Happy Birthday, Hannie!

Today is a special day for a very special person. My little sissy turns 22 today. It's strange watching your little sister grow up, because, that's exactly how you think about her: she's you're little sister and she's supposed to be, well, "little." But now she's growing up to be such a beautiful woman. She's in her final year of undergrad at UNCW, studying behavioral psychology (I think...? Well, it's some sort of psychology!) and pretty much ready to go conquer the world.

In all honesty, I envy her a little. She's fearless and carefree, never met a stranger, knows what she wants and goes after it. She takes advantage of every moment and doesn't let anything hold her back. Someday, she's going to have to best stories to tell her kids about when she was their age. (Or perhaps those are the sort of stories you DON'T tell your kids.)

I still remember the days of teasing her and sending her to do all of our "errands" that we didn't feel like doing or talking to people that we didn't want to approach. She and I were definitely not the best of friends growing up. In fact, we hated each other. She bugged me and I was mean to her. When Beka went off to college, she actually told my mom that she was scared of me because Beka had always protected her. That's pretty intense. But actually, after Beka went off to college, both of us grew up and we became really good friends.

My biggest disappointment now is that I don't get to see her more often. But she's in school taking like 18 hours of class on top of holding down 2 jobs and an internship (or something equally as crazy) and it's difficult for us to just pick up for the weekend and go to visit someone, especially with having a dog at home now. But I'm very excited that I get to see her this weekend! I'm taking a day trip with my parents out to Wilmington to hang out with her for a few hours to celebrate her birthday. I'm so excited! I don't know that I've actually hung out with her since Beka's wedding. That's way too long.

So, Hannah, here's to you. You are so beautiful and inspiring and I'm so proud to have you as a sister. I hope today and this year bring you that much closer to your goals and dreams. I know you'll accomplish whatever you set out to do. Happy Birthday, love!

2 Days!

My big sissy gets married in 2 days! Cannot begin to say how excited I am... and how busy! This week has already gotten crazy. I met up with the fam yesterday to put some of the centerpieces together (They look great, by the way. And now you know that they were personally made by us!) along with some other bits of the decor.

We'll be heading back over there today to actually set some of it up. I believe the tables should already be in place, so we'll be making sure they all look good and coordinating the table numbers and seating arrangements, etc. It's been a lot of fun getting ready for this wedding, I think because it's for someone that I love so much and I get to be really involved, but I'm not dealing with the stresses of it being my day. Also, my wedding was the first wedding I'd ever been in, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Now, 3 weddings later, I'm a seasoned professional (or whatever).

But following the set up today, I still got mani/pedis and dinner with the fam and the luncheon tomorrow and rehearsal in the evening, not to mention several errands that still need to be run. When will it all get done? I have no idea, but it will.

And somewhere in all of this, I still have to finish up my toast. I've gotten a good bit of it written, but I need to do some fine tuning and add a few more things to it. I've something special up my sleeve and I'm super excited and super nervous. I'm not the best public speaker. In fact, sitting here right now thinking about it, I just got butterflies in my stomach. Will definitely need a little wine beforehand to help calm my nerves!

It's probably going to be too crazy to do any more posts over the next couple of days, but I'll be sure to give a wrap up after the event. Can't wait!

Bacheloretting

Well here we are hardly a week before my sister's wedding. It's been a crazy couple of months with everything going on with this. I think I've been busier with this wedding than I was with my own. Is that normal? Perhaps it is, sometimes. But if there's anyone in the world that I want to make feel special on her wedding day, it's my big sis.

My sister is one of the sweetest, kindest people you'll ever meet and she'll do anything for you. If there's ever anyone I know I can call in the middle of the night and she'll be there to help me out, it's Beka. She was so great throughout all of my wedding planning, (which is perhaps why I didn't feel as busy... she took care of all of it!) and made sure that I had everything I wanted without all of the stress. I've done my best to be the same for her, but there's no way I could ever do that, but I've tried to make each step special.

A couple of weeks ago, Beka's future sister-in-law and I threw a shower for her and her fiance. It was a beautiful day and we grilled out and it was fabulous. (Plus, I had a great time hanging out with Beka's 9-week-old soon-to-be nephew!) Then this past weekend, we planned a Bachelorette weekend for Beka (and 13 others) in Asheville. It was magical, we rented a place in the woods that had a firepit and hot tub. We ate lots of good food... and drank lots of good wine... and explored Asheville a little. In the evening we went out to some local bars/nightclubs, and although it took us half of the night to find a good place, I think everyone had a great time wandering around the town. (There are some pictures involving a pig that I'm not allowed to show that can attest to that!)

But the best part about the weekend was just the time spent together. I don't know a lot of Beka's friends too well, so it was nice to get to know all of them a little more. It was nice to just get away and have some girl-time. Not all of the conversations were pleasant. Some were downright painful. But I feel that those involved left understanding each other a little better and having formed a deeper relationship.

I know there were some moments that were difficult (what do you expect when you've got 14 women in one place??) and unpleasant, but I really hope my sister felt special and realized how much everyone loves her... even if it wasn't always apparent.

So, Beka, I love you and I'm so happy for you and hope you've felt as special and you made me feel. I can't wait to stand next to you on your big day!