Mother’s Day Messages 2 Heaven

I started writing about my backwards chapter, awhile back and I knew that I wouldn’t always get great feedback about it. BUT I didn’t think that I would be accused of saying improper and malicious things. I had some stuff thrown in my face that I apparently said, however when I went back to read what I wrote it wasn’t even close to what I was talking about. 

I don’t really care who reads this, what I write about isn’t for everyone coming from a journalism background I know I won’t make everyone happy with how I express myself, BUT as a friend of mine said in a conversation the other day I am a writer it is what I do and what I have always done. A lot of people feel I “post my life” but the best thing about  being able to express myself on a larger scale is I can pick and choose WHAT I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT!

If I wrote about EVERYTHING with no filter I’m sure the backlash would be HUGE. I write about what matters, I write because I feel if I can inspire someone else OR MAYBE comfort them with what I’m going through and for them to know THEY are not ALONE its good enough for me. 

A lot of people see the world differently then I do, but as I respect the way you see the world I ask you respect the way I see it as well. 

I was going to stop writing about my experiences with this backwards chapter BUT after talking with a friend of mine (whom I was close with in high school) and knowing she actually read up on everything meant a lot to me. It showed me that although a lot of people around me are not there everyday THEY do hope for the best and STILL support me. So I think I’m going to continue with my blogs, I’ve always wrote about what I go through and it seemed to get through to a lot of people, so I intend to continue to inspire and hopefully comfort people with my words if I can. I don’t know why I let someone get to me so bad because at the end of the day they didn’t even come to me they chirped and chirped to all the wrong people when the person they should have been chirping at should have been me. I’m over it, because at the end of the day I’m sure they should look in their own yard I’m sure there is a lot of yard work that needs to be done.

I’ve had A LOT of people message and ask me about mother’s day, as it was a hard day for McKayla and I’m sure her sisters. We decided to get everyone together to gather at Stephanie’s resting place to say a prayer and remember her and most importantly to send messages of love via balloons into the sky so she can grab them from heaven. Melissa had the fantastic idea of writing messages on balloons more for the kids so they can feel like they are sending a message to their mommy in heaven.

We called to try and arrange to have the other two girls there, and after a lot of calling with no response finally someone picked up the phone and simply said “we are going to do our own thing with the girls.” I feel really bad for McKayla, because she not only lost her mom but she probably feels like her family has been taken away from her, she really misses her sisters and talks about them everyday and there is only so much you can say to a 4 year old. She’s not dumb and she’s going to figure out why she can’t see her sisters. It’s just sad that Stephanie’s dying wish was for the girls to be together and it could have been arranged however all parities have to be willing. It’s not about the adults it’s about the kids.

With that being said, although the other girls could not make it we still sent messages in the sky for them, even though some feel we don’t care or think about the girls we always keep them in our thoughts and I know especially on my behalf and my boyfriends behalf what we do for one we do for all. We have a lot at the house waiting for them when we finally see them, I can’t wait for them to get all the things we picked up!!!

….. Getting back on track (sorry, thinking about the other two and the situation just… is a sad sad situation to think about)

We all met up at Stephanie’s resting place in the morning, I was a little nervous for McKayla to go because I wasn’t sure how she was going to take the visit. I’ve always told her that her mom isn’t buried in the ground, that in fact when the priest said his prayers in the church and the smoke was waved in the air around her casket that God took her body to heaven and all that was left in the casket was all the “treasure” her sisters, the family and her put in there. That’s what I told her was buried and we bring flowers so we know where to find it, and her mommy’s angel comes down sometimes to play with the treasure and the flowers help her find it. We figured it was the best way we could explain it to her.

We went to pick up flowers, and I wanted McKayla to choose her own flower to bring to her mommy. She decided on long stem roses, she was very particular when she picked them out as she began to tell me that roses were some of her mommy’s favorite flowers. She picked out a White one, a Red one, and a vibrant pink one. She said she needed three (she also thinks of her sisters as there was one there from each of them). It was interesting watching her pick them out especially the white one, she was really firm on which one she wanted and wouldn’t settle for any other colour.

We put the flowers firmly at Stephanie’s resting place, as it was a really windy day. The balloons almost got away as they made an escape through an open car window but were retrieved. I was worried they weren’t going to go very high because of the helium sort of deflating. McKayla wrote her message on her balloon from her and her sisters and the family walked to an open field to let them go. ALL of a sudden this BIG gush of wind took them and they disappeared soon after. As the family was walking to the field I felt this really weird feeling (hard to explain). When they let the balloons go McKayla said to her Zia “Mommy’s following us to let the balloons go.” 

I truly believe that Stephanie is around, and she’s definitely looking over her children and i 100% believe McKayla when she says her mom was with her that day!!!

Through out the day I had a friend of mine post on my wall wishing me a happy mothers day, and then I got texts and more messages about it. I was shocked anyone would even include me on a day like mothers day considering I’m far from a mom.

After thanking a friend of mine for including me in the day she wrote : “God Choose you to fill Stephanie’s void so your just as much a mom as anyone else xox”

It sincerely brought me to tears, because I didn’t feel like I was filling anyone’s void as no one can fit or fill the shoes of ones mother. HOWEVER when I look at what I’m doing I look at it as Steve would have done all this for me, and stephanie would have done everything she could for me if I was in her shoes. The fact some people feel that I’m stepping up as a “mom figure” just boggles me but at the same time it humbles me. Because learning from Stephanie and looking at some of the strong and influential women in my life being a mom sure as hell isn’t easy. THEY are the glue that keeps the family together and mom’s take on a lot especially when it comes to their kids. SO to have a mom tell me that humbled me and brought tears to my eyes. BUT it wasn’t just that comment it was a few others that were very similar. 

TO know a mom out there thinks I’m on the right track is a good feeling CONSIDERING I’m starting with a 4 year old not a baby. I don’t know her allergies, signs of when she’s sick etc.. BUT I’m learning. MY ULTIMATE goal with these girls is to carry on the big picture their mother had for them. I had A LOT of time to talk to Stephanie in the hospital and just in general, so I got a pretty good idea of her dreams and wishes for her girls and I hope I can carry those out for her the best I can. 

I thank Stephanie for trusting me with her girls and trusting me to raise McKayla as my own. It meant a lot to me that she asked to talk to me when it came to the girls and trusted my judgement and took in my advice. 

Thank you to everyone again for your ongoing support, Steven and I sincerely appreciate it from friends and family to the lawyers we have working with us!!! Thank you all for being such a great support team!

-Christina

Responsibilities & E-Learning

Part of McKayla getting her new room was that she had to keep it clean and she had to make her bed in the morning after she brushed her teeth and got changed. So far every morning since we have set up her room she has done that. Her responsibilities are keeping her room clean and bed made in the morning and keeping her toy room clean and organized. We bought organization bins for her to put her stuff in so everything has a place.

Although my parent’s weren’t strict on things like that a friend of mine’s parents had a list of chores for him everyday, and he wasn’t allowed to do anything until those chores were done. I really liked that structure. I feel like it gives them a sense of independence and responsibilities. I want her to do things on her own so I found an article about different responsibilities for different age groups. It was a good help however I feel like you know your kid and you know what they are capable of. 

We also ask McKayla to clear her plate and cup when she is done eating. If she’s got a plastic plate it can go in the sink if it’s glass we ask her to put it on the counter as she isn’t tall enough to place it gently in the sink. She knows that left over food and stuff goes in the green pin and she puts her mat away. 

When I do her hair in the morning she knows she has to bring me 2 hair elastic and 2 hair clips and her brush. We are growing out her bangs and her hair so that way she can just pull it back into a pony tail and play and she won’t have her bangs in her face.

McKayla’s school sent home a form for us to fill out because they are currently doing a pilot program for learning. Its a secure website set up for parents to be able to see what their children are learning in school. It has a lot of pictures of their interaction with other kids, them on their school trips, them learning hands on etc… As a parent its tough being away from your children, and you want to know that they are in a safe environment and learning a lot. This website is pretty interactive, each child has their own log in information. ONLY the parents who have signed the form have access to the site. You are able to see video and pictures of your children’s interactions in class.

It also lets you know of upcoming events and school functions. Reminds you about library day, school trips etc. 

You get to see who the stars of the weeks are and what sort of things your child is learning in the class room!!!

It was nice to flick through the slides and pictures and see all the things they are doing. When I ask McKayla how school is she normally says “good” and then I ask “what did you do” and she will say “Play” and then I ask what she’s learned and she said “nothing.”!!! 

PLUS I love that I can have some school pictures to add to a scrapbook or something for when she is older. 

Christina

McKayla’s Reward Jar

Watching my mom work in the child care profession has helped me notice different behaviors in McKayla. I started to notice that since her life was pretty all over the place due to her mom being sick and staying with this person and that person in the beginning (like her sisters were) it looks like she’s learned who she can get away with stuff with and who she can’t. Who will eventually give her, her way and who won’t. 

We let her go to her Nonno’s house for the weekend to spend some time with him and hang out with her friends in the area and we were told she was being really difficult over the weekend. She refused to eat whatever he made her and only wanted to eat cereal.  He obviously didn’t want her to go with nothing so he gave her what he know she would eat. 

The day we got her back she was eating dinner with us and just refused to eat period. She was holding food in her cheeks and just was being difficult. We never let her spit out what she had sitting in her cheeks we made her finish that but it was bed early that night.

I started looking online and came across this incentive jar that I thought might be a good idea to try with her. I was explaining to her that she was going to have privileges taken away from her because she was being bad and she asked why and I explained how in life people have to earn and work for things. I gave her examples of things people can earn and how they do it. So when I found this jar it sort of went along with what I feel reinforced my discussion with her over the dinner table about earning things.

I found this idea on pintrest, and the purpose for it is to focus on the GOOD things she does and reward her. I got a fishbowl and bought some fun pink stickers from the dollar store to write “McKayla’s Reward Jar” on it. She picked out the stickers and we stuck them on together and created this jar. Zio Steven cut a sponge fabric and placed it at the bottom of the bowl because it was glass and the marbles I bought were also glass. I couldn’t find any cool colour marbles so I  bought blue and white ones (2 bags). I’m not sure how many comes in a bag but it almost fills this fish bowl I bought. 

SO Zio Steven and I explained to McKayla that every time she does something she is suppose to without giving us a hard time she gets a marble. When ALLLLL the marbles are in her jar she gets a reward. We explained it can be a trip somewhere (ie the park, out to eat etc…” it can be a toy, or something new. I also told her that if she was bad we would take the marbles out and explained that if you don’t work hard to keep up the things you’ve earned you can lose them (just like in life). Some said maybe we shouldn’t take the marbles out but I feel like she’ snot a dumb girl and she will catch on that she can be bad and she won’t lose marbles she just won’t get any others to add. The whole point of this was to ensure she knew how to earn and work for things and know she’s got to always go it because in life if you don’t work hard and you drop the ball you lose things just as fast as you earn them. I don’t want her to scam to get what she wants to manipulate I want her to work hard and feel good when she finally achieves something she works hard for. I know this is something small but when they are this young YOU are in charge of shaping and moulding their brain. 

We started the jar on and so far so good. So far she has 12 marbles in her jar and she counts them every morning after breakfast. When she does things she’s suppose to we tell her how many marbles she can have and she takes them out of the marble container and puts them in her fish bowl. I also hope in the process it motivates her, I want her to want to do things, and want to be great. 

She also had picture day today, her mom didn’t order prints when she first had pictures done earlier this year probably because she was just so stressed and busy taking care of everything else with no help around the house it probably slipped her mind. So Spring Picture day was today and I really wanted her to look cute so we can hand out pictures to everyone since they were missed the last time. She wanted to wear her purple dress and “her high heels” as she would say!!! 

Today was also the book fair, all the parents/guardians were able to go to the school and buy the books their kids had seen. We called up Christina to see if she wanted to come with us and we all went together. McKayla and Lucas showed us where their library was and then showed us the books they wanted. So we bought everything and then obviously Steven and I saw some other books and picked them up too because we try and read to McKayla every night before she goes to bed. She’s starting to really recognize words and does read a long with us. I was looking for Robert Munch his books are

ALLLL ready for Picture Day!!!

really fantastic, and I found one called “Alligator Baby.” I’m excited to read them with her. We also saw a Tinkerball Poster which matches her room SO we picked that up too for behind her door and stuff.

See how the jar pans out, it’s only week one!! I want to pick up some stuff over the weekend if it’s nice and maybe paint some planters and plant some stuff with her. I told her we should make googly eye rocks for the harden or rock feet. She’s toally down to hunt down some rocks with me. Just need to pick up some glue and we are alllllll set!!! 

Christina

Here is the Pintrest Link Where I found the Jar

Here is an Article about the 5 Most Common (and Fixable) Feeding Mistakes Parents Make article that caught my attention too!!

 

Meet McKayla

I want you to meet McKayla

McKayla is a four year old (five in August) ball of fire! She’s in JK and her best friend is Lucas. She loves the colours purple and pink (they were her mommy’s favourite colours) and she loves her sisters. McKayla loves anything Hello Kitty and she loves to ask questions. If your talking to her some of her famous lines are “what does that mean,” “and then what,” and “can I see.”

Nothing gets past this girl and she usually retains a lot of the information you tell her. She’s very smart for four and is definitely aware of her surroundings!

Although her Nonno and Zia Melissa were doing a fantastic job having her stay there during the week (due to school) Steven and I felt it was important to have McKayla come and stay with us. I remember having a conversation telling Steven that we will be the ones to raise her so we have to start setting the expectation and structure according to US and what we need because soon it will just be us and her.

So we started to create a space for McKayla, one she can call her own so she knows she does have a home and won’t feel like she doesn’t really have anywhere to go. I mean so far what these girls have been through is a bit much and I’m sure most adults wouldn’t handle it as well as McKayla (and her sisters) have. My goal was to surround her with love and a comfy place where she feels just at peace (like she did when she was with her mommy).

Steven and I went to Ikea and picked out some pink and white furnature for her room. For two people who have never had kids to do this is pretty funny and sometimes I wish I could have vlogged it. The discussions we would have about a certain piece I swear we were in ikea for hours. We ended up picking up an armoire that had a place to obviously hang her clothes, a shelf on the top (where we put her shoes), and three drawers. The long big doors on the armoire are pink and the bottom drawers are white.

We also bought this organizer where she can keep stuffed animals, books, colouring stuff etc… The frame is white and the bins are pink and white. Even though we were in ikea forever that wasn’t the hard part. The harder part was trying to decide on sheets. When you have two people who have different ideas its hard to sometimes come to a middle ground, I guess something we are going to have to learn a long the way when it comes to co-parenting McKayla. We came to a compromise and picked out tinkerbell sheets, it went with everything we had got, as well as had some of her favorite colours and they are pretty cute sheets.

We saw a purple rug and figured it would be nice to have that at the foot of her bed so she can slip on her slippers instead of having her feet on hard floor. If you ask McKayla what the difference between a rug and a carpet is she will be able to tell you. Zio Steven explained it to her!!!!

It was hard organizing her stuff, some of it was at his house and some was at his dads, before we could get the stuff from his dads we needed to know what he already had at his house and we had to wait for Steven’s mom to gather everything up because she had it in places in the house so that was her task before we could organize.

When the room was pretty much put together (minus the pictures we wanted to get) we unveiled the room to McKayla who’s reaction was “WHAT THEEEeeee” (another famous McKayla saying). I think that was one of the only nights she was like “can I go to bed now, is it time for bed.” She was showing EVERYONE her room anyone that came in she was like “Hey you want to see me new room.”

We recently got pictures printed for her room so she is surrounded by fantastic memories and of the people who love her. I never want her to feel like she is alone in this just because her mom is gone. Steven had a fantastic idea when we were looking around for stuff, he suggested we get the word LOVE and put that as a center point and around it put the pictures of her, her sisters, and her mom. He suggested white frames because it would pop on the wall (which are fushia purple). At first I was unsure how it would look but we still bought everything, including butterflies that stick on the wall.

To me and I know a lot of other people butterflies symbolize new life, its amazing how they ca-coon and then fight their way out of the ca-coon and fly away. I feel like this is a new beginning for us and McKayla.

In the picture frames there is a picture of her with her sisters one of her and Gabby, her and Bella and then a picture of her with her mom when she was born and another one with her and her sisters and her mom. It was taken when stephanie was sick (just after the first time she was in the hospital). I’m not sure if there was a lot of pictures of Stephanie with the girls, I only know of the ones I have, and was able to get before things got bad. I would ask the father of her other two kids but I’m sure he won’t pick up his phone or return the phone call which is fine, like I said we will just have to now do things on a different root.

On another wall we are going to use these push pins we got at green earth and they have paperclips attached to them and we are going to do a collage of pictures and then butterflies too with them UNLESS we can find another cool word like FAMILY or something to use.

I gave away a lot of my stuffed animals to a womens shelter (for their kids) last year, but I kept some for McKayla and her sisters they were the ones that sort of had meaning to me that I wanted to give to them. McKayla has the stuffed animal steve gave me our first christmas dating back in like 2001 and in the pouch of the bear was a heart gold necklace (which i had no idea)! She has it sitting on her end table, and then I gave her a few of my small stuffies as well as a Kangaroo stuffed animal. Since Australia is a huge part of my life and its something that I was able to do and I absolutely love the country that stuffed animal means a lot to me also, so I wanted her to have it.

My best friends Ashley made a cute tinkerbell blanket for McKayla too. Leave it up to ashley to go the extra mile!!! At her baby shower I was saying she was so lucky to have a lot of hand made quilts and blankets for her baby and who amazing it is to have that stuff because it means more then something anyone can buy her. I guess she decided maybe McKayla should have the same thing!!!! So she made a fleece tinkerbell knot blanket for her. McKayla was so happy to have it and is excited for Ashley to have her baby!!!!

I think now I want to put a floating shelf on her wall so I can start getting books, McKayla loves to read with me before she goes to bed and its amazing to see how she is recognizing words. I help her sound them out I can’t even explain the feeling I have when I read her a story and tuck her in. I love watching Steven tuck her in too, its a different side of him I get to see before I even get engaged.

Like I said we are working a little backwards but this is the path life gave to me and I intend to go down it and do the best I can. I have such a great support system which makes it an even easier transition.

Christina

The Backwards Chapter

The Girls!

So my world has took a bit of a turn over the last few months something no one can prepare for and certainly an example of just grabbing those lemons life throws your way and making a great batch of lemonade. Then asking life if t wants a glass. 

As some of you may have heard/read my boyfriends sister passed away in February, no one can prepare for something like that. Cancer is definitely a disease I feel there is probably a cure for but not for the general public, so until then we have to watch people die and suffer from it every day.

I know I sat there for three solid months watching Stephanie stay strong but have Cancer eat away at her. There is a lot you can learn from someone after they pass and she is one of the strongest people I know (in her own way)! After she passed away there has been a lot of loose ends that need to be dealt with and tied up, a process that is taking forever to complete it seems. 

Stephanie had three little girls, a lot of you on my personal facebook has probably see the endless pictures of ALL three girls that I have posted and you can see Stephanie in ALL THREE! Although we only have one of the three, we have been trying to see the other two, but sometimes people don’t think and they just act. We were drilled for a lot and fingers have and still are being pointed but when it comes down to it Stephanie only really wanted one thing and that was for her girls to be together. Although they don’t live together I still felt this could be possible but again people don’t really think of the interest of the kids, as a matter of fact they feel the kids are better off. Again, a loose end we are now being forced to deal with in another way.

As much as I would love to talk about the other two, I haven’t seen them nor has Stephanie’s oldest McKayla since a week before her mother has passed away. I would love to blog about how much they are growing and reminding me of their mother every day, I would love to talk about how unique they are in their own way and post some funny pictures/video of them just being them but I can’t do that because we can’t see them (despite our efforts)! SO Until those loose ends are tied (AND I made a promise to Stephanie they WILL be tied) I can only talk about the one I have which is her oldest McKayla.

McKayla is now in our care and will legally be in our care in a week or so. I look at her everyday and see her sisters, I see her mom and it helps me cope with her mom being gone. 

I didn’t expect to have somewhat of a ready made family at the age of 28, I thought that this year was going to be my year. The year where I get engaged (as a lot of my family members have gotten married this year alone). I thought it was my year of grown and change but this wasn’t the change I was expecting.

When Stephanie was in the hospital, I was there I was able to have conversations with her about the girls and her soul purpose for not moving forward with who goes to who was because she was scared, she was scared of what would happen to

R.I.P Stephanie Pecile

her if she signed anything or even mentioned anything so she just did nothing. Before judging I wish I could tell you and show you what she went through. I don’t blame her I only wish she could have felt confident in what she was doing and know that nothing was going to happen to her for her actions. 

Explaining to McKayla that her mother died was probably one of the hardest things, I’m not really sure how I was able to use my faith and my spirituality to help her through it but I think I had a little help from her mom! 

I promised Stephanie that I would take care of those girls as they were my own and fight for what is right, and anyone who knows me knows I come from a close family, and when I promise something I will keep pushing forward regardless of how life tries to beat me down. SO whoever is on the other end of that better be just as prepared as I have already started the process.

In the hospital Stephanie looked at me and told me that she wasn’t worried about McKayla because she knew that she was okay with us, it was the other two she was worried about. It was a big thing to hear that she trusted me with her children. Now that she’s gone I look at McKayla (and when I see her sisters), my soul goal is to make sure I give them everything their mom wanted for them. I’m helping Stephanie finish the quest she was on with her kids. I only hope i can measure up and really have her be proud at the end of the day. Its hard raising someone else’s child knowing the outlook they had for them and making sure that you do all you can to make those dreams come true for the mother. 

My life this year has changed in the sense that I am taking care of someone who depends on me. She looks up to me and all I can do is guide her through life and try and steam roll over those barriers for her and make sure she grabs every opportunity that is available to her and her sisters. Make sure they have a better life then their mother and make sure that they use their gifts to their greatest advantage. 

I  was worried about what my family would think, I’m sort of working backwards a little bit, I know my mom and family want me to get married and have a family and I am determined to integrate the two regardless of how much work it is. It was a good feeling to have the army I have behind me, I had dozens of people write me letters letting a judge know WHY I am the right choice, I couldn’t believe the responses I was getting, you really know who your friends are when things like this happen. 

My family accepted McKayla as part of the family, you would never know she was new to them because everyone was just so accepting and welcoming and they can’t wait to meet the other two when the time comes. 

I thought I would blog about this new journey… Blog about the struggles of raising a child that isn’t yours by blood, and also the good and interesting times and what I learn a long the way. I found myself always posting pictures and ideas to the point where I sit down with girlfriends and they don’t want to talk about anything else they want to know how McKayla and her sisters are doing. EVERYONE can’t wait to meet her sisters, they feel they know a lot about them for how much we all talk about them including McKayla. It’s been hard for her and there are only so many things you can say to a 4 year old who asks a billion questions. I think she realizes its not our fault and understands she will see them when everything gets settled but it doesn’t make her miss them any less. Her mother died and she can’t see her sisters I’m sure she feels a little alone and I don’t blame her that is a lot to take in at the age of 4. SOOOO although my blogs will mostly be about McKalya it’s not because I love her more then the others it’s because she’s the one I see on a regular basis until everything gets settled and we take a different root to work it out. I love all those girls the same, Stephanie and everyone else knew it and despite what people say I know and have proof of what is right and I will just let the facts speak for themselves. 

Christina

Raped by 4 Women

I was listening to the morning show on Virgin Radio with Mad Dog and Maura, and they were talking about a news story about a 19 year old guy who was sexually assaulted by four females.

The women were all about 5’4 and about 200lbs (says the article), I guess they left with the guy after a night at the club.

Now, when talking about this story on air it was a bit of a lightened story, maybe because (like mentioned on the radio show) it’s a double standard. If it were a female sexually assaulted by four men I think the mood of the article would have been a bit different.

I know that it’s not all the time a guy comes forward saying “oh my girlfriend beat me” or “I was sexually assaulted”.  I feel like people assume men can handle their own and how can they LET someone just do that to them.  When it happens to a women its like they naturally assume money are the weaker of the sex which is why the articles and news stories on things like this involving women are a little more extreme.

What are your thoughts?

Here’s the Article

 http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/07/four-women-wanted-in-alleged-sex-assault-of-19-year-old-man-in-downtown-toronto/

-Christina

Showers and Weddings

Like I said in other blogs this year is FULL of baby’s and weddings, I have two only 4 weeks apart coming up later this summer but right now the showers, stags, and stag and does are approaching. Today was Alicia’s shower, it seems like not to long ago were we at Tania’s but it was ACTUALLY only 6 months ago. Time is just FLYING by its insane how fast things are coming up.

Alicia’s shower suited her, every picture, every piece of paper, right down to how on point (with times and activities). Alicia is very much like me and ensures there is a structure to anything she does, she makes sure to send out detailed emails and messages about the events and her expectations (as that is something I would do and have done).

Although this year is going to be a very expensive year with all these events coming up I am looking forward to seeing people like Alicia, Tania and my brother start this new chapter in their life. I’m also going to learn from their experiences and keep them in mind when I start my own journey (whenever that maybe.)

Alicia looked beautiful and she was glowing today as she should be. I felt honoured to be a part of her bridesmaid squad.

I believe when you pick your wedding party you should pick the people who have stood by you in one way or another and who will keep you calm in the stressful time of planning your wedding. They will be the people to have your back when dumb people are giving you grief, and when things go wrong they are there to make sure you keep it together.

So whenever I’m asked to be in a wedding party I always hope they are picking me for the right reasons not because they feel they have to, as I’m not one of those people who will get offended.

I’m glad everything went smoothly today!!!

Christina