Last Week!

And now we are in single digits. Today was day three until the wedding! It is definitely approaching.

This last week means that things have definitely picked up wedding-wise. Mom is constantly calling or e-mailing the leading ladies who are working on the wedding, and Mandy's been talking quite a bit with her bridesmaids and other important people.

On Friday (day seven), we had Mandy's last shower at one of the bridesmaid's house. We had a fun time giving her a few gifts and hearing/sharing wedding stories (some weren't wedding-related, but they were hilarious). On Saturday, we had the bridesmaids' luncheon, which was a decent-sized crowd. Our wedding coordinator, who threw/hosted the event, got a nice, southern-style restaurant to open for only us, and we had a yummy menu to choose from (Mom, Mandy, and I all had delicious shrimp and grits with peppers and onions). After that, a few of us went over to where the guys (and a few women) were sitting up at the reception location. That day happened to be pouring rain (and this isn't a mere drizzle. This is like a steady, constant, heavy rain that lasted for several hours), but the guys were real troopers, hanging up Christmas lights and wire, setting up pallets, and arranging hay bales in the rain.

Monday (day four) happened to be a rather hectic day. On Saturday evening, to make sure that we got everything done, I came up with the idea of writing down a list and marking off items when they completed. Part of our list required us to drive over to Athens (which is over an hour away from our house) to visit a few stores. It was a long ride, and we got a bit of cultural education in the process. On our way back from Athens, we stopped by the reception area, where the lights and electricity were being tested. Seeing the lights come on in the dark was stunning, and it made us very excited. We were concerned that there wouldn't be enough light, but last night convinced us otherwise. It was a good time for us to test things out, but we had to leave because it was getting late.

Today (day three) was also busy. We had to do quite a bit of shopping (I can't recall leaving Costco with two full carts), and there's still more to be done tomorrow. Again, we have our trusty list to help us. Hopefully things will slow down a bit by Thursday before the storm hits on Friday.

We've been keeping an eagle eye on the weather. So far, it looks like Friday will be just perfect: no rain and good temperatures. Which is a relief.

And so, onwards we go!

Twelve Days

And the day is getting closer. Today marks twelve days until the wedding, and we're all keenly sensing this.

Most of the big preparations have been made, and now our big focus is hammering out details, namely that of the schedule. This week, some of the food was prepared and put into the freezer (some stuff will be put together the day of, but this stuff can be made beforehand). Mandy met with her photographer this week, and now there's a definite schedule for the bridesmaids and for what pictures will be taken before the wedding and which ones will be taken afterwards. Mom has made a "rough draft" of the wedding bulletin, and she, Mandy, and our coordinator Deanna have also been working on bridesmaid/groomsman pairings and the order of events. We've found a nice place for the rehearsal dinner, and today we finalized some of those details with Ben's mom. Ben has officially moved into the apartment, and I spent an afternoon with Mandy organizing and cleaning her kitchen.

Then, on Friday, we had the bachelor and bachelorette parties. I was only present for Mandy's party, and I don't know many details of what the guys were doing (other than eating, shooting, smoking, and drinking). Mandy's party involved her and a few of her bridesmaids spending the night at the married bridesmaid's house. She took us out for a scavenger hunt at the mall (it was late when we got there, and most of the stores were closed or were in the process of being closed), which we couldn't finish. Then we went out to P.F. Chang's for a late snack/dinner. The place is a more expensive Chinese restaurant, but it was so worth it. It's the only Chinese place I know of that actually has a gluten-free menu (since soy sauce isn't safe for gluten-free people, which sadly means I don't eat Asian food that much, but I digress). And the waiter and chef were very considerate for one of the bridesmaids who has numerous food allergies, which enabled her to enjoy something off the menu. The gluten-free fried rice (which I got) was amazing, and we all had a good time sitting there, talking with each other and with the waiters, and enjoying the yummy food. Then it was back to the house. It was around midnight, but we did a few things like sit and talk outside, and do some Just Dance 4 on the Wii (even I did it). I went off to bed around 3 AM because I couldn't stay awake any further, but most of the others went to bed closer to 5 AM. After breakfast the next morning, the party ended because everyone had to leave to do other stuff. It was a fun evening/night.

And life continues on. Mom and Dad are still teaching, Seth is still working long hours at his job, and I'm still attending college. This year, I decided to make the insane decision to take part in Campus Movie Fest, which is basically a large student film festival done all over the country at various college campuses. I say "insane" because I didn't realize how much work would need to be done. I'm basically in the role of director, writer, editor, and actor, and I'm narrowly escaping also being soundtrack composer and performer (I'm just going to suck it up and go with the limited amount of music that I can use). This meant I spent about ten hours over a period of two days on campus (and a bit off-campus) filming four other people. It was fun to use the equipment the festival loans to students (which includes a laptop with fancy editing software, a microphone, a camcorder, and a tripod), but it was a bit exhausting to spend a lot of time shooting and re-shooting scenes and then going back through them all to figure out which ones work. Oh, and did I mention that everything needs to be filmed, recorded, edited, and finished within a week? So, yeah, I need to make sure the film is done by Tuesday, when I turn in the equipment and the film. Then next week, the top sixteen films on campus (chosen by a judge panel) will be revealed, and prizes will be given to students for best picture, best actor, etc... Hence why I was insane to think about doing this, especially so close to the wedding (my brain and other people convinced me "oh, you can do it"). I'll post a link when the movie shows up on the website this week.

And... that's all I can think of at the moment.

August

August has also been a busy month. As of Tuesday, we are officially one month away from the wedding, and the reality is beginning to hit us.

Ben and Mandy have found their first home. It's about twenty minutes away from us but in the area of other church families, so they won't be alone. It's a cute little duplex that reminds us of the place that we were living in when Mandy was born. Last weekend, Dad helped Ben put in some new fans in the place, and Mom and I helped Mandy wash and unpack her dishes and other stuff that she got from her wedding shower (we finally have a hallway again). This weekend, we're planning on moving Ben into the place, and then over the rest of the month, we'll slowly be moving Mandy's stuff into the rental. Ben and Mandy have also bought their first car: a pretty blue minivan. Mandy has always had a fondness for minivans (a combination of it being the car she first learned to drive and her own desire to have children), and she's excited about it.

Earlier this month, we had a musical night at the church, and all of us participated to some extent. All three of us sang two songs in choir (Mandy's an alto, I'm a soprano, and Seth's a tenor), but alas, no one seemingly recorded the choir singing, so there's no video or sound of it. I did, however, record the two pieces that Mandy performed with some friends: the James Bond theme and Boccherini's "Night on the Streets of Madrid." Both videos are up on facebook, so check my wall for them. It was an enjoyable evening.

The day after the musical night, we had our first wedding work day at the reception area. The guys painted, put wood posts in concrete, made wood cake stands, etc... while the girls focused on the mason jars and lanterns, which are looking very pretty. We got quite a bit done. Things took an interesting turn when towards the end of the work day a storm decided to blow in. Everyone began running around in a panic, trying to get the electric tools indoors and cover up the freshly-painted pallets. We were successful, but afterwards we all looked like drowned rats. That same day, we joined Ben's mom for dinner at a Mexican restaurant, as we're experimenting with places for the rehearsal dinner. The place had excellent food, but the acoustics were poor, so we're still looking around.

College has also officially started back for me. It's a bit strange only going in to school for an hour every other day for one class, but I'm happy to be back in the classroom and have some semblance of a schedule. I'm taking World History Part 1, and so far I can't complain (except for the class sessions about human evolution).

School has also started back up for Mom and Dad. Mom is teaching science and music appreciation, and Dad ended up with the history class (there was only enough interest for one, so I'm not teaching this year). However, I have got myself sort of a part-time job for the "school." Because there's a lot of younger students under the age of ten this year, I've been called upon to be a babysitter and lunch supervisor, and it's a paying job. Today is my first day, so I'll have to let you know how it goes.

On a side note, Jayne the kitten is doing well. He has overcome his shyness and has turned into the sweetest, cutest thing ever. He is very playful, and it's entertaining to watch him chase dead leaves or even poor Pooky in play. He's also getting fatter and not looking like the scrawny little thing that he used to. Watching him play or have "evening crazies" is definitely a sign that he's doing well.

That's all I can think of for the moment, though I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll post again if I forgot anything.

The Coming of Jayne

The Cunningham house is a big magnet. One, in particular, that seems to attract animals. Hence why we've had so many over the years and why sometimes our neighbors' animals like to hang around. All of us were reminded of it this last Sunday.

Sunday morning started off like any other. Dad woke us up, and we had our usual breakfast of eggs, sausage, and smoothie. Then we all began getting ready for church. I was doing my hair when someone (I believe it was Seth) suddenly announced that a little kitten was on our porch. Curious, I went outside. Indeed, it was a kitten. A rather tiny one. At minimum I guessed it was about six weeks old. It was skittish and rather vocal, going round and round the porch crying. However, we had to go, and we figured that it would probably wander off by the time we got home.

We were wrong.

We came home, and the kitten was sleeping on the porch. It saw that we had arrived and resumed its crying. We figured that the kitten smelled Pooky's food (we keep his food on the table to keep other critters from getting into it) and that was why it hadn't left. Taking pity on it, we put it on the table. The kitten immediately began to chow down like it hadn't eaten in several days. Afterwards, it checked us out, sniffing us and becoming less skittish. I noticed that the kitten felt awfully thin, a sign of recent malnourishment, and there was a debate over the kitten's gender.

On Monday, we bought some kitten food for the kitten, and it seems to be doing rather well. It doesn't feel as thin anymore, and he's becoming more active, moving around and being less vocal (unless he's hungry). Dad has forbidden us from making it into an inside cat, so the kitten stays on the porch, where we feed it and give it water. And we gave it a bath and some treatment for both fleas and worms; it seems otherwise healthy. The kitten is also quite the purring machine. He loves to be picked up and held, and he is definitely a people cat. Whenever we go outside, he likes to come up to us and get some attention.

Mandy has fallen quite in love with the kitten. Despite her own dislikes of some of our own beasts, she is completely enamored. At first, she and Ben were going to adopt it, but circumstances have changed and so that won't happen. Still, Mandy loves him, and it's cute to see her holding him.

Throughout the week, we debated the kitten's name. Most of the problem stemmed from the fact that we weren't sure about a gender. To solve that problem, we picked a gender-neutral name: Jayne (named after Jayne from the TV show "Firefly"). We now think Jayne is a boy, but we're not absolutely positive. We probably won't be for a few more weeks.

So now we're back up to six cats.

July

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy, and our internet has been rather spotty. Hopefully, we're switching our service providers tomorrow, so maybe it will be more consistent in that area :P

Anyway...

Things have really been picking up for everyone, especially the past month. The wedding preparation is also speeding up. Earlier this month, most of the ladies of the church got together to look at the plans that the coordinators so far have done. The ladies are beginning to buy and gather up mason jars, Christmas lights, burlap ribbon, flowers, etc... for the decorations. We've also taken Mandy's wedding dress in for alterations and visited a flower wholesale shop to figure out flowers for the wedding party (the flower lady has also made a "rough draft" of Mandy's wedding bouquet). We finally also ordered invitations and finished the website. We sent out the invitations this week, and the first RSVPs are coming back, which is exciting. We're now just under sixty days to the wedding, and reality is starting to hit in. Mandy and Ben are starting to look for a place to live.

And, almost a week ago, Mandy had her wedding shower. The other maid-of-honor Bethany, a bridesmaid Caroline, the wedding coordinator, and myself put on the shower at the coordinator's home. We had a tea bar, all kinds of food, flowers, and presents stacked all over the stairs. Over sixty people (a mixture of family and friends) attended. Mandy was real excited to open all her gifts, and most of them are now either lining our hallway or filling up Ben's living room until they find a place. Pictures from the shower have been uploaded by Bethany on facebook, and both Mom and I shared the link to it on facebook. We've got a few more showers for Mandy happening in August and September, though I won't have as much involvement in those.

In late July, the guys (Dad, Seth, and Ben) took a trip with Jake B. and Uncle Josh and his older two boys to northern Minnesota, close to the border of Canada. They left on a late Thursday afternoon and drove for twenty-four hours, stopping for gas and food and to switch drivers. Then on Saturday, they paddled out into the Boundary Waters, which involved them walking a mile with the canoes and packs on their backs, and then rowed across various lakes to their campsite. And so for the next six days, the guys did serious primitive camping (no running water, no toilets, no showers, etc...). They went fishing and cooked their own fish on three different nights. They took exploring trips (and on one excursion Ben and Jake nearly got lost) and had all sorts of adventures. However, Friday proved to be their most challenging day. It started raining the night before and was still storming when they woke up the next morning. That meant they had to pack up everything in the pouring rain and hop into the canoes for a several-hour trip across the lake. At one point, it got extremely difficult with the strong winds and large waves, leaving the guys absolutely soaked in 48 degree weather. But, God be praised, the guys safely got out and back to the car. They then met up a group of boys from church who visited the area this week, went to a local restaurant for the best beer, burgers, and fries that they'd ever had, and then began the 24-hour trip back to Atlanta. They also safely made it home, despite the car threatening problems, the threat of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and accidentally ending up on the wrong side of town because of bad highway traffic. We ladies met our men at the church and then they came home for a shower, clean clothes, and a delicious meal. They all had a great time, and we've enjoyed hearing about their many adventures.

Other preparations that have been going on is for school. I start up GGC again in a few weeks, and I'm ready to get back into a regular schedule. Mom also starts teaching science and music around the end of the month. Dad and I are also on a list of potential history teachers for the Geneva at Home program; nothing's been decided yet, as it depends on how many history classes are needed, but hopefully we'll know for.

So, yeah, we've been busy. I'll try to do better at posting updates.

The Craziness Continues...

Things have not slowed down for us Cunninghams. Back in May, we predicted a busy schedule throughout the summer, and so far that has been the case, especially with the planning for the wedding.

New stuff has happened wedding-wise. The different coordinators for flowers, food, decorations, etc... have gotten together and are starting to brainstorm. The ladies are getting excited, dealing with an outdoor wedding at night (which means plenty of experimentation with lights), and I look forward to seeing what they come up with. The bridesmaids dresses have finally been found, and some of the girls (including myself) have already got them. They are very flattering on all figures and cost less than $100, which is what Mandy was shooting for. Some girls are already buying their shoes, which will be lace Toms; Mandy did not want her bridesmaids to pick out and wear shoes that they would never wear again, so she opted for Toms, which have no heel and which will definitely be worn after the wedding. The save-the-dates have mostly all been sent out, and invitations will be following shortly. It's been a challenge to find good invitations for a good price, but we found a good deal and some pretty invitations at David's Bridal (and they've got a sale going on) so hopefully we'll get them taken care of next week... if Mandy would be home for longer than a few hours.

Mandy's life has become quite hectic. Even though she is no longer employed, she has still had plenty to do. Between jazzercise (an exercise program she's been attending for the past few months) and various social gatherings with friends (which includes spend-the-nights... after all, those things are going to be ending in September, so she's enjoying them as long as she can), there's rarely a day where she's home all day. Last week, she spent half the week in North Carolina with friends (her last visit there) and came home, only for the next day to spend most of the day away from home and then spend the night with friends and then the next morning drive up to Virginia for the annual family conference this week. So, yeah, her life's been rather crazy.

Life for the rest of us is largely normal... except for wedding planning. There's still some weeks where we're rushing around to get stuff done and then other weeks where it's very laid back. This week was fairly busy, as Mom and I had to do various shopping, clean the church, and then help out at a rehearsal dinner for some friends of ours; today we're going to said friend's wedding.

It looks like I will be going back to college in the fall, Lord willing to finish my major (I'm considered a junior, which is rather exciting). GGC is still the closest and cheapest option, but I will only be going part-time and taking one class; if I find a job (which I've been looking for the past few weeks with no success yet), then I may take more in future semesters. I went to orientation, which I found boring since it never really introduced me to anything new at the school, but walking around on the campus did make me a bit excited and ready to go back to school. Right now I'm messing around with financial aid, but I'm happy to report that I may be able to pay everything out of pocket; hopefully financial aid will lessen the burden and enable me to save for the winter semester.

Another thing that's going on is that I'm also considering publishing my novel "The Changelings' War." I started it last year and have been working on it ever since then. This is the first novel that I have felt genuinely happy with (i.e. doesn't need a gazillion rewrites to fix the story; the current drafts are more polishing than anything else), and I've been looking for feedback for it; so far it's been positive from folks. I'm thinking of publishing it via amazon's self-publishing program, namely their kindle one; I think it would be easier for me to get the word out through a cheap electronic book than a more expensive hard copy. And there's still plenty of potential for sequels, prequels, or stories set in the same universe, so this more than likely wouldn't be a one-time thing. But, we'll see. I'm still waiting on feedback from a few people. I'm hoping to publish it before the end of the year, but I'll keep you updated on whether or not I do.

May Showers

May has been a rather hectic month for us so far. And complete with plenty of rain showers and brightly blooming flowers to go with it.

Two weeks ago, Mom and Dad drove up to Chicago and spent the week there for their anniversary. They had a good time touring the city with its various museums and sightseeing locations. On Friday, Mandy, Sunny, and Grandma Linda flew up there, and on Saturday they all went to Dad's cousin's wedding before driving back on Sunday. That was an odd week for us kids as we managed the house by ourselves. God was merciful and protected us during that time. It was also a good time for Mandy and me to learn about managing the house without either of our parents directing us. Saturday, in particular, was my big day. I prepared two casseroles and then scrounged around for a yummy dinner, and then on Sunday I was more or less in charge of prepping breakfast and the casserole for potluck and getting Seth and me to church on time. The other odd part about it was that it was the first time I had had a birthday with most of the family not there. I saw "Iron Man 3" with Seth and a friend on Friday night, and then last week we had my birthday dinner (I chose steak and grilled veggies. My attempt to create gluten-free churros was not successful unfortunately).

Last week was also busy. On Wednesday, we got up early and went to Tallulah Gorge (north Georgia) with some of Mom's science students and a few others. The day proved to be cloudy and cool, but the worst part was the rocks. In the past, the group has gone in drought conditions, which meant that the rocks were completely dry; this year, however, we have had a very wet spring (hence why Lake Lanier looks full again) and so several of the rocks were slippery. This required delicate maneuvering and plenty of sliding around on our rears. Things went fine until we were about halfway down the Gorge at a rock face called Oceana Falls. This rock face was wet and slippery, and we were told that if you fell into the water below you would have to either swim downstream to get out or have some friends pull you out. Two people slipped and fell in (both were unharmed), but another person fell in while trying to help someone else and unfortunately destroyed his cell phone in the process. Mom, who was at the back, heard about the first person falling in and tried to hurry up, but she ended up sliding and hurting herself (a cut hand, scratched arm, and bruises elsewhere). After our little adventure there, we reached the end of the Gorge and stopped for lunch. By then, the sun came out, and some of the braver kids decided to use the sliding rock but all of them came out freezing. Some people lay down in the sun to dry/ warm themselves, and it was a rather pleasant hour. Finally, it was time to make the trek back. Oceana Falls, again, proved to be interesting because we had to slide upwards and across to get across the rock face. Mom and I were the last ones to get across. Our fears of sliding in were not helped by the fact that two hikers trying to cross slipped and fell in. However, thanks to God and to two gentlemen in our party, we safely made it across. After that, we returned to the stairs, but by this time several of us were exhausted from scrambling over the rocks all morning and part of the afternoon. Mom and I again took the rear and slowly made our way up the stairs, but two of the boys were kind enough to bring us some water and to accompany us up the stairs. Despite an eventful trip, no one was seriously hurt, and most of us have recovered from our ordeal.

Then on Friday and Saturday Seth went camping and caving with some friends from church. While he was on his way home, he was in a bit of an accident. He was getting off the highway when his tires lost grip on the wet road (it had been raining like crazy earlier that day), and he slid into someone else. No one in either car was hurt, which we are very thankful for, though there was a bit of damage done to Seth's truck (nothing insanely serious. He just needs the dent fixed and some touch-ups on the paint).

And then, this morning we received word that Cunningham grandkid #15 was born (no other news at the moment). This makes 12 cousins for me, Seth, and Mandy.

So, yeah, it's been rather crazy around here. And it's only going to continue. Mandy's recital is Saturday, then we've got the big wedding meeting with several of the ladies, an upcoming formal dance at the church, and then the family conference (only Mandy is going this year). Then I've got a college graduation to attend (for some friends) and then orientation for college (I failed to get out of it. I'm pretty certain they're forcing me to do it because they want my money and not because they want me to understand the campus... even though I've been on the campus several times before and am no stranger to how it works).

Well, gotta run. Babysitting cousins is calling me.