Gratitude Chellenge 2011 Day 12 and Day 17: Weddings and Dancing

Day 12

Weddings are a time...

...to celebrate together...

...the love of a couple-

To set them off with great fanfare...

...and support as they begin their new life together.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
   and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
   for she was taken out of man.” 

 That is why a man leaves his father and mother

and is united to his wife,

and they become one flesh. 

(Genesis 2:23-24)

I am so grateful that I got to be apart of

such a joyous wedding...

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Day 17

While waiting for the wedding ceremony to start,

I was introduced to the Zumba-styled dance moves of

a man whom we call...

...La Tigre.

Oh-my-word!

I have NEVER been more entertained in my life!

Yes, Auntie Barb,

we are all thankful today for the dancing of

La Tigre,

aren't we?  ;0)

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For more thankful thoughts,

head on over to the

Gratitude Challenge 2011...

Gratitude Challenge 2011 Day 11 and Day 16: Getting Pampered and Friendship

Day 11: Getting Pampered

As a...

 ...bridesmaid...

(Oh yeah, we had color-coded, labeled shirts

for the Wedding Rehearsal-

is that not AWESOME?)

...I feel it is important to look your best for...

...the Bride.

(I mean, I don't want to be the one to break 

the camera's lens during the picture-taking...

I'm just sayin'...)

So the day before the wedding,

most of us "maids" went to the Bride's favorite

nail salon and got...

 

 ...manis...

...and pedis.

(I LOOOOOOVVVE my pretty flowery toes...)

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The day of the wedding,

we met up at the church to get our

hair and make-up done.

What I find funny is that I

was not NEARLY this pampered

for my OWN wedding,

so I enjoyed 

EACH-AND-EVERY-SECOND

of all of this...

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BEFORE...

(Our Hair Dresser had magic hands, I swear!)

...meets...

...AFTER!

As we were getting ready,

BOTH the Hairdresser and Make-Up Artist

commented that we were the easiest group of women 

to work with...

I believe that's because NONE of us hardly

EVER "treat" ourselves to ANY kind of

"Spa" treatments-

It-Was-Heavenly!

I am so thankful to have had a 

day of pampering...

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Day 16

Now,

what is BETTER than a day of pampering?

Spending it with a group of friends...

...both old and new.

I am so grateful for all the friendships that I have in my life...

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For more thoughts of gratitude,

head on over to the

Gratitude Challenge 2011...

Gratitude Challenge 2011 Day 10 and 15: Traveling Mercies and Friends Who are Like Family

Today I begin my "catch-up" posts

for the Gratitude Challenge 2011

by thanking God for his 

traveling mercies...

Last Wednesday, around 8:00pm,

our family packed up...

...our trusty Honda Odyssey and headed to

Indianapolis, IN.

We arrived around 2:00am,

ready to spend the night at Nana and Papa's house.

This was about the halfway point

to our wedding destination...

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I'm glad we had...

...Minnie to guide our way into Michigan.

Also...

...having some of the comforts of home

helped keep the kiddos entertained...

 Favorite movies, comfy pillows...

...and toys can make any long trip seem shorter!

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The weather on the first day of travel...

...and into the beginning of the next was good for travel,

but look...

 ...how quickly...

...it all...

...can change!

The snow really didn't cause any major problems,

other than riling up the kiddos a bit.

(We do not see snow but once or twice a year

in Tennessee,

so snow in November is a BIG DEAL!)

I am SO GRATEFUL for the Lord's

traveling mercies!

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I also want to express my gratitude for...

...our WONDERFUL traveling companions.

(This is a pic of of friends at the wedding-

sadly, the Daddy couldn't make the trip

due to his job.)

We met up with them in Anderson, Indiana

on the second day of our travels,

and had to switch around the kiddos

for more traveling fun...

Us Mommies rode in a car with the boys,

and my SWEET, PATIENT husband took the other

car, which contained four giggly girls...

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These friends are like family to us,

so having them at the wedding with us made

EVERYTHING more enjoyable,

like...

Eating on the Road

Eating at the Rehearsal Dinner

Eating at the Reseption

(Um, yeah, we eat a lot...)

Conversation

(amidst the occasional nap)

 Break Dancing...

...and doing the Cha-Cha Slide at the Reception

 Trying to Catch the Bouquet

Serenading the Bride

Yup,

we are all so grateful for...

...our family friends!

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Check out more attitudes of gratitude

over at the 

Gratitude Challenge 2011...