Gettin' My Bridesmaid On

I took a ton of fun pictures from sister B's wedding weekend -- but I've lost my camera cord thingie somewhere in my small apartment and haven't been able to upload yet.  Here are a couple of pics from my phone, though...

 One of the best parts of the wedding was being able to see some of our Boston cousins.  This is my beautiful cousin M :)

One of my dearest friends from college -- she met B when my little sister was only 8 years old :)  It was, she said, "surreal" to see B in a wedding dress.  Life moves quickly, doesn't it?

Like I said, I'm sure I'll have tons more posted soon -- but where oh where is that pesky camera cord?!  Haha

Snapshots of My Summer

 Afternoon Starbucks brownie with my niece...

 Yogurt Mountain with the whole family (Fourth of July Weekend)

 We take up two tables -- at least. 

 Midnight swimming!

 Delicious after-church lunch fun at Papa's and Beer...

 Late afternoon sidewalk view from Trio's Cafe downtown...

 Baking cookies :)

 Helping Mom prep peaches for preserves and pie!

 Taking my niece to breakfast at -- where else? -- the Awful Waffle.  Haha -- except that it was nice and not awful at all...

 Enjoying baseball at a Greenville Drive game!

 On the way to the beach...

 The Sisters.  One week.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

 Our view :)

 Prepping for B's bridal shower!

 Scones and sisters -- a perfect bridal shower combo :)

And now, back to our regularly scheduled school year... 

The Happiest Millionaire

"I've been bit on my finger.
It could have been my leg.
It could have been my head; I might have died."

Sister A left this THM quote on my facebook wall last night.  And every time I've thought about this movie, I've had to smile today.  I love how my sisters can say one phrase -- one well-placed, inside joke from childhood -- and my whole day is made. 

If you've never seen Fred McMurray play an eccentric millionaire treasurig his pet alligators and going on chocolate cake diets, you must.  The entire thing is, to sound like my mother, "a hoot."  

"What's wrong with that?  What's wrong with that? My family rushing to my side -- what's wrong with that?"

"Dandy Little Bundle for a Fella to Cuddle"

My sisters and I have created our own language; I think every close family does it.  We have phrases and expressions that we use all the time and which don't always have explanations that seem to fit their use.  For example, "be careful of the icy patch" comes from our childhood (see previous post) and could be used as an ironic reference to an ex-boyfriend who has become rather sketchy, or it could be said while family members enter mom and dad's house, or it might be used on Christmas morning as a declaration of unity:  (ie, as all the sisters raise mugs and declare laughingly, "be careful of the icy patch!")

This ridiculousness is what makes family... well, family.  Dorky inside jokes and stupid memories that get replayed over and over (sometimes to the chagrin of brothers-in-love or soon-to-be brothers-in-love) over dinner and coffee and dessert and breakfast and at the movies and in the car and so on and so on.

The cool thing about husbands joining the ranks of the M girls is that the inside jokes get explained (even if they intrinsically do NOT make sense) and then, when you have the good taste that my sisters have, the husbands join in.  Because they are pretty cool guys, when all is said and done.  After all, any man who thinks that one of my little sisters is A Dandy Little Bundle for a Fella to Cuddle is all right by me.        

Home

The light is what guides you home, the warmth is what keeps you there. 

~Ellie Rodriguez

Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration. 

~Charles Dickens

It's only a week and a half until I leave the cozybutsometimeslonely lodging of my little apartment and head towards the hustle and bustle of another M Family Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's.  It makes me smile just thinking about it -- the laughter, the drama, the cooking, the smooshing into a very small house and fighting over the remote control... ahhh.  Family.  Good times, good times.

My family is big.  And loud.  And passionate about almost everything.  Addendum.  Some of us are passionate about SOME topics, and some of us are bored to tears by said topics.  Which is part of the magic of my family -- there's always something to talk about and almost always someone who will listen to you talk about it.  Or argue with you about why you should be talking about something else :P

Home is a lovely blue house with a beautifully landscaped yard and an American flag always waving from the front porch.  

Home is a blue/white/yellow kitchen, a dining room with a picture window, and a bird identification book always close at hand.


Home is feeling the heat from a freshly poured cup of steaming coffee and seeing the sleepy faces of my family wandering out to the back porch, which has somehow become the unofficial gathering place for starting or ending each day when the whole family's in town.

Home is where the most beautiful, gracious woman in the world answers to the name of "Mom" and leaves little chocolate bars on the pillow when she knows you're coming home...

Home is where a smart, laughing salt-and-pepper headed man steals kisses from her when he thinks we're not looking and always makes sure there's enough coffee in the pot for "one more cup."

Home is where sisters live :)

Happy homecoming to all the weary travelers tonight.  May you know the truth and peace of being HOME -- wherever and with whomever that home exists.

Sisters, Sisters

Yesterday, life threw a little Crazy at me.  I think that's at least one of the reasons God gave me sisters.  Because sometimes, you need someone who knows you, loves you, and can do things for you when you just can't...like deleting the Crazy from your electronic world.  I love you, A.  So very much.  Thank you for keeping me grounded in the reality of His sovereignty, even when life gets a little, well, Cuh. Razy.