Of Weddings and Old Friends

This adorable little lady has been in her car seat quite a bit over the last week. Thankfully, she proved to be (for the most part) a very good little traveler!

Josh, Abbey & Bella, Mom and I (Jessica), hit the road south last Friday in order to attend the wedding of some dear friends in Louisiana on Saturday. Guess what? We didn't take any pictures of the wedding, or of the hours of visiting with good friends afterward! But you can see some very nice wedding pictures Here. We had a delightful time, got very little sleep, and enjoyed lots of wonderful conversation! May God bless you both, Phillip & Katie, as you embark on your new life together!

After the wedding and post-wedding events, on Monday morning we headed out but did not head home! As our next hosts along the way were still on the road themselves, we had some time to spend along the coast, so we made a few stops along the way. Our first stop was Beauvoir (above and below). It had been mostly destroyed in Katrina, but they have done an amazing amount of work restoring it to its original look.

An interesting fact is that the doors in the picture above are the original doors (1840's) made of cypress wood. But the owner didn't like the look of cypress grain, so he hired a gentlemen to paint oak grain on top of the wood. In restoring them post-Katrina, they have painstakingly copied every line of the painted grain...


Our next stop introduced Bella to the Gulf of Mexico! She seemed to enjoy being outdoors - something she has had little opportunity to experience in our native climate this time of year!

Our final stop was a drive around Fort Gaines. We arrived too late to actually tour the structure, but we did drive around the Island.

We finally made it over to the Bentley's house in time for dinner! Best we can figure, we've known the Bentley's for about 24 years! We don't get to see each other often, but we thank God for each chance we get and rejoice to see how He is leading both of our families in so many similar ways.

Josh and Abbey dropped Mom and I off at the Bentley home, and then headed out to spend a couple of days together celebrating their anniversary. We ladies took an afternoon to see the sights around town, and enjoyed a bit of spring walking through a cute park near the children's hospital there (you can see the bronze statue of a little girl next to Laura... the park was filled with similar statues along the pathway).


On Wednesday Josh & Abbey picked us back up and we headed a few hours north where we spent the evening with some more long-known friends, the Kawells! Let's see - our families go back almost 20 years to the early 90's! Our stay was short so we made the most of it and spent quite a bit of it talking rather than sleeping - not a bad idea even in hindsight! :-) It was wonderful to catch up with you all again! (And here's a "Hello" to Mr. Kawell! Sorry we missed you!)

Thursday was our final day of travel. We ladies made it all the way home, but dropped Josh off at a national Leadership Summit along our way back. Incidentally (or rather, according to plan) Dad and Joseph are also attending the conference (which Josh is recording) and they and Josh should arrive home tomorrow evening, when we will all be 'back to normal life' again! Well, sort of...

I think Miss Isabella has been very happy to not be in a car seat again today!