Love Me 'Til My Heart Stops- My Baby Sister's Wedding.

My sister's wedding was incredible! I want it to happen annually! If you have no interest in my sister or her wedding, make sure to at least scroll down to the picture of my dad in his Elvis costume.

Trevor Johnson of Trevor Johnson Photography has generously allowed me to share some of the photos from my sister's wedding. Trevor is a lovely friend of Kate's who lives in Wisconsin. He has offered a 10% discount to anyone who mentions eyes of my eyes when booking him for a future job. So all of you Midwest families out there, check out his work. Trevor was one of those great photographers who you don't even notice are present. Thanks Trevor. Oh, and I'm so glad all of your cameras survived, I thought the beauty of my sister might cause them to spontaneously combust.

Kate

World's Cutest Ring Bearer

Meazi and her cousins, Betsy and Abby. Flower Girls Extraordinaire.

Sigh.

Don't hate her because she's perfect.

Did I mention Kate is a choreographer?

The ceremony was on the roof of Madison's modern art museum.

Modern art.

Remind me later to tell you why Kate chose green...

My mom with her beautiful Irish Blessing.

SWAK

Tarek the Happy

Available, one Nordstrom's flower girl dress worn once. 6x, already too small for Ms. Meazi. Will trade for Grenache Blanc, Dalwhinne, or Chocolate of any kind, or size 7 girl's clothes.

My brother Bubs looking dapper, with Bets.

Can I get a witness?

Family Photo

LA's newest power couple- Best man Greg, and his beautiful wife Claire. I keep checking Greg's website to see if he has posted his charming and eloquent best man speech, and I keep checking Claire's to see if her book is out yet. Still waiting...

Uhm, why my sister chose GREEN!

Again, please don't hate her for her charming form and her giant brain.

One of my dates- the shorter one.

The reception was at the Orpheum Theatre. Kate had two poets open the evening reciting a love poem to each other from the Romeo and Juliet balconies (not shown).

I said a few words.

It was impossible for me to describe what it means to have Kate as my sister.

They chose one of my absolute favorite Talking Heads' songs for their first dance- This must be the Place.

My Father.

My Father- after a couple of cocktails. (Some people garden, play chess, he dresses like the king and performs).

It is a freaking miracle she didn't fall over this balcony.

 

 

 

 

It was a truly spectacular evening. I love my new brother Tarek so much. I didn't post a lot of pictures of his absolutely lovely family because, well, I'm not sure how they feel about blogs. Perhaps they enjoy privacy like some husbands I know.

I truly underestimated how moving an experience this would be, watching Katie tie the knot. She looked at Tarek in a way I'd never seen her look before. It was a thing of beauty.

Bold Beauty

Meazi told me she wanted to do something for my sister's wedding. I mentioned to her that folks sometime make speeches or toasts, and maybe she'd like to do something at the rehearsal dinner? She said, "I don't want to make a speech mom, I want to sing a song." I suggested, You are my Sunshine. She shook her head no, and told me she had a different idea. She picked a song, picked some lyrics for three verses, and rehearsed it a couple of times when we were at the lake the week before the wedding.

The day of the rehearsal dinner she told me she was going to tell Tarek and Kate about the song. I told her to keep it a secret and surprise them. During the dinner she said, "Mom, when should I do my song?" I had heard a rumor that the groom's friend William was going to speak. We told William that Meazi wanted the mic after he was finished speaking. I told Meazi that she might want to introduce herself, and to say who it was for.

She boldly marched up after William, grabbed the mic and said the following:

"It's Meazi. This is a song for Kate and Tarek. It is a song from my brother's music class, and it's called, There is a Little Wheel a Turning in my Heart."

Then she sang:
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart

There's a little song a-singing in my heart
There's a little song a-singing in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little song a-singing in my heart

There's a little sun a-shining in my heart
There's a little sun a-shining in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little sun a-shining in my heart

As Melese said this morning, two weeks later, "After her song, the crowd went wild mommy!"

And they did. The crowd went wild. There were tears and applause.

It was beautiful.

I said, "Meazi, weren't you scared singing in front of room full of strangers?"

She said, "Mom, those weren't strangers. They were family."

And yes, that song is the first song Melese ever sang to me.

I believe my sister may have had an ugly cry.

Maybe Tarek too.

Good stuff.

Wordless Wednesday

Father's Day

I love you forever. You are my dad forever. I like you. I love you. Will you love me forever? - Meazi

I love this picture. To me it epitomizes why he is such a wonderful father. Minutes before he had asked Meazi to stay out of the zen garden directly behind her. She fell in, he helped her up, and gave her this look. He manages to make them feel safe, to make them laugh, but also to keep them in check.

They adore him.

He reminds me of someone...

Dear Dad, I love you forever. You are my dad forever. I like you. I love you. - Jules.

We are off for a mini road trip today, to see my sister Kate and her betrothed. The kids will see their first modern dance performance, and enjoy their dad's favorite road trip food.

Have a lovely Father's Day.

Oh, and don't forget to vote!

They really did drag this contest out didn't they? Enough already.

Betrothed

My sister is getting married. The engagement story is one that must be shared. Since Kate doesn't have a blog, I hope she doesn't mind if I tell you.

That is her adorable husband to be, Tarek. Kate is a professor and a choreographer. She had a show in Chicago last weekend. She and Tarek went to an art gallery. Kate was hungry. She had low blood sugar. She was most likely crabby. (Ask Steven what a Corby girl is like when she is hungry.) As they walked through a gallery of photography, Kate told Tarek that she wanted to leave and get something to eat. My sister has the metabolism of a hummingbird. He said that he wanted to see just a few more photos. He led her back into another room in the gallery. Upon entering, Kate was surprised to see a photograph of one of her favorite places, the historic Orpheum Theatre in Madison, hanging on the wall. She said, "Look honey, it's an old photograph of the Orpheum." She moved closer to see the title of the print, and the name of the photographer. The label read, "Kate, will you marry me?" She turned around to tell Tarek the shocking title, only to find Tarek on one knee, holding a beautiful emerald ring. "Will you marry me?" he asked. The gallery owner came out with champagne. The print was presented to her as a gift.

Can you stand it?


Here is a great post about how they met. I take full credit. Okay... half credit with Claire.


Meazi has been jumping up and down for days yelling, "Uncle Tarek! Uncle Tarek!"


We are getting ready for the flower girl and ring bearer auditions. We hear the competition is fierce.


Welcome to the family sweet, romantic Tarek. You're a keeper.


Oh, and guess who is the Matron of Honor?


C'est Moi.

It's Official...

We are a family.

Today was our court date for the re-adoption.

Judge said Yes.


My sister Katie came with us.


We went out to celebrate.

You know it is a special occasion when they bring you those little tiny jam jars. I love those little tiny jam jars. You also know it is a special occasion when Orlando Bloom is having breakfast there too. (Sorry, no picture, but I did slip him my sister's phone number).


The judge said something like, "And now I make you a family." I think I may have snorted at him, because clearly he must have been joking. He had very little to do with us becoming a family. The four of us have done that ourselves over this past year.

Tomorrow marks exactly one year since we landed in Addis. I don't have a 'twelve months post'. I did find some journal entries though. They are pretty boring. I'll post them if you are interested, but, again, no great shakes. It is stuff like, "Dear diary, today I met my children." I also wrote them in the dark.

Today is a good day.