Friday Festivities

We started the day with brunch to celebrate Hope and her bridesmaids.  We met at Another Broken Egg Cafe in Mountain Brook.  I'd never eaten there before but it was delish.  I studied the menu for a while and finally settled on biscuits and gravy.  It did not disappoint.  It was a fun morning getting to  hang out with these beautiful ladies.

Hope with her bridesmaids.

The moms.  

The Maxwell ladies.

After brunch we had an appointment to pick up our dresses from the seamstress. Well she wasn't quite finished with my moms so we had to kill some time.  We did a little shopping, I got Barrett a cute little bubble for summer and a pair of shorts.  We finally got the dresses and headed back home.  I went to the gym for my favorite class of the week with Kristen and Lorie then rushed home to get ready for the rehearsal and dinner.

This is where my picture taking slacked off big time.

The rehearsal went smoothly and before we knew it, it was time to head to dinner.  The rehearsal dinner and reception were held in the same space. 

I did manage to get a picture of my little family both nights but that's about it.  

Cousins, Friends.  These two are 5 weeks apart and have been buds their whole lives.

The rehearsal dinner was fantastic.  My parents planned a mardi gras themed meal and it was wonderful.  I put together a slideshow of Hope & John's life.  It was so much fun watching them grow up and seeing their relationship grow.  After the slide show several people shared some fun memories or words. All week I'd been thinking about what I would want to say.  When I finally decided I'd say a few words I couldn't remember anything I wanted to say.  I literally woke up at 5:00am Saturday morning thinking about all the things I wanted to say.

Since I write much better than I speak here it goes...what I should have said.

I think each of us would say that John is our favorite sibling.  He's kind, he's helpful, he'll make you laugh and he'll make you cry.  These are all characteristics he's had since he was a kid.  He would be the male lead in whatever the latest playhouse skit Elizabeth and I were putting on and in the same afternoon he'd be Patrick's assistant working on the go cart.  One of my mom's favorite Christmas gifts was the year John wrapped up an empty box with a sweet little poem about how he'd spent hours blowing kisses in the box.  Mom just cried and cried.  Then John said that he turned his box over and spilled all his kisses and had to start over blowing kisses in his box.  Mom was laughing through tears.  When he'd get kicked off the bus and Mom had to take us to school he didn't complain to much that he was usually late.  When I forgot to pick him up from school, he would call and just smile when he saw us turning in on two wheels to get him.  When I left for college he was a pudgy little 12 year old.  I left and he was little kid.  When I finally graduated and moved home he was practically a grown up.  He was in his last semester of high school and he had a girlfriend.   I didn't know much about her, I don't think he wanted us to scare her off. By the way, she apparently doesn't scare easily.  I'll be honest I didn't put a lot of effort into getting to know her.  After all John was about to move away to college and how many high school relationships work out.  As time went on it was becoming more and more obvious that Hope wasn't going anywhere.  She was always around but rarely said anything.  She probably couldn't get a word in with this family.  I watched John grow from a high school boy that had a girlfriend to a young man that was in a relationship with someone he really cared about.  I watched John become a better person and I fully credit Hope for that.  I think a spouse should make you the best version of yourself and I can see that in them.  So as you begin your life together, I want to share a piece of advice that someone shared with Patrick and I when we got engaged.  "Always put each other first.  As long as you love the other person more than anyone or anything in this world, you'll have a long happy marriage." I am truly honored to call you my brother and sister and the godparents to my son.  I am honored to be a part of your special day and I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!