I Can Hear the Bells

It has been awhile since I last wrote and it's not because I forgot because I thought about it multiple times it has just been crazy around my house in the past couple weeks. In the past week or so since I wrote my Dad's toes got infected and my Mom was stung by wasps in our backyard while we were doing some work to clean up my Dad's workshop/family storage building and she is apparently allergic to bee stings. So for the third time in the last month we ended up at the emergency room. She is doing much, much better now.
On Sunday was the second bridal shower for my former roommate Shannon (whom's wedding I'm maid of honor, part of me wants to refer to her as my "bride" but now that I think that it just sounds weird lol) with her finance's family in Waco. I didn't have anything to do with the planning of this shower, she just asked me to be there to have a friend and I guess to represent the bridesmaids, so all I had to do was show up with a gift. I live about an hour from Waco so this was a much easier trip and marks the farthest my parents have let me drive alone in their car.
Of course I misspelled the street name so I ended up in a completely different part of town than the shower but with a few simple directions I made it with no other problems. The neighborhood and the house was beautiful and everyone was so nice. It was a very simple shower; the punch and cake were delicious! Shannon recieved some really great and useful gifts: a vacuum, towels, several candles, more kitchen supplies. Her fiancé's grandmother also gave her a gift I thought was a wonderful heirloom type gift. She bought an address book and filled it with all the family addresses. What a useful gift! Instead of having to call around and collect them when Christmas comes around they have already been gathered. She also put all the family birthdays in the back. This wasn't only a practical and considerate gift, it also seems to me like a way of welcoming a new member of the family. It was very sweet and thoughtful.
Instead of buying a gift for Shannon, this time I decided to make her a gift. A few blogs ago I shared Derek's graduation gift. Shannon's was similar to that except I used a board that was longer than it is wide and, using the same style letters, spelled out what will soon be their last name, "Billeaud." I painted it in the colors Shannon told me were their living room. I also put a doggie on it since they have a dog. She really liked it and already sent me a picture of it hung up in their living room.

Shannon's new sign!

Our bridesmaid dresses. Obviously this is not me, it's the picture on the Alfred Angelo website.

Speaking of the wedding, my bridesmaid dress came in! Yay! lol. Now I just have to get it fitted and I'll be all ready for the wedding. (My shoes came in two weeks ago). The dress is really comfortable. I tried it on for Cassi, my other engaged friend whose wedding I am also in, on Monday when we hung out just to make sure I could actually put it on. Good news is it only has to be altered slightly.