Family and Friends

Hi friends and family and strangers. Have you thought about last year and the coming year? I’m beginning to. My husband and I have been watching some sports movies lately. People pulling deep from within to overcome big obstacles. I wonder if I’ve ever pulled from so far within that I barely had anything left to give.

I remember in high school in girls’ gym class hanging with one other girl from a gymnastics bar. All the other girls had dropped down defeated. I felt like I could hold my body up for hours. After a while I looked around and it was only her and me. The other girls were waiting around. The other girl on the bar looked like she could hang on for days. So I dropped. Do you ever wonder, What if I had tried just a bit harder? What if I held on a bit longer? May this be a memorable year for you!

I hope my computer heals up. We worked on it for hours tonight. Missed my deadline by twenty minutes or so. 🙂

Wedding Gowns

Wedding gowns come in many styles, some fancy, some plain. My daughter, Sarah and I have been on a mission to find the perfect dress for a price that suited her budget. I finally began to pray we could find the dress this week and have fun doing it. We’d be on nine hour shopping expeditions a couple of times. Two times just a few hours squeezed in after a hectic day. Come to find out, Sarah had prayed the exact same prayer.

This is a model from Brides.com in the photo above. There are some beautiful gowns available. Sarah did not choose this gown. 🙂 I wouldn’t want to ruin AJ’s surprise.

Her co-worker discovered that the bridal shop in the small town of Canisteo, NY, “Elegance,” was having a 50% off sale because it’s closing its doors in the near future. So we made our way there on Veteran’s Day, since Sarah had the day off.

Not only did we find more than one dress she really liked, but they came in under budget. Then my daughter asked us to send a picture with Sarah smiling. So the proprietor told us a joke so the picture came out with a great smile, even though I was late taking it. I’m not a photographer, so some were fuzzy, too. But the bridesmaids and the maid of honor agreed, the dresses were lovely. I texted pictures from that town to cities hours away.

She made up her mind, without much trouble. We talked and laughed with the owner of the store. On the way home Sarah said, “I liked the way she listened to what I wanted, helped, but didn’t push. She didn’t bring out dresses higher in price hoping I’d spend more.”

We celebrated, her friend Laura, Sarah, and I with a bagel and drink at a local coffee chain store. Finished our day with smiles and a sense of relief. This wedding planned with only three months to spare seems to be on the right course. I love answers to prayer.

I saved this draft to add a picture of a wedding dress and with the holidays and bridal parties, it’s been nineteen days! I truly lose track of time!