Mr and Mrs Alex J Ford

The last few days have been a whirlwind of crazy busy days, but also full of some really great memories. On Tuesday, my friend Kaylyn from camp rolled in to town because our friend Alex was getting married on Friday.

Tuesday night, some of my students came and helped serve dinner for a TON of senior adults for their Christmas banquet. It was fun getting to spend some time with a small group of youth, and watching Kaylyn jump in there to help out. Man, those people can drink a TON of coffee!! I was proud of the servants' hearts I saw in our students!

Then Wednesday Kaylyn and I booked it through Walmart and picked up a ton of supplies for a gingerbread house contest for that night when we had our student Christmas party... we got enough for 60 or so students. Yeah, it was awesome to find out just a few hours later that church that night had been cancelled due to the incoming inclement weather. BOO! Back to Walmart we went to return all our stuff.

That night we went to Alex's fiance's bachelorette party, despite the icy conditions of the roads. It was a lot of fun, and a special time celebrating Rebecca. Then we headed over to Seth's afterward to help him get some of his furniture set up in his new house. That was a really long day for sure! I was exhausted when I finally went to sleep, and super tired at work on Thursday! I am too old to stay up late! AND I'm pretty sure my dad would NOT have been happy about my choice to drive in freezing rain, but I was super careful, and by the time we headed to my apartment in the early hours Thursday morning, the temperature had risen, and the roads were safer at 2am than they were at 9pm!

Thursday, after working, we all went to the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner at Alex and Rebecca's church. I was helping with communion in their wedding ceremony, so I needed to be there to learn where to stand and when. At their rehearsal dinner there was a time where we could get up and share a memory about Alex and Rebecca, or say something special. I hate, absolutely hate talking in front of people, but after Seth and Steve got up there and said ridiculous stuff, I needed to get up there and try and redeem our table.

Alex is absolutely one of the greatest people I know. I have never met anyone so genuine, so caring, so encouraging, hilariously funny, and loyal. He always puts others before himself. He always goes above and beyond to help others. He's never judgmental, never mean spirited. He's so many things that I wish I could be. He's one of the best friends a person could ask for. When I met him in May of 2009, I knew immediately, I liked him. I had no idea he would become such an important part of my life, but when that summer got a little rough, Alex was exactly the person I needed around. As our friendship grew, and we started getting to know each other better than just who we are at camp, he told me about his wonderful fiance back home, Rebecca. Rebecca and I became friends, but mostly at fist so that it wasn't sketchy for Alex and Molly to be such good friends... she needed to trust me if she was going to be okay with me hanging out with her boo while he was at camp all summer! As Alex told me about Rebecca though, I quickly decided I wanted very much to be her friend. I wanted to know the person that could handle Alex's hyper active, always going, crazy self. I wanted to meet the person that would compliment Alex and his personality well, and someone that he felt would bring out the best in him as he loves Christ and loves others. She is all those things and so much more. Since moving to Chattanooga, she's been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I just don't know what I'd do without her! She's hilarious, and kind, and loves Alex so much. I'm happy my friend found someone as wonderful as Rebecca. She's perfect for Alex, and I'm excited for this new chapter in their lives!

Tonight, their wedding was one of those weddings you could just sit there and know that it was "right." Everyone there was so happy, and Alex and Rebecca's love for one another was completely evident to all of us in attendance. I feel so honored to have been asked to take part in their ceremony, and to get to "do life" with these two! It was a wonderful celebration, and I'll never forget the look on Alex's face when he saw Rebecca for the first time... oh man, it was a beautiful moment.

It was also great to be with my friends. The guys in the band played a few songs before the reception really got kickin and they were AWESOME. Brad Paisley, Bon Jovi, Journey... it was priceless! They sounded great! Our friend Will from camp also came in town, and so it was a mini camp reunion.

It was a great night and I am blessed with some wonderful friends indeed. It's almost 5am though, so I should probably get some sleep.

I'll post more pictures soon.