Here We Go

With both the Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties behind us (the first and second weekends in October--no pictures are included at post time), we are now having a weekend with absolutely nothing (nothing? ha, ha) to do. So. ready or not, we have to be ready to head into "WEDDING WEEK."

Actually, this weekend, we worked on Pappaw's Salt again (after Kevin and Mindee had mixed a couple more batches), and moved everything over to our house. The Guzman's (that's Roy (Terri's Roy) and Terri came up, and Diana, Mindee, Mammaw, and Becca (Roy-Bekka Jaye's Roy-sister), all helped slap on the labels, the cover and ribbons. They just worked like an assembly line, well-oriented, highly-motivated, and totally underpaid!

Then, on Saturday evening, the crew assembled again, and we folded all the 300 invitations and tied the ribbons around them. They look wonderful! And they are all packed and ready to go to the church! Another thing off the list, CHECK! Not to many checks left on my list. Weldon has a few on his list though...

So do Rebekka and Roy, like packing for the trip, but we'll help them....

We thank the Lord for getting us this far, and pray that He will be with us as we begin this week, this busy and crazy week. We pray to our Father Above that all things will be accomplished with ease and joy and that everything we do will be to honor Him. Thank you, Lord. And, Here We Go.

A License to Thrill

Well, it's official, well, almost. All IT needs is an official's signature. IT being THE MARRIAGE LICENSE! It's already been 72 hours since they have bought it, so that means that all it needs to go into effect is a signature from a Justice of the Peace or anyone licensed to marry (you can get those off the internet)! Do you think that is why Roy came over and gave it to me and asked me to put it in our safe? I AM NOT KIDDING!!!

I truly don't think that they would take it and go anywhere else and get married before the 23rd.....nah! They have both been counting the days, and having so much fun getting ready...they are taking their time, why not?

But....if they did....it would be, well, I don't know....Weldon and I would still be having a heck of a big party on the 23rd, would yall come?

A Recipe to Remember

Well, if you want the BEST season salt in the entire WORLD, you will be pleased to know that my father, Myles Reyburn Kuykendall happened to pass on the recipe for that season salt to our family! We will be so sad to miss him at Rebekka and Roy's wedding in just two short weeks, having lost him in September 2009, but his memory lives on in his delicious ways of cooking. And he could really cook! If you ever tasted his jams or jellies, pies, or his WORLD-FAMOUS CHILI, then you were blessed by his hand at cooking. He loved being in the kitchen or around the campfire; at the bar-be-que pit or the Reunion Mess Hall, cooking for up to 500 family campers. He would always take the nurses at the VA Hospital or the Dialysis Units or at the Health Department different tasties from his pans. And Mom was always there, right beside him, either cooking right along with him, or cleaning up after him. He served many, and over the years, came up with his recipe for the best season salt you ever tasted! It tastes great to prep your meat, chicken and pork to cook; to cook or season vegetables; season popcorn or toast pumpkin seeds, we just use it on so many things! And we hope that you enjoy it, too.

Showered in Pleasanton

On Sunday, September 26th, everything started out pretty early with Rebekka, Roy, and Mom going to early church and then heading south to Pleasanton to help out before the shower. Mindee, Kevin, Weldon and I went to late church because Kevin and I had to play (sing) at second service. We left as soon as we finished playing (singing), so I am sure that Pastor Rich wondered what was going on, because all of the college kids got up and left too (they probably had a 2:00 call for their opera matinee performance). Oh well, we will all be there next Sunday, for BOTH services!

Anyway, when WE get into Pleasanton, we made our way through town, and find Greenlawn just fine, turn onto the street, and I [knowing that Roy(our Roy's Dad)]has a really HOT mustang (or "'Stang" as we used to call them back in the '60's and '70's) parked in his carport, knew exactly where we were taking the men to drop them off and we were running about 10 minutes late. Well, actually, it was 20 minutes to 1:00, but I figured we needed to be there 30 minutes ahead of time, so I thought we were about 10 minutes late, which makes me crazy.

So, anyway, when we turned onto Greenlawn, the first house that I saw, had a mustang in the carport and a big tree in the house across the street, so I told Mindee to drop the guys off there...that was the right place. They looked at me kinda strange, and said, "Are you SURE?" And I said, "Yes, I am sure, look there's a mustang in the carport and everything." So they walk on up to the door and we go on up the street to turn around, and of course, I see the Guzman's pristine yard, and the really HOT!!!!! MUSTANG in the carport, lovely home, and immediately start shrieking in an unknown language to Mindee to "quick, turn around, that's the wrong house!" All the time, I am thinking, "I AM DEAD!"

Well, by the time we get back to the guys, they were walking back from the front door of the neighbor that I am sure that they had just awakened at 12:45 PM (since they hadn't gone to bed until 4:00 AM Roy said). And the look on their faces, I must say, did not look like they were all too cheery about meeting this neighbor. So, oh boy, what could I do, but wave my arms out the window and say, "No, no, no, that's not it, you have to go down to the NEXT house...do you want us to take you?" Well, we made sure that they made it into the RIGHT house, and they weren't going to search the Guzman household for any firearms while we were at the shower.

Meanwhile, all of the ladies of Pleasanton were gathering at Whiffletree's Restaurant for an amazing shower, as a matter of fact, it was a flood of beautiful gifts that just overwhelmed Rebekka and the rest of our family! Everyone was so gracious and friendly. The food was outstanding (Mary brought her layered jello again--I LOVE HER!) There were some recipes that were so amazing that I think a book needs to be published just from the showers. Now if these recipes are in the Reunion cookbook, I'll be very happy, because I have one!!! Anyway, the shower was just incredible. I thought that someone was just kept bringing more gifts in, because Bekka Jaye just couldn't get to the end of them...although that didn't seem to bother her. I know that when Roy (our Roy, your Tony) arrived, he was actually beaming!!! And he was ready to pack up the SUV's and make sure that nothing could break! He is just so helpful and carng. Bekka Jaye is getting a good one!!!

Well, we returned to the Guzman's and Weldon, Kevin and Mindee headed back to NB right away since Mindee had lesson plans, and Kevin had papers to grade, and Weldon was plotting my demise, probably by a wild Cairn terrier attack, and believe me, that is possible!

Mom, Rebekka, Roy and myself had the joy of remaining and visiting the aunts from Arizona, Aunt Mary, and the rest. It was a blast. At least, I spent my last few hours on this Earth laughing, and we got to eat some more of the delicious leftovers, even though all of the jello was gone.

But, it was a wonderful day, and truly, by the time we got home, Weldon and Kevin were already laughing about the "wrong house" incident and wished they had a video of my face and arms hanging out the windows and the shrieking from the car coming back down the street. They think we could have won $10K on America's Funniest Home Videos. Well, too bad, it would have helped pay for the wedding. Let's hope the neighbor filmed it. Ha, ha.

Preiss' "Aunts" Shower

Well, it's really not totally an "Aunts" shower anymore, but it's what started as a shower given by all the Preiss sister-in-laws way back when the nieces and nephews all started getting married. Thank God for the generosity and the tradition being carried on, because Rebekka and Roy were so blessed by the Preiss clan at a wonderful couples' shower last weekend. A delicious spaghetti supper with a giant tossed salad and garlic bread was so enjoyed by all, and certainly had everyone coming back for seconds!

The couple's cake was chocolate on one side and white on the other (I ate a piece of both sides, which is a lesson for later--eating bride's cake and groom's cake, too!!!) It was really delicious, and there was none left over!!! Probably because I ate from both sides!!!

We loaded the back of two SUV's with beautiful gifts from our wonderful family and headed home in between the showers (rain showers, that is). We are sure that all the rain is falling NOW in September, and in one month, one day from now, we will have a beautiful day for Rebekka and Roy's wedding, God bless them both!!!

Tick, Tick, Tick

As the ticker, moves down, we all think, OH MY GOSH, the wedding is only 40 days away!!! That's 1 month, 1 week, and 3 days, does that sound any better?

Well, this last weekend was the first shower for our betrothed couple (not forgetting the fantastic engagement party at Val and Mary's). And it was the most delightful, demure, sweet shower that I have been to in a long, long time. It was given by my dearest friend Diana Eberhard; my life-long friend and now out-law mother-in-law to my daughter, Gail Engler; my sweet sister-in-law, Megan Kuykendall; and my dear, dear cousin, Drew Larvin Scruggs. These ladies had a China, Crystal, Silver, Linen TEA for Rebekka that was so well-attended that it filled the Rush Room at our church. The tables were all covered with lovely linens and lace; centerpieces of teapots, filled with bouquets of the bride's favorite color purple and other accents. Every place had antique tea cups and napkins that were borrowed from families of the hostesses, and were of all different styles, and were compared and admired by all.

The refreshments were so delectable that I cannot begin to describe them...cucumber sandwiches, heart-shaped chicken-salad finger sandwiches, pimento cheese fingers, fruit-salad, home-made cheese crackers, petit fors shipped in from Wisconsin, and home made truffles that melted in your mouth. We were served punch or coffee or tea. While we were snacking (I actually was gorging myself on the truffles and cucumber sandwiches), we were entertained with a mix and match game about Roy and Rebekka which featured cleaning supplies, which I like to ignore, but unfortunately knew all of those old names (I didn't play though, I was now munching out on the heart-shaped sandwiches and cheese crackers). The next game started which was to make as many words as you could out of "Rebekka and Roy." (I didn't play--I was working on the fruit, and something else, I forgot.)

The gifts just overflowed. Rebekka and Roy were so blessed by these hostesses in giving this shower so that all these friends and family could come together and offer their love by giving to them as they start their life together. It is such a special time for them, and for each of the people who gathered together on 9/11/10, we thank you for your presence, your generosity and mostly for your love for Rebekka and Roy. [By the way, Roy's Mom, Terri won for the most words,(41--she's a Scrabble Queen!) and each winner took home a teapot filled with flowers, now wasn't that nice?] It was all so lovely! We had a delightful afternoon! Thank you, Diana, Gail, Megan, and Drew! I know how hard you all worked to make this Tea such a beautiful event for Rebekka!

Fiance/Birthday Boy

Monday, August 23 is a VERY important day--the birthday of our Roy Anthony Guzman, and when he was planning his wedding this year, he said to Bekka, "Let's get married on October 23rd, because that will be 2 months exactly after my birthday."

So that was it! The wedding HAD to be on October 23rd, and everything worked out great! So, here it is already his birthday, and we are just over 2 months away from their wedding! Mercy!

All I know is, his parents raised him to be an outstanding young man, and I will be very proud to have him as a son-in-law!

A Ring is a Forever Thing

What is a ring, but a beautiful thing; a ring, that goes round and round, a circle that never ends; just like their love, which will be unending, and a forever thing...

That's it for the mush.

Here's a few pics of Roy and Rebekka when they went to pick out their wedding bands last week. Aaaawwwwwww. Sniff, sniff.

Help with the Painting.

Here's just a few more pictures taken during the painting process. I didn't get many because I am not supposed to smell the fumes. Knightley offered his tail as a brush, and as fast as he could wiggle it, there was no doubt that he would be of the greatest advantage in helping us get the job completed. Now, Charli, was a great commander of us all. She would just give us one-word commands which we quickly obeyed!

There's Terri, as high as she can get up on the ladder, painting the top of the room, which Roy (her Roy) holds the ladder so she is stable and safe (what a guy!) And Roy (their son, calley Tony, but our Roy) cutting in around the top edge...he was really great at that!!! They all were like professional painters, Becca (Tony--our Roy's sister), too!

So, if you need a room painted in less that 4 1/2 hours, just call the Guzman Painting Crew from Pleasanton, Texas and they will get the job done for you!!!

Thank goodness we have such great help and they're all in the family!!!

No Drips, No Stains, No Spills!

The Guzmans are painting wizards. They just swooped into New Braunfels, i.e. Rebekka's house, specifically and soon to be Bekka Jaye and Roy's bedroom, and whizzed into action! I have never seen such a production line. Here comes Roy (that's our Roy's father Roy) with a ladder, and the women, Terri (Roy's Mom) and sister Becca, not to be confused with fiance, Bekka Jaye, with the paint, tarp, and newspapers and brushes. They went to work immediately using blue tape to cover anything they didn't want their paint to accidentally swipe on, like the woodwork, or glass, or doorknobs (great idea).

Then they laid down the plastic, and newspapers, and got the ladders in place. Now we see the paint. They shake and open the paint.....TA-DA! There it is! A lovely new shade of taupe with just a hint of green to cover the purple that Bekka is relenting because Roy understandably could not abide! (Don't worry, we understand Roy, we still have the plum carpet in her bedroom at home...)

So, slip, slap, slop, and there you have it! A beautiful new bedroom for the soon-to-be bride and groom. Now to just get everything moved back in! Whoa! What a job that will be! But we have time to carefully make this into a room that both of them will enjoy in a coupla months.

Me? I am only allowed to paint the insides of closets, so on this day, I was in charge of food. Mammaw and I worked on the fixings and the rest. All in all, I guess you could say it was a very successful workday. Thanks again to Terri, Roy and Becca. Yall are the greatest. And Roy and Bekka Jaye put in their time, too, that's for sure! It's great to see families working together in such a loving and easy manner. That's how God put us here, as families, and He smiles down on us as we honor Him through our love for each other.

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

One of the strangest things I think that I have ever done is go shopping for a bed for my daughter and her fiance...it was only a LITTLE bit awkward. But, since Roy's parents (that's Tony to them) were coming up to paint Bekka's bedroom (that's Bekka Jaye to them)this weekend as a birthday present for him, we needed to change out the beds while the bed was being moved out anyway, rather than do it all over again...

So, here we go, mattress shopping, and of course, I can't do this FOR them. They have to pick out their OWN, what fits their bodies, what feels good to them...(what makes me feel the most conspicuous).

Well, I can tell you that these two are going to have a great time together in bed because they did not have any trouble picking out a mattress. They found one right away. Maybe it was because I was with them and they were just a little embarrassed, but I can tell you this...nothing happened while we were in the store...

Eight/Nine/Ten

Here we are on August 9, 2010, getting really close to Roy and Rebekka's wedding!!! I didn't even know that there would be a date like 8/9/10 this year, but here it is and we are now getting close to the stage of shifting into a much higher gear!! We had to fiddle around with the right color ink for the invitations and the inserts for the invitations... We are so very pleased because Rebekka's gown is in and she is going for alterations this Saturday. Both Terri, my Mom, Virginia, and myself, all have our formal wear, and are just waiting for hems, etc.

Roy and Rebekka, along with Roy's family headed down to South Padre Island for a much needed end of the summer vacation and family reunion. As in Terri's case, she had to take a vacation after planning one GIGANTIC family reunion (700), and go to another smaller family reunion of about 200. It is GREAT that Rebekka is marrying into a family that cares so much about each other and their family, and being together. Anyway, they had a wonderful time!!!

The Kuykendalls and the Kunzes (on my side) do not get together very often, but our family is very small. When we were talking about our family trees and filling out our family trees, we discovered that our grandparentst were raised in the same area in Palm Heights in San Antonio and went to the exact same elementary school. How small of a world is that?!!! The Preisses used to always have family reunions on the Little Blanco River near Blanco, where the Preisses originally settled (there and the Kendalia area).

There will be so much history tied up in their marriage. The Esparzas defended the Alamo, and the Kuykendalls were one of the original colonists that Stephen F. Austin brought to Texas to settle the land, and the "Crossing of the Brazos" is an annual celebration for their part in the settlement of Texas. They fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, so both families had blood shed defending Texas' independence. What history will be combined when they marry!!!

So everything seems to be going well, except it's been a tough summer for all of those who worked in tourism, with the temperatures being really high snd the humidity high enough to make it really seem so much hotter. That's Texas for ya!

God bless you all and keep cool while you pray for rain!

You are invited!

The wedding invitations are in! Rebekka and Roy did a wonderful job of designing them and picking out the colors and all! I just love them! We do have a bit of work to do to complete all the information for you (the inserts like maps to the church and reception, accommodations, etc), and complete all the addressing, but rest assured that yours will be arriving on time! We do have just under 3 months now, so we have got to kick into a higher gear.

Bekka [my Bekka Jaye, not to be confused with Becca, Roy's sister(that's Bekka's Roy Anthony, not Roy, Roy Anthony's father)boy, it's a good thing that Roy and Rebekka found each other because otherwise, we never would have had a chance to talk about this extraordinary coincidence, AND they are both LEFT-HANDED, TOO!], anyway, Bekka, Mindee, and myself hit the pavement hard today, running errands, getting a few more things checked off the "TO-DO" list. I don't think I could even give you a list of the places we went, there were so many, but we did have the pleasure of starting off at Celebrations with Mammaw (my Mom), for her fitting for her dress for the wedding. It's really beautiful on her! It will really be a memorable evening for all of us!

So, as we proceeded to complete our mission, Mindee laughed every time I would say "CHECK," meaning that's another thing off the list. It really just saves something from needing to be done at the last minute...

I am sure that there will be last minute things, but as our wedding coordinator at church reminded me last Sunday, "Karon, don't worry, if one little thing doesn't get done, no one will know." And she's right.

It's just the big things that I think about.

You Never Have to Have An Excuse to go Shopping!

With October 23rd getting ever so close, Bekka and I know that we must work on completing her trousseau. So, that qualifies as a HUGE reason to go shopping, don't you think?

So, with help from her MOH (and sister), Mindee Rae, we headed off to the Creekside Center and Gruene, looking for a "going away" outfit and a few other items for the honeymoon and the engagement period. Just so much to plan for, clotheswise, that is.

We were so fortunate to have some good instinctive turns during our shopping that took us to the right spot to find the perfect ensembles. Now, just to accessorize!

Let's PAR-TAY!!!!

What a thrill--and what a great party at Roy's Godparents' Val and Mary Garza's home on Saturday, July 3rd. There were people everywhere, great food everywhere, great decorations everywhere, and one of the best cakes I have ever eaten there, too! Val was really busy grilling the most tender ka-bobs I have tasted in quite a while, and Mary had set the sides to feed royalty!

All of the guests were meeting and greeting each other...it seemed like the two clans just melded into one! It's amazing how quickly our families have come together! We just love each other! I think that we have so much alike. We have always had big family gatherings, well maybe not 700, but we are very close and usually have a crowd for most meals, and holidays are big, which I am sure are for the Guzmans also.

Mary and Val's home is beautiful and their yard is perfect for entertaining! AND THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT!!! That was incredible, considering the weeks before had been quite wet with very unpredicatble conditions everyday. We were all concerned for Roy/Tony.

Praise the Lord for a dry day, and a wonderful party. Thank you to all who came. So many came from a long distance to share the time, and we thank you ever so much. The happy couple will not forget this wonderful time with everyone and the wonderful hosts.

3 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 3 DAYS TO GO!!!

Can it be that we are only 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days away from the BIG DAY???? My, time's fun when you're having flies!!! At least, that's what I always used to say!

It is a good thing that Bekka and I went shopping yesterday! Of course, we use any excurse (no, that's not a misspelled word, according to Weldon) to go shopping. We had to continue to work on her trousseau. We had already found some wonderful pieces, but still needed some very important items, so off we went.

We had shopped the day before with Roy, when our happy couple registered at KOHLS, and they really found some wonderful things, so don't forget that when you start shopping! When we were there, Bekka found a coupla cute dresses, so we scooped them up on a great deal. Roy liked them, so it was neat that they were together. Roy even found a great shirt that he liked, so everyone went away happy. Weldon would be glad that I didn't buy anything for myself, but just you wait...

Then on Monday, Bekka and I hit the Forum, mainly to see what Old Navy had that might work for Disney World. We did find some really cute things and Bekka was really happy.

Then on to Rolling Oaks, and to Dillards for some great outfits. Shoes were definitely on the list. Now, Bekka shops for shoes by circling and circling. I just can't do that. Finally, when I had an idea of what she even wanted, I grabbed a coupla pairs of what I thought she wanted, sat her down, and asked the sales lady to bring her size in these two sandals or anything resembling them. Meanwhile, I was watching a cute little older lady shop in exactly the opposite way Bekka was. She sat down, and the clerk just brought shoes to her. Notice in the picture...there are twenty or more boxes of shoes around her!

I was getting slower and slower, so we knew that the trip was getting to the end. We did find a coupla pair of shoes for Bekka and then headed down stairs, and there was VS, Victoria's Secret, on the LAST day of their Semi-annual Sale! Bekka found some unmentionable things, and we were elated with the prices!

Now, one more errand and we'll be done...to Hallmark, and we're outta here, which is perfect timing, because there is Roy on the phone...and I drop Bekka off to meet him at their Monday night at the Piano Bar (Chris is there on Monday nights). Whew...that's really getting things done with 3 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, AND 3 DAYS to go!!!