The Best Man Dance

I saw a totally different side of my son the night of his friends wedding.

NEVER did I ever image that Ahren would set foot on a dance floor.

Not only was I surprised to see him ON the dance floor, but having FUN dancing!!

He danced with me.

 He danced with the Uncle of the bride.

 With the brides Grandmom.

 And even with the Father of the bride.

He was the BEST best-man EVER and the life of the party!!

How have you changed in the last year?

This time last year I was mourning the loss of my mother.

My favorite photo of my Mom is on her wedding day.

I still find myself thinking of things I'd like to ask or tell my Mom.  It could be anything simple as a curiosity over my childhood or sharing a part of my day. Then it hits me hard. I can never ask her questions again. My mom was the one who had knowledge of my upbringing, family traditions, the names of all those faces in old photos.  With her passing, all this is lost.   I started scrapbooking my children's lives many years ago and have completed a lot of albums.  But life got in the way and I have not scrapbooked in about 10 years.  The need to begin scrapbooking has become strong.  I want my children to know about their childhood, I want them to have the memories, I want them to look back on their lives with fondness.  I want all this because there will be a day I won't be there to answer their questions.

My cousin along with my Mom and my boys.

During Holidays and birthdays I have a part of me that grieves for what will never be.  My Mom won't be there when my boys graduate college, get married or have their own children.  My boys will no longer have their grandmother to share their lives with.

My grandparents and my Mom.

  Over this last year I have struggled with unresolved issues I had with my Mom.  We had many bumps in the road and they were not smoothed out by the end.  Losing my Mom suddenly has left unreconciled sense of unfinished business.  There are days I think I am moving on and have a sense of forgiveness.  Then there are other days resentment lingers.

At the one year anniversary of her death my thoughts of her were strong.  I wanted to do something special, so I took her favorite flowers and placed them on her grave.  This gesture has helped me have a small bit of closure and the beginning of peace.

My feelings for my Mom have changed over the last year.  

Slowly the struggles and differences we had are being replaced by good memories and love.

Honorary Parents of the Groom

My oldest son, Ahren has a close friend who recently got married.  

Ahren was the best man in the wedding.  He took his duties seriously and helped make his friends wedding day a special one.

 His friend doesn't have parents and is not close to his family.  Ahren and his friend have been friends for a very long time.  Long enough that we consider him a part of our family.

Todd and I filled in as the parents of the groom.  We felt very strongly that the groom deserved to be represented and to have support from our family.   

Flowers for the (stand-in) mother of the groom.

The groom expressed over and over again how much it meant to him to have us be there for him, not only for the wedding but while he was growing up too. I know Ahren also appreciated us stepping up and being there for his friend.

Ahren's best man speech was perfect. A mixture of sentiment and humor.

He thanked family and friends, the wedding party, parents of the bride and

 "parents-ish" of the groom.

His description of Todd and I got quite a few chuckles.

It was an honor to represent the groom.  A memory I will treasure forever.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple!

Fears I am facing

A mother always worries about her children, whether they are young or older.  The fears I am currently facing are about my children.  I am scared of...

• Ahren being stuck in a job he hates and talking about getting a new job that is hours away from home.
• Zachary graduating from college and potentially getting a job on the other side of the country in CA.
• Brandon going away to college in the fall.

These things may not seem scary, but as their mother, it is. I'm sure other mom's out there can understand how I feel.  The fear of your child moving far away is bad enough, but all three of my boys?!  It's devastating!  I know, I know... all children grow up and leave the nest.  They may be ready to leave, but I'm not ready to let go.  The feelings of sadness, grief, depression, emptiness and loss are overwhelming.  I'm having difficulty coping with the thought of an empty nest.

Ahren, me, Brandon and Zachary

Most of my life I have focused on raising my boys and caring for the home and family.  It seems like all of a sudden my kids are gone!

What do I do now?  

Recently a good friend made a statement that has helped me through a few bad days. She said "Congratulations, you are blessed! Give yourself a big pat on the back for raising wonderful boys!".  She is right!!  I am very blessed.

I will begin this new stage of being a parent whether I am ready or not.  I have to learn the delicate balance of letting the boys know they have my support but at the same time allowing them to be independent.

Often easier said than done.

50th Wedding Anniversary

April 10, 1965

Stan & Judy celebrated their wedding day.

50 years later  ....

2 sons, 2 daughter-in-laws, 4 grandsons and 2 granddaughters.

from left to right:

Ahren, Tyce, Tami, Brandon, Maddox, Judy, Zachary Morgan, Stan, Todd, Chad and Heather.

Stan and Judy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the same church they were married in, having a luncheon with family and friends.

 I was in charge of making a new wedding album and the welcome table.

 I thought it would be nice if each guest wrote a memory they had of Stan and Judy.  

All the cards were collected and put into a 'treasure' box.

My sister-in-law was in charge of the table decorations.  

I loved the gold tablecloths, simple and elegant.

 My good friend, Heather has her own cake business. 

 I think she did an amazing job making the anniversary cake.

Judy made the party favors.

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to my wonderful in-laws!

Love Park

LOVE Park, located in Philadelphia, was built in the 1960s.

Around the 1980s the park became famous for skateboarders because the way the park was designed.  With curving stairs and ledges, is perfect for the sport.  

In the early 2000s, the city banned skateboarding in LOVE park.

Even with the ban, I saw plenty of kids skateboarding the day we visited the park.

(I'm in the middle of the group, with my sunglasses on).

Normally LOVE park has gorgeous fountain behind the 'LOVE' sign, but it gets turned off when the city puts up the Christmas tree.  They were putting it up the day we were there.

~

Close to LOVE Park is a courtyard filled with HUGE game pieces. 

I don't know if this is unique to Philadelphia, but it's pretty cool!

In front of LOVE park is Philadelphia's City Hall.  On top of the building is a statue of Pennsylvania's founder, William Penn. Until 1908, this building was the tallest in Pennsylvania.

The William Penn Statue is gorgeous, but the day we were there was a cloudy, overcast day and I couldn't get a good photo of it.

Tid Bit of history:  Contrary to belief Pennsylvania was named after William Penn by King Charles II and not Penn himself.

Mother's Day

I am lucky to have such wonderful boys and a loving husband!

Todd added another charm to my Pandora bracelet.  This charm is a heart with many different versions of the word 'mom'.

Ahren had chocolate covered strawberries sent to me and Brandon brought home flowers.

Zachary is in FL for school. He called me in the morning and it was good to hear his voice.

  I missed him more so today. 

 It's my first Mother's Day that not all my boys were with me. 

I can't explain how sad it made me not having all three of them together.   

Of course I cried!

~

Mother's Day was spent having brunch with my family and my BFFs family.

Brunch was yummy!

Drinks too!

 A parent of one of the little girls I watch sent me flowers with a beautiful note.

Mother's Day was a very special day. 

I feel loved!

Popping the Prom Question

Back when I was in high school (when Bon Jovi was considered 'hot')
 a boy simply asked a girl to the prom,
or if he was scared enough to actually face the girl he would write a note.

My son, being the creative genius like his mother that he is,
came up with a different idea to ask a girl to the prom.

Brandon: Mom can you help me make huge cut out letters? 

Me: Why?

Brandon: I want to ask her to the prom.

Me: With huge cut out letters??? 

Brandon: Yes. Like Poster size.

Being the wonderful Mom that I am, I bought poster board and cut out the letters and made a sign with her name. Note: It took me hours to draw and cut out the letters.

Me: What are you going to do with the letters?

Brandon: Ask her during the play off hockey game. 

This is when the creative juices start flowing.

Brandon recruited fellow teammates to hold up the signs. 

Brandon is to the right of her name (with the C on his jersey).

A friend recorded the event. =)

Courtney was in the stands (embarrassed) and said yes! 

He even bought her roses! (sniffle)