Revisisting the Past

It only seems fitting that we commemorate our anniversary by choosing for our "revisiting the past" entry a picture from that moment in time. So, this is not meant to embarrass anyone but commemorate that time of life. Can you guess who these two cute little kids are? If you said Brian and Shellie Papp, you are correct. Just to put this picture in perspective, Brian is a freshman in college and Shellie is a junior in high school. I know, it makes me feel old too. We were so thrilled to have them as a part of our wedding. Although we don't see them often enough, we are thrilled with the young adults they have become. Brian our avid baseball player and fan (sorry about those Cubs) is just sweet, sensitive and quite handsome - don't tell his friends I said that though. When I think of him, I always remember him "playing" basketball with Emily in his driveway. It was such a sweet moment between the oldest cousins of the Papp family line. Then there is Shellie who loves to sing and act and is also just as sweet as she is gorgeous. I remember how she drew chalk pictures on the sidewalk and tried to get Emily to run through the sprinkler and played with her while we were all in NY. Both wonderful kids who have become even better adults. Of course, the only person who isn't in these pictures is Nathan. Nathan is eleven and a great kid. He loves all things about the weather and is also a big Cubs fan (sorry). He took great care of Emily when we visited them in IL: showed her the toads by the house, went in the sprinkler and even had her join him in a swim in the bath tub filled with bubbles - yes, I have pictures to prove it too, sorry Nathan, I promise I won't show your friends. Then most recently he played with her in NY. So, this picture commemorates Brian, Shellie and Nathan - great cousins, great kids. We hope to see you this summer to make more great memories.

13 Years Together

It is hard to believe that 13 years ago tonight Dave and I took our vows and became husband and wife. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday and other times I can't remember not being married. We have experienced a lot of things during these 13 years - job changes, traveling (ahh, The Maple Leaf Inn in Vermont), buying a house, having 2 kids - great times and sometimes times of struggle. All in all though we have led a pretty happy life together with our children, family and friends encouraging and helping us along the way. In my younger years, I always thought I would be married by 25 , have 3 kids and a job in the communications field - that wasn't the case. It was only when I became content in my single hood that God decided to hatch a plan in my father and Dave's father's head to try and have us meet. I know it was in God's time that Dave came along and that gives me a confidence that he truly is the one for me. So, instead of being 25 I was 28, instead of 3 kids it was 2 - we had 6 great years as a couple prior to them and are enjoying every minute (almost every minute) with them - and there is no communications job but I had an incredible career at UNIRISC and now have assumed my rightful role as a stay at home mom - the hardest and yet most rewarding job in the whole world. So, thank you dads for setting us up and thank you Dave for loving me as I am, marrying me and creating with me this wonderful life we lead with its ups, downs and inbetweens. I am looking forward to the next 13 years with you.

Matt, what are doing?

I think it is funny the little things our kids end up doing that make us genuinely smile or laugh in that moment or instance. On the afternoon of cousin Lisa's wedding, I had Emily and Matt play in the leaves while we were waiting for Grandpa and Grandma Wessel to get back to the house. This was my attempt at getting some nice Autumn pictures of the kids in their finery among nature. The kids were having fun throwing leaves at each other, playing tag, collecting twigs and looking for certain colored leaves. It was an endearing moment in time but what made me smile even more was watching Matthew collect his leaves. I noticed Matt looking down to the ground in one direction but what I didn't realize was that he was actually "collecting" leaves in his pants pocket until he turned to stuff the other pocket. Matt has only just recently noticed the pockets on his pants and how useful they can be. So, I guess I wasn't really surprised that he would fill them with leaves. Even now writing and thinking about this brings a smile to my face. The other funny thing is I'm not so sure that Dave or I emptied Matt's pockets before we gave the tuxedo to Uncle Norm to return to the shop. I hope if they found leaves, it made them smile too but I highly doubt it.

A Picture Perfect Setting

The weekend of cousin Lisa's wedding turned out to be a picture perfect Autumn day in the county. I knew that one of the pictures I wanted to get of Emily and Matt was of them walking to the church down the "county" road with the trees and stark white buildings peeking through the Autumn foliage. As you can see, the picture turned out beautifully. The other is of Matt and Emily hugging outside after the wedding. I love catching moments when I see or hear them being protective and loving to each other...it truly does warm my heart.

I have made an album of the pictures from the wedding weekend on my Facebook. I didn't include one picture of the kids and that is intentional because it will be our Christmas photograph, you'll just have to wait and see.

Argh, whose drivin' me boat?

One of the fun things the kids did at Grandpa and Grandma Wessel's house was go out on the lake for a boat ride. Both Matt and Emily rode down to the lake with Grandpa in his buggy and met Grandma, Dave and I at the boat. The kids seemed excited, it has been a while since they were out on a boat. We thought that Matt would be the one to want to "drive" the boat but his turn was short lived - his choosing. I guess the boat just didn't move fast enough...or it didn't have enough lights on it like a fire truck, ambulance or other "loud/bright" vehicle. What did surprise us was that Emily was actually the one most interested in driving. We learned that she likes to make very sharp turns with the wheel, so she got plenty of direction from Grandpa on how far she needed to turn the wheel. Once Emily for the gist of that and which direction to turn the wheel, she was good to go. I think in the end she actually drove it twice the second time being out of a small bay and to the dock. Yes, I said dock. Emily, with Grandpa's help, actually brought the boat into dock. Who know maybe the next visit she'll do a full trip around the lake and hopefully Matt will have a little more interest. Maybe they should install a light bar on the boat to make it more enticing. Just a thought.