Celebrating Lisa & Euan

Our family had an exciting reason to head back to Texas for a few weeks & it was to see this lovely couple say "I do"...

I have known Lisa longer than any other friend & she is quite dear to me for many reasons. We moved in next door to each other on my 8th birthday & were inseparable until the day we left for college. There are countless videos of silly choreographed dances that are to be viewed only by a select view and an immeasurable amount of memories of our growing up years...she is a special girl. She stood up with me as my Maid of Honor when I got married & I was honored to share in her special day nine years later. She & Euan met in high school, went on a couple dates then reconnected a couple years ago.  They got engaged the day Owen & Anson were born which provided for a sweet conversation when Lisa called to tell me her happy news while I shared mine : )

Flashback to 2004 when I was engaged woman, Lisa & her mom hosted a bridal shower for me & ordered a cake from a bakery nearby. It was a brilliant idea gone wrong with five mini Barbie doll's stuck into the cake with icing as their dresses.  They quickly picked up another cake before the shower began & waited for the festivities to be over before the big reveal of the original cake. We laughed so hard we cried! My mom saved the little dolls & over the years my brothers have surprised me by putting them in a birthday cake.  I could not pass up the opportunity to bring back a bride cupcake so I made a pit stop at a fancy cupcake shop & bought the "Wedding Cake" flavor, shoved that little beauty into the middle, pushed the icing up to make her look like she had on a strapless gown & brought her home to my mom who had made a mini veil. She was adorable when completed & rode in my lap on the way to the rehearsal Friday afternoon. What a good laugh we had when Lisa opened the box!

The rehearsal was held at 2 in the afternoon which proved to be really relaxing & fun. John had a great time practicing giving his daughter away...

and these two were stylish in their boots...

After the rehearsal, a few of us plus the beautiful bride to be headed over to the salon for some mani/pedi bonding time followed by cupcake eating in our hotel room downtown. We freshened up & were ready for dinner at Pappasitos.  My sweet husband braved the traffic & arrived an hour & twenty minutes after leaving my parents house...it was good to have him there & he fit right in with his cowboy boots. Dinner was delicious & we had a wonderful time catching up with my best buddies from growing up & their husbands.

Four of our hubbies left dinner to play darts & catch up while the wives that were left enjoyed some sopapillas & laughs. It was a treat to have my children being taken care of by my parents & Rob while I was spoiled spending Friday afternoon till late Saturday night away.  I spent the night in a hotel room with Natalie who has three kids of her own. She was speaking my love language when she pulled out a noise machine & asked if it was okay if she turned it on for the night ; ) We were SO excited to get a full nights sleep without interruption by little people! We slept great but thanks to all those years of early rising as a nurse coupled with parenthood, Natalie's internal alarm woke her up by 5:30am & mine by 7am. It did feel great though to lay in bed for as long as we wanted....don't get to do that often!

Saturday was filled to the brim with preparing for the wedding that evening. Lisa gave us all some adorable lightweight robes with our monogram on them. They were perfect to wear while getting ready...

Me, Laura, Lisa, Kristen & Natalie

The group pictured above has many years together as friends. Lisa, Laura & I lived on the same street from the summer before 3rd grade through high school & we banned together with Kristen & Natalie when we started at Kingwood Middle School in 6th grade. Talk about ridiculousness.....we were some silly girls that always had a good time! It was really special to spend the weekend with them after being away from Texas for nearly six years & missing out on many get togethers.  I love them.

Instead of individual programs, they had this displayed:

I wish I had that in my house! How cute!  The style of decor & the essence of the venue was just perfect for the day.  I surprised Lisa with a "Mrs. Shiach" hanger for her bridal gown without knowing that she was planning to surprise the bridesmaids with our own hangers....great minds think alike!

All the bridesmaids plus Lisa's nieces getting ready...

Everything she chose was so beautiful! Her gown, bridesmaid dresses, jewelry, garter..the list goes on & on!

and more beautiful than everything was the bride herself.

and the four of us....

Euan, the groom of that beautiful bride is from Scotland & they incorporated the music & traditional dress for the men into their special day so well. The bag piper played as many were seated & then again when the bride entered. It was an incredible sound that was enjoyed by all!

I (of course) do not have pictures during the ceremony since I was up front with the lovely bride & groom. Lisa asked me to sing & I was delighted to say yes.  She assigned me the choice of song with her approval & I decided on a song by JJ Heller called "Where I Land." I LOVE IT. The words are beautiful & ended up being challenging to sing without my voice disappearing because the tears were about to start flowing!  It didn't help that I could see my crying mama & then when I glanced at Lisa, I was overcome with emotion. I thought for a moment "Should I just toughen up & act like I don't know this person so I can avoid being emotional?" but was quickly reminded that emotion is beautiful & should be felt to the max...especially with a friend as special as Lisa. So I survived the song but the last verse is really what got me...

It goes like this:

and when the years have stolen youth away, I will stay, 
and you will be the keeper of my heart until my final day. 
I am lost for words, you're more than I deserve, 
and when I cannot stand, you are where I land.

I feel choked up even typing them at this moment.  There is such joy on the day you promise your lifetime to be spent with another. Over day to day life, changes, stress, children, the excitement felt in the moment of saying "I do" is not always there but when the commitment to remain faithful to the other person  is kept, God rewards a husband & wife with such a deeper joy & love for one another. Thinking about how years steal our youthful look & energy away, I look back on our mere nine years of marriage, four small children & think about the toll that has been taken on my body (and energy level) thus far & have to smile.  I think about how many times over the pregnancy with the twins that I could not stand either emotionally or very literally, could.not.stand. & how Robby was my landing place. The Lord's design in marriage is such a gift & the example we have in the way Christ loves the church should spur us on to love each other well. We pray that God will continue to keep us close to one another & the keeper of each others hearts until our final days.

What a lovely evening it was celebrating with family & friends! It was special to have my parents & brothers with us..

The reception was spectacular with the best wedding band I have ever heard. We actually thought it was a recording until we realized they were playing right behind us. Lisa & Euan looked in love & happy all evening which made all on-lookers smile...

oh those kilts....they were awesome..

Our table was a fun place to be...

Gabe, Natalie, Laura, Patrick, Me, Rob, Kristen & Daniel

My brothers were seated with us & my parents were at the table next to us.

One last picture that I just love is of me & my parents with Kristen & her parents ALL laughing. There was a lot of laughing that evening which is something that should be at every celebration : )

All said & done, the wedding went off without a hitch, it was beautiful, fun, sweet & everything they hoped it would be! The happy couple is now honeymooning in St. Lucia for the week which I thought of often as I was trapped in a car for two days with four small children while driving back to Florida ; ) God is so good to give us what we need exactly when we need it. We are delighted for the happy couple to be beginning their life together as we are equally delighted to be where we are now. Here's to years together!