to my growing hunger after some much needed sleep.
The following Friday I met Andy, Elissa, and Joshua as well as Claire, John and John's family at a Wizards game. This was the first timeI had seen Claire and John since they've returned to the states to stay. It's absolutely marvelous to have them back. I also enjoyed holding Joshua and getting a little hang out time with my nephew.
The following day Angie and I had our long awaited garage sale. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a lot of people came out to buy our "junk". You know what they say, one man's junk is another's treasure. Well, I believe we proved that to be true. It's amazing what people will buy when it "such a good deal".
I'm so thankful I've taken the time to simplify my life as I've prepared for this move. Everything we didn't sell we dropped off at Good Will. I've been on vacation all this week and have packed quite a few things. It's funny...I keep looking for all those knick knacks to fill the little spaces in my boxes...but there are none to be found....thankfully. Packing has been quite simple this time around.
Since Claire and John are spending this week with John's parents in Angola, we've taken every opportunity to spend time together. Monday Claire and I went shopping for 12 hours! Can you believe that? I hardly can. Well, in that time frame we also checked out my new apartment complex and sat down to eat. But the majority of those hours we spent looking for great bargains. We found quite a few and enjoyed just being together.
Yesterday I spent the 4th of July with Claire and John and John's family. They were gracious enough to adopt me for the day. They're always very welcoming and I enjoy hanging out with them. We played a game that is similar to horse shoes at John's family reunion and simply enjoyed the beautiful day and the great company. I think I'm going to squeeze in one last hurrah with Claire and John this Saturday before they head back to Bloomington and then off to Wyoming to pick up their car from Claire's brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Laura.
Today Rachael kindly helped me move Betsy's furniture to the storage unit in Marion. Andy met us there and boy am I thankful. He's so good at packing and it took his master mind to fit everything in the small space we had available to us. My biggest accomplishment was driving a 16 foot moving truck there and back. Crazy! It really wasn't as bad as I had anticipated...though a little intimidating at first. Thankfully we had a safe and successful trip. Save for the one piece of furniture we left behind on accident. Oh well, we'll get it there eventually!
This week of vacation has been the perfect mix of fun and accomplishing some things in preparation for my move. It's hard to believe it's almost Friday though.
What's next? I've got to finish packing in time for the big move...which will be here in no time. And then the second wedding of the summer, Amy and Tom's. Tis the season to move and attend weddings. I'll be thankful when fall arrives. Perhaps, just perhaps things will slow down enough to enjoy the autumn colors, apple cider, and the good ole Johnny Appleseed Festival.