Mr. and Mrs. Big Sister.

Today I am grateful for frogs.

What's that old saying? "You have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince." or something like that?

well, let's just say that my sister has kissed a A LOT a few frogs. well, to be fair i haven't actually really disliked any of her boyfriends (okay so there was one really horrific one but we don't really talk about him..), they just weren't...the one. and then a couple years ago my sister met Garrin.

and you could just tell right away that he was different.

first of all he met Theresa, my niece, for the first time at chuck e. cheese. he also happened to be meeting my children and i for the first time that day as well.

if you don't know this, chuck e. cheese is hell. it's where Dante and his friends hang out. it's where happiness goes to die.

but Garrin was a champ. he handled the whole thing beautifully, played with Theresa and my kids, was super calm and patient. for a man without his own children it was definitely impressive to watch. and i could tell by watching my sister watch him, if she wasn't already falling in love with him, she was after that.

and they've been together ever since.

the last two years haven't been easy for them. not because of their relationship, but because Garrin is in the Navy. so he's gone. like 95% of the time. I know that my sister misses him like crazy, but she knew exactly what she was getting into by dating a military guy, and i'm always impressed by her strength to stay sane when she doesn't see him for months.

last year at Christmas time I remember my sister starting to freak out a little bit. Garrin was acting strange. she was worried that maybe Garrin was changing his mind about her. maybe he wasn't quite sure that he could handle all of her crazy and her having a child. turns out he was just acting weird cause he was nervous about popping the question. I still remember my brother looking at his phone and saying "Is that a ring?" because my sister had texts us all pictures of her ring after he asked her. and i remember all of us freaking out and calling her to wish them all the best.

a little over a year later, Stephanie and Garrin were married today at my house in a very small ceremony that my brother officiated.

They still plan on having a big(ger) wedding at some point, my sister has a gorgeous wedding gown that she would like to get to wear, but for some logical and a few non-logical reasons, the two got hitched today so that they could be officially married.

and while it was a very small ceremony, it was still very beautiful and meaningful. and full of love. i'm always grateful for days full of love.

but most importantly i am so grateful for how happy my sister was. at 26 years old, today, she married someone that she loves unconditionally. and he loves her and her daughter just the same. i'm grateful that the three of them have this little family now. and even though there will be ups and downs, it will all be so worth it.

so here's a big congratulations to my big sister, Stephanie, and her new husband Garrin. I wish you every single happiness. and i'm glad that you don't have to kiss anymore frogs.

Thanks for reading!

Lana