We’re BACK!!!!

Whew! Been a long time since we've updated the blog. Lots has happened since June. Where shall I start?

Rest of June

Well, first of all, not long after Mike's birthday, we received the news that his grandmother had passed away. Mike, of course, was devastated; he adored his grandma. I did not know Lillian Sterling well or for long, but I liked her very much, and am saddened by the thought that I won't have the chance now to know her better. Mike's parents were away when it happened, so the service was scheduled for July to allow everyone to attend.

We attended the verbal arguments for the appeal regarding Mike’s custody of Jacob. It did not go well. We were advised that a decision could take days or weeks or months, no way to tell, we just have to wait. So we did. Agonizing!

Katie’s dad left for an out-of-town job right before Father’s Day.

July

We purchased season passes to the Orlando Science Center, and have taken the kids several times.  There’s more to do there than we can do in one day, but we do a different section every time.  Katie liked the Mr. Potato Head exhibit, Jacob was enthralled by the planet display.  We watched an interesting little rendition of a Dr. Seuss book that was edited to teach kids about the planets.  The dinosaur exhibit was also cool – the kids had fun pretending to “dig” for dinosaur bones.

On July 17th, the decision on the appeal came down, and the original custody determination was reversed and remanded back to the trial court. This means a new trial to determine custody for Jake.

Later that month, we drove down to Lehigh to attend the memorial service for Mike’s grandma. Lillian obviously had a large family who loved her, and she led a very full life. After Karen, Mike’s Mom and Lillian’s daughter, spoke about her, my loud-mouthed daughter Katie yelled out loud enough for the entire service to hear, “Good Job!”. I was so embarrassed, I wanted to crawl under my chair and deny I was related to the little town-crier. But everyone laughed, and though I was twelve shades of red, the memorial service resumed with a slideshow of pics of Lillian’s life. Joann, Mike’s sister, did a beautiful job with the slideshow, all of her hard work on it showed. Katie also felt necessary to comment on the slideshow, “That was a good movie, let’s do it again!”, but I don’t think everyone heard her that time. Note to self: purchase muzzle or gag for 3.5 year-old loud-mouthed daughter!

After the service, Mike’s family, all 30-something of them, and all of us met at the Macaroni Grill for lunch. In between the yummy bread and the meals, Mike picked up his knife and started tapping on his glass to get everyone’s attention. The knife had been used for buttering the bread, so I tried to stay out of the way of the bits of butter that were flying everywhere. I think I escaped most. Anyway, Mike’s reason for attracting the lime-light became clear when he began talking about our relationship and what I meant to him, then pulled out a black velvet box and, on bended knee, opened it to reveal a beautiful ring, then asked me to marry him.

I said yes. Didn’t I mention? - I’m no dummy. I know how lucky I am to have a wonderful man like Mike, who puts up with my occasional moodiness and loves me anyway, and who understands me sometimes when I don’t even understand myself. I said yes.

Add by Mike: She looked me deeply in the eyes and said yes. There was no hesitation, no question, no delay. I often tell Stephanie when we cuddle that sometimes I have a hard time feeling where I stop and she begins. That's exactly what I felt when I asked the question. I love you Sweetheart.