Mr. and Mrs. Williams

It was a storybook wedding.

The bride was beautiful.
The groom was in love.

The chapel was charming.

The girls were precious, angelic even.

I wish I had pictures of the girls actually walking down the aisle. They each had such a big pretty smile plastered on their face.  They were calm, just a bit nervous but happy as they took the lead in welcoming the bride in.  Boy, do they ever love their new Aunt! 

Ellie and Lily anxiously awaiting their walk down the aisle as junior bridesmaides

Zachary was very sincere in his efforts as ring bearer.  He felt honored to have been given the duty and wanted to make his Uncle proud.  Carefully walking down the aisle, stepping up on the little step, and gently handing over the ring when it was time.  Uncle Rob gave him a not so subtle "high five" during the ceremony.  He did a splendid job and made us all proud.

  One happy set of parents.  Mother and Father of the groom.

Perfectly fit  flowers for the girls.  Simple elegance.

Avery was in the wedding party as well.  She just chose not to walk down the aisle.

After the ceremony, we enjoyed our afternoon relaxing  by the water.   What a way to gear up for the evening festivities of dancing and celebrating with one another. 

Let the dancing begin...  The girls were the first ones on the dance floor.  Lovin' every minute of it.  Zachary was soon discovered to be the dancing machine.  He danced the night away...with several ladies. (wish I had a pic of him)

The night was magical. Ocean breeze in the air, fireworks in the sky and friends joined together. The whole family had a wonderful time celebrating this occassion.  Happy to be together. 

Thanks Robby and Kat for sharing it with us.

St Barts

As we move on to St. Barts we soon discovered that beauty surronds in French Westo Indies.  Man, oh man is it ever gorgeous.  Truely Picturesque. 

This extra large and beastly looking creature greeted us to The Hotel Gurananni by sunbathing on our patio.  Jeff was captivated and fed it pepperoni and granola bars.  I call him the wedding mascot.

This is where we spent most of our time.  Can you stand it?  I agree with Lily (age 9) when she said, "I could get very used to this lifestyle. 

Pre-wedding happy couple. No jitters for them,

but they were very busy.  Lots of last minute details that come with a dreamy destination wedding. 

They handled the stress very well.  Only a few more days... till this.

No stress for us however!  We were whisked off on a private 50 foot yacht.  A-ma-zinggggg.  Stinkin' amazing.  I loved every minute of our 4 hour day trip.  We sailed around the island, stopped to snorkle and saw the most beautiful and completely private beaches, only accessible via boat.  Where were the children you ask?  Gigi and Papa kindly volunteered to watch all of them for us.  Yes, I was worried it would take a toll on my parents, but that big calming blue ocean setttled my nerves and I enjoyed our ride. 

Here is where we stopped to snorkle.  Jeff and Chrissy saw a shark.  Long and skinny one.  I saw nothing.

Robby's boss Johnathon, and girlfriend.  Mark and Chrissy, me and a friend of Robs.  Jeff is taking the pic.

It was Regatta Weekend.  We had the pleasure of watching these incrediable sailboats all day.

Friday evening was the rehearsal dinner at the Wall House Restaurant in town.  It was delightful.  Perfectly set for a night of entertainment.
 Kat and Rob strung pics of all the guests around the room.  I loved it. Looked so personal with a touch of flair. 
 

Robby and Kat express their gratitude to their guests.  Really, it is our pleasure.
 

Ellie and Lily ordering juice to their hearts content.


Stay tuned for the wedding.  I will get the next post up tomorrow!  I need to speed up the pace with posting.  Getting more and more behind on   family "back to reality" posts as well.

Paradise found

Taking our family to the caribean to celebrate Rob's marriage proved to be the paradise we were looking for.  It was the vacation of a lifetime.  Everything we had dreamed it to be. Infact,  most of the time we felt as if we were dreaming.  

And, now I take on the daunting task of documenting this amazing vacation.  How will I ever do it justice?

We stayed in St Martin for the first part of our trip.  We rented a beautiful condo on the beach and right next door to the Westin (mark and chrissy family)   I loved the huge patio and it's overlooking view of the beach and mountains.  Simple gorgeous.  It seems each day the morning sun called me out to the patio to enjoy my breakfast and book while I waited for the others to wake up.  There is no better way to start the day.   

(The girls also enjoyed eating breakfast in jammies on the patio)

I was most overwhelmed by the beauty of the sea.   The cariabean ocean on it's own,  is breathtaking.  Crystal clear blue water like I've never seen before.  We spent our days at the beach, each day a new and different one.  Each one more beautiful than the last.  I loved the lounge chairs with big umbrellas to relax under.  Ideal.  The kids loved the water...never getting bored and played all day long.  They especially loved riding the waves on boogie boards. 

The last day on St martin we took a little boat over to Pineal Island.  We had heard about this awesome beach back home in Omaha and knew it was not to be missed.  Boy, it lived up to our expectations.  This was my favorite beach of the trip.  Very mild water, no waves.  Remote island with only 2 restaurants run by a generator.   It was at this beach where we introduced the kids to lobster.  They loved it.  They picked out a big 'ol lobster out of the cages in the ocean!  Delish. 

Speaking of delicious...we ate most evenings at a new restaurant, each one situated on the water and just off the sand.  And enjoyed every bite.   The scenary is gorgeous and the food delicious.

Stay tuned for the wedding... as we move on to St. Barts on a ferry boat.

twinners

Today is a special day.  Happy birthday to Zachary and Ellie.   Each year at the twins birthday I can't help but think about the power of prayer and how thankful I am for this blessing.   "Ask and ye shall receive".  We prayed that the lives of our micro preemies would be spared.  They are living proff that miracles exist.  Through the loving hand of our Heavenly Father they are with us today and I am so thankful to Him.       And, I am thankful to Zachary and Ellie for all the joy they bring to my life.  Both of these children are very sensitive, kind and loving souls.  They enrich our home with happy moments, giggles, good times and lots of love.
                                                                Then  

and now.

Happy 11th Birthday!

We love you, sweet babies.

To my very favorite person.

Happy Birthday.

You make my heart sing. 

You are my everything.

I love you always and forever.