The C Pages are Completed!

Well, I followed through on Thursday's plan: Right after I posted my blog, I got to work on the ABC Book I'm putting together for my grandchildren and finished this page, the first page of the C's (I've had the second C page done for several weeks).  I'm not super pleased with it, if I'm being honest.

It looks extremely amateurish and I feel like it could be a whole lot better.  But I think the problem is that I just can't get very excited about drawing stalks of celery.  I only added the word celery so that there would be one with a soft-C sound.  For variety's sake.  I think if I had animated the celery--given it a little smiley face or something--I would have enjoyed creating it a little bit more.

The second C illustration is better.



Although I sort of loathed this picture when I was working on it, because it wasn't coming out at all as I wanted it to.  I almost gave up on it, and I actually asked my husband and one of my sons if you could tell it was supposed to be a cat.  (Their reactions to that question were pretty funny.  Looking at it now, I can see that it's fairly obvious it's a cat.  I mean, what else could it be?)

I added the caterpillar there without naming it; it's like a little secret C word on the page, and it'll be neat to see if the kids notice it.

I'm getting excited to continue working on this project now--especially because the E pages are going to include one of my favorite animals of all--the elephant!  So stay tuned!

(And just a little reminder: I'm running a giveaway.  If you leave me a comment on any blog post between now and March 24, you could win one of 7 signed copies of Finding Grace.  It doesn't have to be long--just come by and say hi, and you'll be entered in the contest.)

7QTF: Giving Away 7 Copies of Finding Grace, and 7 Endorsements

I’m announcing a giveaway!

“FINDING GRACE IN LENT”

I AM GIVING AWAY seven signed COPIES OF MY NOVEL, Finding Grace, during the Lenten season.

Just as the different characters in my Catholic novel (a pro-chastity, pro-life, coming-of-age love story) are searching for God’s grace, to help them deal with disappointments, bad choices, and painful losses, we could all use His grace in our lives.  That being said, we could all benefit from inspirational spiritual reading, especially during Lent—and often fiction can stir a reader’s soul in a way non-fiction can’t.  So what better time to host a giveaway for you, my dear readers?

Finding Grace tells the story of a shy and unassuming young girl named Grace Kelly who longs to become a saint, to be in the world but not of the world; but as she begins high school (in the early 1970’s) and falls head-over-heels for the best-looking guy in the class, she realizes that the path to sainthood is strewn with many thorns.  As she struggles through her high school and then her college years, she learns a lot about the lives of the saints in Heaven, about suffering and mortification, and about the importance of following the will of God in her own life.

A recipient of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval, Finding Grace was also a finalist for the CWG’s Catholic Arts & letters award (CALA).  Those who do read it are usually quite positively affected by it; but it is my goal to get it into the hands of as many readers as possible, particularly young people whose souls are yearning to be fed the Truths of our beautiful Faith.
 

If you’d like to enter the contest to win one of 7 copies, just leave me a comment on my blog, on any post between now and March 24.  (And please tell your friends, too!)

God Bless you—and may you find grace in lent!

And now, because it's 7 QTF, I'm going to give you 7 reasons why you should enter to win one of 7 copies of Finding Grace.  Here's what other satisfied readers have had to say about it.

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Author Therese Heckenkamp (Past Suspicion, Frozen Footprints) gave it this thumb's up:

 

"Not a shallow romance, Finding Grace has all the hallmarks readers could want: romance, conflict, humor, life, love, laughter, and tears.

Parents can feel confident in buying this for their teens. Finding Grace is a moral read, without being bland or boring. The importance of family and faith is highlighted. Yes, there are lessons to be learned, but readers will be highly entertained along the way."
 

 

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And here's an endorsement from blogger Sarah Therese, who writes at Footprints on My Heart and The Catholic Young Woman:

"I've read other books that are strongly related to Finding Grace and found many of them to be rather idealistic.  Though long, this book is an easy read, realistic, and relatable.  On a personal note, reading it inspired me to deepen my prayer life and wear my miraculous medal more often {actually, constantly}.  It's inspired me to focus on my personal Marian devotion and deepen my friendship with dear Saint Therese {as well as several other saints mentioned throughout the story}.  This is a great book for any Catholic young woman who is seeking to deepen her relationship with Christ."







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Author Amy M. Bennett (End of the Road) said I must have been hiding under her bed when she was 13, because she identified with the main character so strongly:

 



"It's not often an author can combine solid Catholic theology with laugh-out-loud and almost cringe-worthy real-life characters. Laura Pearl does a masterful job in Finding Grace.

As the story of Grace's teen years unfold, American society during the turbulent '60s and '70s with its radical ideas becomes Grace's biggest opponent to her goal of becoming a saint. I, for one, strongly identified with her and her desire for true love, especially in a world that seems to find traditional mores impossible to live with and personal sanctity an impossible ideal to live up to. Yet through it all, Grace perseveres in her faith and love of family, and despite her myriad setbacks, she discovers that true saintliness is achieved by discerning God's will for one's life and accepting it whole-heartedly."
 

 

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My dear blogging friend Kate Harvey of Something Ivory (and also a co-author of a cookbook called Finger Lakes Feast) had only good things to say:

"Finding Grace is so beautifully written and so refreshing to read. It is a far cry from the usual young adult novels (although this book is wonderful for adults, too). Its themes of faith, family, finding true love, growing up in a fallen world, and having compassion for one another really resonated with me, and Pearl has a true gift for infusing these deeper topics with light-heartedness and humor and, well, grace.

Each character was clearly so lovingly crafted and the love story that runs throughout is oh so romantic! For so many reasons, I can see myself reading this with my future daughter. It brought both tears and laughter and is overall a beautiful, moving novel. I highly recommend it."

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Author, blogger, and Catholic Writers Guild VP Sarah Rhinehard's review meant the world to me.  She writes:

 

"I won't lie: this book was long. That said, it was REALLY well-written and the character development was stellar. It's set in the 1970s and early 80s, and the story is Catholic in a way that's both cultural and ingrained. It gave me a sense of what it's like to be raised Catholic and to have it be part of everything you do.

 

Did that make you feel like it's shoved down your throat? Because it's not: not at ALL. One of the things I appreciated about this book is that it doesn't seem to talk down to its audience, which is the young adult market. It's written like literature and it seems to assume that its reader has a brain. I like that. It's a book I highly recommend and one I'll be sharing."
 

 

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Blogger Rebekah Es (who is currently on a sabbatical from her blog, Rebekah's Web Log), gave my book her usual thoughtful analysis:

"Pearl's in-depth characterizations and study of the human heart are definitely the high-light of this endearing novel. Little Grace, in all her insecurities and hidden desires of the heart, her short comings and her successes, cannot but help to find a place in the reader's heart.

I also particularly enjoyed the tales of saints, and the infusion of literary figures (Grace's analysis of their behavior) throughout the novel. Pearl deftly explores Grace's strengthening perception of right and wrong, desire and will, through evaluating the choices and consequences of those she reads about. And very cleverly, I might add.  

I don't recall reading any books with such a theme when I was in high school, a time of great introspection and soul searching for me, as I am sure it is for many girls...I know that I would have appreciated and benefited from reading Grace's story during that awkward time, just as I benefited from reading it now!"

 

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And just to prove that Finding Grace is not just for teens, and not just for chicks, here is an Amazon endorsement that just made my day (and Scout's honor, it wasn't written by anyone related to me!):

"I'm not technically this book's target audience, as a 40-something male, but the story of Grace Kelly drew me in bit by bit and before I knew it, I was in "I can't put it down" mode. It's a great mix of the simple heartwarming life in an Irish Catholic family, along with the growing pains and tensions of coming of age in high school, and then there's the gradual building of distance between Grace and her best friend Irene. Furthermore, the author does an excellent job of showing the trials of unrequited love that Grace feels towards one of her close male friends and never lets on how it's going to play out until we get to the outstanding conclusion.

This book does a terrific job of blending simple uplift with real tension, and squarely confronts issues that confronted society, and by extension the Catholic Church in the early-to-mid 1970s, the fallout with which we live with today. And even if you're not Catholic, it's just a good story."

++++++++++++++++++

Well, those Takes weren't all that Quick...but I hope they inspired you to visit my blog and leave me a comment, so that you have a chance to win one of the 7 signed giveaway copies of Finding Grace.  Now head on over to Jen's for more 7QTF fun.



Back to Work on the ABC Book

I've been working on an ABC picture book for my grandchildren.

Actually, lately I've been not working on an ABC picture book.  There have been a couple of weddings in our family recently, and a couple of debilitating (although not even close to life-threatening) illnesses, and if you give me some time, I can come up with a whole host of other good reasons why I've been procrastinating.

Last night, my husband reminded me that our twin granddaughters are not going to be this age forever.  It's true; right now, they love their little picture books, and they can pretty much "read" their favorites by themselves--because just like their daddy when he was their age, they've got them memorized word-for-word.  But they will turn three in June, and as smart as they are, they're probably going to leave their picture books behind and move on to chapter books not long after that birthday.  So I've just got to get this ABC book project done for them, and I've given myself a June deadline.  (I've missed several personally appointed deadlines already; but this time, I mean it!)

This book is not just for the twins.  It's for them and their baby sister, but it's also for any grandchildren that will be coming along in the future.  I know there will be other little ones to enjoy it.  But I'm going to feel like a bad grammy if I miss the boat and don't finish it when it's age-appropriate for my firstborn granddaughters.

This is a book I actually started for my youngest son when he was a baby, but I hadn't gotten many pages completed before I abandoned the project when he was about a year old.  Almost twenty years later, I decided I needed to finish what I'd started. 

The hardest part was re-doing the original pages I wanted to use in this new version of the book, because it's always tough trying to recreate a piece of artwork with which you are satisfied (at least it is for me).
  

The originals were drawn on large sheets and hand-lettered;
the new pages are a manageable and easy to print
8 & 1/2 by 11 inches and the text is done on the computer using Word.

But I'm finished with that part of the process, thankfully, and at this point I'm working on all original drawings.  So it should be easier for me to get moving now.  (Should, but for some reason it hasn't been.)

Wish me luck with this, will you?  When I sign off, I'm going to head right over to the old drawing board, where a blank C page awaits me.  When I finish that one, I will have letters A through D completed, with two pages of illustrations for each letter.  That will only leave 22 more letters, which means 44 more pages of drawings...

Okay, I'm not going to focus on that right now.  I'm just going to get to work and enjoy the process, and hopefully I'll be posting my C pages here tomorrow.

(There's an "ABC Book" tab at the top of the page, if you're interested in reading posts about the book and its history or checking out the illustrations that have been completed so far.)

What We're Reading (Ash) Wednesday: The Homeschool Experiment

I'm not really reading Charity Hawkins' utterly delightful novel, The Homeschool Experiment, today; but I read it recently and thought I should share it with all of you book-a-holics over at Housewifespice.

(This is the best meme ever, Jessica @ Housewifespice.  I love the retro vibe.  I'm always happy to add it to my WWRW posts.  But I digress.)

I first discovered The Homeschool Experiment when I stopped by Katherine Grubb's 10 Minute Writer blog one day, and I saw she'd interviewed Hawkins and was giving away a copy of her novel.  I didn't win; but after I commented on the post, Hawkins contacted me personally and offered to send me a signed review copy--so actually, I guess I was a winner.  And this led to a book exchange between us, which has happened a few other times with other authors.  [Before I continue here, let me just say that in the less than two years I've been a published author, I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support of fellow authors (like Charity Hawkins) who are out there in the trenches, fighting to get good Christian literature on bookshelves that are so often filled with less-than-noble modern works.]

Okay, I'm off my soap box now, so let's move on to Hawkins' book--which I believe is a "must read."   Once you start it, you won't want to put it down.

 



In The Homeschool Experiment, Hawkins handles both the sublime and the silly aspects of life in a household with three small children with humor and affection, and her sweet novel will be especially entertaining for those of you who are homeschooling your young'uns--but you really don't even have to be a homeschooler to enjoy the author's lovable heroine, Julianne Miller, or her often hilarious take on young mommyhood.  The book is told in the first person, so the lucky reader gets inside Julianne's head--which is a treat.  The passage about her trip to the Salvation Army thrift store with her kids in tow is so hilarious (in a cringe-worthy sort of way, because if you've ever been a mother to small children, you'll probably be thinking, "Been there!"), that one scene alone is worth the price of the book.  Just about any mother in the throes of raising little people--whether she's taken on the daunting task of educating them herself or not--will be able to relate to the blessed chaos this harried stay-at-home mom deals with on a daily basis.

And here's the bonus: this book is unabashedly Christian in theme and content, and the main character is very much focused on God's will for her family throughout the story.  Even though one chapter begins with the lament, "Drat. Double drat.  It looks like God wants me to homeschool.  How did this happen?", Julianne perseveres--because for Julianne and her husband, John, the answer appears to be homeschooling.  But the author is careful to stress that although homeschooling is right for this fictional couple, it might not be right for everyone, and that ultimately, parents have to assess their unique situations to determine how to best educate their children.  You will find plenty of encouragement in this book, and even some homeschooling tips; what you won't find is judgment.  And you will also see a mother who turns often to God with the kind of silent entreaties I used to make when dealing with a toddler temper tantrum or the like: Lord, help me.  Truly, Julianne is one of the most relatable characters I've ever come across in fiction.

My husband and I only homeschooled the youngest of our five sons, and we only homeschooled him for five years (from grades 4 through 8), so I don't know what it would be like to juggle the needs of a first-grader, a pre-schooler, and a toddler all at once, the way Julianne has to do.  But I can completely relate to dealing with the often rude questions posed by well-meaning friends and even close family members.  Just as Julianne must suffer her mother-in-law's thinly veiled disapproval of homeschooling, I had to field questions like, "Don't you worry about socialization?" and "Do you feel there will be some gaps in your son's education?"  Even though homeschooling has come a long way in the past few decades, there is still a bit of a stigma attached to it, and Hawkins deals with that aspect of the experience with honesty and plenty of her trademark humor.

That's probably what I enjoyed most about this book--the humorous voice of the author.  Julianne is a master of self-deprecation, and she is harder on herself than any critic could ever be.  One of the chapters begins with this sentence: "I am a terrible mother."  Who among us hasn't felt that way at one time or another?  I also enjoyed the way the author describes the relationship between Julianne and her ever-supportive husband (a sainted individual who reminds me a bit of the man I married).  It is obvious that theirs is a strong Christian union, one filled with deep love and understanding.   And Hawkins is also a master at describing the personality traits of Julianne's young children, particularly her endearing but sometimes exasperating six-year-old son: ''I hate to stifle his creativity, but he comes up with complicated and physically voluminous ideas at an astonishing rate.  It wears me out.  In the car the other day, out of the blue, it was, 'Mom, I'm gonna need some big bricks.'"  Now that's stellar writing, if you ask me.  Although this is a novel, the situations and conversations ring absolutely true to real life.

Charity Hawkins has written a novel that conveys the beauty to be found in the homeschooling life, when parents choose it so that their children will learn "truth and virtue, perseverance and character, to love God and to follow Him wherever He may lead.  Those are the most important things."  Amen to that.

Highly recommended!

Now head on over to everyone's favorite on-line book club for more reading recommendations.

Wedding Deets

If you come here often, you know that my fourth son got married on February 22, in the very same church where my husband and I received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony 33 years ago--when we were very young and plastic and couldn't have imagined that we would one day have three married sons and three young granddaughters!

But life has a way of happening.  There's no stopping the clock, so you might as well lock that safety bar across your middle and enjoy that crazy, speeding roller coaster ride.  (That's definitely a metaphor, readers, because in real life, you couldn't pay me enough to ride an actual roller coaster.  Life is much too short to spend precious moments of it scared out of your wits and sure you're about to die.  How anyone enjoys roller coasters is beyond me, it truly is.)  Although we still feel like the twenty-something kids we were when we started out our married life together, in actuality we are the fifty-something parents of five grown-up sons, and we're grandparents--"Papa" and "Grammy"--to boot.

But it is truly a joy and a privilege to live long enough to see your children find and marry their soul mates.  To see your children's children.  If it means you have to grow older to do so, then I say bring it on!

The wedding ceremony of son #4 and his Braveheart was absolutely beautiful.  The church where those two kids were married is utterly magnificent.  The priest who performed the Mass was reverent and holy.  The music was traditional and lovely.  There is nothing in the world like a Catholic wedding Mass, and this one brought a few tears to my eyes.  One sight I never get tired of (and have had the privilege to witness three times now) is the sight of four of my sons, handsome in their tuxedos, flanking their brother the groom.  I can't handle seeing this without crying.  To say I'm proud of and adore my boys...well, that's just the understatement of the century.

Which reminds me of something really sweet my newly married son said about his bride on his wedding day.  As we were lined up on the altar getting ready to have pictures taken, I leaned over to Braveheart and whispered, "You look gorgeous."  (She did--she was wearing an antique ivory satin wedding gown that had been her grandmother's, with an antique ivory lace veil; she is a beautiful girl anyway, but that day, she was absolutely breathtaking.)  Hearing me, my son responded, "That's the understatement of the century."

Can you stand it?

Once we moved on to the reception (where the bride wore a more modern strapless gown for dancing), things got relaxed and everyone started to let their hair down--which is the way it always goes.  The venue where this reception was held is very elegant, and the cuisine served there is top-notch.  But once the dinner was over, the DJ (who has worked other Pearl weddings and knows this crowd) wanted to get the place rocking, so he played plenty of Pearl family faves like "What Does the Fox Say?", "We Are Family," and "American Pie."

That's the hubs in the shamrock suspenders, burning up the dance floor.



And of course, the "Electric Slide."

And let's not forget "Thriller."

Son #5's "Thriller" routine has become the hit of every family wedding.

The bride actually serenaded our son at the reception--and like our two other daughters-in-law, Regina and Preciosa, she has a voice like an angel!  (We hope our grandchildren take after their mothers, as far as singing goes.)

It was a fancy party, yet it was fun.  There was even a "dinosaur table" for the chicken nuggets and French fries crowd.  Every detail had been thought of to make the event comfortable for the guests and enjoyable for all involved.

But you know how there are always little glitchy things that happen during weddings--things that no one can ever really prepare for or predict?  (Someday I'll tell you about a few of ours--one of which included the man who ran the Knights of Columbus Hall where our reception was held leaning over, as my husband and I sat at the head table eating our dinner, to inform us that one of the members of our band had suffered a stroke that day, but they were scrambling to find a replacement for him and hopefully we would end up having music to entertain our 200 guests!)  Well, this wedding was no exception.

My son and his wife chose to have a small wedding cake to cut (with a little round top layer to freeze and save for their first anniversary), and then there was a dessert bar with truffles, strawberry shortcakes, and all sorts of goodies to choose from.  (And yes, that's Disney's Ariel the Little Mermaid atop the cake, with her prince--not-so-serious cake toppers for a not-so-serious couple.)

Before the pair had even had a chance to cut the cake, Braveheart's maid of honor came up to her and said, "This cake is delicious!"  There on her plate was a slice of the wedding cake...taken right out of the top portion, which the bride and groom had been planning to save intact.  "Where did you get that?" asked Braveheart.  "Oh, I just cut it off that cake over there on the table," the maid of honor innocently answered.  Apparently, this young gal had never been to a wedding before and had no idea about how the whole ceremonial cake cutting part of the festivities was supposed to go!

The bride and groom still cut the cake together, and most of us--who heard the story afterwards--were none the wiser.

Another little mishap took place right at the end, when the bride and groom were leaving.  A lovely sparkler send-off had been planned, and all of us were lined up in two rows with our sparklers lit and sparkling...and as they burned down to nothing, we all wondered where in the world the bride and groom were.  Apparently, just as they were about to make their grand departure, someone stopped them inside and insisted on taking pictures.  And as my son describes it, this person kept saying, "Wait a minute...let me take another one."  Then, "Oops, that's too close, let me step back a little."  Then, "Just one more."  And all the while, my son was trying to move things along, knowing the sparklers had already been lit.  By the time the happy couple came outside, most of us were raising burned-out sticks.  But the few people whose sparklers were still going strong stepped to the fore and made the moment picture-worthy.  It was actually pretty hilarious while it was happening, and it will make for good story-telling in the years to come.



Knowing these two goofy kids, the not-quite-perfect moments will be their very favorite memories of all, and they'll get some good laughs when they look back on their wonderful, heart-warming, and sometimes funny wedding day.

In the end, pristine wedding cake tops and picture-perfect sparkler send-offs hardly matter.  These two beautiful souls, who have promised before God and everyone to love and honor each other until death does them part, are now one.  They're married, and that's all that really matters.

My Three Daughters (-in-Law)

I can't even count the number of times over the years, when I was busy raising my five boys, that people would ask me if I felt I'd been cheated because I never had a daughter.  They would tut-tut and tsk-tsk, thinking I'd been dealt a pretty crummy hand in life--when I always considered myself the luckiest woman on the face of the earth.  I knew it would have been wonderful to have girls in our family, if that's what God had sent us; but I also knew that He always has a plan that is absolutely perfect for each one of His children, and for me, that plan was to be surrounded by little (and now not-so-little!) men.  Daughters would come, I was convinced; someday my sons would bring lovely young ladies home, sweet grown-up gals who'd gone through puberty with their own mothers and would bring my husband and me nothing but happiness (and grandchildren!). 

I thrived in my testosterone-laden household, I really did.  I loved that my guys would air their grievances quickly and move on, instead of brooding and hanging on to things the way we women tend to do.  I watched lots of sports, both on ESPN and in real life. I watched lots of action movies when I might have preferred romantic comedies. I picked up a lot of dirty socks and washed a lot of football uniforms.  I drove my big red 15-seater van hither and yon, carrying not just my own brood, but often my sons' teammates and athletic equipment--dropping off, picking up, dropping off, picking up...I cooked and baked with joy and love, because it's true what they say: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  I laughed a lot, as those boys developed a way of joking with and poking innocent fun at one another that might not have flown if there'd been more sensitive female children living under our roof.

My sons were really good boys, but they were boys, and they often resembled a pack of yipping puppies when they were young, bounding around and competing over every little thing--especially shotgun privileges every time we went anywhere by car.  But my husband always assured me that one day, I would be surrounded by strong, strapping young men who would walk proudly beside me and protect their mom.  He said they would put me on a pedestal and treat me like a queen (or else!).

Well, that day has come.  Actually, it came quite a few years ago.  My husband's promise to me came true, and then some.  Look at this recent picture, would you?  Who wouldn't want to be me?

At the rehearsal dinner for son #4 and Braveheart, Feb. 21, 2014.

But oh, am I ever blessed, more than I ever deserved to be...because now, along with those five tall, handsome, lovable sons, I have three daughters.  Three girls have joined our family, each one so precious in her own unique way.

First came Regina, a sweet and gentle soul who married our oldest son in December of 2009.  She is the mother of our three granddaughters and in my heart, truly a daughter.  I couldn't love her more if I tried.  She set the bar high when she became the first Pearl girl in our rough-and-tumble clan.

At the wedding of son #4 and Braveheart, Feb. 22, 2014.

But you know how when you're a mother of one and you're expecting your second baby, you love your firstborn so intensely that you sometimes worry that you couldn't possibly love another child as much...and then your heart expands the nanosecond you hear the cries of that newborn?  Well, that's just the way I feel about Preciosa, the second daughter to be added to our string of Pearls when she married son #3 in December of 2013.

Another rehearsal dinner shot.

Again, I feel as if I've truly been given not just another daughter-in-law to love, but another daughter.  This girl exudes enthusiasm and love.  She adores my middle son, and those feelings spill over to include all the members of his family.

And just when I thought my heart couldn't expand any more or it would burst wide open, son #4 married his perfect match, Braveheart, on February 22 of this year.  Like the two daughters-in-law we've been blessed with already, she is a darling young lady with a loving heart.  And she loves my boy so much that she has adopted the rest of us right along with him.

Another wedding shot.

We think we'll keep her!

Just as my husband's prediction about my sons came to pass as he promised, so has my prediction that I would one day be blessed with daughters.  It took a while to get them, but it has certainly been worth the wait.  Just as we wouldn't have wanted our boys to be five cookie cutter replicas of one another, we wouldn't want the girls they chose for mates to be identical either.  And they aren't.  They each bring something special to the table, and we wouldn't have it any other way.



7 QTF: Another Rehearsal Dinner Success Story

I haven't been here at the 7 Quick Takes Friday table for a while; but as always when I have lots of pictures to share, this seems like a particularly good place to show them off!  I'm a day late, but I know Jen graciously saves spots for late-comers like me.

So hi fellow Takers (and followers--if you're still stopping by my little blog, when the offerings have been so meager lately)!  I hope you enjoy these images from the Friday before son #4's wedding to my newest daughter-in-law, who shall be henceforth known here as Braveheart.  (She joins daughters-in-law Regina and Preciosa, adding another jolt of much-needed feminine influence to our formerly testosterone-heavy household.)

As the parents of all sons, it appears we will always have less to worry about when it comes to wedding preparations and expenses than the parents of the young ladies our boys marry.  No matter how modern the world has become since my husband and I got married 33 years ago, or how much wedding etiquette has evolved, that still seems to be the case.  Our biggest responsibility, therefore, is putting on a nice rehearsal dinner the night before the nuptials--a party that gets the families and friends of the bride and groom together for food and fun before the big day.  We have now put on three such dinners, and I have to say that this latest one turned out to be quite enjoyable for all involved.  My husband and I think we're getting pretty good at this rehearsal dinner stuff (excuse me for a moment while I give my own back an enthusiastic pat); but I'll share some photos of the event with you, my objective readers, and you can let me know if you agree with this assessment.

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I must say, this dinner was pretty swanky.

Because our son got married in our old hometown in Upstate, NY, in a decidedly non-metropolitan area, we were limited as far as available venues to host a special dinner for a crowd of about 40 or so people.  But there is a successful restaurant in town that offers the most delicious and sophisticated cuisine, and they happen to have an event room off the main dining area that is just exactly the right size for the number of people we had invited, so we booked it several months in advance--and boy, are we happy that we did.  The room is so rustically pretty and elegant all on its own (and the proprietors promised to adorn the the tables with white linens, little vases of fresh flowers, and burning taper candles) that it really didn't require any extra decorating touches from us, so I didn't even bother to make centerpieces.  I had two photo banners made up at Walgreens, with pictures of the bride- and groom-to-be on them; but otherwise I left it to the owners to set the room up the way they usually do when there are private parties held there.

We were able to offer our guests six delectable entrée choices, so I typed up a mini menu on my computer as a Word document, and I printed copies out on card stock--to make it easier for guests to order and to also offer them a souvenir of the evening, if they wished to have one.

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But not TOO swanky.

Lest you think we were all very staid and serious during this lovely, elegant dinner, rest assured: the Pearls like swanky, but they like it with a twist of humor and down-to-earth-ness (word? Yes or no?).  There was a good amount of laughter and goofiness at this party, in spite of the elegant surroundings.  One of the ways I kept the dinner from being too fancy-schmancy was by baking the rather silly cakes we served our guests for dessert, instead of having them choose high end confections from the restaurant's menu.

Baking cakes for our boys' rehearsal dinners has become a bit of a tradition for me now.  I baked a huge sheet cake decorated with tropical flowers for our oldest son's rehearsal dinner in December of 2009, because it was held in an enormous inflated tent-like building that housed a tiki bar and a sand volleyball pit.  I made a dinosaur-shaped cake for son #3's rehearsal dinner a couple of months ago, because I filled the souvenir English crackers our guests opened with little toy dinosaurs and because...well, because Pearl boys love dinosaurs!  For son #4's rehearsal dinner, I made his and hers character cakes--because the two of them share a love of kids' movies and cartoons (along with a love of science facts, nerdy jokes, and video games), and I knew just how tickled they would be by them.  Braveheart's favorite Disney character as a little girl was Ariel (the Little Mermaid), and my son was a dyed-in-the-wool TMNT fan (with a special affinity for Michelangelo).  So there you go.

These two kids are seriously not serious.

Those cakes crushed pretty much every other cake I've ever made, as far as decorating goes.  Just call me "Cake Boss."

Even my twin granddaughters were impressed.

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And definitely not too swanky for small children.

Small children (and medium-sized children, and pre-teens, and teens, and most definitely BABIES!) are always included in the guest lists for major events in the extended Pearl clan--especially family weddings!  So our oldest son's three little lasses, including the two-and-a-half-year-old twins who were going to be flower girls during the ceremony the next day, were in attendance.

Our tiny granddaughter Little Gal caught a cat nap in the corner before joining the festivities...

while her older sisters Bonny Babe and Cutie Pie provided built-in entertainment for our delighted guests throughout the evening.

Doing "Cheers!" with the uncles.

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The groomsman gifts were a hit, as always.

Are groomsman gifts always drinking-related, or is that just the way my boys roll?  Our oldest son gave his brothers and father the most amazing Viking-style drinking horns (which were made out of hollowed-out horns from real animals) on the night of his rehearsal dinner.  We have a cute photo of the guys all raising them before taking a drink.  Our #3 son gave all the guys in his wedding party tall beer glasses that had their names and the date engraved on them.  And we have a cute picture of them raising those, filled with beer from the brewery where the rehearsal dinner was held, before they took a drink.  So you will not be surprised to learn that son #4--who is not one to break with tradition--chose engraved glass beer steins with metal lids as gifts for his groomsmen.  And we got the requisite cute picture of them raising these steins for a toast.



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My rehearsal dinner dress was an eShakti winner.

I loved the dress I wore to the rehearsal dinner.  It may, in fact, be my favorite dress of all time (and even though I'm one to use hyperbole about a million times a day, I am not exaggerating here).

This navy blue and black cotton dress with an illusion neckline is from eShakti, my new favorite website.  I had it custom-fitted using my measurements, and the $7.50 extra I paid to have that done was well worth it.  If you haven't checked out the eShakti site, I urge you to do so.  Their styles are so feminine and pretty, so delightfully retro, and the prices are reasonable.  This dress cost me less than $70, and that included the cost of the custom sizing and the shipping.

Of course, it looks even better in the above photo because it's accessorized by the six handsome men in my family.  But I seriously love this dress.

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I love hosting rehearsal dinners so much, I can hardly wait for the next wedding in our family.

But no pressure, sons #2 and #5.  Really, no pressure.  Just know that your dad and I will do our best at your rehearsal dinners to see that everyone gets a great meal and that their cups are never empty.  And know that I will bake you a cake that will probably be cooler than any cake I ever made you for your childhood birthday parties, now that I've learned a few tricks from watching how the pros do it on TV.  But most of all, know that we will be thrilled to welcome the women you love into our growing family.

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And here are a couple of last photos of the guests of honor, who were relaxed and happy the night before their big day.



Like all of God's creations, these two kids are absolutely unique--but what's best is that they are absolutely perfect for one another.  They make a great couple.  They really "get" each other.  They go together like peas and carrots...or like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and a Little Mermaid.  And that's a pretty great combo, as it turns out.

Now head on over to Jen's, where everyone else got their Quick Takes in on Friday, like they were supposed to!