I want to say a huge congratulations to my cousin John and his wife Shelly on their beautiful new baby girl Kathryn. She is just the most precious little baby and I am so happy for them! They actually have a little blog of their own and I’ve been following it over the last few months. I hope they don’t mind me sharing a few of the pictures my Aunt D. sent! 
John was the first “cousin” (who you can see in the white striped polo to the right) to get married and what a celebration it was! I remember enjoying so much the coming together of our families and supporting John and Shelly as they started their lives together. It seems like just yesterday, but in reality, the years have passed and they have certainly passed by quickly. Now, they have a beautiful daughter and their lives are forever changed. It’s so amazing seeing my cousin John holding his daughter – it brings the biggest smile to my face.
John and Shelly’s special event has made me think back to all of the amazing memories I have of my time with my cousins. My mom is one of five sisters and I grew up loving family visits to WI (where my mom is from and all of her sisters still live) because my sister, brother and I would have a chance to hang out with our cousins who we’ve always been close to. Aunt D. has three sons, Ryan, John
and Greg; Aunt G. has two sons, Adam and Dan; Aunt J. has two children, Matthew and Kathryn; and Aunt S. has two children, Carrie and Josh. Out of all of the cousins I was closest with Greg and Adam because they were my age – we “grew-up” together.My fondest memories of spending time with these two guys are some of the most silly things. When we'd stay at Aunt D.'s house Greg and I would watch "The Wedding Singer" with Adam Sandler over and over and over again. Literally, on one visit I think we watched that movie 30 times -- not surprisingly, I know pretty much every line! When I spent time at my Aunt G.'s house Adam and I would hang out in their basement and play video games -- I always liked to make fun of Adam because he would use the term "pop" instead of soda. One afternoon at Aunt D.'s house Greg and I (along with m
y little sister) constructed a card castle, but instead of an actual castle we wrote out a word (can't remember what it was now) and when we were finished we put on clean socks and skidded through it to knock all of the cards down on their hardwood floor. Another memory with my cousin Adam was during a summer visit -- we played "baseball" in his backyard and I remember not being very successful.
Over the years we have each been through so many different journeys – some exciting and some challenging. Our milestones have pretty much always coincided because of our similarities in age -- like when we recieved our First Holy Communion or our special school graduations. With my wedding arriving very soon (I’ll be the second “cousin” in the extended family getting married) I have spent many moments in reflection – thinking about M., my life, my family, my friends and the ever changing world around me. Today I reflect on my time spent with my extended family, most specifically my two cousins Adam and Greg -- I have been so blessed to have such an amazing family and feel honored that I had the chance to grow up with my cousins. Even though we didn’t get to see each other often (again, my family was in NC and they were all in WI) I had such a wonderful time with them. Because of these close relationships I learned the meaning of family and I know that M. and I will have a close knit family too. I am really looking forward to seeing how all of our futures play out -- I know that both of my cousins will be sucessful in whatever they set their minds on.
On my wedding day, my cousins Greg and Adam will serve as the gift bearers during our nuptial mass. I cannot think of anyone better to fill this important role in the ceremony and it means so much to me that they would participate in this special event.
y little sister) constructed a card castle, but instead of an actual castle we wrote out a word (can't remember what it was now) and when we were finished we put on clean socks and skidded through it to knock all of the cards down on their hardwood floor. Another memory with my cousin Adam was during a summer visit -- we played "baseball" in his backyard and I remember not being very successful.Over the years we have each been through so many different journeys – some exciting and some challenging. Our milestones have pretty much always coincided because of our similarities in age -- like when we recieved our First Holy Communion or our special school graduations. With my wedding arriving very soon (I’ll be the second “cousin” in the extended family getting married) I have spent many moments in reflection – thinking about M., my life, my family, my friends and the ever changing world around me. Today I reflect on my time spent with my extended family, most specifically my two cousins Adam and Greg -- I have been so blessed to have such an amazing family and feel honored that I had the chance to grow up with my cousins. Even though we didn’t get to see each other often (again, my family was in NC and they were all in WI) I had such a wonderful time with them. Because of these close relationships I learned the meaning of family and I know that M. and I will have a close knit family too. I am really looking forward to seeing how all of our futures play out -- I know that both of my cousins will be sucessful in whatever they set their minds on.
On my wedding day, my cousins Greg and Adam will serve as the gift bearers during our nuptial mass. I cannot think of anyone better to fill this important role in the ceremony and it means so much to me that they would participate in this special event.
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