Baby sister's current predicament

Ok, so not the end of the world, not life or death, but incredibly painful, awful miserable... baby sister has a 5mm kidney stone. I had the when I was pregnant and they are a miserable experience and here, less than a week till Christmas, kids home for a 2 week break, and she's writhing in pain, loaded up on pain meds and having spent the first part of the day in the ER. I feel so badly for her, but I always believe that a little humor always helps the situation, so I had to add a few little cartoons here to put a smile on her face - not that she'll read this in her current state, but later, perhaps, she'll find me amusing!!

ok, you have to admit that this is a little funny!!!

We all have our fingers crossed that this day will come sooner rather than later! If you have a free second, send up a "quick passages" prayer to the big guy on baby sister's behalf - it would be greatly appreciated!!

Happy Birthday Baby Sister!

Ok, she's not quite a baby anymore, but if she can call me and call me an old lady, I can call her a baby!

Truly, she is my sister and my best friend! We've spent 38 years together (ooops, did I share her age?) and she's always been there when I've needed her!

Love you baby sister!

party on.....

The vows were said, the couple's wed, let's party!!! This picture is me and my dear friend E - ok, technically she was my mom's friend first - from before the time she dated my dad even! Even so, E and I have become good friends all on our own, but since we live so far apart, it was fabulous to get to spend some time together! We had grand plans of spending an afternoon together, but things were just too crazy, so that didn't happen, sadly. Anyway, this is proof that we were actually near each other for more than 10 seconds!! Someday we'll get that afternoon we planned!

My new nephews P and T practicing some sort of secret handshake - I guess it's not a secret now - ooops!!

the happy couple sharing a private laugh! isn't that view gorgeous?

my darling family! ain't they cute?

look at those eyes! what a doll!

THE cake

Baby sister bride's slice - what a nice touch! my piece didn't have any writing but it was super yummy!!

my new BIL toasting his new family - 4 boys - wow! baby sister is totally outnumbered!!

BIL dragged Little S out on the dance floor - she's so shy, but I could tell that she was very pleased - she even stayed and danced with a few other people afterwards - a first for certain!!

Big S has a minute bit more dance experience than her sisters but she was a little shy getting out there the first time too - it didn't take her long to warm up tho!!

NEVER to be outdone by her sisters, Little G was cutting a rug with BIL before long too! How cute are they?

Baby sister bride and darling nephew J have some serious dance moves - I suspect that they had practiced a bit beforehand!!

It is always dangerous for the band to take a break and leave the microphones unattended - as you can see! bridesmaid K, E, L and G were not shy and certainly that out does talent any day ;) actually, they weren't all that bad! L sang us a tune in the van later that night on the way back to the hotel - she can definitely carry a tune! thanks for the serenade!!

next stop, San Francisco.........

more from the wedding day....

This is my all time favorite picture from the wedding! I'm dying to know what Baby sister thinks of it, but I love it!! It's going in my portfolio!!

they joined the ranks of modern brides and grooms and met privately before the wedding and then had some of their pictures taken together before the ceremony - look at him just drinking her in - so sweet, so sappy!!

Tiffany took us to this cool caboose - her pictures are amazing, this is just to prove that I was there!!

and here's the famous Ms. Tiffany Fosnight busy at work!!

me and bridesmaid K - she wears it so much better than I do, but I still think we looked pretty good!

Tomorrow, the reception!!!!

wedding day continues...

Getting ready is always half the fun if you ask me... especially if you are with people you enjoy and there's champagne and food!!! Baby sister ask me and the girls, bridesmaid K and mom to hang out together most of the morning and get ready together!! Hair is done, make up, obviously not done yet!!

I've got my dress on and nephew comes in to help him mom! Baby sister decided on REAL buttons all the way down the back of her dress and although mom and I started, we were glad for the help and he was so darn cute, but they were pretty hard to do, so he gave up rather quickly - I don't blame him, I would have too if I'd thought I wouldn't get in a heap o trouble for letting her go down the aisle with the back of her dress half open ;)

strong enough for a man, but is it strong enough for wedding day jitters? sweaty palms are one thing, sweaty pits are quite another!

bridesmaid K and I got to wear these super cute shoes! Aren't they darling? They hurt like a mother after about the first 30 minutes and my dogs were seriously barking by the time the ceremony started, but they looked good and that's all that really matters, right ladies??

Baby sister checking herself out in the mirror - I think she likes what she sees!! Look at all those dang buttons!!!

Big S was the junior bridesmaid - isn't she just beautiful? Her bouquet was a smaller version of mine and bridesmaid K's!

Little G and Little S in their flower girls' dresses! the baskets they are carrying are covered in moss and full of rose petals that they tossed on the aisle and they walked down - ok, the job requirements are obvious but restating them never hurts for those rare few who don't know what a flower girl does!!

Baby sister bride and darling nephew!

Mom and Baby sister bride

Now that's what I'm talking about!! I loved Baby sister's bouquet too!!

close up of the flower girl baskets

Dad seeing Baby sister bride for the first time ready to go down the aisle - he's so sentimental!!

And here is where I stop! I do not have any pictures of the actual ceremony since I was standing up there with Baby sister bride and her Hubby to be, but they had a fabulous photographer named Tiffany Fosnight of Adeline and Grace Photography. You can check out the pictures that she took at her website here http://adelineandgrace.com/slideshows/morris/ !!

the beginning of a beautiful day....

The big day was July 31 in Napa Valley California

a at a lovely little place tucked into the hills called Auberge de Soliel. We met at the couple's bungalow for a morning of beauty prior to the big event! Baby Sister was sweet to include all of us! The girls and I all got our hair done as well as K (the other bridesmaid) and our mom! Of course there were beverages...

Little G had her hair done..... loving the attention!!

Big S went from natural curls to long, straight locks.... she looked so grown-up!

Little S went from straight to curly (ironic huh) and was feeling so pretty!!

I begged them to stop at this point! I thought it looked Fabulous, but they insisted on continuing - I think they didn't want me to upstage the bride!!!

Again, the stylists would not listen to me - I really thought Baby Sister should have gone with this look, once again I was overruled!!

So, that was part of the preparations.. I want to drag this out as long as possible, so you'll have to stay tuned! You must remember that as a photographer, I took over 1500 pix in 13 days! I will not be photoshopping anything for you viewers - you get to see my life in the raw reality that it really is! The editing will be for posterity!!!

Day Seven, Napa Valley California - part three

So, we finally make it through a fabulous dinner and people start to mingle and socialize - even my three crazy girls!

Baby sister and her son (my darling nephew!)

Hubby to be starts out the toasts for the night by thanking everyone there and toasting his bride to be!

Then Dad got up - he might be a man of few words, but he always gets teary-eyed at sentimental moments - we can count on it!!

Hubby joined in on the fun and welcomed hubby to be and his 3 sons into the fold and thanked him for upping the testosterone levels!!

Uncle B is always super cool and gave a lovely toast to the bride and groom...

followed immediately by Aunt P (his wife and Dad's sister) eloquent as always!

Then Mom had a few words for the happy couple...

then Uncle M (part of the Canadian clan) offered some advice for second marriages...

a representative from the rowdy quarterback club joined in on the fun... he is quite the sanppy dresser!!

fellow bridesmaid K was well prepared - script and all! it was very sweet

cousin C (another one of those crazy Canadians) even had props!!

L, a good friend from grad school had a few things to share with the group...

and college friend and roommate had a few more stories!!

The toasts and the wine continued to flow! It was really lovely to hear so many people speak with so much love in their hearts for Baby Sister and Hubby to be! We could all hardly wait for the next day!!!