A Wonderful Day, A Beautiful Bride

No matter what fun anyone else had today, I had more. Today was wedding dress shopping day with Marie, her mom, sisters and friend. What a great time we had. We started at Leonardo's in Rocky River. We found dresses with bling, dresses that were pouffy, dresses that were "fun" and all kinds in between. Our problem was the bride. She looked absolutely beautiful in each and every one of them. She didn't walk, she floated and sparkled. And then, with a veil---well, what can I say? She was a princess, a sweetheart, a matador, a mermaid and a goof. She put on one dress with yards and yards of train--and who but Marie would say, "I can have this floor dusted in a minute, watch me...." and then take off with the dress trailing behind her as she chased down dust bunnies!!

Lunch was at Salmon Dave's, hosted by Mona. I was going to wrestle her to the ground for the check, but she beat me to it. We had a great time talking about past weddings, proposals and rings. I am so pleased that Tony gave Marie a wonderful wedding proposal memory. There's nothing like a bunch of teary eyed women sitting over lunch going, "aw, isn't that sweet" to make a bride proud of her groom.

From there we went to Dora's in Fairview Park. They had a great selection at really good prices. But, just like before, our problem was the bride--absolutely beautiful in each and every dress.

After that, we finished the day at David's Bridal in Strongsville. It's a big store, but their dresses just didn't seem to have that "wow" factor that many of the other dresses that Marie tried on did.

I'm not sure if Marie found her dress today. I think she confirmed what she really wants to look like on her wedding day--and I think that she was surprised by how much she liked some dresses that really didn't look that great on the hangar.

I am so glad I was invited to share in the day. At one point, Marie was looking at herself in a dress and she said to me, "do you think your son would like me in this dress?" To which I replied, "Sweetie, you could wear a burlap sack on your wedding day and Tony would still think you were the most beautiful bride in the world." And I know he would.

THE dress is out there and when she tries it on, Marie will know right away that this what she is supposed to look like on this very important day.

Thank you, Marie, for asking me to be part of the day.

The Way We Were

Tony got home from Tampa last night....we had a nice dinner in Berea and then came home, sat on the deck and talked. It was nice.

Tonight, I came home to cut grass, a neatly trimmed lawn and dinner being planned and cooked. Stupid Cat is no where in sight....ah....this is how it's supposed to be.

No laundry tonight. The alone factor is gone. All of the sounds are where they should be.

It doesn't get much better than this!

And Then Ben, Mommy and Daddy Came Back....

Do you think I'll ever remember to post the earliest first??????

Oh Happy Day

What a good day it was today. We found out that David is being moved from Intensive Care to a regular room and will be walking soon. What a relief that was. We thank the Perez family for being there with him and keeping his spirits up.

Today we had lunch with Jenna and Jon and the kids. Jenna, Jon and Ben were going to go to the movies to see Shrek. It would be the first time for Ben to see an actual movie on screen. He kept talking about the "big" TV he was going to go see at the theater. That means we got to keep Sam. Oh what fun we had.

Sammy is so much his own person when he is here alone. He went to the diaper bag and pulled out his juice and then pulled it again and laid down by it indicating that he had "pee" in his diaper and wanted it changed. We did "sleepy boy" until Tony put him down for his nap. And then Ben and Mommy and Daddy came home. Who could sleep through that???

He got up and Ben took pictures that captured the day. How we love those babies. And how thankful we are that David is OK. No matter how old your children get to be--they are always your babies.

Stay tuned for pictures...you know me by now...they will be ahead of the text!!

Sick Kid

As you know, David went in for surgery today on his left leg. We are waiting for the results, but he is a strong young man and we are sure he will be fine. All I can say is "thank you" to the person at Mercury Insurance who told David he should go to the doctor. So often, we put things we know we should do out of our minds because we don't want to seem weak or whiney. "I'm fine," we insist, but we know we really aren't. And then, there's the cost of going to the doctor--missing work, co-pays, prescriptions--who has money for that?

I am the worst about going to doctors, but when your kid is sick, that's exactly where you want them to be. I know David is 29--nice birthday being hospitalized!! but no matter how old any of our children (and extended children) are, a sick kid is a worry to parents.

Don't ignore persistent symptoms. Listen to your bodies--take care of yourselves, you are the only children we have and we'd like to keep you around and healthy for a long time.

Thinking of you, David.

LIttle Men - 5 Photos

Little Men - 4 Photos