The Day After

This is what greeted us Sunday morning at the farm

Luke and I had a ride on Ole Tom

Getting all the rentals ready to be picked up

If you look close you see the sofa and table heading across the fields

Beautiful hydrangeas

Another one of Paula's pretty flowers

When we pulled in the driveway the first thing we saw was a Sheriff's car.  My stomach immediately became queasy - seeing the police could never be good.  Turns out a man had swerved off the road that morning and hit one of the brick entrance ways to Kitty's drive and knocked down an electric pole.  The police were there to talk to Bill and Paula about it since Kitty was at church.  Thankfully, the man was not injured.

After all that was explained we started to get things cleaned up, hauled off and ready to be picked up.  The caterers had done quite a bit the night before by clearing all the linens and center pieces off the tables.  We still had to dismantle some of the arrangements.  Kristen's aunt had done an amazing job on all the flowers and decor.  She came back to load everything up and head back to Mississippi.  We got most everything done and headed to return all the tuxedos after lunch.  It was amazing how quickly everything went back to normal after all the time it took to transform the farm in to something from a storybook.

Reception Party

The cake was set up underneath the boy's tree house

Smiles all around!

So sweet...

The only picture of Paul and me

Kristen having fun

Jon got in on the maracas action

I would love to know what wisdom Bill was sharing

The reception was great!  Since I was dealing with getting the kids settled and cooling off in the house I missed the first part of it.  The food and cake were great. The DJ was fun.  I did finally talk Paul in to dancing with me on the last dance.  Claudia, Lauren and I danced together to some of the faster songs. 

It was also a lot of fun catching up with people we had not seen in a long time.  Jon and Kristen left around 10:30 and the party went on a bit longer.  Shortly after they left it got very windy and we were afraid it was going to storm.  Most people started to leave then.  We cleaned up a little bit and got home after midnight.

Mom said both kids were way off schedule.  Luke had just fallen asleep when we got home and Katherine had not been asleep long either.  We knew we might be in for a long night.  We were so glad Mom was able to help with the kids so much this weekend.  It really would have been hard to have had both of them with us. 

A Southern Fairy Tale...

The barn was dressed for the big event!

Guests signing in

Not a good picture - but the only one I got of Luke

Exchanging of rings

Lauren sang The Lord's Prayer beautifully

The happy couple!

The ceremony was beautiful!  It was a very spirit filled service.  The sun was setting as the vows were being exchanged - it truly was amazing!  It really could be featured in a magazine...

Luke did good.  Paul realized before he came down the aisle that there would not be anyone to watch Luke once he was in the front for the ceremony so he caught my attention to come and stay with home.  I did not realize what he wanted so I took Katherine with me in front of everyone only to return to hand Katherine off to Mom so I could go and be with Luke.  He did not hesitate walking until he saw all the people.  He paused for a second and then off he went.  He walked straight to Paul like we told him.  Well, he decided he did not want to stand up front so he came and sat down with me, then back to Paul, then to Paula.  At one point he went up and gave Kristen a hug, which was sweet, but not planned.  Finally, he went and Paul picked him up and he was content to be held the rest of the ceremony.

Once the service was over Luke literally ran up to the house as fast as he could.  Paul and Mom took after him.  I had know idea what he was doing.  I thought he might have to go to the restroom.  But, he returned pretty quickly with a new train.  We had been promising Luke that if he did really well through all of the wedding festivities he would get a new train.  He was so excited!

Katherine did great during the ceremony.  She smiled at everyone behind her and was perfectly content as long as she was chewing on my sunglasses or camera strap!  She babbled and cooed a little bit which was fine. 

Luke decided he did not want to stay at the reception.  He wanted to go home with Nonna and Katherine.  So, after he ate a quick bite Paul and I loaded both kids in to our car so Mom could take them home.  I was kind of relieved we would not have to be running after him during the reception.

A Lovely Evening for a Lovelier Couple

Sharing a sweet moment

Everyone had a great time

Claudia, Lauren and Jim

Kristen with her dad and twin brother

Merchants was a great host!

The scene when we left downtown

Everyone made their way from the rehearsal in Gallatin to downtown Nashville for the dinner.  When I realized a few weeks ago that the CMA Fest (Fan Fair to me) was the same weekend as the wedding I panicked.  How were we all going to get downtown for the dinner?!?!  I think several others involved felt the same way.  But, we all made it to the restaurant without any difficulty.  Luckily, they offered valet parking so we did not have to worry about that.  Traffic was also relatively light considering everything going on.  I did enjoy the people watching on the slow drive down Broadway.  We saw our fair share of tourists!

The dinner was lovely -- we enjoyed a cocktail hour first to allow everyone to arrive at the restaurant.  The food was delicious and the stories, toasts and memory sharing were even better.  Several funny stories were shared about Jon and Kristen, but most of all it was evident how much they are loved by many and how everyone sees the love they have for each other!  They are positively glowing and greatly anticipating being husband and wife!

Paul and I as well as Jim, Claudia and Lauren stayed to clean up everything following the dinner.  All the flower arrangements and decorating were done by Paula's friends and it all needed to be dismantled and taken back to Gallatin.  Paula had several pictures from Jon and Kristen's childhood enlarged and we mounted them on foam board.  We joked that some of the wedding party might just have a new piece of art for their homes!

We did not get home until 11:30.  Mom kept the kids for us.  Katherine was fast asleep before 8.  Luke was a different story....he was asleep on Mom when we got home.  He wanted to sleep on a pallet in our floor so we let him.  Mom said he kept asking where we were and why we were staying gone so long.  Sweet boy missed us!

Time to Rehearse

The wedding party

Katherine does not have to practice being cute!

A high-five for one of the groomsmen

An uninvited guest - the crew fertilized the newly planted crops during the rehearsal

The rehearsal went well.  Like any rehearsal I have ever been a part of (including my own) there were some glitches but I have confidence that everything will go beautifully tonight. 

Just a word about our kids...they did marvelous!  Katherine sat in her stroller or in my lap and babbled, laughed and smiled.  The preacher told me she looks like a porcelain doll...what a compliment!  Luke did well, too.  He grew a little impatient toward the end of the practice but did great when it was his turn to go down the aisle.  The coordinator told everyone just roll with the punches when it comes to Luke.  You never know what might happen when there is a 3-year old involved.  But, we know whatever it is he will be cute!

Preparations are Underway!

Even the front door got some wedding love!

It was awesome to see the tent going up

No detail has been overlooked...

Well, the weekend we have all been anticipating for over a year is finally here!  Everyone is working fast and furiously to make everything go off without a hitch!  The farm looks amazing...Bill and Paula have done an awesome job getting everything prepared for the big day.  Paul took of yesterday and today and has been hard at work helping wherever needed.  I took off today and helped for a while this morning.  Everything is going to be absolutely beautiful!!!  We are so excited to have a new family member, although I feel like Kristen has been a part of the family for a long time. 

Just Another Train Track

Luke is still all about Thomas.  Most every night he asks us to build him a train track.  We try to leave them up at night, but Katherine also loves trains, well....tearing up the track!  She really likes to chew on the trains and the track.  Since Mom gave Luke some more track his tracks can get pretty elaborate now.  I still just do the basic ones, but Paul does some pretty crazy ones with bridges and twists and turns. 

I spent my day off trying to get some loose ends tied up for the wedding weekend.  I still needed to find a pair of shoes, iron Luke and Katherine's outfits and get my toes done.  Luckily it was a very productive day and hopefully I can focus on helping at the farm on Friday.

That's Our Girl

 

Katherine is progressing so quickly with her mobility now.  She has been officially crawling for a couple of weeks.  She is also pulling up on anything and everything and "cruising" around the furniture.  It is so fun to see her learning.  She is so proud of herself and always has the biggest smile on her face when she does something new.  We love it! 

What is that?

Katherine usually plays with some of my things in the morning while we are getting ready.  Luke decided to put one of my hair clips in her hair.  She did not seem to mind at all.  Then, Luke took multiple pictures of Katherine and Paul.  He really is getting quite good at photography!

And they're off!

Luke loves to show Katherine how to crawl

She's on the move now!

Katherine is becoming more and more mobile. Paul and I have a theory that if Luke would leave her alone she would have been crawling a long time ago.  That boy just can not get enough of his little sister.  He continues to get up in her space all the time, especially when she is on the floor attempting to crawl.  She can crawl on all fours for a little bit now, but usually drops down and belly crawls the rest of the way.  We keep saying that when she is able Katherine is going to haul off and sock Luke in the nose!

So long, old friend...

This Thomas balloon has been a fixture in our living room since the infamous "Day Out with Thomas" last September.  He celebrated Thanksgiving with us as well as Christmas and New Year's. Luckily, Luke had a Thomas birthday so he fit right in.  We finally decided it was time to say good bye to our dear friend.  We thought Luke would be upset but he did not seem to mind at all.  He just knows he will get one later this year when we go back to ride on the "Big Thomas".  I must say the balloon was a very well spent $9!

Hanging Out

It was this big, Mom!

Luke loves helping with anything and everything!

We love nights when we can just hang out as a family.  I bought a few plants over the weekend so Luke helped me plant them.  He is all about helping any way he can.  Sometimes he is too much help!  It is still so hot here but the humidity was not as bad this afternoon so we took advantage of it.