Going To The Chapel

I love wedding pictures.  But I mean really, does anyone not love wedding pictures?  Probably, but by now, those people have already stopped reading.  Here are some pictures from before the ceremony that I was able to snap as Megan got ready on Saturday.

My Speech

I posted last week about about my sister's upcoming wedding.  Well it that happened over the weekend and it was amazing.  I can say that it was a wonderful time; she looked beautiful and everyone had a great time.  Since I shared Megan's speech at my wedding last week, I wanted to share mine here as well.  Here goes:

Good evening everyone.  For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Me-Me and I'm Megan's older sister.  Megan has instructed me- literally under penalty of death that I have to keep this speech PG rated and not embarrass her... So, I guess that means that this is the end of my speech. Thanks for listening... 

Megan, in all honesty, a few minutes on this special day isn't enough time to describe what you mean to me and so many people in this room, but I will try.

As everyone knows, you have a loving spirit and your kindness and beauty can light up any room; you have truly outdone yourself tonight.  You look amazing and I know you well enough to say that your happiness is genuine and that you’re enjoying every moment of this special day.

To most people, you become like a little sister, perhaps one that they never wanted, but that their life wouldn't be complete without.  

One of your best qualities is that you take the time to celebrate with everyone in the good times- you were there for me when I got married and for the birth of my children…

Oh wait… actually; do you remember that you missed Cullen's birth by minutes????  Why was that again??

 Oh right, because while I laid there suffering, you had been stuffing your face with Oreos and Reese’s peanut butter cups and then YOU needed to leave because you had to get some "rest.”

But you are 100% committed to everyone during the worst of times; and we all know how you love a good drama, the more dysfunctional the better; so bring it on people!  But I can also say that you never judge anyone; you only offer strength, support and love at a time when people need it the most.

As kids, Megan and I were pretty much inseparable and we always managed to keep each other laughing and during these moments our family was either laughing with us… or in some cases at us.  To this day, one of our most ridiculous times spent together was a trip we took to a boarding kennel to pick up our family dog, Murphy.  As soon as the people at the kennel brought out “Murphy” we knew that this wasn’t our dog.  This dog was beautiful… and VERY well behaved.  We tried to tell them it wasn’t our dog, but they insisted it was and because I was only 16 and Megan was 13, we did what any stupid kids would: we took the dog.  And I mean WE TOOK THE DOG.  We drove that beautiful dog home, we brought it inside… the dog practically joined the family.  But a few hours later the kennel called.  The owners of the beautiful dog were there and were refusing to take our dumb dog, so we had to return our new family member.  This has since become one of my Dad’s favorite stories to tell, but what he probably holds out on is that HE was one of the people who were trying to convince us we were crazy; he even rationalized that the reason Murphy’s fur had totally changed colors was because it was summer time and she had been outside a lot…

Megan, thank you for sharing the past 27 years with me; Mom, Dad, Geb and I have loved you so much and for so long and we are happy to welcome Joe into our lives and family.

And Joe, I’ve never really given you any compliments… and I’m not about to start now!  In all seriousness, you’re perfect for my sister; you make her happy and I can tell that the love you two share is real and will carry you through the highs and lows of the life that you’re building together.

As I watch you two create your family, I am inspired by how blessed you both are.  Joseph and Zeta are incredibly lucky to have supportive loving parents who are dedicated to giving them the best life possible. 

My wishes for Megan and Joe are that they have a continued loving friendship and partnership and that they remember two keys to a successful marriage: a good sense of humor and a short memory.  May you love one another and stand together today and always.

... and in case you're wondering, here's the proof:

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is gonna be a good great day. 

 Fingers are crossed, 

Virgin Mary statues are going to be put in windows 

and wishes are being made on my wishbone necklace

 that the weather cooperates and everything goes off without a hitch.

Happy Wedding Eve, Megan and Joe!

It's The Bangs, Right

Arden is fascinated with technology.  He knows how to slide open both the iPad and my iPhone.  He can then go to YouTube, our PBS app or the video app and watch his favorite things.  I'm pretty sure that there are some adults that I know that couldn't do this... ahem, Dad.  He loves it when I let him have a photo shoot and by that I mean that he clicks the picture button a hundred times before I say, alright that's enough.

The other day, he wasn't feeling well and so I scooped him onto my lap and he started snapping away.  Three or four days later, when I went to delete most of the pictures, I stumbled on this one; don't we look like twins?  I'm pretty sure that it's the bangs and the hair color, but it's cool, I'm still going to claim it.  I don't think that either of my children look like me.  Obviously, Cullen looks just like Jim and I think Arden looks like my Dad, who he calls Pa- just like Little House on the Prairie.  I've said before that our third child will be the tie breaker and then Jim and I will be able to claim victory in the genes department.

So, I guess if I'm going to get more pictures where I look like my kids that it's worth letting them take hundreds of shots while my picture count soars into the thousands.

 

The Button Speech

The time is almost here, my sister is getting married.  Her big day makes me think of my wedding, all of the stress and planning resulted in a spectacular event, surely it was one of the happiest days of my life.  By far, the most meaningful part of the day (outside of exchanging vows with my husband) was the speech my sister gave.  It's funny how extraordinary stuff seems to get mixed in with totally ordinary stuff in my house- I found her speech several weeks ago mixed in with a whole bunch of take out menus and appliance manuals, one of my most important memories had been relegated to a place in my house much less deserving than the place it has in my heart.

So, as I take the time to work on my speech, I wanted to remember and share her words to me and Jim on that day:

The Button Speech

First and foremost, I want to say congratulations to Me-Me and Jim.

May your future days together be filled with love, laughter and all of the happiness in the world.

As we all know, my sister Me-Me has a heart of gold, who will do anything for anyone.

She is always willing to listen and always gives good advice.

She puts everyone before herself in any situation.

She is the type of person who will be by your side even before you are finished saying her name.

I can still remember the time when I was about 10 years old and Me-Me and decided to go out for a bike ride down our street.

On this particular day, I happened to be wearing my favorite shirt.

It was purple and silk and I loved it.

During our bike ride, I fell off my bike and ripped my shirt.

I began sobbing and as usual, Me-Me told me that I was going to be okay.

I was crying because our neighbors had seen me fall or that Me-Me stood there laughing at me,

but because I noticed that one of the buttons on my shirt fell off.

As I walked inside the house to clean up, Me-Me had stayed behind to look for that sing button that I had lost.

Eventually, Me-Me had found the button.

Even though Me-Me hated that shirt, she was still willing to find that single button that I'd lost so that I'd have a smile back on my face.

Me-Me, our cousin Kristen and I have always dreampt of our weddings.

I remember when we were younger, we would beg our parents for the newest edition of the JC Penny catalog.

Most kids would't be asking for the catalog, but if they did, they would probably be picking out toys and clothes that they would want for the upcoming holiday.

Well not us girls...

we were picking out our future husbands, children, wedding dresses and my favorite...

household appliances.

Me-Me-

You and I have special bond that goes deeper than just being sisters.

I've always wanted to be just like you.

I mean, who wouldn't-

you're one of the most kind, most caring, funny, smart, most beautiful women I know.

No matter how upset I am you always know what to say to make everything all right.

Just like how you've been there for everyone else, I promise to be there for you forever.

I've looked up to you as my mentor, my hero, my sister, but most importantly, my very best friend.

Jim-

I've know you for the past two years, and I haven't seen my sister happier.

I don't consider you my brother-in-law, because in my heart you are more like an older brother.

Even though it's been a short time, I feel like I've known you my whole life.

I wouldn't want anyone else as a brother-in-law but you.

Keep making my big sister smile.

Welcome to the family and I love you both.

The Balance Of Being Three

There's very little that I know for certain in life, but what I do know is that when my sweet, darling boy picks a flower for me at recess and stashes it away in his cubby for me to find when I pick him up at the end of the day, my heart melts.  His kindness and thoughtfulness is really overwhelming sometimes.  Like when he says to me, "I will try not to ever hurt your feelings, Mom!" I know that he means it.

But there are days (many, many days) that are filled with running and jumping and kicking and pushing and shoving and all sorts of rambunctious boy stuff that would test anyone's patience.  So, it's amazing to watch this little balance start to happen.  Cullen is always the first one to exclaim, "you look so pretty, Mom!" when I walk down the stairs, but still has no problem screeching in my face if he doesn't like what I have to say.  I guess it's part of growing up, but since I'm biased  I think he's doing a better job than most kids his age; he has an amazingly kind spirit that literally gives me strength and happiness.

So that flower (which is really a weed, but who's judging?) that he picked got immediately wrapped up in my purse and is going to stay there- a reminder of how a nice gesture brings so much joy to my life.