Preparing for the Royal wedding (part II)

I sent Dad an email and told him to keep a low key and let things fly off the cuff.  I knew the next two weeks before the wedding would be stressful for Claudia.  I also talked with him on the phone the week before the wedding and told him to be the calm in the storm.  He assured me he was being the calm in the storm.

A few days before the wedding, I was sitting on the front porch thinking about Mom.  I stood up and rang the chimes because the chimes remind me of her.  As soon as I rang the chimes, I looked up and saw a deer standing in the cul-de-sac.  The deer heard me ring the chimes and stared at me.  I told Lauren later and she said, “That’s like Granny because a deer is gentle, calm, and sweet.”  Leave it to a twelve year old to explain the truths in God’s nature. 

Lauren and Ashton were excited about the wedding.  One day, Ashton went around the house saying, “We’re going to Granddaddy’s wedding.  We’re going to Granddaddy’s wedding.”  I was excited about the wedding also and about Dad and Claudia getting married.  I did not know what my thoughts would be the day of the wedding.  I did not want to forget about Mom.  Could I focus on the wedding and not be in sorrow about her?

Thursday night, we arrived at Dad’s house around eleven at night.  Claudia wanted me to be there when I got to Dad’s house, so she could see my facial expressions when I saw the house for the first time.  I was the last of the girls to see the house.

I soaked each room in one at a time.  It did not even look like the same house.  Everything was crisp and new.  Of course Claudia had everything decked to a tee.  The house looked fantastic.

That night we gave them one of their wedding gifts.  I brought two kinds of Dad’s favorite cookies from my shop, and I brought Claudia’s favorite too.  I put the cookies in a cute white tin with a plastic lid, so they could take it on their honeymoon.  We also gave her a golden metal basket to put her keys in, so she would not lose them.

I made them a wedding themed bouquet of cookies.  I decorated a cookie that looks like a groom in his tux, a bride in her gown, a wedding cake, a wedding bell, one with “J” for Jim on it and another bell with “C” for Claudia.  I wanted to give the groom grey hair since Dad has grey hair but decided to be nice.   It was precious.

Evelyn had a doll in her garage sell that turns in circles and plays, “Here comes the bride.”  We gave it to them as a joke.  The four girls also gave them a gift card to Home Depot, so they could get a new grill.  The grill is desperately needed.  The last time I used Dad’s grill, it had major problems.