The Rehearsal Dinner

I have spent the past several days thinking about how I wanted to address the wedding. I have decided to let Thelma post pictures of the wedding as I don't want to steal anything away from her and Trevor's very special day. I'm going to do a post on the rehearsal dinner, another post on a bridesmaids perspective of getting ready, and then one more post highlighting on a few of the fun times that Sarah, Leah, "the boys", and I had!
Enjoy!

Everyone has a job...
Friday morning found us ladies in the kitchen working on cutting the lettuce, dicing tomatoes, chopping cucumbers, and making cookies. Sawyer got in on the lettuce cutting and kept us entertained with his questions and remarks! Add in the boys, who were spinning lettuce for a bit... we were in stitches during that period of time!
The menu for the dinner was lasagna, salad with all the fixings, bread sticks, and chocolate chip cookies. We were pretty busy all morning, but the fellowship and goofy-ness made the time fly by in a hurry!

Warming their hands... :o)
We arrived at the church about two hours before hand so that the lasagnas would have plenty of time to cook. After all of the boxes and bags were unloaded and the tables were set and decorated, we had a bit of free time... some of us were rather cold and this cookie sheet came in handy for warming our cold fingers!

A Happy Helper!
Mrs. Franco (Bethany's mother) jumped right in and aided in getting things ready for dinner.

Thelma
Doesn't she look excited?!

Going through the line
Finally, after a seemingly long time, it was time to eat! Since the rehearsal was held BEFORE dinner I'm sure everyone was really hungry (I was at least!). It was really good!

Desperation..
Tristan didn't really care about the food... all he wanted was a glass of sweet tea! :o)

Ashley & LD
Ashley is Thelma's best friend as well as being her Matron of Honor. It was good to see Ashley and her husband, LD, again; it's been quite some time.

By the time dinner was cleaned up, the suburban re-packed, and all the Castleburys and Pelcs rounded up it was a sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 (I think. The days and times have begun to run together... there was many a late night at this point in time!). We didn't get home until 11:30 or so and there was still a hem to put in my dress and work to be done on Momma' dress. Sarah so sweetly volunteered to put in my hem which freed me up to clean up the things that had been packed into the 'burb. We called it a night sometime between... 12:00 and 1:00 in the morning! Yikes!!! I had to be at the church by 9:30 the next morning....

To be continued! :o)

Pictures and a Post Coming Soon!

Friends~

I am downloading the camera's as I type and as soon as I can get the plethora of pictures culled through, re-sized and loaded onto blogger, I shall begin typing up a post! We have no actual pictures of the wedding yet, but we do have some of what went on before hand. So, stayed tuned for either one big post or several smaller posts!
Okay, I cannot resist, I will give you a quick peek into our weekend..... :o)

Sarah and Leah
These dear friends of mine were able to make the trek from Missouri to rainy South Carolina and were such a help and blessing! I do not know what we would have done without their willing and cheerful help! From jumping in with rehearsal dinner preparations to putting in the hem of my bridesmaid dress, they were a huge help! We had lots of fun together! :o)

This week has been spent taking things slow and getting back to normal. It is different knowing that Trevor is married (I've had to stop and re-think how many plates I need to set at the table!) but it is so very exciting knowing that he and Thelma are right down the road! It's a new path in life and it is so wonderful!

Stayed tuned for pictures... Soon!

House Update...

Time is quickly flying by... in just two days, TWO DAYS, my brother Trevor and his fiance will be united in marriage! Wow! It seem like just yesterday they became engaged... now, three months later, we are almost to the 'finish line' in regards to wedding preparations and Trevor's house! It has been a very busy time, but a very rewarding and fruitful time. Some terrific memories have been made between 'us gals' (Momma, Thelma, and I) and we've learned allot together.... mainly about sewing!

"From the top of the driveway"
The past several weeks have been a beehive of activity at "Trevor and Thelma's house". Three sides of the exterior has been painted, the inside has gone from just dry wall and mud spots to dry wall with several coats of paint on it, light fixtures and ceiling fans have been put in, lower cabinets (in the kitchen) have been put in, porch railing has been constructed, a septic system was put in, and many other things have been finished! It has been a very exciting time!

"Don't you love the color????!"
This lovely shade of green is the primer... thankfully the house isn't that color! You can see where the painter has 'cut in' with the exterior color... it is quite the contrast isn't it?! :o)
Since taking these pictures, the 'siding guys' have been out to out put in something on the part of the roof that hangs out over the edge of the sides of the house (you can see bare wood in the picture), and, the gutters have been put in!

"The Interior"
Inside, everything looks so good! The walls are a 'khaki' color and the trim is a glossy white; add in the freshly finished floors.... Ohhhhh, it's simply breathtaking! It looks soooooo good!

"Measurin' and Thinkin'"
Trevor was able to get a good deal on lower cabinets last Thursday or Friday, so he and Thelma spent an evening staining them so they could be put in over the weekend. The actual installation took some thinking through as he had failed to think about the depth of the cabinets... he finally figured it out though! I hear he has counter-tops on them now....

"The Kitchen"
Sawyer and I took a trek out to Trevor's place on Saturday. Sawyer wanted to take his tool-box, which was filled with various kitchen tools at the time, so that he could 'help' Trevor. I'm not sure how much 'help' the garlic press and egg slicer he was toting around were, but he sure enjoyed 'helping'!

"Painting..."
Daddy has been spending much of his free time working on the small painting projects that Trevor has. Daddy and Collin both have been working really hard on this most every free moment this week and I know Trevor, and Thelma, appreciate it!

"Creative Juices are flowing freely!"
Meanwhile, on the home-front, a creative genius has been at work! Now, the picture does not do the floor of the sewing room justice.... imagine most every part of the floor covered in some form of sewing paraphernalia; thread, pins, fabric, pattern pieces, you name it and it is most likely on the floor! Momma has been sewing up a storm for a week now!

As the wedding gets closer and closer, our plates become fuller and fuller! We are in charge of the rehearsal dinner, so a part of tomorrow and most of Friday will be dedicated to cooking/preparing for it. Friday evening is the rehearsal and the Saturday is the wedding! Wow! How the time has flown since Christmas Eve (which is when Trevor proposed).

I know that Trevor and Thelma would appreciate your prayers as they begin a new life together!

Hymn for Sunday

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

Words: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
Music: From Gesangbuch der Herzogl, Wurttemberg, 1784

I sing the mighty power of God, That made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command, And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord, That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with His Word, And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, Where'er I turn my eye:
If I survey the ground I tread, Or gaze upon the sky!

There's not a plant or flower below, But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, By order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee Is ever in Thy care,
And everywhere that man can be, Thou, God art present there.

Success!!!

At last I have the joy of reporting that the bridesmaids dresses are finished!!!! :o) Momma and I have have spent the past several days buckled down in the sewing room desperately trying to get these dresses done before the weekend.

"Finished Product"
The picture shows the dresses much much greyer than the fabric really is. It's a beautiful sage green that 'shimmers'...

This weekend will mark two weeks before Trevor and Thelma's wedding which is why we wanted the dresses done by then (we are cutting it close as it is!). There is still a bit of hand work to do; several hems need to be put in, a ribbon put where the skirt and bodice meet, and a few hooks and eyes need to be placed, but these are things that can be done in the evenings while catching up on the days happenings with everyone.

What sweet relief and joy it is to have the major part of this project behind us! I cannot wait to see what everyone looks like in their dress...

"Planting Rose Bushes"
So what does Ashley have planned now that she has a little more free time these days? Gardening of course!!!! I have seeds started, seeds to plant, weeds to pull, and garden stuff to pull out of hibernation. What fun this shall be!

The window here beside the computer is open which is letting in a wonderful breeze... spring is officially here (never mind the fact that we received four inches of snow a little over a week ago) and several of the trees are beginning to bloom! The frogs have come back to life, the birds sing constantly and flit from tree to tree, the grass is greening up, and new life and hope is alive where ever you look! What a wonderful time of year!

Catching Up

It has been quite some time since I last did a post. With all of the things that have been going on and the out of the ordinary projects that are taking place, blogging has had to take a back seat. I need to be available to help and jump in where needed!

So... what has been going on the past few weeks???

"Helping with the laundry"

Normal everyday tasks, such as laundry, have been kept up with! Sawyer loves to be involved in what one is doing and he is learning how to clear the table and load the dishwasher. Here, he is learning how to operate clothespins while singing about it! Doing jobs with a 'happy heart' is something that he is being continually taught.

"What a project..."
The downstairs bathroom has been a work in progress for two weeks now. Sayre scrubbed walls and molding so that Collin could prime and paint for us. If it wasn't for them I doubt this project would have gotten very far.
The bathroom is finished except for the closet which you will see below.

"The house that Trevor is building"

The house at Bull Run is still the lovely shade of green from several posts ago but progress is being made on the inside! The wood floor is down, two rooms are painted, tile will soon be laid, and the water was hooked up! With four weeks and four days till the wedding, work on the house is starting to pick up! Trevor is doing a great job on everything!

"The new and improved closet"

Daddy has spent the last two weekends constructing and putting up shelves in the freshly painted bathroom closet! We are so excited!!!! It looks really good and utilizes all of the wall space. There is going to be a hanging rod underneath the lower shelf for table cloths and such. Momma already has the closet organized on paper.... oh we just can't wait! Sayre will be putting a coat or two of paint on today and tomorrow and they we can 'move in'!

"It's that time of year..."

The gardening bug is starting to bite and it's pulling us out the door to get our hands in the dirt! We have our seeds ordered, have other seeds started inside, have seeds arriving in the mail, and are starting to plant seeds outside! What a wonderful time of year!

"Another work in progress"
Thelma spends most of her Saturday afternoons at our house working on her dress, drinking our coffee :o), and having a wonderful time (well, she seems to anyway!). We had quite the time last Saturday...

"Re-rolling fabric"

As I am ready to start the bridesmaids dresses, the first step in getting them cut out was to take all of the fabric off of the 'bolt' that it had been rolled onto. The fabric had not been folded before being rolled so we had to do it ourselves. About three quarters of the way through re-rolling it we realized that we had folded the wrong sides together and had to start all over. It was a fun time though; I don't exactly remember what we were laughing at but it was so funny that we had to stop what we were doing and try to regain our composure!

We've also had some things occur that bring a little more joy into our days...

"A daily delight"
My orchid began to bloom two weeks ago!

There are now three flowers open four more set to open in the next several weeks! One thing that I really enjoy about orchids is that their blooms last for several weeks.

"An unexpected surprise"
Mommas amaryllis has been blooming! What a surprise this was for us as it wasn't supposed to bloom this year! We've been enjoying it's cheerful colors gracing the kitchen window.

"Guess who"
Sayre has been our comic relief these past several weeks! He made this mask out of cow bones that he found at Bull Run and has enjoyed wearing it around. He is so funny and does some of the goofiest things! What would we do without Mr. Sayre???! :o)

There are more painting projects in the works, bridesmaids dresses to be sewn, spring cleaning to be done, and everyday tasks that must be tended to, so I will most likely not be posting very often. I will try to post something once a week (maybe more as time permits) but if I don't it's probably because I'm busy.

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

A Hymn for Sunday

The Love of God

Words & Music by: Frederick M, Lehman

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measure less and strong!

It shall for ever more endure,

The saints' and angels' song.

When years of time shall pass away
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God's love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race-
The saints' and angels' song.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure,
The saints' and angels' song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made;
Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill,

And ev'ry man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure,
The saints' and angels' song.