…I became Mrs. McCoy!
It has been three years of ups and downs, instability, and constant change. We have been on awesome McVentures and made lots of new friends.
Mostly, I am thankful to be journeying with Keith and so glad that our wedding verse still holds true:
“The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.”
Psalm 126:3
Nothing like a cross-country trip to see family right after the end of school to give you a reason to ignore all social media :)
Even better is the excuse of my favorite sister graduating from high school (yea, she’s my only sister, but she’s still my favorite!). It was a gorgeous night and such a wonderful reason to celebrate!
The evening started with a portrait session
Nothing like a long procession of marroon regalia to get you in the graduation mood!
Hat's off! (wishing I'd had my flash on!)
She did it!
Proud parents, sister, and Grandma!
So glad I was able to be here!!!
Anywho – don’t expect to hear much from me any time soon; I am enjoying time off and don’t plan on spending much time keeping up on things!!
Me & Grampa after one of my first dance performances.
Many people know I was back East all last week celebrating the life of Grampa G and spending time with family. It was a really meaningful week with family and close friends and a really special time.
I was really blessed that the wake and funeral times were not of the traditional Italian mournful style where everyone is silent and stares at the open casket for hours. We talked, laughed, hugged, cried, and reminisced. It was very fitting of Grampa’s memory.
Grandma with all the grandkids before lunch
For those of you who never met him, he was loud, boisterous, constantly cracking jokes, making inappropriate comments, and making people feel welcome. At least a dozen men stood up at the lunch after his funeral (at his favorite Italian restaurant, of course!) and shared stories of how Grampa became their second father after losing their own as young boys.
Grampa and my dad as a child.
Each of his grandkids had special memories to share and I couldn’t help but share my own. I had the privilege of being the only grandkid for the first 7 years of my life. I had lots of quality time with Grampa that he constantly reminded me of (when I was done playing, I would tell him to stay right where he was and I would go off to play somewhere else – he always reminded me that he was still waiting).
Grampa and me at the beach house.
When I first started dating Keith, I was petrified to introduce him to Grampa. I didn’t know what kind of craziness would ensue. After spending some time together and going fishing, Keith was accepted as part of the clan. I was blessed to know how much Grampa loved me through how much he loved Keith. Last month, I called Grampa to wish him a “Happy Birthday” and got about 45 seconds of conversation out of him before getting passed on to Grandma. Keith spend a half hour talking to him; I clearly became “Keith’s Wife”, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
At our wedding.
And there have been so many reasons to laugh. The funeral home director clearly had an obsession with Egyptian burial traditions because there were sarcophagus’ everywhere; I heard there was even a tissue box where the tissues came out the mummy’s nose!
Kind of creepy...
The video with pictures of Grampa, his friends, and our family was set to three songs, “Mambo Italiano”, “That’s Amore”, and “I’m Amazed By You” (of Tim McGraw fame). So odd and so appropriate all at the same time. I’m thankful for the reasons to laugh.
These are supposed to be praying hands that clamp shut to hold cards and gifts at the funeral home. I think it's weird.
I’ve been reflecting on Christmas traditions recently and was inspired to write about it by Clover Lane’s post today. As the Air Force will now be determining the feasibility of going “home” for Christmas, we’ve got to be more proactive in starting our own traditions so that they are in place when we have our own kids (some day, no hints here!). Here are some things we are doing, have done with our families, and would like to do in the future:
CURRENT TRADITIONS:
FAMILY TRADITIONS:
FUTURE TRADITIONS:
Now I’m starting to think about New Year’s traditions – come back next week!
Merry Christmas from (rainy) Las Vegas! It’s been a busy year for us, but here are the highlights (click the image for a bigger version):
I’ve got the Les Miserables song stuck in my head because there is “one day more” of the revolution that exists in Room 1007 each day. My kids and I are all exhausted and ready for break!
I’ll put up a Christmas post soon with a copy of this year’s letter.
P.S. I’ll post a picture tomorrow of the door decorations my 2nd period class entered into the school-wide competition!
The week started with a bang! Teachers College and Columbia University Commencements were celebrated in the rain with friends and family. It was a special way to celebrate the last two years of hard work:
my greatest cheerleader!
our Grant Hall friends!
the Columbia lawn filled with water logged graduates!
It’s time to move on, but I’ll miss Teachers College!
