What kind of wedding is THAT?

Since I got engaged, I have found out that people have lots of ideas and expectations about what a wedding is "supposed" to be.  Typical of me, I don't have any of those ideas or expectations.  People started asking things like what kind of cake will you have, where will it be, what kind of dress will you have, will it be catered?  My answer to all of that...I don't know, should I know that already because I really don't care. I have never been a wedding person.  I have never been a formal event person.  I love easy, relaxed, fun parties.  I love family and friends having fun and just enjoying themselves.  I love everything about backyard parties.  So when I started planning this wedding of expectation, I hated it.  I hated spending money on things, I hated picking aisle decorations, I hated looking at bouquets.  The only thing I wanted was to be married.  I suggested we have a wedding like a early 1900's fair...bobbing for apples and all.  Don't worry - I didn't win on that one!  :)

Did you go to my sister's wedding?  It was perfectly Carrie!  I want people to go to my wedding and say it was perfectly Courtney...a little outside the box, but fun!  Or maybe "I cannot believe she did that, but it's so her."  I'll take either one.  :)

Here is what I know: when weddings were more about the celebration of two people's choice to love each other for better or worse and less about the wedding, marriages lasted longer.  I want a lasting marriage.  I want a family.  I want a celebration of my choice to love one man for the rest of my life, however long that will be.  I want that celebration to be fun and to that end here is the wedding I shall have:

On July 3, 2013, a wedding celebration shall ensue that will include dancing, swimming, kickball, croquet, food, fun, a few vows and if we are lucky and the weather cooperates, fireworks.

I can hear it now "What kind of wedding is THAT?"  It's my wedding!  And I hope you'll come and enjoy celebrating life's decisions with us!

Plates and Towels and Registries - oh my!!

So I'm getting married.  There are a lot of checklists that go with getting married.  I read you should be registered before you send out invitations....seems easy enough.  UH NO!  It is not easy.  You get this printed checklist of categories....it's 4 pages.  4 pages?!?! Table settings for 8, bathroom decorations, vases, towels, blankets, and the list goes on and on and on.  But then comes the glorious kitchen section!!!  I saw bright lights and heard angels singing until the 9 year old in the buggy says...

"WE ALREADY SAW ALL THIS STUFF!!! I need an icee!!!"  

The 30 year old boy agreed and that was the end of registering.  We got it done and now on to the next hard task of selecting invitations that everyone loves and aren't too girly or cheesy or boyish or dark or busy....This should be fun!  :)

At the end of the day Jake Owen says it best:

"Just as long as I'm where you're at
I'm gonna have a real good view
I'll go anywhere, anywhere with you"

Dreams do come true!!!

There are things that you dream of all your life that you think will never happen.  Things you hope for, pray for, long for, but never really think you will achieve or have.  When those things happen there is nothing to do but rejoice in God's perfect plan and abundant grace.

Growing up, my mom took us to Old Town Spring every Sunday morning for donuts.  We would park somewhere along the street and eat before going to church.  It has always been a special place to me and I hoped there would be someone, somewhere that would love it as much as I did.  I have never told anyone because I knew most would think I was a weirdo.  :)

Today I agreed to marry someone.  He is not the man of my dreams.  He is more than I ever could have hoped for, more than I ever could have even thought to ask for...he loves me.  He loves my son.  He fits in my family.  He reads me and my thoughts like a book and accepts them all.  He is safe and comfortable.  He challenges me to do more and different things.

Today in Old Town Spring, I got engaged!  This man, who is more than I hoped for, asked me to be his wife.  He had a photographer because I love pictures.  I believe he is part of God's perfect plan for my life, and for Cal's life.

So today I rejoice in the answers to dreams that I never even had the hope of having, and cannot stop smiling about the dreams of my heart coming true!!

My cup runneth over...

Frequently, people will ask me why I say "My cup runneth over."  Well, I shall explain.  There are 2 reasons, really.  1) Psalm (or Palms as Cal calls it) 23 and 2) Hope Floats.

Psalm 23 is a very famous chapter.  The first time I really remember hearing it was at my great-grandmother's funeral in 3rd grade.  I am sure I had heard it before then, but it seemed significant that day.  It was the first funeral I had been to, and I wore the dress I wore in a wedding.  Why I remember these things? I do not know.  I have always liked the chapter though and the older I got, the more it meant.  Like all people, life hasn't always been a bed of roses and through the years different parts meant more to me than others, but over all the idea that God prepares a table for us even while our enemies surround us, that He calls us special and loved and worthwhile....oh how the blessings flow, and yes, my cup runneth over and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!!

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

 

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

I have loved the movie "Hope Floats" since the first time I saw it...which was about 300 times ago.  :)  It is the story of perseverance when you think you can't take another step and of family that sometimes has to drag you along.  It has great quotes like:

"That's why families were invented- so hopelessness doesn't get the last word" 

or 

"Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning.  Just give hope a chance to float up, and it will too."

My favorite part of the movie is when the granddaughter tells her grandmother that she loves her and the grandmother, who is not good at showing emotion, says "my cup runneth over..." and it says everything that needs to be said.

The Lord is my shepherd, He has always restored my soul, and even in the bad times He leads me beside quiet waters and my cup runneth over.  I hope you can see the table prepared before you even in the bad days because God is there, waiting for you, even when you haven't been looking for Him.

Adults are crazy...

Today I had this actual conversation...

Me: Tech Office, this is Courtney.
Caller: The internet is broken.
Me: No it isn't.  What's wrong?
Caller: I keep trying to go to a website and it won't work.  I keep getting a page that says "the administrator has blocked this site"
Me: Certain websites are blocked for content.  Send me a screen shot and I'll see what's going on.
Caller: Well how do you get to a new website?
Me: In the white bar at the top of the page, type w-w-w-dot-g-o-o-g-l-e-dot-c-o-m
Caller: How do you know everything?

Some days adults baffle me....

Thanksgiving and a Funeral

What's in a family?  To me a family are those that are given and those that are chosen.  I was given the most amazing family that I love, although they do make me insane a lot!  My mom is one of those people that people just want to be around, and she has made our family a welcoming place for all...even some I want to give back.  :)

We just got home from Thanksgiving and a Funeral.  My grandfather lives in Alabama and we go there for Thanksgiving.  (I skip out sometimes bc the trip is FOREVER) This is probably our last Thanksgiving with Grump.  His body is giving up.  Today we went to the funeral of my mom's uncle, my grandfather's brother-in-law, Edsel.  I think I met him twice, but while sitting in his funeral today I realized I would soon be sitting here for my grandfather and I hate that.  The minister today said something that made a impact on me... (well 2 things)

1.  He is absent on earth, but present with the Father.

Oh to be present with our Father!!!

2.  In this family, you loose the "in law" status real quick and you are just family.

That is so true of the Frenches!  I used to think it was only from my grandmother, but my grandfather's family is that way too...and so is my mom.

So this Thanksgiving held some precious memories for me.  I said good bye to my Grumpster this morning.  He held my hand and said he loved me.  That is a memory I will treasure always.  I pray you stored up some precious memories too and that you are part of a family that looses the in law status!

Day 7

Today I am thankful for music!!  I love to sing, I am horrible at singing, but I love it!  Today I am thankful for the songs that speak the words your soul cannot express, for songs that connect you to God in a way that spoken words cannot, and for those who are gifted to sing.

Here are a few of my favorite songs, I hope you enjoy them!

I can't find a video for this one, but the words are so, so amazing
Inside Out
In the heart of me
There's a mystery
In my weakness there is still
A goodness not my own
That comes from God alone
But it cannot be known until

You turn me inside out
So that I can be
A reflection of the One who made me
So the world can see
That it's Christ in me Lord,
Turn me inside out
Turn me inside out

What my pride conceals
Lord, Your truth reveals
And Your grace is seen somehow
There is mercy when,
In spite of who I've been,
Your glory dwells within me now

Whatever else you see
The only good in me
Is Jesus, Jesus
Whatever else you see
The only good in me
Is Jesus, Jesus