The birthday came and went and fun was had by all. By this morning, all that fun had caught up with me, so I celebrated the Sabbath as the "Day of Rest" it was intended to be. These past few days have been a whirlwind of activity and it was time I slowed down, waaaaaaaaaay down! Ricky downloaded his and Mary Ann's pictures to my computer, so most of my time today was spent editing and sorting and posting to Flickr.

They arrived Thursday night around 10 and I sat up with them until midnight visiting. Mike was awake at his usual early time on Friday, so I only got about 5 hours of sleep. With Maggie and Tucker chasing Gus and Jay-Jay, the morning started off at a much faster pace than I like. We hung around the house all day, playing Scrabble, Yahtzee, watching TV and visiting. They wanted to take me out for dinner, but I didn't want to go. I still haven't met the weight loss goal, so I tried not to eat much. Ricky worked most of the day while Clay finished the research paper that was past due.

On Saturday, they went to Vance's house so the boys could ride his 4-wheeler, and they could make pictures of their lot while there is still some fall color on the trees. In the afternoon, Ricky and I worked on my Honey-Do list and got several chores done. By 4:30 we were all dressed for the wedding and piled into their van for the drive out to Luckett Lodge.

The small chapel couldn't have been a more perfect setting for a December wedding. It's rustic charm set the tone for one of the most romantic candlelight ceremonies I've ever seen. The Methodist minister was from the groom's home church in Glen Allen. I thanked him afterwards for not preaching a sermon. Music was provided by two guitars and a vocalist, very simple, very pretty. No microphones, no power point, nothing pre-recorded, it was refreshing.

Deanne was radiant. Even Paul and Vance looked dignified in tuxedos. Judy was bubbling with happy excitement. Her sister Janet came and was an honored guest. She is so frail from all the chemo, and I thought she was very brave to risk exposure to so many people's germs.

The reception was wonderful, my compliments to Deanne and Judy, who planned all of it, Paul said. The band did a good mix of country and rock music; Santa Fe is the name of the group. I don't think they're local, Mike didn't recognize any of them. I danced for almost 2 hours, just couldn't sit down. Maybe I burned off the two pieces of wedding cake I ate.

A party, a celebration will put an exclamation point on our life. Rather than frenetically planning the perfect holiday, we might do well to let the party unfold as it will, being content merely to gaze into the kaleidoscope to see fresh new patterns. We might be surprised to find that what had seemed onerous, overtaxing, even unpleasant, becomes a robust festivity that lets us forget the details of life and revel in the feasting and fellowship that bring new energy and relieves the regularity of our routines. from www.explorefaith.com

More pictures of my "Celebrating Sixty" can be viewed by following the My Pictures link, then clicking on the set. I don't remember ever enjoying a birthday so much. Extended over several days, I partied everywhere I went, got to see most of my favorite people, and do most of my favorite things. I'll take that over a single evening's party anyday!