A Weekend of Celebration

Sep 11

Hi Friends!

This past weekend, I had to privilege of getting to travel to San Antonio to celebrate one of my best friend’s twenty-second birthday as well as getting to attend my cousin’s beautiful wedding in the Dallas area. While it was a slam-packed weekend full of travel, the weekend could not have gone better and was full of love and enjoyment.

I began my weekend Friday morning with a long (6 ½ hour) drive to San Antonio. While the drive was painfully long, I knew that I was in for a treat this weekend. After everyone safely arrived, we decided to have a chill night, as we were all tired from work and had a long drive that night; plus, we were preparing for the fun weekend ahead. Saturday morning is when the fun began.

On Saturday, we did exactly what the birthday girl truly wanted to do- Float the river in New Braunfels. With our coolers packed, tubes aired up, and speaker fully charged, we took on the river. Despite it being a bit crowded due to Labor Day weekend, floating the river went perfectly. We listened to great music, laughed, and got to truly relax in the refreshing water. I personally love floating the river and have not been able to do so this year, so I was glad I got an opportunity to do so before fall arrives (which at this rate may be never in Texas). If any of you have never had the opportunity to float the river, I say take it as soon as possible. It truly is a good time- and if you need an excuse to go, just take me with you!

After the river float, we came back to the AirBnb, freshened up, and prepared for Raegan’s birthday dinner. We decided to go eat at Dick’s Last Resort on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and man was it a fun time. They did all the cliches with the theme of the restaurant- aka being rude- by making us the funny, well-known hats, giving Raegan about 20 straws in her drink, and at one point the waitress used our heads as a stand to write on our ticket. The food was good, but the experience at Dick’s is what truly draws me in. (I’ve been to Dick’s a plethora of times at this point and definitely recommend to those who enjoy a good time.)

We ended the night by going to Coyote Ugly- all of us girls are in love with the movie was it was definitely fun to see it taking place in real time. We went to another bar and after a few drinks, we decided to end the night early (sometimes the vibes just aren’t there).

Sunday, we enjoyed the day by eating shake shack and going shopping. Naturally, I decided to expand my book collection by three more books thanks to sales and a gift card. (I got ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ by Maya Angelou, ‘The age of innocence’ by Edith Wharton, and ‘Yellowface’ by R.F. Kuang for those who care.) After having a bit of relaxing time after our shopping trip, we decided to go to an arcade- not just any arcade, but one that also had bowling, laser tag, and a go-kart track. It was so much fun for all 8 of us adults to get to let out our inner child.

When walking out of the arcade with vibes through the roof, we heard a bar playing jams (straight heat if you will); naturally, we decided to walk over and check it out. With our energy already high, we decided what could go wrong. We ended up spending the rest of our night at the bar having some drinks, and man was it fun! We danced like nobody was watching, and looking around at my friends, I was so glad we took a chance at this bar. I truly think the fun I had the most on the entire trip was at this bar that we sporadically decided to go to - some of life’s greatest moments aren’t planned and this moment proved that greatly to me.

Monday morning, I packed up and headed straight to Dallas for my cousin’s wedding. Anyone that knows me knows that my cousin, Cody, has always been more like a brother to me than a sibling- so naturally, this day was full of emotions as I watched him and Indigo commit to each other and God. (I cried numerous times throughout the event- I may or may not be a crybaby at times)

The wedding was beautiful and full of love from all the family and friends that gathered to celebrate the marriage of the amazing couple. Shades of pink and green filled the venue, and it all tied together wonderfully. The ceremony showed their love to its full extremities from the very beginning as Cody cried the entire time Indigo walked down the aisle (as did I). Their vows shared their story of love from the beginning, and the love continued to show through the reception. After the speeches and first dances, the reception led to a good time full of fellowship as the entire crowd gathered onto the dance floor and spent the remainder of the night there.

The most beautiful part of this wedding, however, was the love for God that the couple shined through.

Indigo and Cody are one of the main reasons why my faith has become so strong. They invited me to church when I was still a nonbeliever and always welcomed me with open arms. They often encouraged me to keep coming, even on days when I felt down. They filled my life with scripture and were quick to answer questions I had about God and faith. I truly would not be the Christian I am today without the two of them- which made watching their wedding that much more special. There is no doubt in my mind that God has his hand over this couple, and I cannot wait to see the plans for the two of them He has in store.

Truly, this weekend was very special to me. I got to enjoy fellowship to all of its extremes, experience emotions of my ‘sibling’ getting married, and share love with those that I love so deeply. I could not be more thankful for the people God has placed in my life; they truly show me a sliver of heaven on this earth.

I want to end this post by sharing a verse that Cody shared with me on his wedding day. I hope my readers can take it to heart as I have

James 1:12

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

With Love from your friend,

Jess C