Perfect Love

The last 24 hours have been an absolute whirlwind. From running errands, to last minute phone calls, and picking up wedding must-haves, I feel like I need to come up for air. As crazy and busy as it is, it really could not be better. My best friend is getting married tomorrow...my best friend...is getting married...tomorrow. I keep repeating this to myself like it's going to click at some point but it hasn't yet. Last night the entire wedding party got together for the first time and had a blast. I've been so excited for the longest time, but I've let the rushing and planning take over the fun. We finished up rehearsal and headed out to dinner and I started to realize just what I had forgotten about. We have the best wedding party ever. Seriously, we do. Once we all started to have fun, I remembered how excited I was and started to relax and enjoy myself. I let go of the schedule and the plans, and just had fun. More than that, I realized something so much more special than to enjoy this time:

When I look at my best friend and her incredible fiancé, I see love. I see a love that is perfect. The thing about perfect love is that you love despite the flaws in the other person. No one is perfect, but by loving the good and bad in someone it makes the love you share absolutely perfect.

This is such a wonderful and special time for us all, and I could not be happier for these two amazing friends. I'm thankful to call them my friends, but more blessed by what they've taught me. I just pray that I can share that deep, perfect love with someone who loves every bit of the perfect and imperfect me.

Sil Time.

I've written about my dear friend, Amber, many times in my blog. She's one of those friends that you just adore with all your heart. It warms my soul when I am with her and when I look back on what we've been through together.

The past few months we've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time together. We've done everything from dinner, to pool days, to shopping for her big day. Recently we got together to assemble some invitations. This is how most of the evening was spent:

 Stacks and stacks of envelopes...

with a table full of supplies.

We spent a good while working on them, and in the middle of learning how to tie pretty ribbons and making glue dots stick, Amber said some of the sweetest words. We were having a conversation about my "if-I-ever" wedding and I said something that started with, "If I ever get married....." She looked at me and got a little grin and her words that followed were so kind. She told me that she learned a long time ago that in waiting comes God's plan. She told me of how before she met Jason, her fiance, she swore that she would never get married and quit looking for a man. She said that once she got to that point, she met Jason and found the man God had for her. I just smiled as her words put me at ease. 

She also assured me that there is in fact a man out there for me, and that my time will come and when it does, she will be there for me, through every step of the way.

Thank you, Lord, for the sweet s-i-l of mine.

And pretty invitations. 

What a weekend.

I have not had a weekend like this past one in such a long time. I absolutely loved it. I needed a break from the real world for a little while. I got to just enjoy myself and have fun with people I love dearly.

Friday was a day I was looking forward to for the entire last week. One of my best friends, Amber, got engaged and her now fiance surprised her with having all of their best friends and family at dinner to share in their celebration. They arrived and she was expecting to have a nice, quiet, romantic dinner but was shocked to see twelve of their closest friends ready to celebrate their exciting news!

It was great to get to share in their special night and enjoy it with good friends. We definitely had a good time and it made me excited for their wedding!

Amber has been my SIL since the day we met. Being a friend of almost six years, we have grown to be as close as friends get. We don't always get to spend as much time together as we would like but every time we are together it's like time stood still. She is one of the greatest people I know and I am blessed and thankful to call her a friend. I am so happy for her and happy she found a wonderful man.