Nick and Stephanie

This year we had the privilege of officially welcoming Stephanie into the family. We first met Stephanie during the Christmas festivities of 2011, when she was brave enough to cook lunch for our family (Nick helped too). I was amazed at her willingness to do that, and at her immediate warmth toward our family. This winter we got to celebrate the happy couple with an incredible brunch Meredith put together, and then the wedding was in March. Fun times for our family!

The gorgeous cake table, with cakes from V&T and the towel cake Meredith made.

Burlap, vintage lace, and deep red. So pretty!

All the ladies enjoying brunch!

Stephanie didn't know she was going to be proposed to 6 more times... all the ladies of our family asked her to be our respective cousin, neice, granddaughter, etc.

Darla asking her to be her aunt.

Sallie asking her to be her daughter.

Stephanie with all her new bling!

The gals. : )

A highlight of the brunch was when Nick came and played his guitar towards the end. My favorite part was seeing the way he looked at his bride when he was singing to her.

The ladies from the Marshburn side of the family!

That evening Sallie and Dennis had a delicious dinner for everyone who was able to stick around for the day. It was so nice to relax and visit with family after the shower festivities.

Darla and Charlie in the tub before we had to leave. The little cousins had a great time together too!

In a very sudden and unexpected turn of events, we found out Jimmy's Granny Byrd was very sick the Monday before Nick and Stephanie's wedding on Sunday, March 16th. We were stunned and of course saddened when we got the call the next day that she had passed away. We therefore arrived in Columbia, SC for the wedding via Memphis, TN after attending the funeral. We left Wednesday, March 12th and spent the night at a halfway point, arriving the next afternoon in time for a big family dinner. The boys had a great time playing with Micah, Miley, Alice, and Oliver, and Jimmy and I had a great time visiting with all the extended family (despite the circumstances). The next day (Friday) we got ready for the visitation and funeral, where Jimmy was going to be a pallbearer. Aunt Gail had made a beautiful slideshow of Granny Byrd's life and had all kinds of pictures set up for everyone to see. The service was a very nice tribute to her, and one we were proud to attend and be a part of. Following the service and burial we went to Gail and Ron's house for lunch and a time of visiting with everyone. Our time in TN was brief- barely 24 hours- but we were so glad we were able to attend.

That Friday night we started the journey to Columbia, stopping again at a halfway point. We pulled into town Saturday afternoon just in time for the rehearsal and dinner (tired, but glad to be with family for a happy occasion!). 

Here are some pictures of the Sunday afternoon wedding and reception:

During the wedding I was actually upstairs with Charlie, Henry, and Cal. We were in a room where they could run around, watch episodes of "Sesame Street," and play with toys (so as not to distract people during the ceremony with their various shenanigans...).

The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!

The other Mr. and Mrs. Johnson! I thought this was a great picture of them.

Grandma and her girls.

Grandma and a close-up of the BRIDE!!

Tommie & Ann, Sallie, and Dianne & Harvey. I'm so glad I got to see Dianne that day.

The Byrds!

Mom with the boys and their new cups for the wedding! Charlie got Jake, Henry got Planes. Glad I got those cups because they are the only ones I've found indestructible enough to last months!!

Admiring the groom's cake- a tower of donuts! Woohoo!

Meredith, looking as gorgeous as ever.

Love this picture. It was kind of comical that throughout the whole reception, Merph and I would repeatedly try to sit down to catch up every now and again, only to be interrupted every time by one of our kids running away, crying, needing something, etc., ha! Such is the life of moms, especially moms of little ones! 

Charlie had fun organizing and distributing the programs after the ceremony was over.

Partners in crime! They enjoyed running around together during the reception! My boys especially loved running laps around the reception hall. The sheer delight they have when running laps anywhere is baffling to me (I mean, I've been running now since June, and I like it, but no sheer delight here....). I was very grateful for kind folks who would look endearingly at them as they wove through groups of people (er, tore through them...) more times than I could count.

So sweet! I love that they're holding hands!

Darla and Charlie with their tacos from the delicious taco bar.

Thankful for entertaining technology. : )

Sallie and Dennis, enjoying the festivities!

Dancin' the night away!

Henry too!

There's never been such a handsome little guy in a suit as Cal!! And he has some awesome dance moves!

Ma & Pa Byrd

Playing cars later on in the evening. What else are chairs for?!

They both enjoyed driving their cars on the tables and chairs.

Cake time!! Charlie tried to pick his whole piece up at one time. Wedding cake is one of my favorite desserts of all time.

They make such a great couple. What a wonderful evening to celebrate their marriage!

Sparklers at the end! And yes, Charlie is in his jammies. We knew the boys would fall asleep during the short drive from the venue back to the hotel. Sure enough they did, and it was easy as pie to transfer them to bed since we didn't have to change them!

Time with family is never long enough, which was definitely true for this head-spinning weekend of a wedding and a funeral. We are thankful the Lord provided what we needed to go and that we could participate in such important family events.