The day has come.....the youngest, the baby and the last of the family is married! What a fun, happy and enjoyable day it was! All of my siblings were there except Meredith. Her husband is in medical school in Hawaii and wasn't able to make the trip, understandably so. We missed her and her kids!
The day before the wedding, we had a dinner and a devotional at my parent's church building. We got to meet Bronson's family. They are from Astoria so not far from us. Bronson's mom made a yummy Cafe Rio type dinner. It was delicious!! Afterwards, we went inside to watch a slide show of the engaged couple.
This summer has been amazing! The weather was perfect. Hardly any rain and not too hot. Sadly the forecast called for RAIN on Emily's wedding day. My faithful mother began to fast and pray. My mother is one of the most faithful people I know! If she fasted, prayed and had faith to move a mountain, it would move. That is how strong her faith is.
The morning of the wedding, it was overcast but no rain. The ceremony was great. The temple president of the Portland Temple, sealed Emily and Bronson. They gave them wise counsel. It reminded me of my special wedding day with Brett.
We took pictures outside the temple afterwards. The girls (nieces) were cutely dress in their golden dresses and the boys (nephews) were handsome dressed in their blue bow ties. We quickly drove back to my parents' house where Tiffany and I were to put on the luncheon. We prepared chicken salad on croissants, veggies and fruit. It was an easy meal and no chances of staining kids' clothes.
After eating, we dashed over to the reception. The reception was held at the Stevenson's home. In case of bad weather, the reception was going to relocate to the church. But my mom had faith that the rain will cease until the reception was over. The Stevenson's house had acres of beautiful grass surrounded with a small forest of trees. The place.....is.....gorgeous!!! Oh how I wish I had a place like that to let my kids roam free and explore! Anyway, back to the reception. Emily asked Brett to be the DJ there. He set up all his sound equipment while I helped with decorating. It started to lighly rain and the wind started to pick up a bit. We were able to get more pictures taken of the whole family and individual families. The kids spent most of their time running, exploring and playing on the playground set.
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| Clark, Asher, Addison, Jackson, Preston, Bryson, Spencer, Dorothy, Elliot |
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| Aunt Andrea, cousin Andie |
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| Uncle Geoff (my mom's brother Aunt Peggy) |
Guest started to show up and were surprised that the reception wasn't at the church since it was raining everywhere. We soon learned there was a small pocket of clearing where the reception was held that had no rain. It was miracle! I thought I would share this same story my mother wrote on her blog, so you can hear it in her own words.
"We have a family history story that has been told many times in our family that happened to Crismon's great-great grandfather, George Deliverance Wilson, Grandma Esther's grandfather. This is his recorded account:
This story has significant meaning to our family, too, because of the "miracle" that happened at Emily & Bronson's Reception.
On Wednesday evening, while we were in the temple with our children and their spouses, I asked all our family "Since we are in temple, we all need to pray that we'll have good weather on the day of the wedding as there is predicted thunderstorms." Dallin commented, "But Mom, we're in a drought." I said, "It can rain anywhere, but just not on our reception." Tiffany added, "Are you asking for a George Deliverance Wilson miracle." "Yes," I responded, "a George Deliverance Wilson miracle." Of course, I was not necessarily being serious, but hopeful.
The weather was not favorable the day of the wedding. Thunderstorms were predicted and there was down pour of rain in various places. We debated whether to hold the reception inside, at the stake center, but Emily wanted to have it so badly in the Stevenson's yard, that we kept pushing forward with the decision. They were so kind to let us hold it in their yard.
Gratefully we didn't have rain at the temple, but it was raining as we drove home. When we arrived at the Stevenson's that evening to set up for the reception, the wind gusts were strong, blowing the tablecloths off the tables. Everyone kept moving forward with plans. Just as the event started, the winds began to die down.
All through the reception we could see dark clouds all around us, but right over their yard was a clear sky, with sunlight coming through. It was incredible to see. Occasionally throughout the evening, Bryce Stevenson would check a radar and it showed it was raining all around us but a strip right through his parent's property.
Some of the guests went to the church house first, thinking we had been rained out as there had been a huge downpour in Gresham. Many questioned why we were there as it was stormy in other places. After months of praying for good weather, I was concerned, but not worried. I just had this feeling that things would work out.
Gratefully, we had the entire reception without any rain. When we walked into their neighbors property to send off Emily & Bronson, you could feel some rain drops, but as we walked back into the Stevenson's yard, it wasn't raining.
Just minutes after Emily and Bronson left, I received a text from Emily that said, "Hurry and clean up. The rain is coming, it is a downpour here." We quickly cleaned up, loaded our cars and were on our way. Then, just as we drove off, then the rain came. We were surprised to see that many areas had been soaked by a good down pour. We were greatly blessed. In a way, we had our own "George Deliverance Wilson miracle."
After the reception, we hurried and cleaned up since we heard the rain was coming. As soon as we got in the car, the rain came and it poured! I am grateful I could witness this miracle and I hope I can have the kind of faith my mom has! She is amazing! We are so happy and excited for Bronson and Emily! We wish them the very best.
The following week, they had an Open House for Bronson's friends and church family in Astoria. Funny story, my ol' college roommate, Jennifer Galloway Goldthrope, is in Bronson's home ward. She moved there sometime after she got married but I didn't know that since I lost touched and couldn't find her on Facebook for a long time. She couldn't come to the reception and I really wanted to go to the Open House but I couldn't because of my Stake Calling. I was in charge of a big event for the Boy Scouts and felt like I couldn't get away. Anyway, since my parents went to the Open House, they were able to meet her. Oh how I wish I could see her and catch up!
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