Friday, May 29, 2009

Last Weekend in a Busy May



Today was a friend's birthday
and we spent the day with a basket
lunch, tea, went downtown to an
urban rose garden ( picked up the
newlywed spur of the moment to get
him out of the office ~~ tax
deadline is June 15th, so long hours)
and to a used bookstore.
God blessed us with perfect
books ~~ she had come to my class to talk
on Sir Walter Scott and everytime we
got together to a used bookstore there
is something on him. You know he's not
exactly well-known today! The book is
from his memoirs and letters organized
by subjects. My great find was two
Shakespeare plays ( Henry V and Othello)
in an acting version and the full version.
God keeps me homeschooling in those
provisions!

Graduations tomorrow of friends
Emma is singing in the Teen Choir
from church at a retirement home
and in worship on Sunday.
Hope summer comes with it's
long peaceful days!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Weekend Before the Wedding


The Prom was the weekend before
the wedding for our 4th son, Gordan.
There was a photo taking party before-
hand for the group from this private
school in a beautiful home. My son
is homeschooled and this prom was
down at the Panther's Stadium Ballroom!
Fun, fun, fun..........


My neighbor Leann's hair done in braids
and twisted up. She and Emma grew up
together. They are 7 years apart and claim
each as sisters! Sort of a
Wendell Berry kind of story!

And Leann introduced these two:
well, first THE WHITE SHOES







Evan's white Italian leather "Tom Wolfe"
shoes on Gordan.........
also Evan's suit on Gordan!



Alex arrives!!





Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Family



"When we step into the family, by the act of being born, we do step into a world which is incalculable, into a world which has its own strange laws, into a world which could do without us, into a world we have not made. In other words, when we step into the family we step into a fairy-tale." - Heretics, G.K. Chesterton







Mr and Mrs........!!




At the Rehearsal Dinner



Counting to the right with the groomsmen:
Evan, Gordan, Ryan Nelson ( cousin) Brad,
Best Man Brandon Turner , then Samuel
the ring bearer and Bryan. ( 4 are our sons)

From the LEFT: Emily , My Emma , Flower
Girl Grace, my neice) , Kathryn ( Maid of Honor
and sister of the bride) and the bride: Ashley











My 6 brothers , including my twin, and
my sister! ( me in the plum with shoes off!)
We are in chronological order like a timeline!










Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Take a look at the church


My dear friend who loves to
see glimpses of beauty in a hem-
line or a rose petal , took these
on Saturday at the wedding.

More are coming that we took.
Awesome photographers at the
wedding so I can't wait to see
those. Today I took a nap!




Monday, May 25, 2009

Thursday, May 21, 2009

On to the Wedding


We all head up to Winston Salem
tomorrow for the Bridesmaid's
Luncheon and Rehearsal and Rehearsal
Dinner. Then at 2:00 on Saturday ,
Bryan's bride will walk down the aisle
to meet him and take vows.








Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wendell Berry moments


We drove down the windy street
to our street today that use to have
horse farms. Suburbia is spreading
and the cows and horses are gone!
An older man decked in a sunhat ,
waved to us at his mailbox. I told Gordan
he probably would be fun to sit
on the porch with and hear his stories.
A man like Wendell Berry. Gordan knew
what I meant having read Berry's essays.
We talked a bit about what that generation
has in tradition and the stories of change
that man could tell us.

Later I called
Lexington where BBQ is famous to
order for Sunday's After Wedding Gathering.
She said to me:" Hold on Sweetie" as she
got her ordering pad. A sweet southern voice
tells you they have the best BBQ in the world.
Who else would say Sweetie to a complete
stranger! My sister-in-law said to this city
girl : OH you don't have to give them much
time. You know it's in a log cabin sort of
building. We could go up there Sunday and
they would have what we need.


The Country of Marriage

by Wendell Berry

VII.

I give you what is unbounded, passing from dark to dark,
containing darkness: a night of rain, an early morning.
I give you the life I have let live for the love of you:
a clump of orange-blooming weeds beside the road,
the young orchard waiting in the snow, our own life
that we have planted in the ground, as I
have planted mine in you. I give you my love for all
beautiful and honest women that you gather to yourself
again and again, and satisfy--and this poem,
no more mine than any man's who has loved a woman.

Wendell Berry

Another twist to the story



What is ironic is that
the Groom is on the Corporate
Tax Account of that grocery
store!!! ( see blog below)
Bryan finishes up on June 15th,
school for Ashley in June too, so
the honeymoon comes the last
two weeks of June!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Huge blessing at the grocery store


Checking off my list for the wedding
each day.Also praying each day for
God to be in all the details, the nooks
and crannies......
Today I found a necklace
for my dress . Then started getting food
for the After Wedding Family Gathering
( I am 1 of 8! and all are coming) which is
on Sunday afternoon up at my brother's
lakehouse. So I got into HT and found lots
on sale ~~ like natural bacon marked down
3.00 so it was 1.50~! I bought them all (12)
and TEA marked down under 2.00 ( I got a
bagful, a grocery bag) and some all-natural
chicken sausage, etc... I thought WHY am I
buying this when we have THE wedding
( rehearsal dinner, etc..)
My bill : 185.00, less coupons and sales :
135.00, so I saved 50.00 . Then after I paid
a coupon came out and the clerk said
YOU GET YOUR GROCERIES FREE!!
I was the 400th customer!! ( new
promotion) I stood amazed!
So I was given the cash
of 135.00 and then she said YOU also get last
month's promotion of 50.00 in gas gift cards!
So I walked in with nothing but came out
with 185.00 of free groceries and gas to go!
I was dazed! God in the details. I even had
said to my husband earlier : we have to have
some cash this weekend. He had 5.00 in
his wallet!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Reflecting


I'm reflecting on this month of
May: birthday, Mother's Day,
son's graduation, ending of my lit.
class and Aesthetics, a funeral of a
dear friend's mother, prom ( tonight
and I'll post at least one picture!)
and now the wedding of our oldest on
Saturday up at the Reynolds church
in Winston Salem that they built
in 1905. Today it is right
across from Wake Forest Univ. and
Reynolda Gardens. It looks like it will
be sunny and in the high 70's. .......
It's been eventful this month and even
the newest member of my family is coming:
Jackson! He's going to meet the family at
9 months! So each day has much in it to
make sure everything and everyone know
what to do, where to go and what to bring!
It's fascinating to me to be here after praying
for so long for this part of life. I hope to savor
it and see God's goodness in details, esp.
in the happiness.


Friday, May 15, 2009

My King Claudius


















King Claudius, my Emma, would not
repent and his sins find him out. Laetres,
her friend Mariah, also dies in the end.
There was something rotten in Denmark.
Hamlet's father was murdered by his
brother, Claudius. Then Claudius marries
Hamlet's mother! Great performance last
Monday night.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Taking an Afternoon Off


Evan and I went to the Mint
Museum today to see the exhibit
from New Orleans. ( free tickets!)
I knew that I needed to get away from
my "list" for the wedding and feed
myself on beauty. This son loves art but
is majoring in Accounting. Maybe one
day he will mix the two. When you have
a large family, it is wonderful to be in the
car with just one. Conversations from the
heart blossom and you get to know that
one's state of mind.

Monet was always thinking of light
when he painted. Here is the sturdy
village in the storm , strong and secure.
I love the beauty of a
"Larkrise to Candleford"
village of neighbors who hold each other
up through the storms. Monet painted that.


Snow at Giverny

http://www.newsobserver.com/content/multimedia/monet/exhibit_work/21.jpg

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The small things get bigger


The big things for a wedding are
booked and selected and tried on
early on in the planning. Now we are
down to the small things ~~ what
goes on the table for the rehearsal
dinner , socks for the tuxes, etc...
The small things are huge now.
They weigh heavily but may get
disregarded if time wins out. Shakespeare
said "Truth will out" in The Merchant
of Venice. The truth of it is that time
may "will out!" We are all going to laugh
if it does. That brings relief already and
makes me enjoy the days. A list is posted
in my mind every morning. Being a nonlist
person ( I always lose them but somehow
the writing of one helps my memory) it's
interesting to see how the Spirit helps in
this. I have to find the things when I go out
not just in my mind! There's the rub ( from
Hamlet!)


Monday, May 11, 2009

Hamlet



Wonderful performance tonight
in a lovely new home with a pond
in the front and a long drive up
through the woods. Emma did very
well as King Claudius. 3 of her 4
brothers were in attendance. It's
a busy month full of celebrations
for our family, but nothing is rotten
in this state ( of Denmark!)! Great
lines and character sketches in that
play. Makes you want to read more
of the great Bard!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

On to Graduation














Of our second son on Saturday!
He's done with college: Criminal
Justice major, waiting on the
Police Academy acceptance after
a 4 month interview process.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Hamlet's Weeds



We read The Parable of the Weeds
this morning in Matthew 12. Then
a couple of hours later we went back
to Tales from Shakespeare to Hamlet
to reread so Emma can write character
sketches. We read:

"... he ( Hamlet) grew weary of the world,
which seemed to him an unweeded garden,
where all the wholesome flowers were
choked up, and nothing but weeds could
thrive."

Now, I couldn't plan that!
The Divine Planner knew about all
those weeds on this particular day.
He keeps me homeschooling.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/film/nov99/hamlet.jpg

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

What we did on Book Club night



Sometimes it is hard to get there
for one thing. One of our ladies almost
stopped as at every turn there was an
obstacle! Thank you Barb, it would not
have been the same without you!
The ladies did surprise me with presents
and delicious choc. cupcakes made by
a young mom at our church ( who is starting
a business ~~ oh, my , yummy!).
Sometimes it hard to get into a discussion
and even remember what the details of the
book were! BUT we seemed to get to the
heart of the book and especially
our lives faster because of the transparency
of the writing in Gilead. That's what struck
me and still does. It's never a program
this command that Jesus said to his disciples:
Love one another. It happened that night.

Thanks Jean for
hosting. And my dear friend for always
having your camera with you!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Well I'll be........



They were real.
Real roses and dwarf irises in the
restroom at Trader Joe's today.
RED and deep purple.
I think I might visit that place
within the store again. I assume
they were not fit to sell. Could have
have fooled me!

1

crested dwarf iris



Saturday, May 2, 2009

newness



May is here with my birthday passing
by with great showerings from my friends
and now 21 days until the wedding and
a college graduation in a week! Somehow
the turn of the calendar to a new month
has brought me so much closer to events
than on April 30th!