We never thought it was going to happen, but it finally did!! Mimi's prayers have been answered!
For those of you who may not know my brother Jeff, he has always been the so-called "black sheep" of the family. He's covered in tattoos. He used to not wear shoes or use any product of P&G to make a social statement (he has since come around and realized those things might be slightly useful). He only owns two pair of pants because he says you can only wear one of them at a time and you need one to wear while you're washing the others. He is one of the most interesting people in the world and has a very unique perspective on it. He's one of those people who always takes the hardest road, even if there are big flashing lights over the easy one. If something is going to go wrong, it's going to go wrong for him. Bless his heart, he's had a very rough road to get to now, albeit partly his own fault.
Almost 8 years ago, he started dating a girl named Johnna. Jeff and Johnna are of the same spirit and have lasted through thick and thin. She helps him keep his head on straight and vice-versa. She had a little girl, Nia, that she brought into the relationship and that made Jeff have to grow up a little because now he was responsible for someone other than himself part of the time. Our family just assumed that things would continue in this manner, assuming that they would stay a little threesome, but always wondering if some conflict would split them.
Then enter Penelope!! Two years ago on October 11th, Penelope Byrd entered this world and Jeff Collins has never been the same. She has made him a daddy in every sense of the word. She also, I believe, helped him to see what true love is. And because of that, Jeff asked Johnna to marry him. Unbelievable!!!
So, over Labor Day weekend, we all converged upon King, NC and celebrated the wonderful union of two soul-spirits and their little family. A family friend of Johnna's let them use his antique store grounds for the wedding. They worked for a week, rearranging and decorating and preparing. Part of the grounds were set up for camping, as most of their friends did over the weekend. It was the most unique wedding I've ever been to, by far, but completely as expected. And a soft rain fell during the outdoor ceremony, which was totally fitting!! We had the best time!
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| Papa found his spot with the babies during the cookout Friday night. |
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| The four sibs |
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| The Collins Fam on Jeffro's big day! |
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Johnna did so much work preparing and decorating--
it really was beautiful!! |
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| The silver cake with bamboo plates and utensils |
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| Johnna hand-died all of the napkins. |
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| Husband and wife!! |
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| The happy couple! |
Mimi and Papa and Penelope all stayed with us for the weekend, so I got some great pics in between wedding festivities. We also celebrated Sarah's, Jason's, and Papa's birthdays since everyone was together.
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| Anna needed a photo with Mimi and Papa for school. |
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| Mimi and the babies |
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| Blowing out the birthday candles! |
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| Jack says, "I love cake!!" |
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| Caroline is so silly! |
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| Nellie loved the doggy door! |
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| Mimi and Papa with four out of five grandkids. |
