Excitement!

Gosh I'm getting excited! I mean, I've BEEN excited for so long that it's practically like normal now. But with the weekend prior to the wedding approaching things are really beginning to spin.

Joanne, Brandon's mom and future mother-in-law of Priss, will be here on Saturday. I'm not sure who's more excited - me, her or Brandon! I know she feels like she's missed out on so much of the planning, stressing, etc. but that's going to change as soon as her feet hit Tennessee dirt. :) We even though we have a lot to do next week, we also have a lot of FUN stuff planned just for us. It's going to be a great time and I plan to enjoy every single minute of it.

I'm really excited to introduce her to Grace on Sunday. Can't wait for her to worship with us and to experience up-close and personal all the many, many reasons we all love our church so much. She'll get to meet some of our friends and it makes me smile just knowing how welcome they are going to make her feel.

She will also get to experience a Sunday lunch with my family :) Certainly hope she's prepared for that one! But all she needs to bring is a healthy appetite and a definite sense of humor. Everyone in my family thinks they're a comedian . . .

But the best thing about this Sunday is that she will be able to spend Mother's Day with Brandon! I know it's going to be one to remember and honored that we all get to be a part of it.

...and that's just Sunday!

THE List . . .

To think of all the joy I would have missed by not being the mother of my Miss Priss! It's an almost unbearable thought. She's a blessing, an amazing daughter and I can't imagine life without her.

I realize of course that I am biased (I have the right to be :), but there is no doubt that Priss is definitely a unique individual. In more ways than one. Always has been. For instance, growing up she was never a very picky child. She was always happy with so little. Maybe that's why she still gets a huge grin on her face when finding a coloring book and crayons! And then there was her clothing style. But I won't lie and say that my wallet wasn't all too happy when she shoped at Goodwill and headed straight for the clearance-clearance racks - as a teenager no less - just so she wouldn't be a clone of everyone else. But her outlook at picky changed a little when it came to the man she hoped to one day marry. Yep, that was an entirely different story. I guess you could say 'picky' arrived and she had game. :)

She didn't just dream of her Knight in shining armor. She put a lot of thought into him and even developed what would become her ‘Top Eleven List’ (..'too important to have just 10'..) that he would have to meet. She began using it as a guide for dating in school when the time came, which meant she didn’t date that much...

Let me share her requirements:

#1 - NOT military

Did you get that? I mean - #1 – right of the bat! She always said, adamantly, that she would NEVER date (which meant certainly not marry) someone in the military. Her reasoning was that she would never, ever leave Clarksville.

I'm pretty sure if you're a mom you'll agree that motherly instinct is stronger than any radar system ever created by man. So you'll understand when I say that instinct kicked straight into overdrive the moment she uttered those four words “Mom . . . he’s the one.”

She grew up knowing that her daddy and I were praying for her future husband and she always had faith that God would provide him when the time came. So here we were and we both knew that Brandon did not meet the requirements on her list. I mean he couldn't even make it past # 1!!!!! :) But knowing my baby's heart - the only way her mother can – it did not surprise me in the least to hear her simply say . . . ‘Then I guess God has a different list for me . . .’

So here we are. TEN days from her wedding day. To the man of her dreams. To the one she's always waited for. To answered prayers. To hopes and dreams. And of course we love Brandon already and are so excited he will be a part of our family. I can honestly say that I could not have hand picked a better man to love and cherish my baby as she deserves. He makes her happy - and that makes Mama happy :)

But hey...I don't want to leave you hanging on the rest of her list. It went like this:

#2 - Christian - PASS
#3 - Family has to be important - PASS
#4 - Tall (er than me) - PASS
#5 - Can support me and a family - PASS
#6 - Will spoil me (like my daddy does) - PASS, PASS :)
#7 - Loves and respects me - PASS
#8 - Makes me feel safe - PASS
#9 - Outspoken - PASS
#10 - Can have fun with me - but keep me in check - PASS
#11 - Loves the outdoors - PASS

So, it is with a mother’s happy heart that I look forward to watching these two complete each other, grow together as man and wife, and some day (not too far away I hope) become parents themselves.

T*E*N*S*I*O*N

Tension is real folks. My shoulders have been permanently knotted now for weeks and weeks. And trust me, it has taken little to heap knots on top of those knots here lately.

This past week has been a nightmare. Just when I felt like were about to get a grip on all the little details, the bottom fell out. Or seemed to anyway. Rain, rain and more rain. Storm after storm. Those of you living in Middle Tennessee, particularly Clarksville, know exactly what I'm talking about.

The real stresser began when the rain didn't. The chosen reception site is on the Cumberland River. One of the reasons we chose it was because of the location. Even though we booked in the dead of winter, we could immediately envision the beauty it would be surrounded with in the height of Spring. And it will be gorgeous. But I have to admit that with all the recent rains and the constant reminders of the horrible floods a year ago, I was panicking. Actually to the point of frantically searching for a back-up location.

But even as we were searching, I knew we could not find a place that would compare. So many plans have already been made for that location. And even though the day is not here yet, we all see the place filled to the brim with friends and newlywed happiness.

I never doubt God. But I am horrible about losing sight of his plans and sweating the small stuff. And with something as important and special as the wedding of Miss Priss and her man, it's been even worse. So I believe God means for me to take something away from this past week of wildly unstable weather. I think He's showing me that these tension knots were formed by nothing - compared to what could have been. He is in control and the sun is out . . .

So I left work a little early today, got a massage and have decided to trust in Him for the weather, the things still to be done and to do everything I can to relax and truly enjoy the next 15 days. Because with this one - there are no do-overs :)

eeeeek!

According to the online 'urban' dictionary - eeeeek! - is actually a word. Yep.

Definition: A word people use to show that they are surprised and scared at the same time.

Silly, I know. But for some reason I find that tidbit of knowledge (?) particularly comforting right now. Because every time I allow myself to slip into what I've nicknamed 'Panic Land' that's the word that immediately comes to mind. Plus . . . the definition helps me to justify the eeeeek! reaction every time I visit :)

I realize today is ONLY April 5th and the BIG DAY is still 39 days away, but I woke up this morning with the thought that I had really been lying to myself.

See, at first I was just completely and flat out worried. I mean about everything. And at the forefront of every ounce of that worry was this huge concern that the wedding we could actually afford would not be anywhere near to the wedding that our Miss Priss deserves.

It didn't taken God long to show me again how silly I can be. He has never failed to provide for me - or my family - ever. And this season in our lives is not about to be any different. He has blessed us with unforseen short cuts, online deals, a daughter who could be a wedding planner (tomorrow) and help through friends that have literally come out of nowhere. He’s known what we needed, when we’ve needed and has provided abundantly.

But if I’m to be honest I have to admit that I still felt myself struggling with the whole ‘anxious’ part. It’s really been working on me. That's the little booger that has kept me revisiting ‘Panic Land.’

I woke this morning, after yet another restless night, to find myself really doing some soul searching over the way my mind has been reeling. I mean, I knew that I know that I know that God will show up - because He never leaves. So I couldn't understand why that eeeeek! always seems to linger just right below the surface? I realized how closely the whole feeling compared to the way I felt as a kid at Christmas. I was so excited because Christmas was coming and I loved the whole experience. The excitement. The smells. And even the time I spent writing my list - over and over to Santa. I realized that even way back then I had a tendency to be like . . . eeeeek!!!!

So (and with no intentions of psycho-babble at all) I realized it’s not worry or anxiety at all. And certainly not a result of any doubts that God’s provisions aren’t enough. What it is - is just sheer old fashioned excitement!

That’s when my mind was filled with two definitive thoughts.

* One of when I watch our baby with the man she will soon marry.

* The other . . . of another time almost thirty years ago.

I was immediately comforted by the knowledge that when all is said and done - the 'stuff' is really not going to matter at all - and that I know Miss Priss well enough to know this to be true.

So . . . if you see me in the next THIRTY-NINE days - rest assured that the scatter-brained, unorganized, dazed and disheveled woman you see is actually so truly excited that she can hardly stand it!! :}

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matthew 6:27

“Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 144:15b

“Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13