she made me cry.

Favorite Babysitter Beth got married today.  Pardon me for just a moment while I start crying.  Again.

the photographer made her do it.

I'm sorry, did I just blow snot on your screen?  That was an accident.

it's not the best picture.
it's not even good.
but they were all sitting still at the same time.
so points are awarded.

Miss O was the flower girl (seems her advertisement paid off), and Wee Man, HB and Sweets were the ring bearers.  Sweets actually slept through the first part of the ceremony, but there was never a more adorable tux-wearing baby sleeping in a coordinating stroller.  Also, he doesn't actually walk, so he didn't actually bear anything, I guess it was more of an Honorary Ring Bearer position.  

yummy babeh.

I know I'm biased, because after all, she is Favorite Babysitter Beth and all, but people, I have not ever ever ever ever ever seen a more lovely bride.  Pardon me again, my eyes have gotten all misty-wet and I can't really see what I'm typing.  

It wasn't the dress (which was amazing, and looked like it was made for the sole purpose of being worn by her), or the hair, or the orchid in the hair, or the pearls or the anything else that could make the list... Maybe it was all of it.  I don't know.

the romance of the hair. sigh.

But in my head, I have a picture of her, taken almost ten years ago (ten! years!), where she is with two of her good friends, Favorite Babysitter Jackie and Danielle, maid of honor and bridesmaid, respectively.  They are laying on their bellies on a bed in the hotel where we had our wedding reception, grinning up at the camera.  And they are young.  High school freshmen, maybe?  That sort of math is impossible for me.  And for the record, we were providing childcare to the guests at our wedding.  We don't just get hotel rooms for teenagers.

favorite babysitter maid of honor

The year after our wedding, she started babysitting for us.  She has been holding our babies for as long as we have.  We listened to the stories and troubles and drama of high school, we tried to be good givers of advice, and tried even harder to bite our tongues.  We have been loving her longer than we've been loving our own babies.  That's not me saying we think of her as our older kid, because we don't... the Favorite Babysitters are like the younger sisters we never had.

And now she is halfway through graduate school and she is married, with a husband!  It is so good.   It's so good that my throat is hurting and tears are on my cheeks and I'm sniffing and biting my lip so that I can think, because it is SO. HARD. TO THINK. when I'm overwhelmed by the beautiful, and good Lord, people, the way their eyes speak to each other and the gentleness of his hands on her face when he kisses her.  

love.