Back to school has been a very busy season for the Spear household.
I kicked off the year with 2 weeks of professional development at VOICE
followed by 3 weekends out of town and the return of all my school kiddos. When
not traveling I have been very busy comforting kindergarteners, counseling, conducting
groups, teaching “Mind, Body & Heart,” attending meetings, consulting with teachers
and parents, and drinking too much coffee.
The first trip was to Missouri for my grandmother’s 90th
birthday over Labor Day weekend. It was very special to be there to celebrate
with her and to see all the lives she has impacted. We started the weekend with
a family reunion of sorts. My dad’s side of the family is huge and lives all
over the country. My dad is the youngest of 6 kids and I’m the youngest of 13
grandchildren ranging from age late 40ish to 25 (me!). Almost all of my cousins
have kids of their own so there were tons of great grandchildren (some of these
“children” are in college now!) and even a great-great grandchild. I hadn’t
seen a few of my relatives since my grandmother’s 75th birthday so
it was crazy to see a 15-year difference on everyone. On Sunday we all piled
into her little church and my Dad shared a special message with the congregation.
He asked anyone in the church who had been impacted by my grandmother’s late
husband to stand. He then asked anyone in the church who had been impacted by
my grandmother to stand. Nearly everyone in the sanctuary was standing. My
uncle Danny also sang a song dedicated to my grandmother. After the service we
held a birthday party with church members and people from the community. Over
100 people attended. As I reflect on the weekend I couldn’t help but think of
how often we gather to honor people after they have already passed on to
heaven. What a blessing it was to celebrate my Grandmother in her very presence
and show her how much we appreciate her godly character and service to others.
She is a very special and loved lady.
The next weekend I headed to Arkansas solo for the wedding
of my childhood BFF, Marybeth. My friendship with Marybeth dates back to my
first day of kindergarten. We became instant and inseparable friends. Nearly
every childhood memory I have involves Marybeth in some way! My family moved away
to Kentucky when I was in 5th grade and the story goes that while we
were excited for the new adventures to come, our moms sobbed in the driveway as
we said our goodbyes. Kentucky turned into a wonderful place to finish out my
childhood and turn into a young adult but one regret is leaving Marybeth! I
sometimes think about what our friendship would have looked like if we could
have gone through our middle school and high school years together. Nevertheless
I still consider Marybeth to be a special friend and I was honored to witness her
big day. Congrats to Marybeth and GB. Can’t wait to double-date next time I’m
in Arkansas!
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Morning mocha with my parents before the wedding |
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Beautiful morning! |
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Walking Feaster Trail with my parents before the wedding |
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Hugs with the bride |
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Mothers/Daughters. Can you tell who goes with who?? |
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Epic photo bomb courtesy of my parents |
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Newlyweds! |
The final weekend of travel was to Rhode Island for Braden’s cousin’s wedding. This was quite the event! All of the guests spent the weekend at a beautiful country estate called “Whispering Pines” surrounded by forests, lakes, and streams. The day of the wedding we had a relaxing morning of bike riding and games before the “Wedding of the Century,” as my in-laws like to call it :) This thing went from 3:30 in the afternoon to sometime after 11:30pm when Braden and I finally hit the sack. But we had so much fun! Highlights included beautiful live music, stunning decore, a very handsome and hilarious MC (Okay, okay, my husband was the MC), funny toasts, dancing with Braden’s grandpa, and having a golden ticket at dinner which meant I got to take a slice of EVERY FLAVOR of cake. That was five slices of cake, people. FIVE. Congrats to Kasey and Ryan! Lucky for us they are living nearby in DC. I see more weekend travels in our near future!
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Hubs being ridiculous the night before the wedding |
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Rehearsal Dinner was a fun picnic-y BBQ |
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I loved all the little details
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Ryan and Kasey, less than 24 hours before tying the knot! |
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At our 5th wedding since our own! |
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Spear men: Braden. Grandpa Ray, Colby, Scott, Trent |
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Reunited with his brothers. Colby came from grad school in Germany and Trent from undergrad in Pennsylvania |
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Beautiful setting for a wedding! |