A black eye and a strapless dress

I had a wild and crazy week.

My grandpa thought I'd been a blogger missing-in-action because I'd been busy gardening. Not so much. We've had something like five inches of rain in the last week. I now officially have a swamp. Maybe I should look into growing rice.

It was Vacation Bible School week at our church. I was put in charge of crafts by a dear friend who has an unwavering faith in the impossible, and obviously believes I have the ability to successfully multitask.

There is just nothing like showing a group of children how to assemble a "bopper popper" (which consists of two cardboard tubes, two rubber bands, a string and a ball), and attempting to explain how it relates to their lesson for the day... while balancing a way-beyond-naptime year-old babe on my hip, her blankie over my shoulder, and doing my best to keep from being knocked completely over by a hysterical five-year-old with a black eye.

Yes, the black eye was a direct result of a game the first day of VBS.


Church events are an awful lot of fun, just look a that face! You know he had a great time.

I felt a teensy bit guilty for escaping VBS half-way through the week.

But I had to load up a few bags and my kiddos, and hit the road. You see, my cousin was getting married. Outside. On a pasture that was so authentic it was best to pay close attention to where you stepped.


Beyond the cow poop which may or may not have been attached to the bottom of my sandals, I also quickly learned to pay very close attention to something else.

I sat down. And so did the top of my strapless dress.

Apparently I don't have much to hold it up.

Not to worry!

It was fifty-five degrees out and windy. Naturally, since it was still hours before the wedding, I had a sweatshirt over my dress. Classy, I know, but darn lucky too.

I was saved by my sweats.

And the way it turned out, it didn't matter what anyone (except the wedding party) had chosen to wear. In the last hour before the ceremony began, a light mist turned to rain, and the wind continued to blow. Guests were wearing whatever jackets, sweatshirts, hats and blankets we could scrounge up from our vehicles.

We wiped off our wet seats, shivered, and laughed while we got soaked and witnessed a wedding to remember.

As the ceremony began, the groomsmen handed their jackets over to the shivering bridesmaids, who in turn gave the men their flowers to hold. We listened to a guitar held under umbrellas. I watched the photographers do magic with cold fingers while trying to keep their Canon 5D Mark II cameras dry.

The bride and groom laughed.

It was completely insane.

It was awesome and uniquely their day.