Two Weddings and a Birthday

This Saturday was a busy one! I drove to Little Rock for my Mom's birthday. I got there just in time to go to lunch with Mom and Dad. We went to a cute little tea garden restaurant in North Little Rock. And my Dad was the only male in there. Kinda cute!

Afterward, Mom opened some of her goodies:

We are suckers for pretty packaging!

She got some nice goodies from The Joneses/my in-laws:

One of those divine soy candles and a lovely cross dish from a Marion gift shop

...and my present for Mom was a bust.

Dad and I got tickets for the 3 of us to see Norah Jones in Memphis on Mother's Day Weekend.

Mom was so excited when she opened the box with Norah's CD and the tickets!

...until she realized that it's the same weekend she just bought a plane ticket for to go see my sister.

So, that sucks.

Great for Mom to see my sis again! Sucks that my surprise present was a flop! Oh well....

Anyway, we had 2 weddings on our agenda for the night. First up, my cousin Heather and her fiance Corey in Sheridan, Arkansas. It was so beautiful and sweet! Then we headed to their reception back in North Little Rock. It was lovely, too!

The food was outstanding. I went back and fixed another plate.
Yowzers.

Mom with her baby brother!
The happy father of the bride :)

Dad & daughter dance. It was to that Tim McGraw song about "beautiful baby from the outside in....," you know the one.
This is when all the ladies in our family teared up!

Happy Birthday, Mom! You are gorgeous!

{and so are my pearls from you, Keith! love 'em!}

Cute, cute little parents


Then, we headed over to Adam Lynches reception. Adam's older sister is one of my best friends, Joanna, and Adam was my brother, Kyle's, very best friend.
So, this was a special night.

Dad with the groom

Dad loves my friends so much! Here he is with Lauren and Whit.
He became so close to them when he went as a leader on our church backpacking trip after senior year of high school.

Group pic. There's Joanna lookin' good in her pretty bridesmaid dress.

Up close and lovely!

Mom with the groom, Adam
We love him so much....

This picture gives me a lump in my throat.

These are Kyle's closest friends.

We love these boys.

It is wonderful to see them growing up, getting married, and living happy, full lives.

It is hard, very hard, too. Bittersweet, I'd say. 

These are the times when I think "he should be here." 

But, I have to remind myself that he is.

There are just some moments in life when you have to put on that smile and fight back the urge to curl up and cry.
Taking this photo together was one of them.

But, worth it. Thank you, boys.

All in all, it was a great night with lots of hugging and congratulating. And lots of birthday wishes for Mom! Best wishes to both married couples!