My Sister's Wedding

A rare smile and eye contact combo from both kids.

Another good pose from Andrew, and I'll take the fakearoo from Abbey.

This was a picture of her yummy cake. Good job Nicole. I just love this picture.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and they were off......to look at Christmas lights.

A rare picture of the bride. Her beautiful flowergirls were so cute, even if one of them had a neon yellow cast.
Last week, we each sold off a kidney and purchased tickets to fly home for my sisters wedding. It was nice being back home and seeing everyone for the holidays too. Going back home was a bitter sweet return. The last time I was there, I said goodbye to my dad. Being home was good, but not the same. You don't realize how someone really effects a family until they are gone. My dad was always the one to lighten the mood. He also spent most of his time occupying Andrew and I know Andrew was not the same without his running buddy.

After Thanksgiving we spent a lot of time preparing for Amy's wedding. We had last minute things to buy or pick-up, dinners and rehearsals. We put some serious miles on the car. Once the big day arrived were were all officially ready for this thing to happen, and we dreamed of conversations that had nothing to do with matrimony.
My sister has probably dreamed about getting married most of her life. She waited impatiently, excuse me, very patiently for Mr. Right to sweep her off her feet. As luck would have it, she married the only boyfriend she ever had. What are the odds? Anyway, she was a beautiful bride.

A couple of days after my dad passed away, the discussion of who would give away my sister at the wedding surfaced. There were a short list of options, but the only one that my dad would have approved was Andrew. This was a touching and slightly frighting proposition. With much thought Andrew agreed to take his Papa's place. We all cried, and smiled at the thought. As Saturday approached, Andrew made everyone sweat out the moment. In true Andrew form, he makes you worry and configure exit strategies for disappearing. The kid is a wild cannon. Truly anything could happen, and we all knew it. Being the matron of honor I was the last one to leave the hallway and walk before the bride. As I left, I glanced over to Andrew and noticed him dancing the Mr. Roboto. I began to sweat.

As the doors opened and the music played, my sweet perfect angel had the biggest smile I've ever seen on that kid. His head was up, his back was straight and his arm was firmly up. As he slowly walked Amy down the isle, the pride on his face was evident. As I resisted the urge to scoop him up and shower him with hugs and kisses, I just cried. My dad would have been so proud. He said his lines, kissed Amy's hand and interlocked her and with Barry's. However, his "call me" nod to some unexpected attendee was the talk of the reception. Awesome.