Saturday, July 29th, was my best friend’s wedding.  Kailey Enloe married Mark Leesman in a 5:00 pm service at First Baptist Church, Jefferson City.  It was a beautiful ceremony and an even more beautiful bride.  It has seemed like a whole week of festivities.  I spent Thursday with the bride and her mom running lots of errands.  The flowers arrived from South America so we prepared them; we got our fake tans and our manicures and pedicures. We made the necessary Walmart run.  Friday was a full day again with decorating the church and reception hall; a beautiful bridal luncheon hosted by Kailey’s aunts; the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.  Mark and Kailey both have incredibly large families so it was a large crowd all weekend.  Kailey, a bridesmaid and a her friend stayed at my house Friday night.  Saturday we went to get our hair done.  Kailey and I then went to Clinque for our make-up and on to the church for pictures and the wedding.  It really has been tons of fun. The wedding was so beautiful, elegant and flawless.  It was a wonderful ceremony.  Then we had a blast at the reception that evening with dinner and dancing. 

I posted a few pictures in the "Random Life" section and will post a link later when the professional photos are posted.

The following is the toast that I gave at the reception Saturday night so you can read my love for Kailey.  She is an amazing friend and she has found a great husband in Mark.  Mark – I’m glad to call you friend as well.

While in college, I was strolling pass some display windows in Springfield, MO, when an artwork print caught my attention. I was mesmerized by it. I could not get it out of my mind.    My gracious sister surprised me that next year on my birthday with that print and I cherished it.

It was several years before I found the right frame for my print. Most of it was due to my patient search for a frame that was worthy of it.  It was a challenge to find one that suited it, that enhanced it, that looked like it was made for it. But it was worth the wait and eventually, I found a frame that together with my print, created a masterpiece.

Kailey – you are a true work of art.  You have been a portrait of friendship that is inspiring and humbling.  I’m touched by your compassionate spirit and awestruck of your strength and courage.  You are wise beyond your years and my life is more beautiful because of your presence in it.

Like my cherished painting, I want the best frame possible for you.  You’ve dreamed, we’ve talked and we’ve prayed about the kind of man that would compliment you best. And you never found him.   You found someone even better than you dreamed of, someone more perfect for you than you hoped for . . . in Mark.

Mark – you bring such joy and happiness to Kailey.  I love to watch the two of you together.  I delight in the way Kailey’s face lights up when she talks of you or when she is near you.  You frame her out well because you are quality yourself. Steady, and strong, a protector of her heart, not overpowering but complimenting her beautifully. She has found a frame that suits her and I can rest with ease because I know you realize you are sharing your life with a work of art.

Kailey and Mark – We raise our glasses to you and look forward to seeing the beautiful masterpiece that God will create with your life now joined together.   Congratulations.

Congratulations Mark and Kailey and many, many happy years to you!

From My RevGal Blog Ring:

Many areas of the United States are having a heat wave. Global warming, anyone? Look on the bright side of melting glaciers and enviro-destruction by taking a crack at the Friday Five:

1. What’s the high temperature today where you are? 94

2. Favorite way(s) to beat the heat.  Chocolate Ice Cream

3. "It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity." Evaluate this statement.  A very popular statement in Missouri.  It is the excuse we give in response to those in the South that complain about "100" degree temperatures compared to our complaints of "90s".  Not wanting to be thought of as pansies, we respond, "Well, it’s not heat, its the humidity." Take that.

4. Discuss one or more of the following: sauna, hot tub, sweat lodge, warm-stone massage. The most amazing hot tub experience I had was at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Frisco, Colorado, during an annual ski trip with friends.  The frigid walk from the condo to the hot tub, shuttering as I go wrapped in a towel as my flip flops crunch in the snow.  "Something is seriously wrong with this picture," I thought to myself. But once I slid into that steaming hot tub and enjoy the contrast of the cold mountain air and the boiling hot water under the canopy of the majestic mountains and sparkling stars, I understood the enticement of such an odd winter activity.

5. Hottest you’ve ever been in your life. Working in the kitchen of a homeless shelter in New Orleans several years ago on a mission trip with youth.  Combo of summer heat, oven heat, dishwasher heat, body heat and no airconditioning created a very intense sauna like kitchen to slave away in as we prepared and served lunches.   But it really wasn’t the heat . . . . it was the humidity.

Non-temperature related bonus: In your opinion… who’s hot?

Matthew McConaughey – HELLO!!!!