Virginia

Charlotte and I returned home earlier this week from a fun filled trip to Virginia. One thing that made it so fun is that my mom came with us! She flew in a few days before & watched Charlotte while I worked then we flew together on Wednesday. I am ALWAYS thankful for an extra pair of hands on the airplane, especially if they belong to someone who loves Charlotte as much as I do : ) She was a HUGE help the whole time we were there and took excellent care of Charlotte while I was busy with all the wedding activities.

The wonderful reason we got to go to Virginia in the first place is that my good friend Amanda got married! Amanda and I met on our very first day of work in Labor & Delivery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. We became good friends very quickly & had a blast learning & working side by side. She left to do travel nursing in the Fall of 2007 & ended up in Orlando a few months before I moved there. So, we got to work together again! So fun! After her time there, she joined the US Navy as an RN & moved to work in Maryland. I have missed her so much since she left!

I have always admired Amanda for her trust in the Lord & her contentment in waiting for God to bring a man into her life worth spending time with. God brought Pat into her life during summertime in 2009 & they immediately hit it off. After a year of dating, he proposed after a hot air balloon ride & the rest is history! They got married in a teeny little church in the country north of Ashburn, Virginia & celebrated with a reception at a vineyard. It was all absolutely gorgeous....especially the bride herself : )

Growing up with brothers, I never expected to get to serve anyone as their Maid or Matron of Honor. Jenny, my sister in law was the first to surprise with with that special opportunity & then Amanda was the second. It is funny because both Jenny & Amanda have two brothers also : ) So, I have twice loved getting to enjoy that role, standing beside a precious friend as they become a wife & being a person to encourage & challenge them throughout their marriage.

Another special part of our trip is that we got to stay with my parents good friends, the Machesney family. They lived next door to my parents when they were all newlyweds through when I was maybe 3. They have carried on a close friendship through all of these years & we had such a good time catching up! They were wonderful hosts providing some delicious home cooked meals, an evening out to dinner across the Potomac River with the Washington Monument & Capitol in view, pets for Charlotte to love on, good company & lots of hot tea. It was my first time ever to see leaves changing in the fall & I was blown away with how gorgeous it was. We took some walks & Charlotte picked up countless leaves.

Onto some pictures of our trip....

Charlotte & Grandma riding on the bus to get our rental car

the beautiful trees on one of our many walks

Charlotte, me & Marybeth

Char & her pal Sandy. I think sometimes that Charlotte liked Sandy more than Sandy liked her ; ) Unfortunately Sandy is getting old and couldn't get away from Charlotte as quickly as she may have liked.

Me & the bride to be at the rehearsal dinner

Us two girls at the church. My mom made Charlotte the adorable jacket to go with her dress.

Here we are at the reception

I am so sad that this is the only picture I have of the bride and groom but they do look great : ) Amanda looks like Cinderella to me leaned over talking to a little girl who thought she was very pretty!

What a fun trip we had! Lots of relaxing amidst the busy wedding activities! Thank you to the Machesney family, you were such gracious hosts. We hope we can have you visit us sometime!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Pat Nicklas! It was such a joy to be a part of your special day!