Shelli and Collin are married!!!!!

Shelli and Collin got married this weekend in Cincinatti. It was a beautiful day and I've never seen a more radiant bride. Shelli has always been beautiful, but on Saturday she transformed into the most amazing, beautiful creature I've ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

The wedding party. And I do mean party!!!!!

Maurice and Shelli. I love this picture..................

Maurice with his parents.

My favorite picture of me and my Shell Bell.

You can probably expect to see this picture on a Christmas card this year!

My 3 favorite men. Aren't they handsome? Timmy loved wearing his tie and vest "just like Isaac".

Isaac did a great job as the ring bearer. Collin's 6-month-old niece was a flower girl. Obviously, she couldn't walk so Isaac pulled her down the aisle in a red Radio Flyer wagon. It was almost 90 degrees on Saturday and the church was not air-conditioned. At one point I thought Isaac was going to pass out, so I had him sit with Grandma for a few minutes. After that he stood back up with the guys for the rest of the ceremony. Timmy was a doll.......fell asleep sitting with Cousin Jordan and his fiancee Randy (they're getting married February 9!!!!).



Getting ready with Shelli.




Isaac and Timmy searching for ants.

Timmy playing with the leaves at the park while the grown-ups are getting pictures done.


Rehearsal photos

Fall retreat at Three Springs

Timmy and Isaac love their new bunk beds. Here they are clowning around in Isaac's bed.
This past weekend was the BCC Sr. High Youth retreat. We go to a horse farm in PA every Fall. It is beautiful and we have a great time horseback riding, playing games and hanging out. This is the Senior class. Can't believe this is their last year! I've been one of their leaders since they were in 7th grade.
Senior girls. They are the best bunch of girls ever.
We take a photo in front of this tree every year. It's our little tradition.
Seniors playing some sort of murderous game where you try to get balls in the other teams' bucket. I played for exactly 3 minutes until someone took out my ankle.

First Day of School!

Today was Isaac's first day of First Grade! We all saw him off on the bus this morning. The thing he was looking forward to the most was eating lunch at school. Kindergarten was only half day so the idea of being at school all day is exciting for him! He loves his teacher, which is a good thing because he'll have her for both first and second grade.
Me and my babies.
Off on the bus!

Shelli's Getting Married!

Last weekend I went down to Florida for Shelli's bridal shower in Sarasota. I can't believe the wedding's almost here! This is Shelli and her fiancee, Collin. They both live in Cincinnatti now but flew in for the bridal shower. It was nice for Collin to get to meet some of Shelli's friends.
My second mother (NOT just a mother-in-law....although I hope I don't offend any mothers-in-law out there by saying that) a.k.a. Little Miss Elma Sue. Her little girl is all growed up!
The other man in my life........Mr. Fran. Maurice always says I just married him for his dad. I'm not denying it....who can blame me? The sweetest, most compassionate, wisest man on earth.
BONUS!!!!! I got to see some of my fam while I was there. I left Sarasota on Sunday (to let Shelli have some alone time with her parents) and stayed with my sisters Grace and Rachel in Tampa the rest of the weekend. We had a good time just hanging out and shooting the breeze. My favorite part of most trips to Florida is sitting around in Rachel's carport, watching the world go by and discussing all the important and not-so-important things in life with my girls. Oh, yeah, and drinking beer. I got to see Helen, John and my niece Katie who drove down for part of the weekend, and also got to spend some time with NormiRivs, my favoritest older broand his girlfriend, Ana. This is Rachel, Norm, me and Grace after we stuffed ourselves at brunch at Mimi's Cafe on Monday. So delicious! I had french toast stuffed with cream cheese and orange marmalade. Yum!!!!
I had a 3 hour layover in Baltimore on the way back to Rochester. Wound up seeing Shelli and Collin again on their layover! Not a very long visit.......they had gotten stuck on the runway waiting for a gate to open up, so we only had about 10 minutes, but it was nice to just recap the weekend and get a few more hugs. I love my sweet blondie sister!

Ain't she so purty? My Shell Belle.