Wow. What a rush. This past week has been such a whirlwind ride that I'm not sure if my feet are even on the ground YET. There is so much to tell, and I'm not sure in my present state if I can even do it justice, but I will try.
I picked up Shanna and Kyle at the airport Friday night. I immediately liked him, he has honest eyes, an infectious laugh, and genuine love for my daughter radiating from every pore of his being. What's not to like? So, we loaded up and headed south.
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, and full of promise. Shanna and I headed to see her dad, for the first time in 14 years. I could tell she was nervous, but excitement outweighed it by far. We had a few anxious moments at the beginning, because of a paperwork snafu, and then we were in. When he came through the door, she was scared to turn around and look at him, but I took her shoulders, and turned her, and she looked. And when he held out his arms to her, she fell into them, and they just stood there sobbing their hearts out for all those years that have been deprived of them. It was just so easy. There was never any strain or difficulty, and they fell into a pattern of laughter and cameraderie that continued over the next week. Suddenly, all those questions seemed unimportant. They would keep, and if not, it just didn't seem to matter anymore. There were a lot of tears all around, but they were good tears...healing tears. And there was love. She shared with him that she was expecting, that she was engaged, that they wanted to wait to have a full-blown wedding until he could walk her down the aisle. And that if the baby was a boy, they wanted to name him after his Grandpa. One blessing after another kept heaping into Tex's lap. And when they told him they wanted to move to GA so they could be closer to him, he just fell apart. And I don't have to tell you I was right there with him.
By Sunday afternoon, the tears were coming a little faster, but we knew we still had 4 days to look forward to, this time with Kyle, too. So it wasn't so bad. Sunday afternoon, we headed back to Conyers, and stopped first at Andy and Sherry's house for a long-awaited 18th birthday talk, in which much was revealed...both ways.
Monday was spent be-bopping around town with various family members and resting up from the weekend, and Monday night my family held a birthday party for Shanna at my mom's house, where she broke the news to them.
Tuesday, they went with my mom to trim a christmas tree, and get a marriage license, and Tuesday night we went to my Aunt Judy's house for dinner, and she broke the news to them, along with the fact that they were getting married the next day by Andy's best friend Mike, who also married me and Alan. Thus began the great shopping rush to get everyone ready for the festivities. I've never seen a wedding thrown together so well in such little time!
Wednesday, while Shanna went shopping with Judy and my mom, Kyle went to work with me, so we could keep them apart, and also so we could go shopping for rings. We did good. That night, at Dickerson's Automotive, they said their vows in front of their family. And Grandbear made the trip from TN and surprised us all. We didn't think either of them would be able to make it on such short notice. It meant so much that he could be there. Afterward, we had a small reception at Andy and Sherry's house, complete with a beautiful coconut wedding cake, and then Grandbear drove the newlyweds to their hotel room...but not without stopping first at the waffle house for a 'talk'.
Thursday morning, we left bright and early for S. Ga again, and spent the next 4 days laughing, joking, bonding, and planning for our future. Alan has now redesigned our house plans to include a nursery for the baby, since they have decided to live with us for a while to make up for so much lost time. And even though it was so hard to say goodbye Sunday night, and take them back to the airport, we have made tentative plans to move them up this coming weekend. I just need to get the official go-ahead from them as to exactly when they'll be ready...I'm ready NOW.
All things considered, it went so well...far beyond our wildest dreams. We have not only added our youngest daughter back into our family, but gained a new son and future grandbaby as well. And we are all profoundly thankful for all the blessings God has chosen to bestow on us thoughout this year, and the coming year, too.
Thank you, Lord, for these and all of your blessings, we are most humbly grateful.
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