Mr. and Mrs. Rundio

One of my favorites of the bridal party--they were a fun group.

The beautiful bride and groom--and yes, he did grin like that all day!

Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments...Deuteronomy 7:9

Well, my friends, it's been a while. I have obviously been taking a little break from this blog while we prepared for the wedding. Now that it's over and we are back in Vienna, I think it's time to get back to normal--whatever normal is on any given day.

So what to say about the big event? Goodness, so much that I'm not sure I have the right words. I think I had prepared myself that it would be such a bittersweet moment--happy for her happiness, but sad over our ever-changing family, at not being 'the five of us,' anymore, but 'the six of us.' I had steeled myself for that. But I have to be honest--I didn't experience that, and I don't think Marc did, either. In fact, quite the contrary--we were really overwhelmed by the joy of it all, by her love for him and his love for her, and by our love for them both. There were tears, definitely, but they were joyful, content, happy tears. The only sad tears were at the goodbyes, which never get easier for us. I think, though, that we've come to the conclusion that the deep relationships we have with our family--both immediate and extended--are worth the pain of goodbyes. I never want to be the person who keeps loved ones at a distance in order to not have to say goodbye to them.

We really enjoyed every single moment of the wedding and wedding week. Several friends whose children had already married sent me notes of advice to really focus on SB and DJ, on our time together, on every moment, and not to get so caught up in preparations that I missed it. I'm so happy to say that I really was able to do that. I am a notoriously stressy person--I am a perfectionist, and I want things a certain way, and when that doesn't happen, I can be a little testy. But I just didn't feel any stress at all. Even when it poured rain at the precise moment of the ceremony and it had to be moved inside the barn, I just didn't care--because Sarah Beth didn't care. One of my favorite moments was before the wedding, when SB and her bridesmaids were in the field behind the barn having their pictures taken. The clouds above were black and swirling, and we were clearly all concerned about the rain. One of the bridesmaids asked what we would do if it rained. Sarah Beth replied, "Get married." And that was really her attitude the whole week. Yes, there were things to get done. Yes, there were plans to make. But the focus of the week was her marriage to DJ, not the wedding. And it just made it a thousand times better to know that what they were excited about was being married, not whether or not they had the perfect wedding. And you know what? I actually think the ceremony was prettier inside the barn than outside at the gazebo. It was softly raining, and the barn was lit with thousands of Christmas lights. So beautiful. Plus, we could really hear Marc and the kids as they repeated their vows.

And just a brief word about Marc. You know I'm crazy about him and think he's so wonderful. But he does become emotional about his kids, so we were a little concerned about him getting through the ceremony. He was the man of steel. Seriously. Not a tear shed during the ceremony. He got a little choked up at one point, when Sarah Beth cried, but he did a beautiful job on the ceremony, and he gave Sarah Beth and DJ the wedding ceremony they wanted, working with them on what to include and what to leave out. He was perfectly composed...until we got home. When he opened up facebook and saw that Sarah Beth Hooks had become Sarah Beth Rundio, he had a little cry over that. But he really was impressive in his determination to give his girl the wedding she wanted, and we were all really, really proud of him.

If I had to give any advice out of my VAST experience as the mother of the bride, I would say focus on the kids, on the marriage, on the future, and not on making everything perfect. One of her favorite overseas 'aunts' had told Sarah Beth last summer that you don't have to spend a fortune to have a nice wedding, and she really, really took that to heart. She was very careful with money, and never asked for anything that was overly extravagant. She did a lot of stuff herself, and DJ helped with everything. And I would say to relax. Ironic at best coming from me, but it was my prayer to just enjoy everything, and I did. I looked around at the people in the room, and I just felt such love for and from everyone there. We had such a wonderful time with DJ's family, and our friends, and our own family...it really was just perfect. I saw one of the guests on Sunday at church, and he told me it was the most relaxed wedding he'd ever been to, which I took as a huge compliment. It really was fun and laidback, and--as her third grade teacher said--very, very Sarah Beth.

As we said our goodbyes on Tuesday at the Jacksonville airport, as I hugged my oldest for the last time for a couple of years, I did think this--she's not alone. I'm not leaving her by herself. Sarah Beth has had to fend for herself, in many ways, a common issue when parents live overseas and kids return to the States for college. And she's done a great job and made some great relationships. But can I tell you what a burden is lifted off our shoulders just by DJ being there? To know that he is taking care of her, that he is watching over her, sharing her life, making her happy, that they are making their own little family? So much happiness to see your child happy. And as we return to our overseas life, we are excited for the future--to watch the Rundios grow their own lives together, to watch Hannah continue to grow into the godly young woman she is meant to be, to go to BFA in the fall, to choose a university, to meet her true love, to watch John grow daily into the man God made him to be--it's all blessing, all goodness. Does that mean there aren't hard times ahead? Of course not! But it does mean that there is so much to look forward to, so much to be grateful for, that in the bad times and dark seasons, we can know that we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and that He does not change. He was good in the dark season. He is good in this season of light. His love does, indeed, endure forever.

Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are counting the great blessings of your life, too, and that it is not going to be blistering hot where you are today. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye