La Dolce Vita

The Sweet Life.

This weekend, although unenviably busy (psychotically so), reminded me of how truly blessed I am.

First, Friday evening I had to attend a wedding rehearsal for some friends from church. I was singing a song for the ceremony, so I was there to make sure the CD would work, and the microphone was balanced with the sound coming through the speakers. The mic isn't used with an accompaniment CD at our church (unless there's a wedding), so it took a minute to get it all balanced the right way. The rehearsal went well, and it always blesses me to be a part of a wedding ceremony. I really love it, no matter what area I'm helping with. I really enjoy sharing what is (or should be) one of the happiest days of peoples' lives with them. Being involved in various weddings also makes my mind stray to my own, and how blessed I am to be with my husband. I have to drive for an hour to get to and from church, so it gave me plenty of time for more reflection on that topic as I made my way home.

Fast forward to my arrival back home after the rehearsal: my husband had already put the kids down (I didn't get home until 8 p.m.), had a bouquet of roses on the table, and had cooked a gourmet meal for us to share consisting of a buffalo filet, jumbo shrimp, and portobello mushrooms on a bed of steamed asparagus, a mediterranean spinach salad, fresh artisan Italian bread, and a wild berry pie for dessert. Just randomly, out of the blue, to surprise me. He surprised me! He started cooking a nice meal like this a couple of years ago, around the 1st of December, and has done it every year since. You'd figure I'd catch on, but I guess I'm a little slow. ;) He likes to do this in between Thanksgiving and the hecticness that most of December brings, just as a special evening just for us, just because. Awwwww.

OK, ok, enough gratuitous bragging about my better half.

Saturday morning was the wedding, and again my husband surprised (shocked) me by wearing a tie! I think he wears one, on average, about 3 times a year. Including Easter and Christmas. So I was pleasantly surprised (shocked) and made sure to tell him how fabulous he looked. The ceremony was beautiful, as was the bride (of course), and it was quick. 20 minutes, the best kind. My husband surprised me again by taking me out to lunch before we picked up the urchins, ah, I mean, our beautiful children, and came home. OK, so I'm still bragging after I said I would stop.

Sunday morning we had church as usual; we both wore what we did to the wedding, because it was already out and reasonably clean. Afterwards we attended a reception for the head of our children's ministry's daughter, who just turned one. Holy cow, I have NEVER seen a party like that for a one-year-old. It was lovely, but all the people made my son start shaking and crying, and start zoning and hand-flapping like crazy. We had to make an early departure, but it was still nice to spend time with church people, celebrate Michaela Grace's first birthday ~ and eat food, isn't that the point of any extra church functions outside of the worship services? :)

We didn't get home until nearly 3 in the afternoon. And we had to turn around and leave the house again at 3:30 to go to a different church for the 6:00 service ~ because some friends' two older children were getting baptized! Joe is the new associate pastor at a church in another town (he left us, *sniff*, but it's really great for the whole family), so we went with them for this event. Most of our small group drove up to see Connor and Grace's baptism, and it was really nice to see everyone come together. We didn't get home until after 10:00 p.m., because we all ate together afterwards...Even though we attend different churches now, our small group still gets together every week, still encourages and supports each other, studies, and goofs off together. And eats together...interesting how food keeps working its way in there!

It's easy for me to get caught up in the busy-ness of everything and the GO!GO!GO! mindset, the numbness that can set in with routine (however insanely busy that routine may be). That is what made this weekend all the more relevant for me, because in the midst of the happy chaos, I had time for reflection, and was reminded once again just how wonderfully Rich! Full! Blessed! my life truly is, with friends, family, joy. Makes me want to just glow sometimes. The sweet life, indeed.