So, wedding dress shopping was really fun.
I know your wedding is a big day, but do I know anyone who really spent $2,000 on a wedding dress? We put Joy in some expensive dresses, for fun, they were really pretty, but seriously $2,000?!?!? Maybe I am just too practical - not sure that is true, but I am tooo something to spend that kind of cash for 1 day. Maybe if I had it to spend that would make a difference, but I'm not sure that it would.
We had a great day. We hit 2 shops and had Joy try on probably 25+ dresses. It was a successful day, because a decision was in fact made. There were many laughs, in fact there were a few leg crossing laughs. (Those of you who haven't had a baby yet may not understand, but many of you know exactly what I am talking about. Sarah says she doesn't, but is serious about her kegels - don't know if that is common knowledge, but I guess it is now. Love you Sarah!!) You know those days when you just laugh a lot, but either can't remember why or shouldn't retell the story, that is the kind of day it was. What fun.
Thanks Joy, for including me in this day. I am proud to be your big sister and am so proud that you are excited about your wedding, but more excited about your marriage. You haven't lost your perspective about what this day represents and why it is important to celebrate a wedding, but even more important to launch a marriage well. I look forward to being a part of this blessed event and am so glad for all the circumstances that led you to this place at this time. How exciting to look ahead and imagine what God has to hold for you and your Honey.
I'm just going to end this by saying "Pip-squeak" and see if Mom will tell the rest of the story.
Love you, my favorite girls and shopping companions.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wedding Dress Shopping - weird
On the cusp (don't you love when you can show off a college education) of wedding dress shopping with my little sister, I am feeling a little weird.
Weird because she was supposed to stay little. She was the surprise ending of my siblings, and what a blessing. I remember when Mom and Dad told us that they were having another baby, after having 4 you just assume your parents are done. It was funny, because Dad said that there was a special surprise coming to our family after Christmas and that it came in a sack. GROSS!! Just tell us that Mom is having a baby, don't go into detail Dad. I was 9 when that announcement was made and 10 when Joy Kathleen arrived. Once she was born I remember talking to mom about what we would do without her and how we felt like our family was complete before she came, but it wasn't. For those of you that don't believe I can remember these conversations, I can. Mom and I talked in the big grey van after going to Pizza Hut in Mt. Pleasant, which was rare for us. We had taken back all the pop cans that day and were able to go out to dinner on the proceeds, now that is a lot of pop cans. It was Saturday night and the boys were bouncing around in the back, Sarah was sleeping, and Dad had gone into the gas station to pay, I was sitting next to Joy and talking to Mom in the front seat. Crazy the things you remember.
So tomorrow, I get to go with this little girl, who is now all grown up and mushy in love with a great guy, Grant. (oooh, fancy words and alliteration, I must be tired to pull all this off) WEIRD!! What fun it will be to go wedding dress shopping. Mom, Sarah, and I will be a great audience, and Joy will beam with delight. The laughter will make people look and the conversations should be recorded. We will tell stories, talk about random weird things that only we get, because of the context that only we know. You know what I mean, sister stuff.
We will miss Dad, not that he would have come, but because we always miss Dad.
So, who will cry first? Who will pick out the ugliest dress? Who will get honked off by the rude clerk and talk not to them, but loudly enough for them to hear? I may never tell, unless it is just the funniest story that must be told. I can tell you this that this will be a blessed day, and one that will have at least one lingering trip to Starbucks, cause that's how we roll. (There's that college education again.)
I love Joy and am honored to be a part of the process in welcoming Grant into our family and celebrating a marriage that will give our final Kelly girl a "B" last name. How weird is that? Thanks for letting me come Joy. With all the opinions, ideas, bossiness, and the rest of the things you hate to love about me.
See you at noon!!
Weird because she was supposed to stay little. She was the surprise ending of my siblings, and what a blessing. I remember when Mom and Dad told us that they were having another baby, after having 4 you just assume your parents are done. It was funny, because Dad said that there was a special surprise coming to our family after Christmas and that it came in a sack. GROSS!! Just tell us that Mom is having a baby, don't go into detail Dad. I was 9 when that announcement was made and 10 when Joy Kathleen arrived. Once she was born I remember talking to mom about what we would do without her and how we felt like our family was complete before she came, but it wasn't. For those of you that don't believe I can remember these conversations, I can. Mom and I talked in the big grey van after going to Pizza Hut in Mt. Pleasant, which was rare for us. We had taken back all the pop cans that day and were able to go out to dinner on the proceeds, now that is a lot of pop cans. It was Saturday night and the boys were bouncing around in the back, Sarah was sleeping, and Dad had gone into the gas station to pay, I was sitting next to Joy and talking to Mom in the front seat. Crazy the things you remember.
So tomorrow, I get to go with this little girl, who is now all grown up and mushy in love with a great guy, Grant. (oooh, fancy words and alliteration, I must be tired to pull all this off) WEIRD!! What fun it will be to go wedding dress shopping. Mom, Sarah, and I will be a great audience, and Joy will beam with delight. The laughter will make people look and the conversations should be recorded. We will tell stories, talk about random weird things that only we get, because of the context that only we know. You know what I mean, sister stuff.
We will miss Dad, not that he would have come, but because we always miss Dad.
So, who will cry first? Who will pick out the ugliest dress? Who will get honked off by the rude clerk and talk not to them, but loudly enough for them to hear? I may never tell, unless it is just the funniest story that must be told. I can tell you this that this will be a blessed day, and one that will have at least one lingering trip to Starbucks, cause that's how we roll. (There's that college education again.)
I love Joy and am honored to be a part of the process in welcoming Grant into our family and celebrating a marriage that will give our final Kelly girl a "B" last name. How weird is that? Thanks for letting me come Joy. With all the opinions, ideas, bossiness, and the rest of the things you hate to love about me.
See you at noon!!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Camp
Here I sit at camp, on a computer. I know, I know . . .
I love East Iowa Bible Camp. There are a few places in the world, where as you drive closer you feel like a kid again, getting so excited to be there and comfortable with where you are heading as you pull in the drive way it is like coming home. Camp is one of those for me, well maybe it is the one, other than where I grew up. I love being here and I love that my family loves being here. I remember when I brought Curtis up here the first time, he didn't know what to expect, and asked if this was going to have to be our vacation every year. I don't think I said yes, but I was hopeful that he would fall in love with camp and all that it represents and he did.
My dad loved camp and wanted our family to value what it meant to him. He had two main things that he worked to keep the main things, God and family. If you can keep those two things in focus, everything else will work itself out. Camp is a break from the reality of the everyday, it is a shelter from the storm. It is a place to go and recharge your battery and reconnect with all that is important in life, God and family. Thanks Dad, I hope that your two main things are mine as well.
At camp you will hear great stories of where and how God is at work in lives and communities. You get a bigger picture of the world, and the important message of it's not about YOU, it's about how HE can use you. You see all the ways that God uses people here, both in big and small ways. Do you have any idea how many people have come through this camp and chosen to do God's work? Neither do I (I bet you were expecting some stats), but I will tell you that most of my camp friends have chosen to allow God to work through their lives, some have chosen missions and are working in foreign countries, others are working in churches all over this country, and many others are actively involved in their local church and its ministries. What an honor to have learned the message of EIBC as a child, "To know Christ and to make Him known" and let that become the song in your heart and message of your life. Thank you East Iowa, for bringing me in contact with exciting and inspiring missionaries and for challenging me with interesting and applicable Bible teaching. I leave camp with a desire to be used by the God I say I serve in a better, more complete way, so that it isn't just what I say, it is who I am.
I love coming to camp with my family, I have been coming since I was very young. It has been "vacation" for most of my life. As a child, we looked forward to this week all year. We had friends that were our camp friends and of course a crush or two along the way, but it was just a great time to get away together. It was so fun to play together (I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters) with differnt stuff in different ways. We loved the pool, the pond, Bible drills in chapel, and competing with and against each other in the great relay races. As we got older we began to hang out with other kids and then the fun of mutual secrets began. It was the one time a year when it felt like the weight of the world was off my dad, I see that now much more than I did then. He would truly relax at camp. The Mike laugh would ring out through Kid Run Valley, his stories were better around the camp fire, and he loved the people he met and only saw here. He loved the friends from home that still come here each year and the relationship that is built through camp. They are the thick and thin friends. There were great times of sitting, just talking together, and I always loved watching him with my mom. One of the hardest things after his death was returning to camp, less than a month later. We knew that some of our camp friends wouldn't know and would be looking for him, not having him here was hard then, and I still feel his absence now. Oh the fun he would have with the grandchildren that are here this week, there are eight here.
Now, I am the mom and I love having my kids at camp. They are getting some of the same experiences that I cherish so much and building those lasting friendships. There is just something about someone who knew you when you were so young and cute and stuck with you even when you weren't and now they are watching my children be young and cute. (Surely my kids won't go through that un-cute phase.) I am relaxed here, I trust the people and the camp. I allow my children a freedom that they don't often have anywhere else. Camp to me is a safe place and my children love it here. Michael has been asking when we are coming for months now, and will be sad to leave on Saturday morning.
There is just enough structure that it is not a free for all and enough freedom that you can take your time and do all the fun things. There are enough simple activities that you will crave fun for fun's sake when you get home and realize how much we over schedule and over plan and over stuff our lives. You know what? Camp doesn't need jet ski's and ropes courses, just creativity and a willingness to continually find the fun in life and pursue the simple and best things in life. God and family.
Wow, all this to say, I love camp and am so glad to be back again this year and pray that I will be able to return again next summer. Long live East Iowa Bible Camp!!
I love East Iowa Bible Camp. There are a few places in the world, where as you drive closer you feel like a kid again, getting so excited to be there and comfortable with where you are heading as you pull in the drive way it is like coming home. Camp is one of those for me, well maybe it is the one, other than where I grew up. I love being here and I love that my family loves being here. I remember when I brought Curtis up here the first time, he didn't know what to expect, and asked if this was going to have to be our vacation every year. I don't think I said yes, but I was hopeful that he would fall in love with camp and all that it represents and he did.
My dad loved camp and wanted our family to value what it meant to him. He had two main things that he worked to keep the main things, God and family. If you can keep those two things in focus, everything else will work itself out. Camp is a break from the reality of the everyday, it is a shelter from the storm. It is a place to go and recharge your battery and reconnect with all that is important in life, God and family. Thanks Dad, I hope that your two main things are mine as well.
At camp you will hear great stories of where and how God is at work in lives and communities. You get a bigger picture of the world, and the important message of it's not about YOU, it's about how HE can use you. You see all the ways that God uses people here, both in big and small ways. Do you have any idea how many people have come through this camp and chosen to do God's work? Neither do I (I bet you were expecting some stats), but I will tell you that most of my camp friends have chosen to allow God to work through their lives, some have chosen missions and are working in foreign countries, others are working in churches all over this country, and many others are actively involved in their local church and its ministries. What an honor to have learned the message of EIBC as a child, "To know Christ and to make Him known" and let that become the song in your heart and message of your life. Thank you East Iowa, for bringing me in contact with exciting and inspiring missionaries and for challenging me with interesting and applicable Bible teaching. I leave camp with a desire to be used by the God I say I serve in a better, more complete way, so that it isn't just what I say, it is who I am.
I love coming to camp with my family, I have been coming since I was very young. It has been "vacation" for most of my life. As a child, we looked forward to this week all year. We had friends that were our camp friends and of course a crush or two along the way, but it was just a great time to get away together. It was so fun to play together (I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters) with differnt stuff in different ways. We loved the pool, the pond, Bible drills in chapel, and competing with and against each other in the great relay races. As we got older we began to hang out with other kids and then the fun of mutual secrets began. It was the one time a year when it felt like the weight of the world was off my dad, I see that now much more than I did then. He would truly relax at camp. The Mike laugh would ring out through Kid Run Valley, his stories were better around the camp fire, and he loved the people he met and only saw here. He loved the friends from home that still come here each year and the relationship that is built through camp. They are the thick and thin friends. There were great times of sitting, just talking together, and I always loved watching him with my mom. One of the hardest things after his death was returning to camp, less than a month later. We knew that some of our camp friends wouldn't know and would be looking for him, not having him here was hard then, and I still feel his absence now. Oh the fun he would have with the grandchildren that are here this week, there are eight here.
Now, I am the mom and I love having my kids at camp. They are getting some of the same experiences that I cherish so much and building those lasting friendships. There is just something about someone who knew you when you were so young and cute and stuck with you even when you weren't and now they are watching my children be young and cute. (Surely my kids won't go through that un-cute phase.) I am relaxed here, I trust the people and the camp. I allow my children a freedom that they don't often have anywhere else. Camp to me is a safe place and my children love it here. Michael has been asking when we are coming for months now, and will be sad to leave on Saturday morning.
There is just enough structure that it is not a free for all and enough freedom that you can take your time and do all the fun things. There are enough simple activities that you will crave fun for fun's sake when you get home and realize how much we over schedule and over plan and over stuff our lives. You know what? Camp doesn't need jet ski's and ropes courses, just creativity and a willingness to continually find the fun in life and pursue the simple and best things in life. God and family.
Wow, all this to say, I love camp and am so glad to be back again this year and pray that I will be able to return again next summer. Long live East Iowa Bible Camp!!
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