Goin' to the chapel

Not me silly, my sister-in-law. She is the first of two siblings' weddings my husband (whom Kelli aptly nick-named the "Captain" of the ark! ;-)!!!) and I and the rest of the clan are attending this summer.

Fortunately, this wedding does not involve the loading up of 8 people into the Suburban (really, in this case, an ark would seem much more practical...) and driving half-way across the country to Boston. The good news, in that scenario, is that a) we will get to see my brother finally get married! b) we have top-notch accomodations for the stay, right Auntie F? and c) the wedding is the start of our vacation time in New England--hooray!

But for today, in the midwest, I am making final preparations to bring the Boy and the two big girls to the rehearsal tonight, where they will learn their roles as usher and greeters. Then, head over to the rehearsal dinner at my in-laws to meet up with the "Captain" and the three little ones. We also have my husband's Grandma B, who is 80-something years old, staying with us tonight and tomorrow; and who has given us a good excuse to give a somewhat more in-depth cleaning to the ark prior to her arrival. The wedding should be great. The forecast is iffy, but it will be a mini-reunion of sorts for the family and the "Captain" and I will get to dance together for the first time since, well, the last wedding we attended; which should garner all sorts of eye-rolling and snickering from the pre-teen set here on the ark. But most of all, it will be a wedding, a new beginning, a brand-spanking new start for the little girl who is the "Captain's" goddaughter and who was my flower girl (okay, how old am I now?) in my wedding. At her bridal shower, just a few weeks ago, I remember watching her open her brand new mixing bowls and kitchen towel sets, beautiful Calphalon pots and pans and dinner dishes; and I remember how even that choked me up. I guess I'd better make sure to pack some Kleenex, huh?

So, wish us well, actually-wish them well...after 14 years of marriage, I know that the mixing bowls will get scratched and someone will use one of those beautiful kitchen towels to wipe their nose and one of those dishes will eventually break, but there is nothing more precious than when a marriage is new, when you stand hand-in-hand with your new spouse, gazing out into the future, waiting to see what God has planned for your new life together.