I recently sang in my longtime friend Chrissy's wedding. (I must love this woman. Among my repertoire? "Ave Maria" in Latin. Joking: Love you, Chrissy!) Brian and I also sang a duet, Casting Crowns' "Your Love is Extravagant" -- a beautiful song that means a lot to me.
First up was the rehearsal and a charming dinner at Court Avenue Brewing Company in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Chrissy & I met in Iowa about 25 years ago, which is really saying something when you're only 30. She's among my dearest friends and is really like a cousin to me. (One of my earliest memories of her was when we walked home from first grade at Lewis & Clark Elementary School. I held my pink Rainbow Brite lunch box in one hand ... and her hand in the other. I wore pigtails and could care less that the older boys made fun of our public display of affection.) We've stuck by each other through the Gremlins, New Kids on the Block, adolescence, divorce, illness, college, courtship and more. It was an honor and a blessing to sing at her wedding.
One of the fun things about our friendship is that she has two younger siblings who are the same ages as my two younger siblings. And our mothers are dear friends. Growing up, my family moved away from her Iowa family. But our families spent a week together every summer, in Illinois for a few years and then in Kansas.
And just like in the good ole' days, our moms lined up their kids for an annual group photo:
From left: Jason, Jen, Amanda, me, Nicki and Chrissy -- the original "Lucky 6"
Now, the number of spouses included in our photos keeps growing. This time, we welcomed Chrissy's brand new husband Josh into the club. He's one lucky guy.
From left: Josh, Brian, me, Chrissy, Brian, Jen, Nicki, Amanda & Jason (Not pictured are my brothers-in-law Ryan & Kurtis, who weren't able to attend the wedding.)
Jason is the last single one of the bunch of us, so I'm looking forward to one more Dixon-O'Toole wedding extravaganza.
In the meantime, Brian and I have a few more weeks to practice for our next wedding singer event, my cousin Kayleen's wedding. La, la la la!
First up was the rehearsal and a charming dinner at Court Avenue Brewing Company in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Chrissy & I met in Iowa about 25 years ago, which is really saying something when you're only 30. She's among my dearest friends and is really like a cousin to me. (One of my earliest memories of her was when we walked home from first grade at Lewis & Clark Elementary School. I held my pink Rainbow Brite lunch box in one hand ... and her hand in the other. I wore pigtails and could care less that the older boys made fun of our public display of affection.) We've stuck by each other through the Gremlins, New Kids on the Block, adolescence, divorce, illness, college, courtship and more. It was an honor and a blessing to sing at her wedding.
One of the fun things about our friendship is that she has two younger siblings who are the same ages as my two younger siblings. And our mothers are dear friends. Growing up, my family moved away from her Iowa family. But our families spent a week together every summer, in Illinois for a few years and then in Kansas.And just like in the good ole' days, our moms lined up their kids for an annual group photo:
From left: Jason, Jen, Amanda, me, Nicki and Chrissy -- the original "Lucky 6"Now, the number of spouses included in our photos keeps growing. This time, we welcomed Chrissy's brand new husband Josh into the club. He's one lucky guy.
From left: Josh, Brian, me, Chrissy, Brian, Jen, Nicki, Amanda & Jason (Not pictured are my brothers-in-law Ryan & Kurtis, who weren't able to attend the wedding.)Jason is the last single one of the bunch of us, so I'm looking forward to one more Dixon-O'Toole wedding extravaganza.
In the meantime, Brian and I have a few more weeks to practice for our next wedding singer event, my cousin Kayleen's wedding. La, la la la!
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