Hark! Back! #10

 March 29, 2008

Aisles of Life

Today I captured this moment in time.

My other baby brother walking his baby daughter down the aisle.  One final walk, just the two of them, into the church and in fifteen minutes their lives are both changed.  The Bride to a new life with her Groom.  My other baby brother and his wife to an empty nest...they are all alone after twenty eight years.

I remember when Far Guy and I became empty nesters. It had its perks...the telephone is always for you and you can watch whatever you want on TV.  But it is still a change and a BIG one...

I think of all the Momma birds and how they nurture and care for their baby birds.  Then when they know the time is right they kick them out of the nest with a fly or die attitude.  They did their job in a matter of weeks.  We as parents take our jobs seriously also, it just takes years...

It was a lovely wedding.  My other baby brother looked quite handsome in his "Monkey Suit"  The Bride was beautiful and smiling, she was fairly nervous but excited to walk down the aisle and begin her new married life.

Our Grandchildren were in attendance and two of them were intrigued.  They wanted to see "The Kiss" I allowed them to stand up on the back of the pew for a better view...Adam said "Ewww, I am never doing that!" Madison said "Do you have to kiss?  I don't think my Mom ever kissed my Dad."

Oh the aisles of life these little ones have yet to walk:)

**********

Good memory of the day Megan married Frank..they now have four children and are still happily married. 

Madison (Maddie) was about 10 years old and she is now happily married with four children of her own.

Adam was 6 years old and he will be getting married this Fall. 

The Grands

All our Grands attended Noah's wedding.  

 Savannah in orange...even her shoes!

Maddie 

Brenton, Peach and Maddie 

Paige and Cole 

Adam and Courtney 

It was so much fun to see them all in the same place and give them all hugs! 

Two Grands left to get married...Savannah and Adam....and Adam has a gal:)

Far Side 

Cookies

 Jen, Andy, Maddie and I baked sugar cookies on Friday after Far Guy's Doctor appointment.  BTW his appointment was okay...they are going to try him on a new med to help his breathing but as usual it has to be approved by insurance first. 

You say okay big deal...they made sugar cookies. 

The sugar cookies were for a wedding, the cookies were decorated with a philly cheese/powdered sugar frosting and then strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.

Someone we love very much got married in a very small ceremony on Saturday. 

We are back home safely, the roads were good for our return trip.

Far Side

Cool Wedding

 There was a wedding this weekend, it was supposed to be an outdoor ceremony.

Peach all dressed up

Maddie, Brenton and children.  Brenton's Mom was married over the weekend, because of the severe cold it was moved indoors.  Cee Cee and Peach spent a fair amount of time on the dance floor:)

The weather was bitterly cold with a high temperatures below zero.  

Far Side

 

Weekend Wedding Photos

 Some of the wedding photos appeared on facebook...so I shall share them with you.

Mother of the bride and the bride.  Both beauties!

The brides family: her mom, her step dad, her sisters and her brother. 

The happy couple!  Congratulations!

* Photos by others used with permission.

Far Side

Something old

 Our Great Niece Hailey was married yesterday to the love of her life Isaac.  Hailey is the oldest granddaughter of my other baby brother and she who sees robins first.  The first of their Grands to get married. 

The wedding was outdoors. 

We sat on hay bales.  Immediate family sat on chairs.   It was a short but sweet ceremony.  It was a bit windy but the sun was shining.

When I congratulated Hailey and Isaac in the receiving line  ...Hailey showed me the something old that I had given to her at her wedding shower.  It was a simple hankie that belonged to her Great Great Grandmother then her Great Grandmother and then to me.  The hankie was tied around the stems of her wedding bouquet.  It was perfect as something old. 

Other things old...are my siblings. 

Hailey's Grandfather my other baby brother is on the left, my sister, me and my baby brother. 

It was a good day.

Far Side

Looking Ahead

This year I am looking forward to:

Maddie’s Wedding in July

A few trips that may or may not happen; 

Searching for Native Orchids in Central and Northern Minnesota.

Going someplace warm in the winter.

I found out the dates that The Tall Ships would be in Duluth Minnesota.  So I booked a motel room.  I have always wanted to go…and never found a motel with openings as they fill up really fast.  It is a waterfront motel so I (we) can watch the ships all day…admire the rose gardens…walk to supper at Grandmas…visit all the waterfront shops.  In essence “be all touristy” not far from home.

December Wedding

Last evening we attended the wedding of my cousin.  He has been a widower a number of years and found himself a gal who has been a widow a long time.  They are both 70 something.  They enjoy each others company and make each other happy.

 

The minister said that they are the most “in love” couple he has ever counseled before marriage.

I was the official photographer….what are cousins for anyways!  The grooms brother was the best man and the grooms aunt was the matron of honor.

It was a lovely ceremony with a wedding supper that followed the ceremony.  Sandwiches, chips, pickles, pasta salads and jello salads….oh and punch, coffee and wedding cake.

I may share a photo of the happy couple someday…but for now the groom and bride have not seen the photos…and they should see them first.

The church was packed, there was standing room only for the ceremony.  This couple has much support from family and the community. (They didn’t send out any invitations.  Invitation was by word of mouth only.) 

September Wedding

Yesterday we attended a wedding.  We have known the groom’s parents since before they were married…so we have known Jake all his life.

The wedding was held in a State Park in a small amphitheater.

It was  a lovely ceremony. There was a bit of a breeze off the lake and the temperature was about 72 F perfect outdoor wedding weather.

The groom and his best and only sister…she has no problems being called the best man.

The bride’s grandfather was the officiant.  He talked about love and trust.  The couple wrote their own vows…and the bride was so overcome by the groom’s vows she began to cry …she said “I should have gone first.”  She recovered nicely and as part of her vows she said she would try to cook more meat.

After the ceremony they had a reception and served a stew called Guinness and chocolate chip cookies.

Far Guy said “Wasn’t that a nice wedding”  and it was.  After the reception was dancing and a bonfire…but we came home to feed Chance.

There weren’t alot of decorations, flowers…or fru fru…just a simple ceremony with their sisters standing up for them…surrounded by people who love them and wish them well.

I heard that the bride designed and sewed her own dress…it was beautiful.  Since both the bride and groom are accomplished dancers the dress is perfect for dancing.

Wistful Wednesday: 48 years ago

It was cold…about –20F or –6C eh! 

We were married in the afternoon and had a reception afterwards.  We had cake, Christmas cookies, coffee, punch and some fancy sandwitches…they used to take a loaf of bread and swirl food coloring in it.  Then it would be sliced lengthwise and the layers would be filled with cheese…ham salad etc…fancy….the reception took place in the church social hall.

This is a photo of the inside of the church taken from the balcony.

We had fun looking at the backs of the heads in this photo.  Many who are now gone. My Maternal Grandmother and Far Guys Maternal Grandmother both wore hats as did our Mothers.

This is the entire wedding party. The gal( my Aunt that was younger than me) on the far left died last spring but the rest of the group are still alive and well.

 

48 years…it sounds like a long time…but it doesn’t seem that long ago.  We know each other well and can finish each other sentences and often are thinking the same thing at the same time. We are still best friends and on good days we both have a wicked sense of humor.

We had planned to spend the day away to see a Grand…but we are supposed to get a bunch of snow and it may be a winter storm so we will spend the day at home. Warm and safe instead of in a snowstorm someplace.

Funeral : Aunt Kay

My Aunt Kay died a week ago she was 76 years old. The funeral was yesterday.  My Mother is fighting a bad cold, she sent my Father out to go to the funeral with us.  My other baby brother and she who sees robin’s first went too.  Far Guy stayed home…good thing too as the perfumy smell of cleaning products assaulted you as soon as you opened the door of the church.

My Aunt Kay was married to my Uncle Clarence, Butch was his nickname.   They raised four children together and then divorced.  I had not seen my cousins in about 24 years.  It was good to see them at the funeral…now they are in their 50’s except for Holly who is going to be 48 she was born on our wedding day back in 1969.

My Aunt Kay was a very kind woman, she was a good mother and grandmother.  I have many good memories of her when I was growing up. I saw her and my uncle just about every week at my grandparents for Sunday dinner.  Their place on Little Floyd Lake where they raised chinchillas.  The new home they built together that had a double fireplace was beautiful.   We butchered chickens one summer out on a picnic table in the yard.  My Dad worked at the “shop” there and we would visit him there in the spring. When Far Guy and I picked out Mom and Dad’s White German Shepard puppy in Ada Minnesota…we took the pup as far as Uncle Butch and Aunt Kay’s place so my parents could pick her up.

The Funeral Sermon was short and sweet and to the point.  Ashes to ashes dust to dust.  Laugh and enjoy your time here on earth whatever troubles you encounter won’t matter in heaven.  Death has lost it’s sting because Jesus died on the cross. 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I took a photo inside the church so my Mother could see all the flowers.

After the afternoon service we joined with the family for coffee and bars…all kinds mainly chocolate!

I took some photos of my Uncle and Aunt’s wedding album…they got married in October of 1960.

 

 

My baby brother was the ring bearer.

The parents looking at the ring.  Those are my grandparents on the right.  Grandma wore gloves and grandpa had some dark hair.

The wedding cake photo with a bunch of little girls looking on.  One is me, I am the tallest, my Aunt Karen is next to me…down in front the little gal with the great expression on her face might be  relatives from the other side of the family or it might be cousins La Rae, Vickie or Diane.

From weddings to the grave…my Uncle Butch died in 1993 and now Aunt Kay in 2017.

Assistant Wedding Photographer

Yesterday I helped our daughter Jen take photos at a wedding.  The Bride is a friend of Jens.  Jen usually only does photos of babies and graduation photos…weddings are a bit more stressful, you only get one chance to capture the moments during a wedding.

I was photographer number 2 …the assistant.  Having photographed several weddings with Jen before…we know that each of us sees things differently.

The ceremony took place on a hill near the Red Lake River.  There was a bit of a breeze and it was partly sunny and 80 degrees. Guests were asked to bring their lawn chairs.

These Orchids surrounded huge Calla Lilies in the bridal bouquet.

The bride was beautiful.  The ceremony was short and sweet and to the point, it was also very musical…with trombones, a flute and even a violin.

Thumbs up! Yes for sure… she was looking for her new husband to give her a ride back to the reception.  They hosted the wedding guests at their new home just down the road from the site of the ceremony. Shortly after their arrival they donned aprons and served their guests a wedding meal.

Here is my best shot of the day…the flower girl.

Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time with the right light.

It was a fun day…the newlyweds presented their guests with butterflies to release.

Not sure what kind of butterfly…a Skipper of some sort maybe.  It was fun to watch them fly away.

I wouldn’t want to be a wedding photographer…but I enjoyed being an assistant!

Cozy

Our daytime temperatures were hovering just a few degrees below zero and the roads were okay so…

We left warm and cozy for a wedding yesterday afternoon.  A neighbor boy got married. Time sure goes by fast…we are witness to our friends grandchildren getting married.  I think that may put us in an “old” category.

This little church was the site of the nuptials.  It was cozy inside and packed with guests.  It was a lovely ceremony.

As we left the church the sun was starting to set.

We headed to the reception where Hot Chocolate awaited the guests.  We visited with friends and neighbors.   There was a pasta buffet …not my favorite food..but my husband enjoyed it.  There was going to be a Wedding Dance too but it had been a day and we came home early to avoid the severe wind chills.

I think we are done with weddings now for a bit.  The next one is in November.

The Direct TV Repairman was here earlier in the day.  Far Guy is in business with his TV again, it was a problem with a cable inside.  Someone did not use a Direct TV approved cable when he hooked up the receiver.  I guess we both have HD TV’s but only a regular dish, and the whole shebang should be upgraded and new cable should be installed…maybe next summer.  I don’t “watch” much TV but I do listen to it. 

We are staying home now for the duration, we are warm and cozy and have lots of projects to work on!

Winter Wedding

Yesterday we attended the wedding of our niece Rachael.  She has been praying for snow for the wedding.  There was a fair amount of snow….and many of the outside photos show snowflakes.

Rachael and Chad were married in front of the fireplace in a lovely ceremony.  Guests were seated at round tables, a brunch followed the 9:45 AM nuptials.

I took outdoor photos from the balcony.

The bride was beautiful. It seems like only yesterday when she was born. Now she is all grown up, graduated from College and  married.

 

Can you guess what they did to celebrate?

They celebrated by joining their guests in some tubing down the big hill in front of the hall where the wedding took place.   The guests especially the younger ones had a blast!  Far Guy said “Go ahead and sled with the kids, I will visit you in the hospital.”  I declined and was more than happy just to take photos.

The high yesterday was 11 F or –11C.  Just another balmy day in Minnesnowda