Minnesota Wedding

We just enjoyed a quick but fun trip to Minnesota!  We were only gone a few days but we really packed those days full of friends, family and fun.

Our niece, Allison, got married on Saturday. What a beautiful wedding and what a stunningly beautiful bride! I didn't take photos at the actual wedding but we have all been passing this photo from phone to phone. I think it was taken by the bride's mother. Thanks for sharing! 

This was our first time meeting Kyle, Allison's chosen one. It was easy to like him and we all approved. He seems to know what a treasure he has found in Allison. I really liked that. We all look forward to years of family gatherings and opportunities to get to know him better.

It really is true that when you marry someone, you marry their family as well. I am not sure everyone quite gets that at first. To me, that is part of the process of becoming"one".  Learning to love those your beloved cares for is so important.

Adding new people to the family enriches all of its members. I think of our own nuclear family, that is, Mike and me and our children. I loved that little family!  However, I would never want to go back to our family without our son-in-law and daughter-in-law. They have both brought joy to our family, adding their own personalities to the mix.

When I became an in law to Mike's family, I suppose I thought of myself as an add on, not a real family member. I don't mean that I wasn't kindly welcomed, because I was. I am just saying what was in my own head. I did not yet share history with them. 

I didn't really think about the fact that at one time both of Mike's parents probably felt like an add on to each other's families as well. Maybe you have to be a generation into it before you realize you are an integrated part of that family as will as the family in which you've grown up.

I am rambling, aren't I? Does any of this makes sense to anyone else? 

Anyway, I think families are important. I know that not everyone is blessed with a supportive family. I am grateful for mine, all branches of it. That is what I wanted to say. That is what I feel.

I have more to tell you and more photos to share. All this emotion is wearing me out, though. I will get back to you soon!