Magic in Mississippi

Last month on November 16, my dear friend Emily Penn got married!

Emily and I were roommates in Washington DC and have remained close friends ever since. We were living together when I met/dated/got engaged to Michael and we were also living together when she met and started dating Kern. We were all so thrilled when they got engaged that Michael and I decided that going to the wedding was the perfect reason to do our first international trip with Culhane!

We took off on a Wednesday night and were lucky to have reserved a bassinet seat with United. They gave us a “bassinet” (aka a big shoe-box) that we put on the floor and after feeding a little at takeoff, Culhane slept for the next 7 1/2 hours! We flew through Houston and he was up for the last hour or two of the flight but was well-rested and happy – no tears! We had a quick connection and then arrived in Jackson, Mississippi Thursday morning only to be picked up at the airport by the bride & groom! What a luxury! Then we went to Emily’s house for breakfast, lunch and some good hang out time before getting checked into our hotel. We enjoyed more quality time with the bride and her family for a fabulous southern dinner before settling in for the night. Since we were dealing with a 4 hour time difference we just kept Culhane up for an extra feed. He woke up the next morning at 6am which was a little early, but much better than 4am which I had been worried about. 

Michael babysat Culhane Friday afternoon while I joined the girls for Emily’s bridal brunch. I don’t have pictures from it (because I was taking them all on her camera!) but it was so lovely and so Emily. It was also a great time to reunite with old friends and meet some new ones!

Friday night, Michael and I left Culhane with non-family babysitters for the first time ever to attend the Rehearsal Dinner. One of Emily’s girlfriends also has a little guy, so she let us bring Culhane over to her house and share her babysitters for both Friday and Saturday nights — so sweet! I felt pretty good about everything when we dropped him off, but a few hours into the night I made the mistake of calling to check in. The babysitter said that, although he was asleep then, Colt had been fussing and crying a lot. She almost sounded mad at me and I just burst into tears, wanting to hold and comfort my little love. Emily’s sweet friends offered to drive us back by the house to check on him but I knew in my head that he was OK and everything was fine, and we had made the trip so that I could be there for Emily, so we decided to just do our best to enjoy the rest of the night and I’m so glad we did. It was kind of a tough night for me but I also think it was good to just get it over with. Aside from that little hiccup, the night was amazing and was a beautiful tribute to Kern and Emily. So many people gave beautiful speeches testifying to their strong character as individuals and their love as a couple. 

On Saturday afternoon, Michael babysat again as I spent the afternoon with Emily and the girls getting ready for the big night. She was seriously the calmest and most beautiful bride of all time. Michael left Culhane with a babysitter again and then joined me for the ceremony which was so lovely – only to be followed by a perfect, party reception!

The trickiest part was, because I had to leave Culhane with Michael or babysitters a lot and obviously I couldn’t pack any milk (and Culhane refuses formula), I was worried about being able to produce enough to feed him and pump enough bottles, but it actually ended up being like the loaves & fishes – God provided and there was extra left over that we tossed before heading back.

We headed to the airport on Sunday for a long trip home. We flew through Chicago which was experiencing tons of delays due to weather. We were lucky that our flight was only delayed a few hours and then we hit the jackpot with an empty seat on our row so we left Culhane in his carseat where he slept like a total champ for almost the entire flight.

Emily & Kern – thank you so much for including us in your special weekend and congratulations to you both!!  XO

** All Rehearsal Dinner & Wedding photo credit to Sully Clemmer! **