Sam & Leah's Wedding - Part I

September 12, 2015 - We're at the lovely Mays' farmhouse...

...the crowd is all gathered...

...and it's time for the wedding of Leah and Sam!

Oh, and first a thanks to Ashley for helping me get the lens cap off of my camera 

(which, if you remember where we left off, was still jammed during my visit to the exhibit on Nazi propaganda, and must've been initially jammed at Ashley's birthday party.)

All that to say, since I wasn't having to use my phone to take photos, this is the only selfie in this post - and actually the only selfie I took all day.  Aren't we glad...

...especially when there are so much cuter faces to be getting pics of:

Okay, now that you're caught up on the drama of my camera lens cap, let's move on to the ceremony:

Leading the grandparents to their seats

Parents of the groom

Heston escorting - wait...that's Wyatt...

And then the groom sees the bride coming

Mr. Mays gives Sam her hand

"Turn and face each other"

The bride and groom and their parents praying together...I love these snapshots...

For this reason a man shall leave his father...

... and his mother...

Unity sand

and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 

What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.

It's 12:01am, so I'm going to have to end this post with...

Continue to part II

Silver Dollar City

May 26, 2015 - Thank you very much to the Jones family for getting these photos while we were at the park!  I brought my camera, but not the SD card, so this visit was grossly undocumented on my part.

Welcome to Silver Dollar City

Almost feel bad for kicking a poor girl and an old guy out of the way so we could get this photograph.

Almost.

We three kings of Orient are...

Checking out Powder Keg before we get in line...

...and only the very brave few still got on the ride!  Oh, brave and also patient.  There was a 45 minute line.

I wish that my face before we blasted off at 50-something mph had been captured! :)  Let your imagination go wild. 

The guys.

Properly spaced and positioned so that none of us are touching.  And so that I look short.

The ladies on the other hand...

...didn't get the memo about the no contact thing. ;)

New Year's Ball

January 2, 2015 -  I can’t believe that 2015 is finally here!  What better way to inaugurate this year’s blog posts than photos from the New Year’s Ball?
A quick word about 2014:
2014 has come and gone and the year brought forth a lot of change and growth within the dynamics of our family.  God has been incredibly gracious to us this year.  I was so thankful that we were able to able to celebrate and bring in the new year together.  That said, I am very excited to see where the Lord leads us in 2015 as we continue to grow and mature!
Okay, I could go on and on reflecting over the past year, but let’s get this party started!  It’s time to celebrate the new year with one of the biggest social events of the season…the New Year’s Ball!

I always have to throw in some still-life shots. ;)

This enchanting passageway led to the beautifully decorated dancing floor:

I always love the sense of “space” that lights strung overhead create and how their dim light adds to the ambience of the room.

This one photo captures the many forms of socialization that occurs at these dances.

Little gatherings of people engaged in conversation, hugs with friends, and photos being taken – in my case, while standing on a chair.

Larissa, Emma, Daniele

Sara, Brittany, Marjo

(Same as above + Larissa’s outstretched hand)

Marscel and I

The Regency outfits were absolutely stunning!

Josiah and I

Alexa

Alexa and Meghan

Micah & Larissa

Danielle and Mr. Martin

Hannah, Melanie, Rebecca, Sarah, Mrs. Thomas

DANCING

“There were more Dancers than the Room could conveniently hold, which is enough to constitute a good Ball at any time.” – Jane Austen, 1799

We danced many of the favorites from the Regency time period

Watching a dance demonstration

The evening ended with an encore dance, “The Scottish Polka.”

Driving home

Belleville’s decorated main street looks like it came from a story book

Thank you for your continued interest in our family and our blog over the past year – I look forward to sharing future posts in the coming year!
– Andrew Wong