Jul. 28, 2008
Joshua and Lisa's Wedding Notes July 2004
Posted in Past Journals
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I am cleaning out my inbox, my "my docs," and more! I am going to put several things I want to save and share here at my blog!!! Oldies...but goodies....to me anyway! smile
FROM A LOOP I AM ON:
Dear LOTL, I have given up on posting a long post this week about my son's wedding and have resorted to using someone else's rendition of it! My sixteen year old daughter, Cami, has written her version of the wedding to her friends, and I am pasting it below. Hopefully, I'll get the "motherly" version out next week! Dear Friends, Hello! Some of you were at the wedding and got the experience the fun and the joy in person. Some of you were not there and want to know all about it. So, here it is. This is the wedding of Joshua Reish and Lisa Prentice from my point of view. Joshua, the groom, is my oldest brother. He was so happy! That was definitely one of the best things about the day--- seeing him so happy. It was neat to see how much he loved Lisa. He was wearing a black tux, and asked me to do his hair for the wedding. That wasn't too surprising. (He asks me to do his hair a lot) Now that they are married, I am not sure who will do his hair!) The groomsmen and ushers were nice young men. It was neat to see my brother's friends support him in that way. The groomsmen were Mrc Z., Nathan Liechty, Joshua Lederman, Jared Prentice, and Aaron Pentice. The funny thing was that not only were these young men friends of my brothers, but kind of family friends of mine too. The ushers were, Zac Goshert (Lisa's cousin), Breagan Eicher (family friend and debate friend of J's), and Brian Crone (J and L's friend's brother). They all looked so nice in their tuxes. All three of my little brothers were also part of the wedding. Jacob was the ring bearer. You could almost hear everyone sigh when he walked down the aisle! :-) He was so cute. A few nights before the wedding, he was talking to me and said that he was getting nervous about the wedding. I told him not to worry, because all he had to do was look at Joshua at the front of the church. Jakie told me after the wedding that he forgot about looking at Joshua until he got down the aisle. Then he grinned and gave him thumb's up! He was simply adorable! :-) Jonathan and Josiah, my brothers, were also part of the wedding. They were the Jr. Ushers. They got to do the runner in the wedding. They were very serious about their job. They also got to stand up with the rest of the wedding party. They were really handsome. Jonathan is 11 and Josiah is 9. Now the girls. The girls were lots of fun, I think that mostly because I was one of them! :-) The bridesmaids were Sarah Crone (J and Lisa's friend),Brenda Prentice (Aaron's wife), Kayla Reish, Kara Reish, and me. We had beautiful dresses. They were two pieces with a skirt and a shirt. They were green. All of the bridesmaids had their hair in updos. That part was lots of fun! :-) Everyone trying to do their hair in the ladies dressing room. Then there was the bride. Lisa was very, very pretty. Her mother made her a gorgeous wedding dress. It was white, (no, I'm not kidding!) It's actually hard for me to explain! It was just great! Aunt Kathy worked hours and hours designing the dress with Lisa, and then making it. It was worth it all! Lisa's hair was up into a lovely updo, and she was wearing a tiara that Joshua had picked out. She looked great! The wedding ceremony itself was great! We all walked in with our partners and stood up front. The pastor did a welcome, and the bride was given away. (It was funny, during the rehearsal, Joshua, the groom, wanted to take Lisa as soon as she got down the aisle, we had to tell him that he had to wait for Uncle Blake (Lisa's dad) to "give her away.") And then we all went up on the stage. The pastor spoke to Joshua and Lisa a little bit, and then they did the vows and everything. Then came the kiss! After that was over, we all sang "My Tribute." It was awesome to hear that many people singing it. This song was also sung at my parents' wedding. The pastor presented the bride and groom as Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Reish. They walked back down the aisle, and we all followed. It was a joyous time. The next part of the day, was personally my favorite. I got to go and talk to all of the guests. (Many of them were my friends!) I got to see lots of my relatives, including my Aunt and Uncle from North Carolina. And then lots and lots of my friends. Almost everyone from church was at the wedding. The fellowship was great. Before I knew it, the day was over, the bride and groom left for their apartment, and we were left to clean up. (No it was not that bad!) We cleaned up the church and everything, and then some of us went out to eat at Don Pablo's. There were like 28 of us, and the poor waitress was trying to keep everything straight. It was very funny! :-) So, now it's over. Joshua and Lisa have gone to their apartment, which is only like seven miles from our house. That's super nice, but I don't think that we will be seeing them for a while. At least for the next week. (Update: They've stopped by twice and called three times within the first five days...we're so glad they live close!) That's the whole story. The wedding was awesome. And now my brother is married. The end. LOL :-) If you have any questions about the wedding or anything, feel free to ask. I love talking about the wedding and everything. Bye! Love, Cami Reish P.S You want to see picture of it?? Here you go: http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?uid=2473874 I hope you can see them! Enjoy! P.S.S If you go to my website, sign the Guest Book, so I know you were there! :-) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear LOTL, Sherry asked how many Kleenexes I used, and, for those of you who know me and my normally-emotional laden personality, you'll be surprised to find out that during the wedding, I was fairly reserved. I got tearful a few times---when Kathy and I lit the family candles and hugged, when Lisa kissed Blake after he gave her away, and when they first began their vows---watching Joshua's face--he was so incredibly in love. People have different "qualifications" for their children's future spouses, and mine are sometimes different than others'. Of course, I have the normal "born again Christian completely in love with Jesus" qualification first (which my new daughter-in-law has!) but then while some want outward standards, a certain church affiliation, social status, etc. etc., my next two have always been madly in love with each other (i.e. Joshua's look when Lisa was being given by her father) and the ability to be very, very intimate in sharing their lives together. I guess I have just always felt that if their love was strong (and, of course, per the first qualification, based on Christ) and they were able to be open and intimate in their communication and sharing of their lives, the other "qualifications" would fall in line more easily. Then, of course, comes the "normal" things like serving and being diligent. Anyway, the first tears were small, but were a result of knowing that J was marrying someone who he was so in love with AND that they have intimacy in sharing their lives that I want for my children's marriages. The next tears were more weeping than just tears. Near the end of the reception, my sister and her family from NC (the one whom I have asked for prayer different times as her husband was gone with the military for eighteen months--nine of those in Afghanistan) were leaving for home. I always cry when she goes home; I should have realized that she was leaving from the wedding, and it wouldn't be easy. I might not see her for another six to twelve months, and, of course, I was already in an emotional state, having just married off my first child, that I was quite a mess. Sorry you ladies missed that one! tee hee The final tears, which also were weeping, I'm afraid to say, took place that night at home. Ray and I were lying in bed, reminiscing about the day when I got quiet (shocker, huh?), and he asked me our favorite question: Whatya thinkin'? I fell into a weepy mess telling him that I was thinking about Carly (our eighth baby who died five years ago this fall during an intrauterine blood transfusion) being the flower girl and how adorable she and Jakie would have been together, etc. etc. I went to sleep crying in Ray's arms, but I'm okay now. There you have it: the wedding tears of Donna Reish. Anyone who knows me very well won't be shocked by them! If you don't know me very well, you do now! (Sorry!) Thanks for listening. I love sharing my heart...even to unsuspecting audiences! ;) Love, Donna who is not crying at all today...yet! tee hee and who also loves to laugh a lot too! |
Dec. 28, 2006
Holiday Break--December 28, 2006
Posted in Past Journals
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Today is still supposed to be holiday break. Since we school year 'round and always have, it is hard to define "break" for us. It seems like breaks are just as busy or busier than "non breaks." Speaking of schooling year 'round, I can still remember when our first born, then six or seven, first went to Sunday school and discovered that kids do not do school on Saturday. Ray had a very demanding job then as a controller in the automotive industry, and he always worked on Saturdays, so we pretty much did the same things that we did through the week: get up, read together, take care of the babies and toddlers, housework, Joshua's little workbooks that he had, etc. Every Saturday, he would blissfully and obliviously, pull out his little school tub and get his workbooks out on the dining room table. Then the peer pressure began! He discovered that other children do not go to school on Saturdays. (We were the only homeschoolers in our little town nearly twenty years ago, so his only frame of reference for school was what we did at home and when/where the kids at church went.) It wasn't that we had been making him "do" school on Saturdays. It was just that school was part of life and life was school. We learned all of the time. Some days we had things going on, so we didn't do school. Other days we schooled all day and evening, if Dad was out of town on business. (I am thankful now that we marched to our own drum then because that became our point of reference for "school." Not just books and assignments but a learning life.) Those days seem so simple now. And sometimes so desired. With seven children--and seven different sets of needs--it is never quite that simple today. We want to spend time with and invest in our son and daughter-in-law, who live a few miles from us. We have two daughters living at home who are in college and need us nearly daily to talk to and encourage. We have a teenage daughter who doesn't know exactly where she belongs and feels like the older three children are successful and gifted and she is not (which couldn't be further from the truth). We have three growing sons: fourteen, eleven, and eight, for whom I don't want to lose the momentum, zeal, and urgency in raising and training. I remember thinking that I was so busy and I would never "get it all done" with so many small children. The tasks were so physical and exhausting then, but so different than the emotional and spiritual stress in what we are doing with seven children eight through twenty-four! So, anyway, it's holiday break. We have been Christmas-ing until everyone is just about Christmased out. Too many get togethers and too much junk food. (Yesterday everyone just wanted to eat cereal! :) We are switching gears from partying with family to reflection (love those new books we all got for Christmas!), housekeeping, and thoughts for the new year. A day of holiday break means cleaning out the learning center and organizing homeschool product (for Training for Triumph) on shelves, reading aloud from our Christmas books we didn't get finished yet, cleaning out closets and cupboards before everything is back in full swing, learning how to blog (!), goal setting for the new year, and getting back to my forgotten edits! (Oh, and, of course, the three little guys playing with legoes, Playmobile, and hexalinks by the hour!) What's your "holiday break" like? It reminds me of when we had seven kids fourteen and under, and we would take a vacation or a weekend away all together, and after we got all unpacked and unloaded, the washing machine and dryer were in full mode, and everyone was fed, Ray and I would look at each other and say, "We need a vacation!" :) Have a great day. Love, Donna the relational homeschooler |