This wedding season has me thinking about my own wedding. It was so precious, so wonderful...and so cheap. Daniel and I spent less then $1,000 on our nuptials and that includes the rings and dress. As I watch all these 'slightly' older brides get married, 5.5 years after my own wedding, I can see HUGE differences: Tailored gowns, gorgeous hair and makeup, huge flowers, centerpieces, and beautiful photography.Would I change it? Well, that's a silly question Self, because I can't. But you bring up an interesting point Self and I think the question you really want to ask is...Do you feel left out? And I'd have to say yes.There were so many pros to getting married young and not spending too much moolaah . We started out our married life with only our student loan debt. My husband was so proud to see me wearing his grandmother's ring. We got married because we loved each other genuinely and couldn't wait to start our lives together. (among other things of course)But, I missed out on feeling really beautiful, and having the dress I wanted instead of the one that we could afford. I miss being able to look at beautiful photographs of our special day, instead of the hodge podge of photos our friends and family took. AND I really miss my family not being happy or proud that day. Having those things wouldn't change the result though. I married the kind of wonderful man that doesn't exist in the really world so much anymore. Together we built a sweet little life. It really wouldn't have changed a thing.So, what have we learned here? eh... nothing.
1. How to lose this baby weight. (or better yet, how to not gain it in the first place.)
2. How to forgive.
3. How to make cinnamon rolls from scratch.
4. How to be organized. (at least by the world's standards of organization.)
5. How I can be so different from my own mother. I mean seriously: she can sew, crochet, knit, is hyper organized, smart, good at everything she's ever done, as far as I know never touched a recipe and still manages to be the best cook I've ever known. Plus she has this weird grandma ESP where if the kids are needing ANYTHING, socks or jackets...*poof* they are in the mail the next day. How is it possible that so much awesomeness skipped a generation?
6. How to talk on the telephone, a skill I seriously lack. I've never figured out how you are supposed to end a conversation.
7. When to shut up.
8. How to stand up for myself.9. How to say 'no'.10. Why life is so much easier for everybody else.
1. God lives. He exists and everything proves his presence to me. Even the bad horrible things, because if evil exists then so must good. You only need to look around this world to see Satan and so must God live.
2. Beautiful things come in threes, of which I have daily proof: Brighton, Fairon, and Paisley.
3. A good marriage takes work. It requires you to put another person first constanly in the hopes that they do the same. When that works it is the most valuable relationship you can have.
4. Nothing turns out just the way you think.
5. When you gossip, you just look ugly.
6. It's better not to have an opinion about everything, it makes what you really care about stand out.
7. It works if you work it. Confidence and exuberance...that's real beauty
8. Two things in this world that will get you everything: Education and Kindness.
9. An object in motion will stay in motion.
10. We are born good. We need to be more like our children. See the beauty in the little mundane things. Be compassionate for everyone. Cry when we need to cry. Laugh, sing, and dance just because. Remember how much easier it was to believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, God, peace, and love when we were children? <---Proof.
Our home was a disaster yesterday. So, what other option did we have? We grabbed our stuff and some McDonald's and w
ent to the park to play. It's days like these that I feel so fortunate to be able to stay at home with my girls. (and more fortunate to have a husband who didn't mind coming home to said disaster.) It was 75 degrees and breezy. Paisley slept all afternoon.
It was so incredibly peaceful. 
For Mother's Day at our church they asked the kids to answer questions about their moms and wrote down their answers. Here is Brighton's:
I laughed so hard I cried.
is hard. <-----hence the 'non-blogging' in my new blog. That blinking courser is taunting me, so here it is, the first of many I hope...if I can ever find the time!
