My daughter told me...

My wonderful twenty-something daughter told me she started a blog yesterday. How cool is it that we are both creating words on a page at the same time? We are often connected like that. I haven't figured out how to get her blog connected to my blog yet, because she's using a different blog world....open salon.com. I'm still exploring the choices available here at blogger.com.

This is me and Ben enjoying a day on the Pacific Ocean while visiting Kauai last week. Ben and I met in May of 2000 at a singles dance. It was the last song of the night and he finally got the courage to ask me to dance. Isn't that adorable? Thankfully, I had the nerve to say "yes!" Ben and I enjoy exploring new worlds together and have traveled throughout the United States and Europe. Kauai is a wonderful place to visit. Mahalo to the captain and crew of the Blue Dolphin for a fabulous day on the ocean. As promised, there were many whale sitings and lots of dolphins to play with!

In March 2008 Ben and I toured China. We explored Beijing, a flurry of pre-Olympic construction; Xi an, where we were awed by the Terra Cotta Warriors; Guilin, where we sailed the Li River; and the beautiful city of Shanghai. Ben asked me to marry him while we were climbing the Great Wall of China. I said Yes! Many thank you's to our tourguide, Mark, our city tour guides Stella and Peter, and the people at Colette Tours for a fabulous introduction to Asian culture, including both the current and the ancient worlds.

In mid-November we decided it was time to set a date and that sooner worked better than later. Most important to us was having all four of our children with us for this occasion. November 29th we had a lovely ceremony with our children and our fathers present. When the minister said "who gives these two to be wed?" we turned to them all and said, "this is where you get to say YOU DO!"

Shown here: George (my Dad); Jennifer (my daughter), Mark and Ashlee (Ben's daughter); Tamara and Ben; Bill and Melissa (Ben's daughter); Fred (Ben's Dad); Daryl (Ben's son).

Thank you to Jennifer, my Maid of Honor; to Matthew (Jen's boyfriend), for playing photographer, and to my brother Ben for making the movie. And a special thank you to Pastor Margaret at Zwingli Church in East Berlin for what she termed "a dear ceremony." We agree completely!

Thank you also to Country Hearth Florists for reading my mind on the flowers - they were lovely! - to Scott & Co. Jewelers for getting the rings in on time and to the folks at Inn 94 for a fabulous dinner. And an extra big smile with a thank you to the Colemans for their thoughtfulness in providing a cute and scrumptious cake!

At the end of the day, the word is: Cheers!