A Step By Step Guide To Directing A Wedding

Steps to directing a wedding.

1. A week before, create detailed schedule of events and include info on who, what, and where. 
2. Begin packing and making lists of everything to take with you to the wedding site.
3. Rise early and attack the shopping for all the wedding food on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  Stop for coffee with Mom.
4. Prepare and organize the last details of various decor projects and pack car.
5. Stop and have Thanksgiving dinner with family!
6. Rise early on Friday and go to three different places to cut greenery for decorating the church. Bag, and somehow fit everything into the car, with space remaining for three people. Be sure the Ipod has some battery life!
7. Pack a lunch, or grab all the Thanksgiving leftovers.
8. Drive two hours to the wedding site, jamming out to various musical selections by your 16 year old sister. Including headbanging at a stoplight. Never going to see those folks again, anyway.
9. Arrive the wedding site, collect the key, and eat lunch. 
10. Move tables and arrange seating and serving areas in the reception hall. Do some massive cleaning.
11. Iron tablecloths on a makeshift ironing board. Listening to the Beatles helps. 
12. Sort out table decorations and start putting together what goes where. Meanwhile, more folks arrive and start decorating cupcakes and cutting veggies and working on food. Party time!
13. Get sisters started on decorating the sanctuary. Delegation and letting go is a beautiful thing.
14. Direct traffic for where things are going and what needs to be done. Find various bits and pieces needed, and an extension cord for the kitchen.
15. Keep an eye on the time so everyone will have a break to rest before rehearsal.
16. Finish all tablescapes and check bathrooms.
17. Call a break for everyone and begin dressing for rehearsal. Remember that you forgot to bring shoes. 
18. Go over ceremony seating with the ushers. Work with Dad on directing the flow.
19. Shut things down and help lock up so everyone can go to dinner. 
20. Play musical chairs at dinner as you try to talk to everyone there. Discover you feel a cold coming on.
21. Back to the church with a couple of sweet helpers to finish cleaning up and put finishing touches on things. No stopping till its all done, but with help it doesn't take long!
22. Back to the hotel, only to find that an important document was left at the church. Back to the church to search for that, only to find it was in my suitcase all along, in my car. Back to the hotel, where I went to bed.
23. Wake early and roll over and go back to sleep.
24. Wake again, and give letters to the bride that everyone wrote to her as a wedding day surprise.
25. Begin dressing.
26. Go get breakfast for my sister and grab some for me, too.
27. Begin the hair and nail operation for the bride. Turned out great!
28. Pack up the luggage to check out of the hotel, and head to the church.
29. Arrive at the church and double check lots of odds and ends, take a few pictures with my camera.
30. Help bride dress and prepare for photography time.
31. Corral all the appropriate people in the sanctuary for photos. With two big families, that can be quite the feat!
32. Eat a quick lunch.
33. Start keeping an eye on the time as people start coming. Freshen up hair and makeup for the bride.
34. Reassure kid brother usher that he knows what to do and where people go.
35. (More pictures)
36. Cue the grandparents to be seated.
37. Cue the music and candle lighting.
38. Cue the mothers to be seated.
39. Cue the groom to enter.
40. Sit and be thankful for a kind soul who thoughtfully put kleenex on my pew.
41. And they're married! Let the party begin!
42. Greet everyone at the reception and circulate, answering questions and making people feel welcome. Meanwhile, eat a cupcake.
43. Gather grandparents in the sanctuary for more photos.
44. Laugh and talk with people you haven't seen in way too long.
45. Coordinate the bouquet toss! Hooray!
46. Direct folks outside for the bride and grooms exit. Everyone has bubbles to blow, and with three hip hip hoorays, the bride and groom prepare to leave.
47. Watch as dozens of balloons are emptied from the truck and then popped by eager children. 
48. Announce for everyone to take cupcakes home with them!
49. Eat a cupcake.
50. Say goodbyes.
51. Begin directing clean up. Everything back in place, ready for Sunday. 
52. Make sure key is turned back in.
53. Drive my brother to the hotel to pick up his wife and daughter. 
54. Go to dinner.
55. Drive home.
56. Unpack cars and van.
57. Collapse into bed. 

A Heap of Blessings

My blog has been silent for quite some time. The aventura de la vida has been taking up every moment, with no time for writing the past couple of weeks. But now I have a chance to catch my breath and think again. And write.

Through all the busy times, there have been so many things for which to give thanks. Here are a few of them:

• My brother who lives in Canada flew down with my niece for a surprise visit! His wife has joined us now, so we get to enjoy catching up after not seeing them for 2 years, and not at home for 5!
• My niece, Ella, laughing and playing with Papa (my Dad). 
• A weekend in Georgia with my best friends, going to a fantastic party and hanging out with some wonderful people.
• A crazy Thanksgiving with sudden out of town guests, pulling together a Thanksgiving meal, and laughing at the table with my grandparents who were giving wedding advice. 
• Decorating and preparing for The Wedding with my sister and brother and listening to the Beatles. 
• The fun of two families who joined together to make a memorable and sweet wedding. Working together, laughing together, and eating together!
• A precious moment or two with my sister, right before the wedding ceremony. 

Family is one of the most important things to me. These moments with family are the moments I will always remember. 

A Bit of Fancy

This is a little more fanciful and whimsical than I usually go, but somehow I like the looks of this little mushroom with the tiny white accordion pleating under its little red skirt. And perhaps a small little toad comes and sits underneath, using it for a sun shade. Just something I took joy in, with a quick snap of the lens.

My Bolivia

These are some of the faces I remember fondly from Bolivia. And these two, especially, are sweethearts I was thrilled to see again. I played with them, and colored with them, and danced with them two years ago...this visit I only got to see them for a little while, but it was still so exciting.

Ahhh, Summertime!

Now doesn't this look cool and nice for a hot summer day? Mmmm....I think yes! Summer is my favorite time of year! I love the heat, the sun, the fresh vegetables, and things like this frosty goodness.

:Bounce: :Bounce: :Bounce:

This is just a happy little post because I'm ready to bounce off the walls. And there's a lot to be happy about!

I just had a cup of coffee. It's Guatemalan, and was roasted in the last few days not too far from here. Gosh, was it good, too. I'm ready to tackle anything now! Coffee buzz, top notch.

God has been really moving and working in several situations lately, and I'm humbled that He'd take time to care for me like that. He answers prayers, brings strength, and heaps blessings upon blessings. I certainly don't deserve it! But I am deeply grateful. I'm so glad that I have a personal connection with the maker of this universe.

I'm so thankful for the many gifts and things God has done for me. Too many to count or mention, but they are crowding around me, demanding that I share the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 9:1-2 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

The Teacher Was Homeschooled (And Other Ironies Of My Life)

Irony 1. The teacher was homeschooled. And has no idea what a 'classroom' is supposed to look like.

Not only do I not know what it's 'supposed' to look like, but I also have no idea how it works. You know what it feels like so far? Like juggling 5 siblings and all their activities. Except, these siblings are all the same age. Maybe being the oldest of 9 will come in handy, after all. (Don't make me use my teacher voice!)

Irony 2. The teacher knocks over the kid in the playground on the first day. Great.

Parent: "Do you like your new teacher?"

Kid: "She knocked me down on the playground!"

Parent: "What kind of teacher is this?! "

(It was actually an isolated incident which was caused by a child walking behind a teacher who was swinging. The teacher was unable to stop the child or the momentum in time. I was that unfortunate teacher. There were no serious injuries in the making of this irony. Maybe I should give up swinging.)

Irony 3. The new PE teacher has never been to a PE class in her life.

She can't shoot baskets, she can't do push ups, and she doesn't remember the rules to 'freeze tag'. But somehow, these things will probably not hinder her as she guides 40 kids through PE classes. Oh no. Not at all.

~

Somehow, I think I'm going to absolutely love this job. After the first day, I still have things to do with them for the remainder of the week, and lots of ideas for our studies and activities. I'm surprised there's not the irony of using up a weeks worth of classes in one day. But grateful for that not happening. Ask me tomorrow if it really didn't happen. Ha!

Today I got more of a feel of how long it takes to do things with 5 year olds. (Basically, forever.) And I got more of a feel of where they are in their abilities. (Basically, my level.)

Looking forward to more teacher adventures tomorrow! But I think I will attempt to avoid knocking over kids on the playground.

Randomness

This photo is just so cool. I really love how the color in the braid shows up.

No spiritual lessons to draw from it. Just enjoying a photo that makes me smile. :)

Writing

I sit down to write and stare at a blank screen, the white almost blinding as pictures of thoughts dance across it faintly, tantalizing and daring me to catch them and frame them forever in black and white. Words itch to break free from my fingertips, to splash across the screen and join the others in the celebration of communication. And yet, they are silent, waiting impatiently for my bidding to begin.
But I am still.
And nothing comes and nothing comes and nothing comes.
The click of the keys begin at last and fingers hesitantly and cautiously begin to type, only to stop and erase and begin again. Begin again and again and again.
Ideas come and go, too quickly to catch, impressions that are too shallow and too faint to bring to life. Ideas to be communicated and shared, emotions and feelings to express are dancing around in my brain, heels and toes tapping faster and faster, but not matching the slow touch of my fingers on the keyboard.
Slowly, slowly, slowly.
Words build on top of each other, building deeper and deeper, building understanding and comprehension. They mount up, building word cities, the black characters forming traces on a page, lines like a city skyline, stretching on and on and on.
Words and phrases, satisfying and delightful, rolling off the tongue, rolling from my mind, rolling along to reach another's eyes and soul.
The rate of my fingers picks up and the typing forms a staccato like the steady beat of a drum, calling attention to a subject and topic, calling attention to sit up! and notice. They take on a life of their own and unbid, they strike and form words, striking and hitting and ceaselessly moving until ideas are captured and held tight in place, a period like a nail on the end of the sentence.
Fingers that fly and fly and fly.
Fingers that take to the air and catching imagination they're away on the wing, away to form ideas and thoughts I never knew I had until it stares at me from the page, from the screen, from the mirror of my heart.
And sitting back, I stare in that mirror, a glimpse of my heart, and look to see what it means. Look to see what it says, look to see what is there.
Then, exhausted, my fingers tumble over each other, finally coming to rest. The tumult ended, the words are found and put into place.
And silence reigns again.

Happies

Happies

Caramel Macchiato. I recently discovered this drink thanks to a friend...mmm. Yup. I like em. :)
Sunshine! (Makes me happy!)
A blue sweater that is just too cute.
Caramel Corn (I'm detecting a trend toward caramel. Maybe.)
Time with my best friend- my beautiful Mother.
Finding forgotten cash in an odd place. Always a plus.
Hugs from a 12 year old brother.
Red leaves.
Some photo editing = satisfying creativity.
Giving a fun surprise.

Just a few of today's little happinesses.

Simple Things

As you can see, I was thinking today about the joys of receiving messages. Emails, text messages, but best of all, letters. In real envelopes. With real stamps. Anyone remember those?

It's fun to know that someone is thinking about you enough to stop and send a message.

One of the simple pleasures of life that I enjoy.

Texts

The screen is dark. A touch of the button, and it dimly shines, and then to the great joy of the beholder:
"1 New Message"
bouncing up and down, waiting to be discovered.
The heart races. The mind gasps with delight. A message!
Perhaps the vibration continues and then, two, three, four new messages! All waiting, all expectation.
Quick! Unlock the screen and discover what is being said! Quick! Mash the button and the contents glow, bringing delight to the beholder, disclosing friendship, love, and a sense of pleasure.
Just a phrase. A mini communication that tantalizes and taunts and tempts us to reply.
A confidential note to bring a splash of sunshine.
All behind the bouncing promise,
"1 New Message"

Inbox (1)

Inbox (1). Just glimpsed on the tab of the browser window. 
A glimpse of hope, a glimpse of promise, a glimpse of friendship. 
Who knows what Inbox (1) means...who knows to what it might lead.
Inbox (1) what kind of promise is hidden there, waiting for the click to bring the mystery to light? 
What kind of secret do you hide, what kind of insight, what kind of procrastination will you provide? 
A click will bring it all forth, all to the eye. 
A click will bring understanding, will show it all. 
A click will reveal, a click will proclaim. 
A click will leave nothing else to remain. 
Inbox (1) will no longer be the same.

Win!

I'm sitting here shaking from a latte caffeine and also because I'm happy that I succeeded in passing another test.

It feels so good to win! To succeed! To prove that I can do it!

I used to be passionately against testing. I hated it. Hated it. Hated it. I greatly disliked it. And I thought that I couldn't do it.

But through a series of events, it has come about that I am getting a college degree through testing. And it's easy! I can't get over how easy it is. And this is college???
(Of course, I haven't attempted math yet. We'll see how I feel then about it being easy.)

I was thinking about this the other day. I was remembering how dumb I was when I graduated from high school eons ago, and how I was determined that I couldn't succeed with college so I wasn't even going to try. I was afraid to try.
But once I stepped out and faced my fear, it dissolved. And now I'm zooming through, and feeling confident.
There's just something about facing fears.

One of my greatest fears (in addition to testing) was the fear of communicating with people when there is a language barrier of some kind.
To face that fear, I visited and worked in a Spanish speaking country. I did not speak or understand Spanish. But while there I discovered that it is possible and even fun to communicate despite language barriers. Once again proving that fear should have no place in determining what I do or don't do.

Anyway, I was excited about passing another test and thought I'd share the joy. And the latte buzz.

Walking Down Memory Lane

Today I happened to use a term from a Sesame Street song that my sister and friend didn't recognize. So I went over to Youtube and found it for them. And then I liked it so much, I decided to post it here for future reference. :)

And this one in particular:

A Passover Glimpse

Last week's Passover Seder was one of the best we've had. And that's saying something, because I can't even remember how long we've been doing a Passover Seder, either on our own, or with our churches.

Some of you readers out in the blurry blogland might be wondering what a Passover Seder is. It is a celebration of remembrance going back 3500 years. It is remembering how God freed the Israelites from slavery as they left Egypt and started to go to the Promised Land. Every symbol and prayer reflects the mercy of God as He orchestrated their being set free from slavery. What the Jews don't realize, is that every symbol also reflects the mercy of God as He sent His Son Jesus who died on the cross to free us from slavery to sin. 

There are literally thousands of different Passover Seder liturgies. The one we use is a Messianic version that points to Jesus Christ and shows how the symbolism was a foreshadow of what was to come.  

Lighting the candles. Traditionally done by the woman of the house. The symbol points to Christ as the light of the world.

Children are traditionally heavily involved in the whole Passover. Here is a view of our booklet, with the part of a young child who asks questions about why we have Passover and what it means. Later children hunt for the Afikomen, which is a symbolic piece of matzoh that is wrapped and hidden and then found and "bought" by the leader for coins...in our case, chocolate ones...reminds me of Jesus being hidden in the tomb. And of his being given to the priests for coins.

Everyone participates in the seder. Here, we are dipping our finger into the grape juice and dripping drips to represent each of the plagues that God kept the Israelites from during the first Passover.

There are 4 cups of wine to drink in the seder. Each cup represents something. The first is the cup of sanctification because of God's promise to bring the Israelites out of the burden of the Egyptians. The second is the cup of deliverance. This is to remember God's deliverance as he led them out of Egypt. The third is the cup of Redemption. "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm." The fourth is the cup of Praise.

When we have a seder with the church, we encourage everyone to sit together as a family. Here Dad is leading the seder and Mom prepares to light the candles.

Matzoh is traditionally pierced and striped. We can recognize this as a symbol of Jesus who was pierced for our transgressions and striped for our sins. It has no yeast. Yeast represents sin.

Some views of the seder plates with the symbolic food. Parsley, dipped in salt water to remember our tears. Horseradish, to also help us remember the bitterness of slavery. A bone to remind us of the passover sacrifice. A roasted egg, which is a symbol of mourning. Sweet cheroseth to remind us of the bricks and mortar the Israelites made for the Egyptians.

Making a sandwich with matzoh and cheroseth.

In the middle of the seder, we pause and eat together. Everyone did a great job making kosher for Passover dishes to share. Every year, our favorite is the matzoh ball soup Mom makes. Personally, one of my favorites is spinach mushroom carrot vegetable puffs. So. Good.

Hooray!

I'd like to pause here a moment to express my extreme excitement.

I.

Bought.

A.

Camera!

YAY!

It's a Canon EOS Rebel 450D SLR! I'm so excited! Better pictures! More lenses to come! Dirt cheap!

Expect more photos on this blog in the future. Because I have a camera and I'm not afraid to use it!

And on that note, here is a photo I took last weekend pre-new camera.

Something Cool

This, my friends, is something really cool. This is a gate in the area of Tel Dan which is said to be one that Abraham the patriarch of Israel went through on the way to the land of the Canaanites. They have covered it up with a big tent structure because it was made of mud bricks. Thousands of years ago Abraham and his wife Sarai left their inheritance and land and family and friends to go to an unknown land, an unknown place. And this structure still stands from that time until now.

Cool huh?

And in the words of one of my dearest friends, "I was there!"

And Now For Something Off the Wall

One of my favorite artists thanks to the some Aussies I know...

And We Have Falafel

Today I made falafel for lunch. It brought back a flood of memories from Israel. Here's how I made it:

Falafel
2 1/2 cups washed chickpeas
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (optional)
3 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup flour
oil for frying

Soak chickpeas overnight in 10 cups hot water and baking soda. In the morning drain and boil in fresh water for about an hour.
Drain the chickpeas. Grind in a blender or food processor until fine. Add spices and flour. If mixture is too dry, add a few drops of water. Refrigerate until chilled. Make small balls about 1 1/4" in diameter. Deep fry a few balls at a time for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Keep balls warm.
To serve: Stuff 6 balls in a fresh pita bread together with hummus, tehina, fresh vegetable salad and hot pepper sauce. Eat warm.