Love is sacrificial

We had another busy, but fun few days with the girls this weekend. Friday they once again got to spend some time with Nonnie and Papa and I ran out of work early and headed off to cousin Matthew's wedding in Newport. The Church was beautiful and one that I had never been in before. The whole ceremony was very nice but there was one line in the priest's homily that truly made an impact on me. It was one of those lines that you hear and say, "Oh that is so very true." (It's also quit amazing how much more one is able to pay attention in Church when they are not tending to their children!) Back to the homily, he said, "Love is joyous, Love is wonderful, but Love is also sacrificial. We only need to look at the Cross to remember this." It just hit home with me. I remember being a little girl and dreaming of my fairytale wedding where I would be the princess and I would fall madly in love with my prince. As I grew older, I would romanticize about married life and what it would be like. Certainly there are aspects of some of my daydreaming that are present in my marriage, but what holds true more would be what this priest said about sacrifice. I truly think that both Billy and I make sacrifices for each other, for the girls and for our families on a daily basis. It's this understanding and commitment that keeps us together and united. I think there was a time in our marriage where maybe we didn't understand this so well, yet 6 years later I can honestly say that we are a team. Together we make it work and sacrifices are a big part of this. Who more is a better example of the ultimate sacrifice than the Lord Jesus himself? So this is what I left the Church pondering.

I met up with Billy at the reception which was absolutely beautiful and located at OceanCliff Hotel. Of all my days in Newport, this is one place I had never been. Although, I guess a Salve student probably wouldn't belong there anyhow as the sites and sunset were breathtaking and much different than my stomping grounds as a college student. We spent some time with the family and Billy and I caught a few dances. I will say this was quite the experience with my big belly in the way and at one point we just started laughing because we felt so awkward! All in all it was a very nice evening and you can truly tell how much in love the bride and groom are. We headed back home to pick up Miss Layla at Nonnie and Papa's around 11:00 as I was afraid she would keep them up all night long. Moreover, I was afraid that Papa wouldn't have much room in the bed with both girls lying diagonally across it! I kissed my sleeping Hannah who was spending the night and we were able to transport Layla home where she stayed asleep the rest of the night.

I did end up with this beautiful centerpiece, which I added some wine glasses too (Thank you Auntie Jill) to make it look perfect on the table. I kept thinking about Hannah when I saw it because I know how much she loves sea glass and how we look forward to finding it on the beach each summer.

Saturday morning the three of us went to breakfast and then Billy headed off to the rink to meet Hannah and get her dressed for hockey. I headed to Auntie Paula's to pick up my niece, Addison and then we headed to the rink as well. Both Layla and Addison behaved wonderfully as we watched Hannah skate about and practice her skills. After hockey I got to try out having three car seats in the MDX and Hannah was beaming from the third row as she has been wanting to do this for quite some time. It honestly was not bad at all and I can certainly still fit the double stroller back there as well. It may be a bit tight for Hannah to get in and out, however, we will surely manage as I have no intentions of getting rid of my car in the near future. I love it too much! We then headed off to the park where we were able to play on the swings and catch some of Nicholas's baseball game. Again, Hannah was thrilled to be able to cheer him on from the bleachers. The kids played and blew bubbles and were all on their best behavior. Before long it was time to walk back home and grab some lunch and then Uncle Dan came to pick up Addy and the rest of the day became a blur for me as I was quite exhausted.

Sunday was Church and Hannah's NRI hockey banquet. I had no idea what to expect at this gathering and I can say I was pleasantly surprised with how much effort was put in to make the afternoon a success. Drinks and refreshments in good ol' SHS's cafeteria and then awards in the auditorium. It has been years since I have visited my old alma-mata and it was a little bit eery to be walking those halls again. Grammy, Grampy and Papa came along and certainly came in handy when it came to entering the raffles (wink). They all indulged Hannah and she was able to put many a ticket in her preferred entry boxes. When it was time for the awards to be given, Hannah sat proudly up front and waited her turn to be called. I was a bit shocked, but also delighted by how many girls were involved in this program. Moreover, I was so proud that my Hannah was amongst them. I was also proud to be a part of a great group of people who truly care about these kids and who want them to excel. What a sweet bunch of people and I look forward to spending many more weekends with them as a "Hockey Mom". Not so much looking forward to the 6 AM practices, but I can surely see myself as Team Mom with the responsibility of taking home the jerseys and washing them! :) When Hannah's name was called she was so proud to accept her adorable trophy and we were so proud of her. As luck would have it and thanks to her grandparents, she also won two gift baskets in the raffle as well. One being a basket full of games such as Monopoly, Battleship and Uno and the other a gift basket full of cheer items such as cow bells, bull horns, megaphones and so on. If I could, I would surely like to give back the latter of the two as both girls have been having a bit too much fun with these ever so loud noisemakers! Anyone looking for a wonderful FREE gift basket, please don't hesitate to contact me! LOL Speaking of "cheer," this is Hannah's next endeavor. She has informed me that she would like to cheer for football come the fall. (Sometimes she does have a bit of Mommy in her!) Sigh.. so it looks like I will have a cheerleading hockey player.. quite the oxymoron eh? I will end with some pics of the banana showing off her hockey trophy. Congratulations Hannah Banana!

I am hoping to get up some more of Layla cakes tomorrow as her eye is healing.. slowly but surely!