It's a Family Tradition

Throughout my whole life one thing has remained constant: family traditions. Through all of the hard times, I always knew that I could rely on one thing: family traditions. Traditions were what held my family together when everything seemed to be falling apart. Traditions played a vital role in my upbringing, and they now serve as the foundation for my life (apart from my relationship with God, of course). This past year has been a little hard on me, because I know it is the last year that I will be able to participate in "my" traditions. From June 5th on, Andrew and I will begin to create our own traditions. I know that we will each bring important aspects of tradition into our marriage, and I am excited to discover what traditions will define our marriage. I am so thankful that my family instilled such wonderful traditions into my life.

At my bridal shower, I received many wonderful gifts. As you have seen in previous blogs, I have received an awesome gift that is centered around my love for frugality, a blanket sewn out of love, and a scrapbook that is beyond touching. I also received a gorgeous decorative plate, lots of cookware, and other fun and sentimental items. One gift; however, touched me deeper than I ever thought possible. At my shower, Mom and Steve gave me the gift of tradition.

Let me explain...

Here I am reading the card from Mom and Steve. In the card, Mom explains that Grandma Kline instilled a strong sense of tradition in her life... and that she carried the torch when Grandma passed away... and now it is my turn to create my own traditions. Little did I know, I was about to open the most amazing gift.

Opening the box and wondering what could possibly be inside. I was clueless.

As soon as I opened the box, my eyes were drawn to the Christmas package. Christmas has always been the most importany holiday in my life. At this point, I was still unaware of the sentimental value of this gift.

As I opened the Christmas package, I suddenly realized what Mom had put together. This packaged included It's a Wonderful Life, Nativity Story, my baby ornament, my favorite ornaments from Mom's tree (one was handcrafted by my Grandma Kline), baking sheets, How the Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack... and many other items that are important in our celebration of Christmas.

Here, holding the soundtrack, it sinks in. I turned and all I could say was, "MOM!" The tears started flowing, and I could not stop them.

After receiving a tissue from my niece, I eagerly began to dig deeper.

Here I am holding the Halloween package that includes a table cloth, a ceramic pumpkin, and other fun items.

I found the birthday table cloth, banner, and candles... all items that Mom made sure to use for each birthday.

Here I am admiring my childhood Easter basket filled with The Passion, dye for Easter eggs, and other Easter goodies.

Mom even threw in a little piece of Door County, Wisconsin! Door County is a vacation favorite, and it is where Andrew and I will spend our honeymoon. She filled an ice cream money bank with quarters for the jukebox at Wilson's and attached postcard stamps! I guess I'll be writing home on my honeymoon!! : )

Valentine's Day... haha... I must admit, this package DOES contain one of my favorite books... All the Places to Love.

New Years Eve... Sparkling grape juice! Yum!

Along with all of these items, I also received an "Outdoor Fun" package, a "Thanksgiving"package, and a "4th of July" package. These packages included items such as, and ice cream maker, a dutch oven with cherry cobbler ingredients, fireworks, a Thanksgiving platter, and a paper turkey. All of these items hold special meaning to me and my family. Every item that Mom included in this gift were items that played an important role in our celebration of each holiday.

My precious mom, also with tears in her eyes, watches as I open each of the gifts. She outdid herself with this gift. It has left an imprint on my heart, and I will never forget opening this gift. A week later, I still get teary eyed just thinking about it.

Hugging my special momma! She did an excellent job teaching me the importance of God, family, and traditions. I know that she created a solid foundation for me to begin my own family on. I thank God each and every day that He allowed me to have such a great family... even if things were a little rocky at times.

Here I am with Steve- a man who has been such an imporant person in my life. He understands the value of tradition, and he has helped Mom create a lifetime of memories for us kids. He is perfect for my mom, and I am blessed to have him in my life!

And finally...

... here I am with the man I will begin my future with. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him, and I am so excited to see what traditions our family will create. I hope that we do as great of a job with our children as our families did with us. We are both blessed beyond belief with the families God gave us. God has never let us down, and I know that God will continue to guide our future.

With God, our families, and the traditions and beliefs our families instilled us with, I know that we will have a wonderfully blessed marriage!

I love you, Mom and Steve! Thank you for the PERFECT gift, but more importantly, thank you SO much for everything you have done for me. I am so blessed to have you as my parents!

I LOVE YOU!