Going To The Chapel...

But instead we were at the ER. Ugh...Where do I begin?

I'm still bummed. Yesterday a girl that I have known since she was a pre-schooler got married. We grew up in the same church and if you know my church, it's really not that big, so it feels like an extended family. When I got married, she relentlessly joked that she was the Maid of Honor. She and everyone else in the youth group and church rallied around our wedding, making t-shirts and pins, having parties for me, helping with all the details, etc.

I was thrilled to be in town when Ryan, her beloved, proposed marriage and drove by the restaurant they were going to celebrate at to see her ring. (I didn't disrupt the meal...I caught them on the sidewalk outside.) If you know anything about me, you know I love weddings...anything and everything about them! I've been looking forward to this wedding for a long time! It was the largest motivating factor of getting me on a plane alone with Fletcher once again to make the cross country journey to Arizona. (Of course we love visiting family and friends...but getting me out here now was the wedding.) To top off the bliss, Jesse was still home when Fletcher and I left and he decided since he didn't have to travel for work right now, he'd join us in AZ for Halloween, our 8th wedding anniversary, and...you guessed it! Brittany's wedding.

Well, Friday morning, my niece got sick and went home from school. Next thing you know, my brother's sick. Before we knew it, Fletcher vomited all over Grandma's kitchen...poor guy...story for another time. Early the next morning, my sister-in-law got sick. Fletcher seemed to be doing a bit better Saturday morning, so we headed to meet friends for breakfast, at which point I had a complete aversion to food and simply wanted fresh air. Just after we got home, I got sick.

Now the debate began...to go or not to go? Let me nap and we'll see how I feel. Short nap and sick again. I felt like I got hit by a bus. Give it some time. Maybe we'll just go to the ceremony. Did we want to leave Fletcher with a sitter (who's completely capable, by the way) when he's so clingy and hasn't ever had a stomach bug? Well, she could call us and we'd be home quickly. Well, over six hours, I ended up getting sick about 14 times, if we didn't lose track. I couldn't keep anything down, so Jesse called the OB back home who said we should go to the ER.

As the ceremony was underway, we were checking in and the entire time I was getting bags of fluids and doses of Zofran through the IV, I was completely bummed out to be there and not enjoying wedding bliss. Everyone else? Well...they got through it much quicker and were able to muster up the strength to enjoy the evening, while Jesse juggled me and Fletcher. Around the time we intended to leave the reception, I was discharged from the hospital and heading home.

When I got back to my parent's house, I had all kinds of questions. How beautiful did she look? What did the cake look like? What song did they dance to? Bobby sang? I was wondering if he would perform. I should have asked her to take notes, but understandably, Mom just enjoyed her time there with everyone. I got sick 4 times after that and propped myself up to catch some sleep for a couple hours.

This morning, we went to church because we had to take Jesse to the airport anyway. I purposely put on the dress, shoes, and jewelry I brought specifically for the wedding. I looked at my beautiful toes and was still glad I got a pedicure a couple days ago so my feet would look nice for the wedding. I visited with people this morning that I really wanted to talk with more at the wedding. I cried to the grandmother of the bride (probably the 3rd or 4th time I had cried about missing the wedding) about how much I wanted to be there. I asked if she thought Brittany would be up to doing the whole thing over again Monday night. I want to visit her and have her put on her dress. The timing of the stomach virus was just rotten...that's all there is to it.

 I think I was also looking forward to a night out with Jesse. I've been to three weddings without him since we moved to NC (unless I'm forgetting one) and it's always better with a date. I think I was also looking forward to seeing another wedding in the church we were married in. So, I don't have any pictures of my own, but Brittany's grandmother said there's an enormous amount of pictures and a video. Maybe one day I'll get to see it all! For now, I'll have to trust Reece's response, when he was asked "What was your favorite part of the wedding?" He said, "Brittany...she looked like a white princess."

Rylie and Reece were the flower girl and ring bearer. These four pictures are from my mom's camera.



I'm still not 100%. I don't think Fletcher or Rylie are either. Everyone is worn out. Hopefully Mom, Dad, and Reece can somehow manage to avoid it.

Well, Brittany and Ryan...even though we didn't make it to the actual event...know that we tried our best (flying here, setting up a sitter, etc.) to get there. We wish you all the best and can't wait to watch the rest of your lives unfold together!