Seven

Just seven days until the wedding! Well, until the ceremony. The ceremony is a small, private event and then the reception is a few days later. That's the big event. Beth and I picked up our dresses the other day! We brought our shoes and all the accessories, and tried everything on together. It kind of felt like a dress rehearsal. 

Remember the issue with my shoes for the ceremony? The navy ones? Well, I remembered we have a Skechers store not far from us so we stopped there after we got our dresses and I found the exact navy shoes on the clearance rack. Two pair. Neither one in my size. So we went next door to Ross and I found navy shoes with more rounded toes that I like even better! And, there was one pair in my size! What a relief! We got Beth a new pair of dress shoes... finally found some ties for Chuck, we had to go to three different stores. They said they just aren't getting any shipments. So now I think we're good to go in the clothing area.

I'm not sure I'll be on here anymore before we leave. I've got one more (I hope only one more) day of work before we begin the final packing.   

We are beyond excited! 

I'll leave you with a sneak peek. These are for the Reception...

Raw

Back in 2004 we took the girls to Ground Zero. The clean up was done and the rebuilding had begun. It was a very somber part of our trip that year but one we didn't want to miss.

 

When we were there earlier this year, we stopped by the memorial again. It looked very different but it was still kind of somber, a place to stop and reflect. I asked Diana if Peter's family visits the site of the 9/11 attacks and she said no. Most people who lived in the area when the attacks happened don't visit it because the pain is still raw. The sounds and smells of that day are etched into their memories and it's not something they want to re-visit.

I hadn't thought about that.

We've been watching a short series called 9/11 One Day in America. It's just personal videos of survivors and first responders as they woke up that day, stopped to get some coffee and headed into work. It started as just a typical day. Some parts are hard to watch and it's so intense that sometimes I forget to breathe, but it shows a side of that day that I'd never seen before. One man who was in the towers when they fell, and came out alive is now a curator at the 9/11 site. He said he now knows his purpose in life. Most people view the site as a memorial but to him it is a cemetery and he is meticulous about how it's maintained.

I'm glad Chuck and I are getting the opportunity in the next couple of weeks to pay our respects again.

2004

 2021

 

We will never forget.

Swept

We were driving home from the mall the other day and the sky looked amazing! Chuck said it looked like it had been swept. 

 

I caught a glimpse of this sunrise recently. They have been spectacular lately, so many beautiful colors.

It's Just Around The Corner!

Our church had a week of prayer and fasting last week and even though food is the traditional thing that most people give up, I usually fast social media. That's the thing that takes up most of my time, the thing that wastes most of my time. Since I wasn't scrolling through Facebook and Instagram I spent more time in prayer and in the Lord's presence plus spent two hours sobbing. Yep. Just good ol' let-the-tears-flow-and-release-a-little-stress sobbing. I honestly felt better when I was done. Releasing stress and giving things over to the Lord, it was a very good week.

Only 16 days 'til the wedding! Remember, this is the venue where they're having the reception ~

 

We're trying to figure out how to pack floor length gowns into a suitcase! I found a more casual dress to wear to a different event they're planning that week and bought some flats to go with it. Diana actually found them. I went into DSW to try on a different pair - I had to order the Navy ones on-line - and they're so comfortable! They're sketchers!

 

I got the email saying they had been delivered to the store and I could pick them up anytime. I'm so thankful I decided to try them on before I left the store because when I opened the box...

Not quite what I was expecting. My dress is navy blue with small white polka dots (think Julia Roberts at a polo match 😄) so these wouldn't work. They posted the wrong photo on their website. I've checked since and they no longer list any Navy ones. So my search continues. Beth and I pick up our dresses on Friday!

Fall has arrived here and the colors are stunning!

These trees will be completely red in a few short weeks!

I can't remember whose page I saw this on but I loved this! If you were born in the 60's or 70's you might remember the song!

What special events are you looking forward to this fall?