Truly Humbled....

When I started blogging it was because I love to write and express myself...plus I thought someone somewhere might actually enjoy reading about all of my adventures.  Never did I think that this blog would connect me with people that are genuinely concerned about my well being and that would honestly and truly make a difference in my life.  From being there for me when I messed up Venti's HAIRCUT 2 days before he got married....or when I mistakenly CUT my dress for the Wedding.  All of your kind and encouraging comments about my Dad mean so much to me!  I read every single one and reading each one has lessened my guilt that I was feeling thinking that I was the one that was responsible for him falling.
I do believe that it was God's plan that I stopped to say hi so that I was there to help him when he fell.  I did not know the dog was going to run so therefore it was not my fault.  It was a horrible thing to watch and I still can't get the image out of my head but I have learned to not have that sinking feeling of guilt when I think about him.

He is still in the hospital.  It has been a week and a day and he hasn't really improved much.  He is having double vision, he get confused about things, he can't speak a whole sentence and he has no appetite and is hardly eating anything.  We are doubting the care he is receiving (or lack of) and I am calling tomorrow to speak to the Social Worker about it.  He was on Morphine every 2 hours for the pain in his head but that didn't touch it.  Now they have him on Dilata which is a narcotic too and as soon as they give it to him, he is knocked out which is somewhat good because then he can rest but I'm not sure if that is good for him or not.  They did another Cat Scan this morning and we didn't hear what the results were yet.  Every day we are hoping and praying that he will be better.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

On a positive note, my Mom who had broken her leg (or so we thought) went today to have her cast redone because a doctor in the hospital just happened to look at it when he came in to see my Dad and told her that her cast wasn't on right (it was put on by her Podiatrist because he is a friend of hers!).....so she went to an Orthopedic Surgeon today and he took the cast off and said that it was the worse cast he has ever seen and was even going to save it to show as an example of a "bad" cast....they did an x-ray and here it isn't even broken!!  She left cast free and is able to drive which is wonderful because now she can take herself back and forth to the hospital which she is so happy about because she feels like she is an inconvenience (even though she isn't!)....my Dad actually smiled when she told him that they took the cast off!!

Thank you again for being such wonderful friends.  Hugging you all!!!


My Dad and Mom at Venti's Wedding

Hard to get used to....

I wasted several Christmas cards by doing this:

I have written Venti's name on our cards for 22 years!  Its hard to NOT write it!

Starting today I have off until Monday.....yippee!!  I am SUPER excited!  I wrapped most of the presents last night and will wrap the stocking stuffers tonight.  Having 4 children (+ a daughter-in-law) at Christmas time is like having a 2nd job!  It is very time consuming and so much to get everything together...but I'm getting there and now that I have 2 days off before Christmas I think I just may get it done!

Today I'm going to finish up my shopping and all the boys need a haircut...including Venti...I haven't cut his since the wedding!  

I have my appointment today at 10am for the TMJ evaluation.  I'm hoping to get some answers on my ear problems!!

Tomorrow we will take the boys out for an early dinner and then go to 5:00pm mass. I'm excited to spend some time with all of them.

I just found out our cat Ozzie (the European Burmese) has asthma!  He's been coughing and wheezing for about a month now and is on his 3rd medication.  Does anyone have a cat that has asthma?

I will still be posting Follow Friday 40 and Over tonight so I will see you then!  

The Outdoor Wedding shots....

I have had numerous requests for more of the outdoor shots from the wedding....here they are and I promise not to bore you with any more after this!  :)


Click on any image to enlarge it

I also wanted to update you on me!  I have been working a TON!  I am now the only employee at my job!  I had to fire the other girl last week and now I'm all by myself.  I have been doing interviews all week and will be doing 2nd interviews on Friday so I'm hoping one of those work out!  I even have to work Saturdays 9-1...yes its overtime but I have been working 98 hours every two weeks...and taking care of the kids, the house, blogging....whew!  Joe does help out alot but there are just some things that Mom has to do!  Then Ozzie got sick yesterday and Joe had to take him to the vet.  He has some kind of virus and had to have fluids and antibiotics.  He had a temperature and some congestion.  So yes...I'm going a little crazy so I hope you hang in there with me!  Hearing from you guys is the best reward I can get!  Love you all! 

Wedding Pictures!!

The photographer sent us 696 images to pick from!  Not an easy task!  I selected a few of my favorites and wanted to share them with you...these are just the proofs so that is why the photographer's logo is on them...I will post the real ones once I get them!



Click on any picture to enlarge it



Grande and I

Grande, Me and Tall with Joe peeking through!

Venti trying to hold back tears!

My family including my parents, in-laws, sisters, brother-in-laws, niece and nephews!

My boys!!!

Grande and Mocha's sister!

The Weekend...

This was my first weekend in a long, long time that I didn't have anything to do!  It was heaven!  I especially couldn't wait to sleep in and so what do I do this morning....I lay there wide awake thinking about how I better get up and put my roast in the crock pot or it will never be done in time!  Sigh....

Venti and Mocha come home this evening from their Honeymoon!  I haven't heard one word from them so I'm anxious to hear how their trip was!  Venti has to work tomorrow because he doesn't have any more time that he can take off...I'm sure he will be so tried!  We won't get to see them until next weekend though because the airport that they flew in to is only about 20 minutes from their house.  Next weekend is my brother-in-laws surprise 50th birthday party and I'm hoping they come home for it.

Yesterday I kept thinking about how its been a week already that they got married. I wish I could relive it all over again....even all the tears!

Come back this evening for the Meet Me On Monday meme....I have some great questions this week!!

Wedding Stories...Part 3

The rest of the night was spent dancing and having fun!  The band was incredible and played until 11:00pm!  By the time we helped clean up and every last guest left, we didn't get home until 2:00am....I could hardly walk into the house!  lol....I took a shower and crawled into bed.  We awoke at 8:00am so that we could get ready to go to the hotel that Venti and Mocha were staying in because her parents were hosting a breakfast for all the family members!  I had to drag Grande and Tall because they were so tired and wanted to sleep but I told them that it meant alot to Venti for them to come.  After breakfast we said our tearful goodbyes to the Newlyweds because they were leaving Monday morning for Jamaica.  We decided to give them money for a Wedding gift as we knew that any newly married couple could surely use cash!

Sunday was spent putting all the tuxes back to together and returning them. I was so tired yet I couldn't believe that it was all over!   I woke up yesterday morning to a text from Venti at 6:10am saying that they just got through security and were ready to board the plane.  I haven't heard from them since but I'm sure they are sunning it up in Jamaica!

All the tears that I cried....all the stress I endured and it all turned out beautifully.  I loved the 2nd dress that I got and was so happy with it.  I received tons of compliments and everyone couldn't believe that I blinged it up the way that I did!

Some more pictures!!

The Party Bus!!

Pictures at the Orchard

This was their cake....cupcakes with a small cake on the top

 Once I get the professional images from the photographer, I will post them as well.

I just wanted to thank you all again for all the support and advice you gave me along the way.  I truly feel like you are my friends and I am so grateful to have met each an every one of you.  I really appreciate you being there for me and I wanted you to know that it did not go unnoticed.

So now I take a sigh of relief and I'm ready for the next adventure.....I wonder what it will be!  I have some plans for this blog and I'm excited to have you all here to share it with me!

Wedding Stories....Part 2

What I saw when I got home was Venti and all the groomsmen at our house!  I didn't think I would see him until we got to the church!!   They decided that they were all going to get dressed there.  I didn't know they were coming, which was fine but then they all started saying they were hungry!  I didn't want to be responsible for any groomsmen passing out in church so I hopped on the phone and called for 6 pizza's to be delivered!  An hour later I had 5 empty boxes and lots of full bellies!  I was worried that I didn't order enough but thankfully I did!

Everyone was dressed and ready to head to the church!  A couple of you asked what kind of church it is....it was a Catholic Church.  We got there at about 1:00pm.  The ceremony was to start at 2:00pm.  I pinned all the guys flowers on and then went in to see Mocha...she was just starting to get dressed.  My Mom and Dad came in to get their flowers pinned on and my Dad got teary eyed when he saw Mocha!

 1:55pm and the priest comes and tells us that its time to go!  I lined up first and everyone got in place.  I walked to the doorway of the church where Grande, Tall and Short were waiting for me.  Grande and Tall walked me down while Short walked behind me with Joe.  They all gave me a kiss and I sat down in the pew.  Everyone was down the isle and the music changed.  We all stood up and turned to watch Mocha come down the isle.  I looked over at Venti looking down at Mocha and I saw my son desperately trying to hold back tears....his mouth turned down and his eyes got all watery....that did it...I started to cry, Joe started to cry, Mocha's sisters started to cry, Mocha's Mom and Grandma started to cry, my Mom started cry....everyone I looked at was misty eyed.....Mocha and her Dad reached Venti....Mocha saw Venti with tears in his eyes and she started to cry.  Then Mocha's Dad started to cry!  Oh my!  I heard Mocha's Dad say to Venti that he just wanted him to take care of his baby....Venti said that he would.
The ceremony was beautiful....it all went so quickly!
No one fainted....just lots of tears!

After all the pictures, the wedding party and the parents boarded a 32 seated party bus!!  It was awesome!  We all had some champagne and headed to an orchard to take some outdoor photos.  2 hours later we arrived at the hall!!  Everyone was about 3 sheets to the wind by then!  We were all individually introduced and then walked to our seats.  Dinner was rolls, salad, Chicken Piccata and Beef, green beans and red potatoes.  It was really good but I had a hard time eating with all the excitement!

Grande speech was amazing!  People all night long were telling him how good it was!  Tall also said a speech and he did really well.  I knew then from the look on Venti's face that he didn't regret his decision to have his brothers as his best men!

The rest of the night......

To be continued.....

Wedding Stories...Part 1

I'm still trying to play catch up from the wedding, but I wanted to do a post to update you on some of the wedding details!  After all, you were along for the ride every step of the way so I wanted to make sure you got all the juicy details!!

I wake up Friday to find a lovely surprise.....my period!  Yep it decide to show up 10 days late and the day before the wedding...sigh....I guess I wasn't kidding when I said I'd have to squeeze tampons into my little clutch purse!  The rest of the day was spend doing last minutes things for the wedding and at 5:00pm we headed off to the church.  The rehearsal went as planned and we all headed to the restaurant.  Joe had called there and spoke to the event planner there and told her that we did not want to have alcohol....cash bar only...when we got there, she had a table set up with wine and beer!  Yikes!  I quickly took her aside and told her that Joe had called and said no alcohol!  She said, "oh...none?".....ummmm yes....no means none!!   So she quickly started tearing down the table and put it all away....next thing I knew people started asking for the wine list!  I had to go seek her out again and told her that people were ordering alcohol.....she said she would go tell the waitresses.   Next thing I knew, Venti comes up to me and asks why we weren't having alcohol....I told him that we decided not to.  He looked disappointed and I felt badly about that!  I find out later that someone picked up the tab for all the alcohol....we have no idea who that was.  The dinner was delicious and everyone enjoyed it....the bill was $893.00 and can't imagine how much more it would have been with the alcohol as we saw lots of people drinking!

I asked Venti where he was sleeping that night and he said at Mocha's house because he didn't have a bed at our house and they did at her house and Mocha was staying at the hotel with the bridesmaids.  I was sad that he was staying at our house...he could have slept on the couch but I guess he wanted a good nights sleep!

On Saturday I arrived to get my hair done at my appointment time of 9:30am....when I get there, they didn't have me in the book!  I was no where in their system and they couldn't figure out why!  I had the appointment card with the time and date and yet they didn't have me scheduled!  I just about had a panic attack!  They said that the girl that scheduled me was new and must not have saved it in the computer!  Ugh!  No worries they said....they started calling all the scheduled appointments and bumped everyone up an hour!  Another thing that I had to stress about!!   The girl took over an hour to do my hair and I was very happy with the way it turned out!  I headed home to finish getting ready....

When I got home I was very surprised at what I saw.......

To be continued......

Wedding Pictures!!!!!!!!!!

What a wedding it was!!!  It was just beautiful!  I can hardly walk today from so much dancing!  Everything went just as planned!  I wanted to post pictures as I get them.  These were all taken by my brother-in-law.  As I get more from other people I will post them.  I am so sorry but I will not be doing the Meet Me On Monday Meme and I hope you can all understand!  It will return next Sunday!

Click on any image to enlarge it!

My Mom and Dad

Short and my nephew

Tall and his Girlfriend

Grande and his Girlfriend

My sister's and I