This crazy, rainy, chilly spring had us switching plans all week long..but they're married!!!

They were supposed to be married under an oak tree with white tents surrounded by farm fields and
woods and open skies...but it rained all last week and mud was..well.. everywhere.

Despite the late morning downpour...the skies cleared to blue and
plan b came together quite nicely with a variety of folding chairs and family working
hard to make this day special for them despite having short notice to pull it all off.

I can't thank my family enough for all they did! 
My sisters and sister in laws and brothers and brother in laws did SOOOO much!
They are wedding powerhouses!!!
Cyndie's family too...they jumped in and helped as soon as they all arrived from states away!

The food was amazing thanks to Savino's Brick Oven.
My sister Dana and her husband Matthew are the best...Seriously!
Gabrielle..all your chopping and hard work...so appreciated.
My mom with her homemade dinner rolls..so good!
My brothers and dad for making pizzas.

The decorating..well..don't be jealous but I pretty much have Joanna Gaines for a sister in law.
{Or you can just call her Rachel..either way.}

Molly..all of the flowers were soooo pretty!
Stephanie and Caitlin...the hair and make-up on the girls and the gorgeous bride..perfect.

Caitlin..the cake was lovely!
The desserts were an effort of all the ladies and Grandma and Grandpa saved the day
with the prettiest truffles...and our cousin Nikki with of course the best of the best...Cannoli!
Because really....what's a sweet table without it?

There was so much done on this day.. I know I am forgetting people...but anyone who helped...
THANK YOU!!!


Now about the Bride and Groom...
I don't think I've seen anyone more beautiful on their wedding day...she looked like a princess.
The two of them are adorable together!

I could not be happier for Tyler and Cyndie.
My son is very blessed.....he has married into a wonderful family and
we are so blessed to have Cyndie as part of our family now!

Also...I cannot WAIT to see the photos from the photographer!!!

This was one of my favorites...white chocolate and edible flowers...
...my sister Stephanie made it..isn't it beautiful?

 Gramps...showing them how it's done. ;)

I am so, so sad I didn't take any pictures with my husband!!! How did that happen?
I do however have one with Jeff's Aunt Daksha who was here visiting from Arkansas
and my daughter Allison..Haha.

There he is though...giving a little speech...I so love being married to that man!

It was so much fun putting this table together!!! ...it was also fun eating it.
Now I want a cannoli.

The flower girls and Jr. Bridemaids.

Aaaaaaannnndddd.....they're married!

XxOo

This crazy week...a wedding, another wedding...aaaannnd if you need me I'll be in the kitchen.

These boys...the 13 and under cousins {minus one} at another cousin's wedding.
It was beautiful! in a beautiful place. with a beautiful bride.

This week we are getting ready for Tyler's wedding.
It's so crazy to think Jeff and I will have a married child!!!
How? HOW?

So many thoughts and emotions..but so exciting.
We love the girl who is about to become part of our family.
Jeff was going to wear a pink tie in honor of a new "daughter"...
...but then went with his usual some-form-of-blue. ;)

Of course because we are Savino's...we will be catering the wedding ourselves.
I don't believe our family will ever be able to throw a party or event without
providing the food ourselves. or decorating. or providing music.

I am however, ordering cake pops...this is a HUGE deal for me! Haha.
We hardly ever utilize bakeries.
Why would we when there are 50 million bakers in our family?

Tyler and Cyndie wanted an outdoor wedding.
It's going to be held on my brother and sister in law's dreamy 65 acre property.
{I'm so jealous of their house and land..it's amazing!!!}

However..our weather has been terrible! I think we've had one sunny day this spring.
It's freezing and wet.

Looking ahead at the weather forecast this week...ugh..
...praying, praying, praying things dry up and we don't have to resort to plan B.

The oldest and the youngest {..at least for the next 31/2 months ;) }
I love how much the boys love their little brother.

A picture from the one sunny day.. ;)

Mushy part of this post...
I love the way my husband looks..I could stare at him all day long.
Also..I am now 22 weeks along.
Things are getting bigger around here!

I wrap this up with a photo found on my phone that I did not take.
Do your silly kids fill your photo library with snapshots too?
{Thanks for the picture Sophia}

Off to the kitchen!!!
XxOo

Life is ever-changing...depending and the gift of not knowing.

Spring in the Midwest.
One day we're in sandals...the next in snow boots and then surprise! Sunshine again!
One day windows are open..the next we have a fire in our wood stove.
One day we think we're in a new phase of life with a son getting married...
...and now we're having a new baby! ;)

Life is ever-changing and full of surprises...ups and downs...happiness and tragedies.
Nothing is steady..not even our own lives are dependable.
Those can be taken from us at any moment!

A friend asked not too long ago...
Would you rather know the future of your day and the events that will unfold?
Or would you rather not?

I would not!
Knowing..we wouldn't get out of bed some days! ..or wouldn't be able to sleep the night before.
For both good reasons and bad.

It's a gift not knowing what the future holds.
It is also what makes us dependent upon God.

If we knew what was going to happen..
we would always be trying to figure out how to dodge the bad and get straight to the good.

We wouldn't put our trust in God because we would already know the outcome.
We wouldn't dig through His word..there would be no reason to seek out His wisdom.
...because we would already see the plan.

Knowing would skew our view of trust.
It would truly ruin our lives and take away all of our hope.
We would see the bigger picture, yes..but then we would be losing.
We would live life so differently.

We would never build character or allow God to mold us.
We would be filled with only knowledge and no wisdom.

It's the hard parts and the happy parts and the sad parts of life that make us who we are.
If we skipped over all of that...we would be missing out on so much.

Especially the intimate relationship we are able to have with God that comes
with knowing He has our future in His hands.

...aaaaaand here we are... 19 weeks along with baby.
So exciting.
XxOo

Well this was a little something we were not "expecting".

But here we are....

.....sixteen weeks along with a baby the size of this pine cone.
...{mostly} finished with months of the worst morning sickness I've ever experienced.
..about to become parents of a married child and a new baby!!! Crazy.
.....living with the most excited kids you can imagine.
....not in complete shock anymore. Haha.
...thankful for this beautiful, little blessing that really took us by surprise.
XxOo

They're getting married!!!

In only seven short weeks, our oldest will be marrying the love of his life.
We absolutely love Cyndie and are very excited for her to be a part of our family!!!

How, how, HOW??? are Jeff and I old enough to have a child getting married?
We were JUST married ourselves. ...sigh.
How did we get to this point in life..so.very.fast?

We do love it though.
Seeing our son grown up and living his own life...
...moving forward with a wonderful young woman.

I'm happy for their future together.

LOVE, LOVE her ring!

XxOo

One and Only One for the Week.

Our family is geographically separated this week....
..the girls are with my sister and her family visiting my grandparents in Florida.
...the older boys are visiting their aunt and uncle in Arkansas.

..Frankie is spending the week at home with his parents. ;)
{He is also not on spring break..but does pre-school really require one?}

Having one child around is....
..easy.simple.fun.cheap.time consuming.

Oh yes..time consuming!
People always ask me... "How do you do it with all those kids?"
No, Noooo.. "How do YOU do it with ONE child?"

I feel terribly guilty if I have to do something and he's left to himself.
Even though he often plays alone..it's okay because there are people around.
Our home is always bustling. I'm not used to all of this constant calm and quiet.

I feel like two or more children is easier...
...they keep each other occupied when mom is busy.

I suppose if quiet is all you know..and it's your normal..
and it's what you're used to..then life this way is fine.
I'm not used to it..and it feels strange. Haha. 

We planted our tomato and basil seeds this weekend.

I posted this in my story on Instagram..and then had complaints from my girls.
They said it's their job to help...why did I do it without them? they asked.

I only sort of feel bad since they've been on a hot, sunny beach for the past few days.
I did save all flowers for them to plant.

Today we will be doing school, Frankie's little chores and
we also have a walk in our plans this afternoon.

Organic, Heirloom strawberries..Oh my goodness!
They taste just like the strawberries we pick in June.
Perfect! Thank you Trader Joe's. 

Happy new week to you...wherever you are.

Wrapping up the week...errr..I mean month.with a tiny town.a video.a song.and that's it. I think.

There is this tiny...{and I mean TINY!..even though I used caps} town tucked into the
mountains of Montana. We went for a visit last summer.

It's a nice little area....where they sell an average of 600 bear claw pastries a DAY!
at the bakery in the mercantile store during the summer months...
...and gas happened to be only $6.00 a gallon...a steal if you ask me.
You can buy freshly picked huckleberries and eat a plumb on a bear bench. {see below}

Polebridge ...a must visit.
Put it on your Montana bucket list.

My dear mother in law sent me this video  yesterday..it reminded her of me.
It was titled "When People Ask Me How 2019 is Going So Far"...
Now I'm not asking "What the..." at the end. I know good things are coming!
I am however, ready to hit the bottom and stand up again! Haha.

A SONG for you!

This has been one of my favorite Instagram accounts lately.
So, so pretty. I want Jeff to take me away to one of those little houses.

Buy THIS!  ...or one just like it.
I promise you {..and your children..rolls eyes and laughs} will love it.

Happy Weekend to you.
XxOo