true boy tales: The Wedding Day

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Wedding Day

This weekend Jon's youngest brother, Aaron, got married to Bria. Jon and I were both in the wedding and it was Bennett's first wedding too! Overall I think it went well. But man, that's the biggest challenge I've faced as a parent in a while--trying to force a 2 1/2 year old to stand in a certain spot, smile for the camera and walk here or there for 2 days straight. I think it would be easier to pull a stubborn donkey over a mountain. Let's just say there was a lot of bribing with jelly beans. He's a really good boy, but man, I was in a panic moments before walking down the aisle when he was laying flat on the floor in his mini tuxedo, crying, "I don't want to go, Mommy. I don't want to do it". All I could do was get in place at the last minute, walk down the aisle with a smile and hope and pray for the best. I totally teared up when he walked through the doors, holding hands with his cousins, the other ring bearer and flower girl, with an adorable smile on his face. I realized later, the tears were more from relief than anything else. The wedding was flowing along nicely until Bennett escaped from the second row where he was sitting with my parents and walked up on stage. I was eyeing everyone, to see who was going to grab him but everyone was frozen, not knowing what to do. When he walked behind the Unity candle table and started trying to blow it out and whispering, "I'm blowing out the candles!", I quickly left my spot in line and as discreetly as an elephant in the room, whisked him off the stage back to my Dad. Oh well. Those are the funny moments that everyone remembers and laughs about later.

My only regret of the day is that I didn't take any good pictures of us! Honestly, at the time, I couldn't bear making Bennett do a single other thing he didn't want to do, so I just gave up trying to get any of my own pictures of him. These are the only ones I came away with. Maybe we'll be able to get some from the photographer later.

I used to think toddlers in tuxedos were so goofy. That all changed when I saw my own child in one! Now I get it...when its your own, they're just the cutest thing in the world.

Ringbearer and flower girl, coloring between photos:

Brotherly love:

Bennett's "cheese" face:

3 comments:

NikkiDecember 8, 2009 at 7:08 AM
I feel your pain sista! Last year Ethan (age 2) was in my sister's wedding...let's just say, I'm reading your post as if it were my own! Bennett was adorable, and Praise Jesus he walked down the aisle! I'll bet you crashed hard at the end of the day! I was pregnant with Eva at the time...it was exhausting!
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stacie stanleyDecember 8, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Sounds like an adventure!!! :) Bennett looks so handsome.
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phyllisgDecember 8, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Glad he did it, and you are right...just adorable!! Soooo sorry I had to miss it. I HATE this asthma!! Looks like it was beautiful by the pictures I have seen.

Love, Auntie
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.