Larger Family Now 12/30/07

Wow, what an event this wedding was. My wonderful wife did an excellent job putting all of this together. Matt's family were great teammates, too. The reception hall was so neatly decorated and the food was excellent, too. Betty did most of this part with some help. Matt's parents did a great job on the things they took charge of,too. They did an excellent job on the rehearsal dinner and took care of the beer and part of the wine for the wedding. This morning they bought all of these people breakfast, too. I knew Matt was a great kid but his ENTIRE family was great, too. I met some from New York that knew all about what I had gone through and they acted like they had known me for years. Others in Matt's family was from up north, too. A bigger family is usually a good thing to add but these were some of the greatest people I have ever met. They made us feel like we are part of their family and they are part of ours!
I had many family and friends there too. Lori (my cousin) came with her family from Brenham. It seemed like seeing her and Gary had been too long. Great as usual and their kids have grown into fine young adults! Also, Kelly and Michael came from the Denton area. She is great as usual and I have always been close with him. My parents were there and I think they enjoyed seeing the events very much. My brother and his family were all there, too. Jennifer and Jake played an important part of the wedding, too. Many friends were there and several other family members on Betty's side, too. Her sister and her husband were from Florida and there two girls (Marlies and Christine) that I met when they were young girls were here two. They both brought their daughters, too. Amanda (Marleis's daughter) has always had a special place in my heart as her mother did when she was that age and up. Christine's daughter is Ema and is much younger and has not gotten to this point yet. These two mothers were 11 and 9 or 12 and 10 when I first met them. The love we have today was very strong at first, too. They have always been special people to me!!!
The clean up of the hall was quite a deal. The party was over at midnight, but the clean up and moving of stuff went much longer. Many people were very helpful on this. My brother would not let me lift anything. I was trying to help out, but he was caring for my future. My best friend, Bruce, was helping, too. When they say best friends are for life, they knew how we would be over the years. Before long, my wife sent the old drunk helpless person to the hotel. Kelly and Michael drove me, little Matt and my Mother in Law there. It was about 1:15 or so and Betty showed up at the hotel about 4 in the morning. Our day today was a busy one too. All the sorting and unloading was another episode. Most of the stuff was stored at Betty's brother's house over night. We loaded my truck and little Matt and I went home to unload everything. Betty stayed at her brother's house and counted the linens and glasses and dished that were rented.
What a weekend! It was good to see all the friends and family members! I would like to thanks God for allowing me to be here for this! He, as usual, made my day and my life very special. If you need His help, talk to Him. He is a good listener and a good helper, too!
Mark 11/30/07