Yesterday morning, we woke to a beautiful Winter Wonderland here in Ohio. A fast-moving Alberta clipper brought the first measurable amount of snowfall of the season and I was able to simply sit and savor some of its wintry beauty as Don and I made the round trip to Columbus and back. He needed to make a warehouse trip once again and I rode along desiring to keep him company and keep my mind free from worrying while he travelled along the snow-covered roads. Doing so provided me with some much needed clarity of what we needed to get back to working on upon our return.
Along the first leg of the trip, I became lost in my own thoughts regarding the wedding ceremony and reception, while sparkly snow-covered vignettes whizzed by as we travelled. As I soaked in the beauty that was set before me due to the decreased visibilitiy, I settled into the slower pace that we were traveling. I was once again reminded of God's nurturing spirit and that his time has it own seasons. My mind calmed down and I felt a renewed sense of assurance that we'd accomplish all that was yet to do and be done as I offered up a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
Needing to put some time between us and our arrival at the warehouse allowed us time to slow down and enjoy being in the here and now. Away from all the distractions, the to do lists, the thoughts of all that had yet to be done, we both relaxed and enjoyed one another's company. We made a stop at Home Goods, near Powell, Ohio, were we shopped for some Christmas themed dish and bath towels to display and use during our reception. I was also stunned to discover some gifts that I felt were suitable for gift-giving to Alexxis. The recent scare of lead-based paint on children's toys imported in from China had left me seeking a few new solutions, so I was thrilled beyond belief to discover a doll and outfit set, a complete set of wooden alphabet blocks with a storage container, and a wooden colors and shapes puzzle, all created here in the good old USA, free of lead based paints! A shiny new metal and beaded kaledioscope for less than $4 will also make for a wonderful stocking stuffer for her and I believe she'll enjoy these gifts immensely. These finds, along with my renewed sense of tranquility, eased my hurried mind as we continued on towards our destination.
Getting closer, we realized we had yet another hour and a half to delay, so we made yet another stop into Macy's at Tuttle Crossing Mall. There we picked up a gift for Amber for Christmas and the accompanied discounted make-up container and case saved us even money on the make-up I desired to purchase for our wedding day. I loved that I was able to slay two birds with only the one stone! Next, we made our way next door to Panera Bread, where we enjoyed a warm cup of coffee and an enjoyable lunch before arriving at the warehouse a short time later.
Some pre-planning by me the evening before of using our last invoice and checking off the items we needed to pick up and the a notation of any differences in quanities, made filling and completing a new invoice easy for Mark. A quick highlight of any items not in stock while filling the order and a quick edit of those on the computer allowed us to be in and out all within an hour! That in and of itself was yet another God-send! It meant we wouldn't be dealing with Columbus's rush hour traffic and we'd arrive back in town an hour and a half earlier that we'd originally intended!
We used that "saved" amount of time to stop at the jeweller's to pick up Don's wedding band and ventured to the our County's Courthouse to receive our Marriage License! After dropping off our newest store purchases, we stopped by my parents for a brief, yet enjoyable visit, before making our way home.
Arriving at home, I was instantly in "go" mode, ready to tackle some of the tasks at hand. Don assisted me by folding favor boxes as I worked to fill them with candies. Next, we moved on to filling the small Christmas gift bags we'll use to hand them out within. Red and greeen Christmas shred was added to each, along with a beautiful crystal candle holder and candle, a note pad, and favor box was placed within each. I used a large empty bronze hammered planter to place them in and moved it and a planter stand closer to our front door.
Next, we hung our Christmas wreath upon the front door, and began working in the kitchen establishing stations for our wedding day buffet. Figuring out what was going where, we began setting up what items we could. While I cleared the living room of some of the recent clutter that had accumulated in preparation of re-arranging a few pieces of our furniture, Don washed up what little dished we'd dirtied from the evening before and our morning breakfast. Afterwards, we rearranged a few pieces of furniture, set out to cleaning up a little, and redecorated those areas. While Don wound down in front of the TV, I used the time to gift-wrap our days purchases and placed those gifts under our Christmas tree. As I finally sat down on the couch last night, comfy in my pj's, a cup of hot decaffinated tea in hand, I couldn't help but to smile while soaking up all the white lights sparkling on our Christmas tree. That light reminded me of God's light, casting its soft glow of love on everything it comes in contact with. With that thought in mind, I made my way onto bed, breathing a huge sigh of relief from all that we'd managed to accomplish.
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