Wedding Party #3

My third, and final, wedding attendant is my baby brother Jeremy. We are 5 years apart and we have pretty much gotten along our entire lives. There were times when we fought and the fights were brutal but there were far less of them than with my sister. They ganged up on me a lot when we were growing up but it taught me to be strong and hold my own.

I remember the night that Jeremy was born. My sister and I were staying with my grandparents for the night and we were cuddled up in bed with my grandma watching TV when the phone rang around 9:00. My grandpa came in the room and told us that we had a little brother and I said, "Send him back, I want another sister!". I'm not sure why I felt so strongly since at the time I'm pretty sure that I didn't like the sister that I did have. Either way, my parents kept him and I'm glad they did.

Jeremy and I have don't have nearly as many funny stories as Stephanie and I do but we had a blast growing up. I love him to pieces and I miss him terribly when he's away at school. Bryan and I are actually going down to Searcy this weekend to visit him and his wife as well as some of my other friends. This is a picture of Jeremy and I at his wedding back in January, sorry about the blurriness!


(Jeremy will be standing on Bryan's side during the wedding ceremony but it made more sense for me to post about him than Bryan since he is my little bro!)

Wedding Party #2

Erin (Cole) Woosley is my bridesmaid. Erin and I have been friends for more than 15 years and it is due to her inspired matchmaking skills that Bryan and I are together and planning to live happily ever after. Erin and I met at summer church camp many years ago and we became fast friends. I honestly don't remember exactly how we met but I know that we've been friends ever since. We grew up about 30 minutes apart so we had to make time to get together and see each other. We wrote letters back and forth and then eventually switch to email and then instant messaging. We would always meet up at church events and for almost 3 years we went to see a movie once a month. Of course we were too young to drive so our parents had to go along with all of this and drive us places all the time. Interestingly, our dads went to high school together and got along well so it was easy to convince them most of the time.

As we got older and were able to drive ourselves places it got easier. For a couple years we sang in a choir that her dad directed which was taped and re-aired for a Sunday morning church program on TV. We also played softball together for several summers once we were in high school. When I graduated high school and left for college we drifted apart. I came back for weddings and graduations but we were no longer as close as we had been. At some point a couple years back we started emailing again and now we are as close as we ever were. Apart from my sister, Erin is the friend that I've had the longest and I know that we will be friends forever. She has been with me from my first crush to my Prince Charming and I am so grateful for her love and support. I love seeing her every weekend now and being able to spend time with her and her wonderful family.

Fun Fact - Erin and I have the same birthday! I am a year older but we share the day. We had one joint party a long time ago. The only thing that I remember is eating at El Chico's and having to wear a sombrero as they sang Happy Birthday to us. Maybe she remembers more about it and will post a comment to share!

Before Bryan and I started dating we were both at a point in our lives where we felt lonely and unsure about the future. I have told Erin this several times but she saved both our lives by giving us one life to live together. We are forever indebted to her for our happiness and we have been told to name our first-born after her for her efforts. I think that is a small price to pay for the happiness and love that we have gained by taking her advice.

Erin, we love you and we owe you!!


This is Erin and I with her beautiful daughter Lindsey.

P.S. Bryan and Erin have their own history so I'm going to encourage him to write another post about her from his perspective!