Sweet 16

Sixteen years ago today I said "I do" to the most wonderful man and we began our walk together down the path of this wonderful life.

I made a little treat for the kids to share on this special day, the beginning of our family. Yes, it's a teeny tiny wedding cake. The top layer is a cupcake. It's messy because I was trying to make it a surprise for the younger kids and only had 20 minutes to decorate it. The Professor is a master LEGO minifig hunter and he was supposed to find me a bride and a computer programmer for the top. This is the computer programmer:

Let's just say his batting average has gone down a bit. 

So we dressed the monkey boy up a little...

Anniversary Celebration

You simply must go oooh and awww over the 25th wedding anniversary Kimberlee's children put together for her and her man. I'm showing my kids and telling them to take notes! :)

And check out that fabulous wedding dress that still fits! What a gift her son hand painted and I love the display of silver! Congratulations again, sweet Kimberlee and family!

 

15 years!

He gets up early to head to the store and there purchases the sweetest thing a man can offer his pregnant wife of 15 years...

a jicama.

And I couldn't be more thrilled!

Last night, I was craving some Jicama Chicken. We were bemoaning our decision to pick up some quick and yucky Chinese food over the weekend, the kind that sounds like a good idea at the time but turns out to be too salty, too heavy, etc and it left us wondering why we don't think to make something like Jicama Chicken instead when those stir fry temptations come our way. It's always delicious and pretty easy to prepare (I use a modified version of that recipe). OK, practically speaking it's probably because jicamas are not always in season and are usually found in Mexican food, not Asian. But still! 

So tonight, we will celebrate our anniversary with a delicious homemade meal and a fabulous dessert made from the leftovers of the back-to-back birthday extravaganza. My sweet children have already offered to go to bed early so that we can watch a movie alone. I love them! (Movie suggestions welcome.)

{And because this baby can't seem to get enough fresh fruit, he also brought me cantaloupe! Who needs to be wined and dined? This man knows what his woman wants.}

Golden

Look at this beautiful couple! They will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month and I am delighted to call them Aunt and Uncle.

My grandmother had six daughters and sewed each of their wedding gowns along with the bridesmaids' dresses (because when you have five sisters, guess who your bridesmaids' are). In my grandmother's house there was a bookcase that displayed a photo of each of these blushing brides in their lovingly hand made gowns. I remember gazing at these pictures many times during my visits and this dress was my decided favorite. To me, it was classic Grace Kelly, simple and elegant! And just look at my Uncle, beaming in his white tuxedo jacket and black bow tie, looking like he had just left Frank and the boys at The Sands. This is the kind of "vintage" I'd love to see return to wedding days including the modest style and modest price tag.

Now, all of my grandmother's daughters were beautiful brides as was their mom before them. Mom, I liked your dress too, but the fashions of the 1970's were very...um...unique. You know I loved your veil though! My grandmother made that too and I wore it proudly 14 years ago.

Anyway, I was just tickled when I saw this picture on their invitation. It put me right back in front of that bookcase in a farm house that I loved on a hot summer day. Warm memories all around.

Fourteen Years

A June bride...

It was the best day of my life.

I married the man God made me for. 

It doesn't get any better than that!

Woodland Fairy Mushrooms

We are celebrating Shortcake's baptismal day today and instead of coming up with or finding some creative baptismal craft or snack, I decided to let her decide what she wanted to do. That decision is a post for another time. Sunshine bought Barbara Beery's Fairies Cookbook with some Christmas money and the girls have been pouring over it ooohing and aaahing. Well, after we heard an amazing homily by our favorite young Cistercian deacon about celebrating baptismal days, we decided to make a concerted effort this year to do just that. Shortcake was most anxious to try this beauty of a cupcake and I couldn't help but smile remembering a similarly beautiful, prize winning picture that a sweet friend posted that enchanted me too!

Now, I am the kind of gal that sees a recipe as merely a suggestion. Maybe not when it come to some fancy French dish, but definitely when it comes to dessert! So while I stuck to the book where the cake was concerned, which was a simple cake mix doctoring, the frosting came from a tube. Many years of at home cake decorating and an unforgetable experience with frosting a giant Elmo head have taught me that there isn't enough food coloring in my cabinet to pull off the kind of red that comes in a tube.

The kids added the white chocolate chips and had so much fun, even my soon to be 12 year old boy in a young man's body joined in.

This cookbook is a sweet little thing with beautiful pictures of some very creative ideas. There is a whole series: the Pink Princess Cookbook which Sunshine wants for her birthday, the Pink Princess Tea Parties book, the Mermaid Cookbook and the Pink Ponies Cookbook look like keepers too if you are interested in checking them out!

13 years

For my husband...

From the archives...

But all still true! Sorry about the repeats but we are celebrating today!

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This was a meme that went around awhile ago. If you didn't get a chance to participate then, please be my guest now!

I have a confession to make... I didn't plan my wedding.

I know, I know... doesn't every little girl start planning her wedding at the age of 4 and dream of the glorious day she has a legitimate reason to buy a copy of Emily and Martha's Ultimate Wedding Planner for Dummies: Every Bride's Essential Guide to Planning the Dream Wedding Everyone Will Remember Forever All For Under $500?

Sorry.

I am the only daughter of two people with rather large extended families who ALL expected to be invited to the shindig. Add to that the fact that there was some contention involved owing to my parent's recent divorce and, well.... all I wanted to do was get married!

My wedding day was to be endured, not necessarily to be enjoyed. Doesn't that sound terrible? Let me assure you though that my marriage has been completely enjoyable and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

We made all of the decisions for the Mass and put our foot down on a few items. Everything else...guest list, colors, food, flowers...was planned by my mom. I let her, I admit it, because she seemed to really want to and me?...I just really wanted to marry my guy!

1. Where/How did you meet? In college. He spent his first two years at college in Ohio and transferred to Texas for his last two.

2. How long have you known each other? 13 years

3. How long after you met did you start dating? We started dating about a month after we officially met (as opposed to the college unofficial "who's that cute guy" thing).

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? 6 weeks (Yep...I said weeks!)

5. How long was your engagement? 13 months (My father asked that I finish college first so we set the date for 2 weeks after graduation.)

6. How long have you been married? 12 years today

7. What is your anniversary? June 1, 1996

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? 200...maybe 250? The only daughter...remember?

9. What kind of cake did you serve? The wedding cake was a 5-layer white with a raspberry filling and the groom's cake was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

10. Where was your wedding? South Texas

11. What did you serve for your meal? Turkey, rice & green beans...I think. I didn't choose it, so I really don't remember..not sure if I even ate any.

12. How many people were in your wedding party? Best man, Matron of Honor, 2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen and one flower girl.

13. Are you still friends with them all? All except for 2.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? I don't think so.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? I agree that being called his wife was an amazing moment, but the most special moment for both of us was one we didn't find out about until much later. When we got our pictures from the photographer we found one that was so endearing we have it framed in our bedroom. The photographer was not allowed to take any pictures in the altar area during the Mass, but she snapped a picture of "the kiss" from the back and you can see the smiling face of our beloved priest and friend hovering just above our heads. The look on his face is priceless! We love him so much. He has baptized all of our children and BigBoy is his namesake.



16. Any funny moments? Finding ourselves completely alone in the parking lot of the church with only a vague idea of where the reception site was (did I mention my mother planned our wedding?) and how to get there. Also... a friend who was taking some back-up photos stepped on my veil as we were walking out of the church and almost pulled it off my head.

17. Any big disasters? The organist! I had met with him prior to the wedding to choose our music. I had even given him sheet music for the songs we wanted played to make sure he got it right. On the big day, he played nothing I had chosen!

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Seattle, Washington and some of the little towns around Seattle. We stayed in a bed and breakfast for a few days and then a cottage on the bay for the rest of the time.

19. How long were you gone? A week.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Don't get me started.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Right side as you look from the foot.

22. What size is your bed? Queen

23. Greatest strength as a couple? We talk and talk and talk and talk.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple? Finding time for just us.

25. Who literally pays the bills? Husband is the sole provider but I keep the books.

26. What is your song? Graceful Ghost composed by William Bolcom, performed by George Winston.

27. What did you dance your first dance to? Well it was supposed to be Graceful Ghost by William Bolcom performed by George Winston but I put the wrong CD in the case for the DJ and he ended up playing Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Byrd. I'll be joining Theresa for some wine later. We've got the cheese covered.

28. Describe your wedding dress: Candlelight white shantung silk with bell sleeves and a ballet neck line. Lace on the bodice and arms, but no decoration on the skirt. Bustled train in the back. I wore my mother's veil that had been made by my grandmother. I am not sure exactly how long it was, but she said it was only a few feet shy of Princess Diana's veil.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? I carried white roses and white stephanotis surrounded by tons of greenery. The attendants carried white daisies.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved? His 3 are (it is a very unusual design); mine isn't.

31. How old were you when you got married? 21

Always

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