Wedding Weekend

As I mentioned in my last post, one of my very best friends from college got married this past weekend and Dave and I were so lucky to have been there to help them celebrate! I was fortunate to stand beside Katie as she said "I Do" to her high school sweetheart, a man who got my seal of approval from day one. The whole weekend was absolutely beautiful. Rather than me trying to put it all into words, let me share a few highlights from Katie and Lee's special day.

Every bride needs a little pampering...




...and a little coffee pick-me-up!




Then it was off to the church to get ready






The flowers were absolutely beautiful






Time to say "I Do!"






The party begins on the limo






A pit stop for some ice cream




Formal pictures at a beautiful barn






Then off to The Legend at Brandybrook to celebrate










Dancing the night away as Mr. and Mrs.


Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Suwalski!! We wish you a lifetime of love, happiness, and lots of laughter :)

A Year of Wedded Bliss

On Sunday, Dave and I celebrated one year of wedded bliss. One year as husband and wife. One year of the rest of our life together. To say the past year has gone by fast is an understatement. On Sunday we spent some time reflecting on the past year - all the highs and lows, the joys that marriage has brought us, and where we hope the next year of marriage takes us. We are amazed at the strength and character that marriage has given each of us. We expressed our thankfulness to God for allowing us to wake up each morning and fall asleep each night next to each other, knowing that this will be our routine for the rest of our lives. I am amazed each day how much he loves me and that I continue to fall in love with him more each day. Marriage is an amazing gift.

We decided to celebrate our anniversary by visiting the very place we got married. We are thankful that we can visit our wedding and reception location anytime we'd like... most people get married in banquet halls or venues that aren't commonly open to the public. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a beautiful place, for a wedding or just a visit, and that's exactly where we headed on Sunday. But first, we stopped for some morning coffee and delicious bakery at Red Arrow Park's Starbucks downtown Milwaukee. During the winter months, Red Arrow Park is a popular outdoor ice skating rink - it also happens to be the place Dave took me on our first date. From there, we headed over to the lakefront for a visit to the Art Museum and a walk around the lake. We found some lovely tourists to take our picture in the very same spot we said "I Do" just one year earlier. I'll be completely honest, standing in big Windhover Hall filled with tourists made me wish I could bring in my flowers, set up the white chairs, throw on my dress and do it all over again. It was a nostalgic experience to say the least. After a delicious lunch and a little walk, we were ready to head home and bust out our wedding cake that had been safely tucked away in the freezer for the past year. I was a little skeptical of thole top-layer cake freezing thing, but it turned out wonderfully and was absolutely delicious! The beautiful design was all mushed and smeared and it didn't look nearly as grand as our wedding day but it tasted oh-so-wonderful! I had a nice big piece to make up for the fact that I didn't sit long enough to enjoy a piece on our wedding day. It was the perfect end to a perfect first anniversary.













We know we have an exciting second year of marriage ahead of us and we look forward to all the new joys that this year will bring!

Weekend Festivities

We had a very busy weekend, to say the least! From Dave's last day of work, his going-away happy hour, a family wedding, and Mother's Day, we're ready to spend this week in sunny, warm Arizona doing absolutely nothing but lying poolside :)


FRIDAY: Going Away Happy Hour
Friday was Dave's last day at his old job. We decided to throw an informal going-away party at Ryan Braun's Waterfront Restaurant in Milwaukee's Third Ward. It was an amazing place, full of modern furniture and delicious food! A lot of Dave's co-workers came out along with some of his good friends. I loved listening to stories of Dave's four years with USBancorp and how much everyone was going to miss him. Mostly I enjoyed chatting with the other wives while the boys talked sports, politics, and drank their beer. I'm so proud of my husband and the great opportunity he's been given with this new job!

I really wish I had taken some pictures of the night. We'll just have sweet memories to go by I guess!


SATURDAY: Another Irish Wedding






Saturday we celebrated Jon (Dave's cousin) & Kelly's wedding! It was an unseasonably cold, rainy, snowy (yes, a few flakes were flying) day but the wedding was beautiful, we hardly noticed the weather outside! I always love Irish family weddings, mostly because Dave's cousins are so much fun to spend time with. He's so lucky to have so many cousins (and now cousin-in-laws) that are so close in age.

Congratulations to the newest Mr. and Mrs. Irish!!


SUNDAY: Mother's Day










We celebrated Mother's Day with both of our families. We had lunch with Dave's parents and brother followed by a cookout with my mom's side of the family. I love that there is a day dedicated solely to mothers, although I think everyday should be Mother's Day. The older I get, the more I appreciate everything my mom has done for me throughout my life. She has truly made me the person that I am today and I am thankful that our relationship continues to grow into my adult years. Our relationship has changed so much since I've gotten married and moved out on my own. I look to her for advice and guidance and she's always there to listen, offer support, and encourage me. She's the rock of our family and I hope that I can be half as great a mom as she is to me.

Mother's Day was also bittersweet for me this year. It hit me as I was getting ready for church that this year I should have been celebrating as a mom-to-be. I would have been 20 weeks pregnant this mother's day, finding out the sex of the baby, celebrating that in a few short months I would be a mom. I've done my fair share of grieving the past three months since we lost our baby but all those feelings of loss and sadness resurfaced yesterday morning. The hubby was so good to me, letting me cry, assuring me that my dreams of becoming a mother will be fulfilled someday. He assured me that next year I'd be celebrating, and I certainly hope he's right. At church, our pastor said a special prayer for mothers, including mothers who have lost a baby and those who are anxiously waiting to become mothers. My heart healed a little with his prayer.

Our pastor also prayed for adoptive and foster mothers. A little more joy to the heart with that one. He shared a story as a part of his sermon about an adoptive mother and her daughter (this is significant considering adoption isn't a commonplace within our congregation). During the children's sermon he gave out cards for kids to draw pictures in and give to their moms. In the pew next to me was a little boy, about seven or eight years old, who looked as though he was Guatemalan. I had never seen him or his mom before but it was a safe bet to assume that he was adopted. I couldn't help but see the card he was drawing for his mom. On it he wrote, "Thank you for being my mommy". Joy, joy, and more joy to my heart! I couldn't help but think that God knew exactly what I needed that Mother's Day morning to help heal a broken heart.