little brookie is all grown up and graduated. i am so incredibly proud of her. it's crazy to sit at her graduation and watch her get her diploma wearing the same cap and gown i wore five years ago. right before her graduation ceremony my dad dropped her off with the rest of the grads to line up and as she was getting out of the car she hands him a letter and says 'i love you'. it is impossible to finish reading that letter with a dry eye. that letter made me so proud of my sister and the woman she is growing up to be. she is beautiful, thoughtful, caring, hilarious, adventurous, fun and so many other things. she has such a sweet relationship with the Lord and i'm so excited to see what He has in store for her this summer and the coming fall.
hands down, we had the biggest, best & loudest cheering section of all
we are so proud of her!!!
the beautiful graduate
brookie is SO loved!
brooke's friends are such nerds.. my senior picture were on the back of brooke's signs because we just reused them.. hilarious
so proud of her. watching your little sister graduate is surreal
i look like the little sister haha
this was brooke's senior page in her yearbook that my parents put together for her.. so precious
brooke's graduation party was unreal.. so beautiful and perfect. i don't have any pictures of it right now but those will come. before her party, brooke and i were getting our little cousin olivia ready and she kept saying.. do i look pretty? am i cute? is my hair still curled?
it was beyond precious..
my dad and my uncle jim.. this twinsies doing some open mic
nick was teaching my uncle how to play dueling banjos
spending weekends up at my parents are always so refreshing.
we leave feeling so loved and blessed that i wish we didn't have to leave :(
on saturday we went to the beautiful wedding of alex & faith. the ceremony was held at the la jolla presbyterian right in the heart of the la jolla village. the ceremony was beautiful.. very traditional with modern touches. the reception was a few short blocks away at the darlington house. it was the most precious and perfect location for a reception. once again it was so wonderful to see old friends and celebrate faith and alex. one of the special highlights, that brought me and literally everyone else to tears, was the father daughter dance. here is a little bit of back-story.. faith has three brothers and one sister, and one of her brothers is mentally handicapped. his name is grant, and he is so precious. i went out to chicago (where faith is from) with faith for spring break our freshman year of college and i got to meet him, along with the rest of the family. so growing up, grant always loved the movie an american tale:fivel goes west, and especially the song we all love, somewhere out there. when faith was about five she sang that song for some function and her parents taped it and have held on to it all these years. grant wasn't able to make it out to the wedding from chicago so they so beautifully honored him. for the father daughter dance, faith and her dad danced to the song "somewhere out there" and it started with faith's five year old voice singing and ended the same way. it was so touching and emotional. after we got our tears out we danced the night away celebrating the new
mr. & mrs. cameron!
my friend shelby sang a few songs during the ceremony. she has such a beautiful voice
mrs.zimmerman waiting to watch her daughter walk down the aisle
duh, i got married there. it's just so beautiful and the ocean is always so blue and the shops are so quaint and fabulous.
one of my best friends is getting married in la jolla on saturday and for an early celebration she had a bridal brunch at the la valencia hotel in la jolla this afternoon. it was so pretty, and classy, and perfect. i feel so blessed to have been a part of this special occasion and even more blessed and thankful to have faith in my life. she has been one of the greatest friends i have ever had. at one point during the brunch a woman who has poured into faith's life for a long time gave a toast. she said some simple words but wow.. it was incredible. she pointed out how beautiful faith's name is and all the meaning behind it.
faith is what our foundation in Christ is built on. faith truly emulates the full meaning of her name. she is such a beautiful woman inside and out and loves the Lord. the woman also said that faith is a very unique person, there aren't many like her in the world. she is a woman of few words. she doesn't always have to speak and be in the middle of a crowd, but when she does speak, her words are so wise and meaningful and i have seen that to be true so many times in our friendship. she has given me so much wisdom when other people didn't. she is so loving and caring and it blows me away. all this to say that i loved every second spent this morning honoring and celebrating faith, the beautiful bride to be!!
my mom (on the right) and her sister.. cutest little thing
today is my mom's 30th birthday!!!!
okay, not really 30, but she sure looks like it!
i have been blessed with the most amazing mom in the world. anyone who knows her will agree that she lights up any room she sets her foot into. if there is someone in need, my mom is the first lend her hand. she has the biggest heart.. ever. she loves my dad more than anything and has given me the greatest example of what a godly marriage looks like. she has devoted her whole life to my sister and i making sure that we have the BEST. she loves the unlovable and it's incredible to watch. traveling with her is the best. she will get you into forbidden places and you'll meet way too many celebrities. we call this her "schmoozing" technique.. she's got it down!! she throws the best parties and is definitely the queen of FUN.
i swear this song by lauren alaina was written for my mom and i... watch it :)
i want to do everything just like my mother does.. so much so that we have an ongoing joke where she always tells me, "britt, you can't be me!!" but it's true. i want to be just like her.
this next song always reminds me of my mom (and dad) because no matter what they have always stood by me.. they have given me unconditional love that has blown me away these past 22 years.
(i wanted to put up pictures of her and i from when i was little but my computer crashed last summer and i lost everything so those will have to do)
Mom, I tried to write you a letter but everything I wanted to say I have already written to you {in your mother's day letter} re-read this, and believe it..
God has blessed me with the greatest mom in the world and I am so grateful to be your daughter. I am who I am today because of you and the influence you have had on me. You have the most incredible strength I have ever seen in any woman; you love me and encourage me in a way that makes me feel so full. You are the life of the party and everybody wishes they had that "fun" quality that you have. You are the hottest mid 40’s mom I have ever seen! You light up any room you walk into and bring joy to everyone around you. You have such a beautiful heart that cares so much about people. You radiate the love of Christ everywhere you go. You have been the greatest example to be of what a godly wife is and how to love and honor your husband. These things that you have modeled to me I can now live out and that is something I am so thankful for. I have seen from you how unique and irreplaceable a mother's love is. You have devoted your life to Brooke and I and that has blessed me more than you know. You want us to have the absolute best and have always made sure that we did. Without a doubt you have always wanted the VERY best for me, even when it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I am so thankful that you were my mom and not always my friend and I love where we are in life how I still come to you for wisdom but now, more than anything, you are my friend.. One of my very best friends! I am so blessed to have been brought up in a healthy family who loves the Lord and loves each other. I am so thankful to be in a family that defends each other, no matter the cost. You have taught me so many things, and one of those things is what it looks like to love. You have proven to me that no matter what I did, you are always there and you stand by me no matter what.
The song "I'll Stand By You" always reminds me of you because that's what you do. You always stand by me. And especially this line you have shown me to be true: "When the night falls on you and you don't know what to do, nothing you confess could make me love you less, I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, I won't let nobody hurt you, I'll stand by you."
Mom, you have given me the world and have provided me with so many opportunities, and it's YOU who deserves the world. I love you more than you'll ever know and even though growing up I sometimes acted ungrateful, I am SO beyond grateful for everything you have ever done for me and the way you have always loved me. I'm the most blessed daughter in the world just for having you as my mom!
if you know my mom, make her feel so loved today.
text her, call her, write on her facebook.
she is the most incredible woman.. i'm sure you know that.
