Well, let me start by saying that I didn’t realize how long it had actually been since I’d last posted. I’m going to be honest here, I’ve just been overwhelmed with life lately (as the blog title indicates) and blogging has been the absolute last thing on my mind. However, I really feel like it’s a little easier to keep everyone updated on our life in this blog instead of on Twitter or Facebook since I tend to write more than what will fit in just a “status update.” I know most of you really want to know about Ryleigh, so we’ll start with her today.
The last time I posted, Ryleigh wasn’t even walking yet. Now that child is running circles around us. She is getting so big so fast. It’s a little bittersweet. I miss that little girl who would be happy just sitting in my lap all day, but I love watching her learn and grow. We just recently lost the sitter that has watched Ryleigh since she was 3 months old. She has been going back to school to be a teacher and this year she is student teaching and couldn’t continue watching kids out of her home. We miss her a lot! Given that her doctor has told us that she is somewhat advanced in her verbal and learning skills, Kyle and I decided to try to find a daycare that would begin to challenge her in various areas. Well, we found a great one and although I was a complete mess the first day I dropped her off, she is doing great. She had adjusted well, although I still miss her old sitter. Just in the past couple of months she has picked up so many new things. She’s always been a talker (imagine that), but she is now using big sentences, many of which we can’t fully understand yet! She also can count to 10, knows her basic shapes & colors, and she can sing a few songs among which is the ABC’s. She’s at a really fun (and trying) age. She just turned 2 last month and those terrible twos have really started to show up at our house. We’ve had to start introducing “timeout” for tantrums and we’re working on not saying “no” to mommy, daddy, and other adults! All in all though, she’s a really good kid and we’re having lots of fun with her.
Just a few weeks ago Allison got married and our little family had the privilege of all being in the wedding. Kyle and I were part of the bridal party and Ryleigh was the flower girl. I have to say that she was the cutest flower girl I’ve ever seen (but I’m not biased at all)! In light of being honest I must say that when Allison wanted her to be in the wedding, I just wasn’t sure how it would go. As I mentioned above, she is now 2…that speaks for itself and also means that I had no way to assure Allison that she would be fine or even do anything remotely close to we wanted her to do that day! Good thing Allison is laid back and said it would all be fine. To help prevent any breakdowns on Ryleigh’s part, we had a young lady from church that has watched Ryleigh in the past come and watch her all day so that was a huge help. Although right before we walked in she was fussy and wouldn’t smile for anyone, I was super proud of my girl and how she walked in. We knew better than to think she’d walk in alone, so I walked with her. That girl walked all the way down the aisle with her bow on, carrying her flowers, without her “sass” (pacifier), and didn’t scream, cry, fuss, frown, etc.! It was great. She held my hand the whole time and didn’t even try to make a bee line for the alter stairs which was my other fear, because there was no way I was going to be able to run in my bridesmaid dress to catch her! Kyle DJ’d the reception for Allison and Brian and Ryleigh had a good time there dancing with her daddy. If the wedding was hard for me, the reception was worse. I’m not sure that it had hit me that my baby sister was getting married until I was standing on the stage. Allison’s husband, Brian had a song written for their wedding. Although I heard it at rehearsal, we were so busy making sure we were in the right spots and watching everything else going on that I didn’t focus on the words. So that means during the actual ceremony while I watching the two of them staring at each other and actually listened to the words, I lost it. I’m an emotional crier folks. If I see someone crying, without even knowing why, I’m likely to start. In fact I cried as I walked down the aisle at my best friend’s wedding – how weird is that! So there I was, one of the only folks left on the stage (since most of the wedding party was helping sing the special song), just bawling. I managed to compose myself before the song was over, but I knew that was the least of my worried. See, Allison had asked me just a week before to give a speech at the reception. I’m still wishing that she had given me more time to prepare that speech, but it may not have helped. On the drive from the ceremony to the reception I told Kyle in the car that I still had no idea what I was going to say. I mean if I couldn’t even hold it together in the ceremony where I didn’t have to say anything, how in the world was I going to make a speech in front of everyone? Well, I managed, although I’m not sure how well I did. I had such a hard time. In fact when they were about to leave, I couldn't manage to stop crying long enough to really wave and see them off, so I stayed inside and danced with my Grandpa :) I’m better with writing, so I’m just going to repeat and maybe add to some of what I said. I’m fairly certain Allison will read this and even if she doesn’t, she’s worth bragging on anyways. I never expected that her getting married and moving away for good would affect me as it has. We are 7 years apart, so although growing up we got along most of the time, we just weren’t really close. When I was 16 and ready to start dating and into what most high school girls are into, she was still playing dress up with her barbies. Not really who I could confide in about my high school dilemmas or drama. In turn, when she turned 16 and could start dating, I was 23 and had just graduated college and got married. So not sure if I had a bit of that “old person” stigma in her eyes or not, but we just didn’t talk about much on a real deep level. It wasn’t until she was in college that we’d start talking on the phone for long periods of time about just about everything and life in general. I think in most sibling relationships, especially with the same type of age difference that we have, its safe to say that the younger looks up to the older. I think when we were little kids that was true. I can’t speak for Allison on that point as she got older, but I can say that for me it has been the opposite. I look up to her. She is one of those people that after you’ve talked to her for any length of time you can say to yourself “now there’s a young lady waiting on and following God’s plan for her life.” It takes so many people such a long time to get to that point, but Allison seems to have been there for as long as I can remember. She has such a sweet spirit, always willing to listen and help. A true servant’s heart. She’s always been mature for her age and that was evidenced by how she was able to get through her Jr. High and high school years with what seemed like less drama than I did. Allison just understood the bigger picture about certain things. Like dating. Most high school girls are besides themselves if they are single. Not Allison, she understood the purpose of dating, and if you didn’t meet her criteria of what she was going to be looking for in a husband, then forget it. In fact, as I told Brian on their wedding day, I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of guys she dated…and I think in all honesty, he was the only serious one. She just knew that she was waiting for God’s best and didn’t care what everyone else was doing and didn’t get sucked into that drama by any of her friends. She also has readily pursued her God given dream of a music career. She was willing to move away and do what it takes to do that thing that God had planted in her heart. That doesn’t even begin to describe all the things I love about her, but I absolutely love my sister, who is now a married women and will begin teaching as an elementary music teacher this fall! I hate that she’s so far away, but am positive that we’ll continue to get closer despite our age difference and distance!
Ok, although I feel like I’ve got a ton more to say, I’ll say that for another post! I’ll leave you with just a few pictures from the wedding and I promise to update with more photos soon!
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The last time I posted, Ryleigh wasn’t even walking yet. Now that child is running circles around us. She is getting so big so fast. It’s a little bittersweet. I miss that little girl who would be happy just sitting in my lap all day, but I love watching her learn and grow. We just recently lost the sitter that has watched Ryleigh since she was 3 months old. She has been going back to school to be a teacher and this year she is student teaching and couldn’t continue watching kids out of her home. We miss her a lot! Given that her doctor has told us that she is somewhat advanced in her verbal and learning skills, Kyle and I decided to try to find a daycare that would begin to challenge her in various areas. Well, we found a great one and although I was a complete mess the first day I dropped her off, she is doing great. She had adjusted well, although I still miss her old sitter. Just in the past couple of months she has picked up so many new things. She’s always been a talker (imagine that), but she is now using big sentences, many of which we can’t fully understand yet! She also can count to 10, knows her basic shapes & colors, and she can sing a few songs among which is the ABC’s. She’s at a really fun (and trying) age. She just turned 2 last month and those terrible twos have really started to show up at our house. We’ve had to start introducing “timeout” for tantrums and we’re working on not saying “no” to mommy, daddy, and other adults! All in all though, she’s a really good kid and we’re having lots of fun with her.
Just a few weeks ago Allison got married and our little family had the privilege of all being in the wedding. Kyle and I were part of the bridal party and Ryleigh was the flower girl. I have to say that she was the cutest flower girl I’ve ever seen (but I’m not biased at all)! In light of being honest I must say that when Allison wanted her to be in the wedding, I just wasn’t sure how it would go. As I mentioned above, she is now 2…that speaks for itself and also means that I had no way to assure Allison that she would be fine or even do anything remotely close to we wanted her to do that day! Good thing Allison is laid back and said it would all be fine. To help prevent any breakdowns on Ryleigh’s part, we had a young lady from church that has watched Ryleigh in the past come and watch her all day so that was a huge help. Although right before we walked in she was fussy and wouldn’t smile for anyone, I was super proud of my girl and how she walked in. We knew better than to think she’d walk in alone, so I walked with her. That girl walked all the way down the aisle with her bow on, carrying her flowers, without her “sass” (pacifier), and didn’t scream, cry, fuss, frown, etc.! It was great. She held my hand the whole time and didn’t even try to make a bee line for the alter stairs which was my other fear, because there was no way I was going to be able to run in my bridesmaid dress to catch her! Kyle DJ’d the reception for Allison and Brian and Ryleigh had a good time there dancing with her daddy. If the wedding was hard for me, the reception was worse. I’m not sure that it had hit me that my baby sister was getting married until I was standing on the stage. Allison’s husband, Brian had a song written for their wedding. Although I heard it at rehearsal, we were so busy making sure we were in the right spots and watching everything else going on that I didn’t focus on the words. So that means during the actual ceremony while I watching the two of them staring at each other and actually listened to the words, I lost it. I’m an emotional crier folks. If I see someone crying, without even knowing why, I’m likely to start. In fact I cried as I walked down the aisle at my best friend’s wedding – how weird is that! So there I was, one of the only folks left on the stage (since most of the wedding party was helping sing the special song), just bawling. I managed to compose myself before the song was over, but I knew that was the least of my worried. See, Allison had asked me just a week before to give a speech at the reception. I’m still wishing that she had given me more time to prepare that speech, but it may not have helped. On the drive from the ceremony to the reception I told Kyle in the car that I still had no idea what I was going to say. I mean if I couldn’t even hold it together in the ceremony where I didn’t have to say anything, how in the world was I going to make a speech in front of everyone? Well, I managed, although I’m not sure how well I did. I had such a hard time. In fact when they were about to leave, I couldn't manage to stop crying long enough to really wave and see them off, so I stayed inside and danced with my Grandpa :) I’m better with writing, so I’m just going to repeat and maybe add to some of what I said. I’m fairly certain Allison will read this and even if she doesn’t, she’s worth bragging on anyways. I never expected that her getting married and moving away for good would affect me as it has. We are 7 years apart, so although growing up we got along most of the time, we just weren’t really close. When I was 16 and ready to start dating and into what most high school girls are into, she was still playing dress up with her barbies. Not really who I could confide in about my high school dilemmas or drama. In turn, when she turned 16 and could start dating, I was 23 and had just graduated college and got married. So not sure if I had a bit of that “old person” stigma in her eyes or not, but we just didn’t talk about much on a real deep level. It wasn’t until she was in college that we’d start talking on the phone for long periods of time about just about everything and life in general. I think in most sibling relationships, especially with the same type of age difference that we have, its safe to say that the younger looks up to the older. I think when we were little kids that was true. I can’t speak for Allison on that point as she got older, but I can say that for me it has been the opposite. I look up to her. She is one of those people that after you’ve talked to her for any length of time you can say to yourself “now there’s a young lady waiting on and following God’s plan for her life.” It takes so many people such a long time to get to that point, but Allison seems to have been there for as long as I can remember. She has such a sweet spirit, always willing to listen and help. A true servant’s heart. She’s always been mature for her age and that was evidenced by how she was able to get through her Jr. High and high school years with what seemed like less drama than I did. Allison just understood the bigger picture about certain things. Like dating. Most high school girls are besides themselves if they are single. Not Allison, she understood the purpose of dating, and if you didn’t meet her criteria of what she was going to be looking for in a husband, then forget it. In fact, as I told Brian on their wedding day, I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of guys she dated…and I think in all honesty, he was the only serious one. She just knew that she was waiting for God’s best and didn’t care what everyone else was doing and didn’t get sucked into that drama by any of her friends. She also has readily pursued her God given dream of a music career. She was willing to move away and do what it takes to do that thing that God had planted in her heart. That doesn’t even begin to describe all the things I love about her, but I absolutely love my sister, who is now a married women and will begin teaching as an elementary music teacher this fall! I hate that she’s so far away, but am positive that we’ll continue to get closer despite our age difference and distance!
Ok, although I feel like I’ve got a ton more to say, I’ll say that for another post! I’ll leave you with just a few pictures from the wedding and I promise to update with more photos soon!
Why does it make me feel old to know that Allison is married? Perhaps because the last time I saw her she was still in that lil girl stage...
ReplyDeleteCongrats to her! Glad to hear that her husband is someone who will help her grow and stay close to God. I'm happy for her!
and btw, you look amazing in your dress. You've really worked hard after Ryleigh!