A New Year and a New Start

This has probably been the busiest couple weeks of my life!!  We drove to Ohio for Christmas and spent 7 days enjoying the festivities, visiting family and finalizing some things for the wedding.  We got back to Illinois with just 4 days left before the wedding.  Unfortunately, we lost my Grandma Barb just 2 days after Christmas.  We are sad at her passing, she will be missed by many.  We were able to visit with her in September...I am so glad we were given that chance.

We spent Friday morning, after getting home, decorating the hall.  That night my mom, dad, PJ, Allie, Phillip, and Brandon all arrived at our house.  We had the rehearsal at 1:00 on Saturday and went right over to dinner at Schiappa's Italian restaurant hosted by Anthony's parents.  I was glad to finally be able to have some time to get to know our "new" family.  That evening we celebrated bringing in the new year at our house.  The hair stylists arrived at 10 Sunday morning to do our hair.  We had to be at the chapel at 2:30.  Everything went pretty smoothly.  I was nervous and a bit stressed, but I guess that's normal.  We had family stepping in to help with whatever needed to be done.  And that was so appreciated!!  The ceremony was beautiful and meaningful.  The kids wrote their own vows, had communion and braided 3 cords to represent God, husband and wife.  My mom sang, The Prayer and it was perfect.  John had decided to hire a DJ and they made the reception go without a hitch.  I didn't have to worry about a thing!  The food was wonderful, dancing great, and everyone had a good time.

It's taken me all week to recuperate and most of the time I feel as if I've had a dream.  But, it's real, my little girl is officially married.  We are excited for her and Anthony and their new life together. 

I haven't gotten anything from the photographer yet, but when I do, I'll post pics ASAP.