My Littlest Brother Got Himself Married!

There really is very little better than a family weekend. But adding a wedding - and as a result a sister - to the mix is pretty fantastic.

Our drive to Chicago went so smoothly I told Derek I thought it another simple sign that Erik and Rebecca are meant to be! haha. Jack slept the entire time and Marie got an okay nap and sat quietly the rest of the time.

 

At the hotel we got some swimming in before the rehearsal.

 I spent the entire time with my kids, trying to rally them and keep them out of trouble. So for me the rehearsal was a little chaotic, but since it was super short, I think it went very smoothly for everyone else!

 Honestly, I was a little nervous about this wedding because it was nothing like the typical wedding in this family. It was an ALL DAY affair. With Derek in the wedding party and the wedding itself starting right in the middle of nap time, a lot of prayer preceded!

Jack sustaining 2nd degree burns from grabbing my hair straightener an hour and a half before start time did not help matters... at all.

But praise the Lord, he finally quieted down just in time for us to sneak into the front row. Marie didn't quite make it all the way down the aisle. My only real regret. I should have been back there encouraging her to go but I was hoping having Paw-Paw, Uncle Erik, Uncle Kyle, and Daddy all up front beckoning her would be enough. Oh well. She made it down for the rehearsal!

It was a beautiful ceremony. And even though there were plenty of stressful moments (for me) at the reception, it was overall a wonderful time! And what made it all the more wonderful was chatting with Derek afterwards about how much fun they had as a wedding party in the limo and during pictures. It all was totally worth it knowing that my new sis-in-law got her dream wedding and my littlest brother got his dream girl.

Derek managed to get Jack to sleep. I'm pretty sure he would have slept straight through the night right there on the floor.

And now my baby girl can't stop talking about getting married like Aunt Rebecca and flying away in a helicopter!

We were so blessed and grateful to be a part of this day. We paid for gas and that was it!! What a blessing! And we're so excited to spend some quality time with my baby brother and his new wife in the near future!