Happy 10th Anniversary!

July 24, 1999

We were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Chittenango, NY.

Our reception was at Greystone Castle in Canastota, NY.

The day was a complete whirlwind, as most wedding days are.

I honestly don't remember a lot of it.

One of my most favorite details of the wedding, and very hard to forget, was that we had the Stan Colella Orchestra as our band.

Our first dance was, 'The Best is Yet to Come'.

Our cake was a small strawberry whip cream cake.

We used my grandparents (Lesko) cake topper from their wedding cake.

Our table centerpieces were individual wedding cakes.

I had all my flowers replicated from my Gramma Lesko's wedding photos too.

325 people were in attendance.

Steve was Brian's best man.

My Aunt Denise was my matron of honor.

My cousin Paula made the flower wreath around my head.

My mother picked out my dress, did the alterations, and made my veil.

My father gave me away.

I wore my Gramma Wilber's diamond pendant.

Luke, Patrick, Eric, Chad, Joey, and Keith stood up for Brian.

Laura, Rachel, Jenny, and Denise V. stood up for me.

Amanda and Angela were the cutest flower girls ever and Jake was our ring bearer.

Amy sang 'Old Irish Blessing', 'Higher Ground', 'All I Ask of  You', and 'Something That We Do' at the church.

Derek Day read from Khalil Gibran and  my aunt Mary and Uncle Jeff wrote and spoke a blessing together.

Grandpa Wilber gave a blessing before our dinner. 

Brian danced with his mom and I with my dad to 'I've Got the World on a String'

We danced and danced and danced.

We took the best trip of our life, for our honeymoon....

2 weeks out West with no plans, no reservations anywhere.

 Just maps, a car rental, some camping equipment and AAA books. 

It was adventurous, fun, and amazing.

July 24, 2009

A lot of things have changed in a mere 10 years.

We have lost 4 grandparents.

We lost 1 cat and 2 dogs.

We have gained 2 beautiful children.

We have owned 2 homes.

We changed vehicles 3 times.

We have gotten rid of Jet Skis, snowmobiles, and a boat.

Gave up a golf membership but gained SU and Yankee family season tickets.

We have had a few job changes as well.

We have traveled to places all through the country.

We have taken many many vacations.

We have gained family and friends, and lost family and friends.

We have created a new family for ourselves with new traditions.

We have replaced happy hour with little league, lacrosse, swimming lessons, and dance lessons.

We continue to learn about each other 

and adapt to the ever flowing changes life brings our way.

We are 10 years wiser but still consider ourselves rookies.

The ebb and flow of 10 years has had a natural flowing presence in our lives. 

It's not always easy. (In fact it's rarely easy.)

Sometimes it's perfect and sometimes it's not.

Sometimes it's happy and sometimes it's not.

but...

it's ours.

It's our 10 years. It's our history. It's our story together.

I wrote something in a shower card just recently and I stand by every word.

"Here’s to a lifetime of ups and downs but becoming closer in spite of them and because of them. Discovering love has many different faces through the years and learning to journey with it… not against it. Being each other’s best friend and treating each other as such. Learning that the words compromise, respect, trust, honesty, sacrifice and patience take on much more meaning than initially thought. Embarking on new realities… new ideals… new dreams.  Embracing and balancing your individuality as well as your togetherness equally. Finding out that sometimes silence and a willing ear is more comforting than words. That laughter and smiles should make up at least a small portion of everyday.

Accepting that even when things are not perfect it can still be happy. And realizing that perfection is just subjective perception.

Discovering that marriage is a marathon not a sprint. Conditioning your relationship with sincerity and generosity of all of the above factors (and many more) will give you the endurance of a lifetime."