Amanda & Bradley's wedding

So, last weekend (the 18th), Tom's little sister got married in Pittsburgh. It was a beautiful and fun wedding. Unfortunately, my camera battery died just a few pics into the event. I was very bummed. But here are a few shots that I did get:

Harlie about to shove Cooper's pacifier in his mouth - her favorite activity.






There was lots of laughter at this wedding. It was great!



Murphy was the ring bearer, although I think he refused to carry the rings. Or face the correct way. Or stand in the right place?



Harlie couldn't sit still. HA! who thought I'd ever be writing that?!?! So Brandy had to take a walk with her. Yes, during the ceremony. I'm just thankful that she didn't need to be suctioned during the ceremony!



Amanda and Bradley - now a married couple!



Kristie (Tom's older sister) and Tom.



Murphy and Tom.






Grandma and Murphy.






Has anyone seen the cookie table? I really feel like having a cookie. If I could just find one, teeny, tiny cookie, I would be so happy...




Seriously people! What kind of Western Pennsylvania wedding is this with no cookie table???

OH! There it is! Silly me.


And this was just a FRACTION of the cookies that were there. Before we left town we headed on down to the basement of Tom's mom's house to "shop" the leftovers. I kid you not, there were 30+ large containers FILLED with more cookies. Hundreds? Thousands? Who knows. It was CRAZY! Our to go container was full and we've already eaten them all. What can I say? They were good.

The trip went great, really. The kids were great - very cooperative. Although borrowing the two portable DVD players might have had something to do with that (thanks Dave and Melissa!). I will admit I was a little nervous about traveling just 3 weeks after having Cooper, but it went well. Although the packing the day before was truly overwhelming. Harlie's packing is so daunting that I've made a checklist with all her necessary medical equipment that I have to print out to make sure I don't forget something. Unfortunately, if I forget something of hers we can't just run to the local drugstore for a replacement.

Of course, I did leave Cooper's antibiotic in the fridge at home. So, on the way up there we had to find a CVS that wasn't too far off our route, then call the pediatrician's office to get them to send another prescription to that location. It was very time consuming and made us miss the whole rehearsal of the ceremony. Luckily, Mandy was great about it and said that she would be fine if Murphy didn't cooperate - she wasn't going to force him. That took a lot of stress away for us. He ended up walking down the aisle with Tayne (his cousin) who was a junior bridesmaid. Kristie told me later that he wouldn't let them pin a flower on his jacket and he wanted to carry flowers - like Tayne. Nice. So Kristie went and pulled some flowers out of a vase in the bathroom or something so he could carry some. That was a lot nicer than what I would have done. But, I suppose you pick your battles!

Anyway, we did make it to the rehearsal dinner. We left Brandy and Harlie at Tom's mom's house because Harlie was sick. The day before, we took her to the doctor and she has yet another ear infection. Her second one since September. Anyway, so Cal drove us (Tom, me, Murphy and Cooper) to the restaurant. As we were getting out of the car, Tom took Cooper and said to me, "Do you have the suction machine?" (A question that one of us asks another every single time we go somewhere with Harlie). At first I thought he was joking (since the suction machine stays with Harlie and she wasn't there). But he wasn't. Just habit I suppose. It was pretty funny, though.

Anyway, the wedding was great. Lots of laughter. And the reception was a lot of fun. Murphy had a blast running around with Tayne. Boy am I thankful for her and her incredible patience with my 4 year old!

While there I got to see a lot of people who read this blog and care about Harlie. It was great to see some people again, and to meet some for the first time. I met a nice woman, Mary, whose daughter, Anna, wrote a story about Harlie for her 9th grade English project. She gave Tom's mom a copy of it to give to me. It is SO cute! It is called "Harlie Saves The Day." The students had to pick a disability and write a story (and illustrate it) about someone with that disability. She chose Goldenhar Syndrome. I am constantly amazed at how so many people keep Harlie in their thoughts. I hope she got a good grade.

Well, I really need to get Harlie up from her late nap. So I have to go. I hope all is well!
Take care,
Christy