Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance

For me...these seasons have collided.

My oh my. What a roller coaster 2011 has turned out to be! And as a result I am quite irritable, and tired and I have been taking lots of long baths. In fact, I finished Wuthering Heights due to all my long baths. Good book. A little disturbing, but a great read, nonetheless.

As I mentioned before, my sweet grandmother went into the hospital on January 1st. That was a Saturday. By Wednesday we began to realize that she was not going to recover from this heart attack...mild as it was.

Despite our heavy hearts, the wedding celebrations were upon us.

Prepare yourself...there are a lot of pictures!

Friday: Nails and Rehearsal Dinner

B's first mani/pedi

me and my new sis

rehearsing

the beginning of a new friendship

the fam
(no, i'm not prego...I know I kinda look it in that dress)


dad sayin' a few words

the cutest gifts ever!

Saturday: Hair and the Big Event

please do allow me to be a little silly about my wedding day hair.
OMG! I LOVED IT!
front

profile

back. i just loved what he did! ok...all done with that.

B's beautiful hair

this is the pillow i made for kelley and tyler.
i was pretty happy with how it turned out.
the beautiful bride
b and me

Mr. & Mrs. Tyler Jett
(Weird! my brother is like 12 years old...he can't be married! ;)

seriously...the cutest!

first dance

me and the pastor ;)

and here we are...at the end of the night...completely falling apart

So...we made it through the wedding. Even Braelyn.
But the very next day, it was back to the hard work of watching someone you love slip away.

From Sunday through Thursday we sat with her, especially my mom and my uncle, and waited, and told her we loved her when she was awake to hear it. Then, late Thursday night, my grandma passed away.

She was the sweetest lady that ever was.
She loved the Lord and loved her family.
She was an artist. Talented. Although, she never thought herself so.
She was lovely, but again, never thought herself so.
She was funny and sensitive and strong. There were many seasons that my grandma was not well, but she always fought so hard. And she always pulled through.
But the last few years, we have seen her grow tired...and so, while I am sad to see her go, I delight in knowing that she is is not tired anymore, rather, she is rejoicing in the company of our beautiful Savior. Praise the Lord that we have such a hope!

I love you, Grandma. And I will miss you.
It has been a privilege to share so much of my life with you.
Anne Elizabeth Toops
1928 - 2011

7 comments:

mandi said...

Oh Steph-
I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how close you were to your grandmother.

The wedding looks super glamorous! And you are smokin'! I mean it!

Jenny said...

Thank you for sharing about your Grandmother and all the love, through the joy and the sorrow that you have been around. Love and prayers to you and your family.

Traci said...

That was a beautiful tribute to your grandmother...very well said in every way. Thank you for sharing...enjoy the fragrance of memories.

Morgan said...

So sorry about your grandma, Steph. She sounded like a wonderful lady. I know she will be missed and you and your family are in my prayers.

Your hair was awesome. I loved how it looked in the front. I have issues with wedding hair. I've never liked how mine looks in the front...random, I know. With all your hair it must have taken forever!!

Coffman Family said...

Steph - what a whirlwind of emotions. Beautiful new beginnings followed by a different kind of beginning. I'll be praying for you as your mourn and rejoice for your grandma in the following weeks.

Keri said...

Hi Stephanie! I'm so sorry about your grandma. She was always so sweet!

I am keeping up with you on your blog now! I just love reading it! Congrats to Tyler! You are right he's only like 5 (to me!) He can't be married! lol! I hope things get better for you soon!

Braelyn is such a big girl now! can't believe how time fly's!

Abba's Girl said...

Love the pics, thank you for sharing the wedding w/ us. Sorry about your grandmother. I can picture her as clear as yesterday standing in the lobby of the studio with a smile on her face.

Love ya!