Direction update if coming from the WEST!!

To anyone comign from the WEST, there was one sentence missing from the directions that were given in the invitation.  These are the correct directions below.  The sentence that was missing is highlighted in green. 

Directions to St. Hubert Catholic Church from the West:
From I-90 East (coming from Rockford/Madison), exit at IL-59 (toll). Turn left (north) onto IL-59 (Sutton Road). Go 0.7 miles and turn right (east) onto Higgins Road (Rte. 72). Go 5.7 miles to Grand Canyon Parkway and turn right. (This is shortly after passing Golf Road.) Go approximately ½ mile. Church is on your left.

Sorry for the inconvience, hope everyone gets there safely!  Can't wait to see you all!

Wedding Par-tay! (male edition)

Best Man
Shawn Meyer - Josh and Shawn met in college.  They both went to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and were in the same Fraternity (TKE).  Shawn's nickname is "B," so that was all I knew him as for a while.  Since I don't really like people calling Josh by his nickname I made sure to try and call Shawn by his real name as much as I can. 

Groomsmen
Ivan Brown - Another one of Josh's frat brothers.  Ivan has both punch and kissed my brother one right after the other.  It was a weird day.  But seriously, Ivan is a great guy who would do anything for Josh (and at this point me since Josh loves me!)

Dan Marta - Yet another frat brother, Dan is sometimes called "Dr." because his middle inital is "R." Interesting, Dan and his wife grew up in Hoffman Estates and went to the "other" high school in the town that I grew up in.  Dan's wife is also expecting a baby!  Congrats Dan and Jessi!

Matt Hanley - This is a brother of a different variety, mine.  Matt is pretty much the best brother a girl could ask for.  While not much of a fighter, Matt would have made an effort to beat up anyone who had ever tried to hurt me.  Once I thought he was going to try to attack a golfer who's ball came close to hitting me.  He has been someone I could rely on and look up to from the tiem I was born until right now. 

Ushers
Dan Jankiewicz - Josh's brother and the father of the Lily (the flower girl) and Oren (the ring bearer)

Kevin Jankiewicz - Josh's cousin.  They went to high school together and Josh and I went to Kevin and his wife Jen's wedding when they had just started dating. 

Michael Majewski - My cousin, who I always used to call my "little" cousin.  now he has graduated from college and teaches 4th grade, I guess I should stop calling him little now...

Congrats Allison and Scott Fornander!

And so the wedding season rolls on!  Josh and I went to Allison and Scott's wedding this past Friday.  The day and the ceremony were beautiful, and the party was awesome!  Once again, a good time was had by all!  Congrats Scott and Allison!

The wedding par-tay!! (female addition)

So, with the wedding quickly approaching, there is no time like the present to introduce all the people who will be right up there with Megan and Josh.  So, here are my lovely ladies...

The Matron of Honor - Sara Burton

Sara is my cousin.  Fortunately for me, I come from a family that believes in seeing each other as much as humanly possible and Sara is only one year younger than me.  We have been friends since the first time we met, which neither of us remember since we were both under two years old.  Here are some highlights of our memories together:

-jumping on the bed in Door County

-putting on plays for our family during holiday parties

-staying at the Miraval spa in Arizona (thanks Oprah!)

-meeting her beautiful daughter, Elaina

Bridesmaids:

Sara Schooley - Sara lived next door to me my whole life young life.  We were in the same class throughout elementary school.  As our lives have gone on, we have gotten farther apart, with her in Milwaukee, Virginia, and then Oregon, and me in Kenosha.  Sara is one of those people that no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other, or even talked to each other, it really doesn't matter.  It's like we just saw each other.  Also, Sara is getting married in Oregon this summer!

Morgan Jankiewicz - Morgan is Josh's sister.  When Josh and I first started dating, he asked me if I wanted to go out with his sister.  I, of course, said sure.  We had a great time and to be honest it was that day that I knew that Josh and I were going to be something special.  Family is important to me, so it was great to see that it was important to him too.  Morgan is also a very talented artist and made the jewelry that all the girls will be wearing on the big day!  Make sure to take a look!

Lynne Hanley - Lynne is my sister-in-law.  She and my brother got married two years ago, and I couldn't be happier to call her my sister.  I'm glad that I finally have a sister and she couldn't be a better match for my brother.  She is also a great teacher and has been a great person for me to go to with all my "career" questions.  You also might see her with my wonderful nephew, Mark!

Jr. Bridesmaid

Kalli Majewski - Kalli is my cousin.  She has been a part of many weddings in her life, so she is practically a pro.  For this wedding she has been "promoted" from flower girl to bridesmaid, as Josh says.  She is a really amazing kid who is constantly involved with some kind of charity.  Most of these projects, from selling cookies to earn money to buy toys for the children's hospital, to cutting her hair off for St. Baldricks foundation, she comes up with on her own! 

Congratulations Kyle and Jenna Kaneiss!

Megan and Josh would like to send our well wishes to Kyle and Jenna, who celebrated their marriage this weekend!  It was a beautiful day and Josh and I certainly enjoyed some wonderful singing and dancing!

Girls night!

Last Saturday night was one of those that reminded me what great friends I have.  My LAST NIGHT OUT!!  Well, not really my last night out, just a really great excuse for me to go out with the girls.  While there, is of course, no photos of this night either, I can tell you that I had a really great time.  We started with dinner at Cafe Barareeba in Chicago and continued on to have a great time Howling at the Moon!  Thanks so Sara (my cousin and Matron of Honor) and Lynne (my sister-in-law and bridesmaid) for all the work they did setting everything up for me.  It was just the thing that I needed!!  and there is no photos of what went on...  right?

Two showers un one month, but I don't even smell!! (Wait, be maybe I do...)

So, I think that I have finally been able to process the last part of our very busy weekend.  So, if you have been paying attention, the schedule for the weekend was Bachelor party on Friday, Wedding on Saturday, and I thought sleep and recover and relax on Sunday.  Then Grandma called.  My grandma is an amazing woman and an amazing seamstress.  She will be making the veil for my wedding day and on Saturday she asked if I could come down on Sunday afternoon and help her figure out things she needed to get started.  (length, what netting and beads I liked...) Since this didn't fit into my relax on Sunday plan, I suggested we meet on Monday after school.  That was not going to work for Grandma, she needed to get started now!  Well, I can't really argue with Grandma, so I agreed. 

So, when I arrive at my Grandmas (in jeans and a polo shirt) and she opens the door, I suddenly knew that this wasn't really about a veil.  I could see Josh standing in my grandma's kitchen in the reflection of a mirror in my grandma's house.  And I thought cops were always aware of their sight lines... 

After that, the day was filled with one surprise after another!  A group of people were there to surprise me at my Grandma's house, my mom had clothes for me to wear, so that I didn't have to continue on in the jeans and polo, there were a ton more people waiting for me at the clubhouse of my grandma's complex.  Even my Aunt Maryanne and cousin Kait had flown in all the way from New York to be there!  The rest of the day was kind of a blur and it has taken until two weeks later to remember all the details. 

There was an ice cream theme to my shower, complete with ice cream bar (which included NERDS!!  my favorite!!).  Every detail was absolutely perfect.  There were more pictures of me eating ice cream than I knew existed decorating the room, an ice cream crossword to see how much people knew about Josh and I, ice cream flavored Jelly Bellies (from the Kenosha Jelly Belly factory), and a game with ice cream cone head pictures on Josh and I.  I know that every member of my family, especially my mom, my Aunts Nancy and Shelley, my sister-in-law Lynne, and my cousins Sara (and baby Elaina!) and Kalli, did a tremendous amount of work to make this day special for me and they definitely got every detail exactly right.  It was a wonderful day that is still just sinking in. 

Thanks to everyone who was there to celebrate with Josh and I and thanks for all the wonderful presents.  It was great to get a chance to see everyone, even if I didn't feel like I had enough time to see or talk to anyone in particular.  I was truly surprised I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!

Congrats Craig and Jenelle Seubert!

On Saturday, Team J celebrated the marriage of Josh's friends Jenelle and Craig.  It was a wonderful day to celebrate such a great couple.  Josh and I will be looking to the two of you to see how a marriage between a Cubs and Brewers fan can really work! 

A party for the boys...

So, it was a crazy weekend for Team J, so it will be coming to you in parts.  The first part is Friday.  Josh's bachelor party.  The Plan was golfing, Brewers, and off to the Milwaukee bars.  My plan was to spend the night with my cousin Sara, baby Elaina, my Sister-in-law Lynne, and my nephew Mark.  Both of their husbands were off with my husband-to-be. 

While there is no photo or video footage of what happened while the boys were out, Sara, Lynne, and Megan got some interesting text messages.  Here are some of the texts that I received...

"Did Josh always have a scar over his eye?"

"The paramedics want to know if Josh is an organ donor."

"Don't wish to alarm you, but what is Josh's blood type."

Luckily I know my family and my fiance very well and I knew that all of these were jokes.  The one that Lynne got about checking the fine for streaking at the baseball game was, I wasn't quite sure.  I guess only the boys will know which ones were true and which ones were not.  I do know that a good time was had by all!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ok, so I'm a few days late, but we wanted to honor some important people.  So, in the wedding style, on the left is Josh's mom on her wedding and on the right is Megan's mom.  We wouldn't be anywhere without the two of you.  Can't wait to share our big day (and the rest of our lives) with both of you. 

 

I also want to take this moment to mention two wonderful moms celebrating their first Mother's day as moms!  My sister-in-law Lynne and my adorable nephew Mark who was born in September.  On the right is my cousin Sara with her beautiful daughter Elaina.  You will be hearing more about these wonderful women later on.  Mark and Elaina are so lucky to have such wonderful parents!

A Shower!? But I already took one this month!

So, I was under the impression that Josh couldn't lie to me.  He has been known to give away presents at Christmas time on more than one occasion.  I was wrong.  This past weekend I was told that I was celebrating Mother's Day with Josh's mom.  I was told that she was going to be out of town this weekend, so we were going to brunch at Bombay Louie's a week early.  I was even told that I could wear jeans.  Thank goodness I didn't.

When Josh and I got to Bombay Louie's on Sunday afternoon, I found out that Mamma Jankiewicz was really planning a surprise shower for me!  We had a great afternoon eating a wonderful brunch, getting to know all of my new family.  It was so great to take a day to relax and enjoy the company of some wonderful women!  We also got some very wonderful gifts from our very generous friends and family.  Josh's favorite is probably the Dyson vaccuum.  Josh loves gadgets and toys and I love the fact that he will now have a toy that will keep our home clean!  Thanks to all our friends and family for the wonderful gifts and spending the day with us!

Get the party started!!

So, once Josh and Megan have official become husband and wife, the party can officially start! Cocktails will start at 5:30 and the happy couple will be arriving sortly after that to get the festivities underway! Then, there will be much dancing, laughing (only with people, of course!), and making merry!

The festivities will all be taking place at Medinah Banquets in Addison, IL.

Some things that you will notice about the hall:

- It is beautiful and has enough space to dance the night away

- It is owned by the Shriners and therefore contains some Shriners memorabilia in the common areas.

So, you might be wondering, what exactly is a Shriner? You might be thinking, sure, I have seen the Shriners riding around in their little cars and flying carpets in my local parade, but what exactly do they do? Well, Megan found herself thinking the same thing.

Here are some things that she has found out.

-Shriners wear funny hats (called a fez), like this guy -------->

- They really do ride the funny cars in the parades
<------ like these guys

- The Shriners are a great organization that helps thousands of children. The organization runs 22 hospitals around the world. They began treating children with orthopedic problems, but have expanded since then.

- When a child is admitted to a Shriners hospital, the family is not expected to pay anything for the medical care and one way that they earn money for these hospitals is by running banquet halls.

- While Megan and Josh don't know any Shriners personally, here are some Shriners that everyone might know.

Buzz Aldrin, star of Dancing with the stars! (Oh and he did something else pretty significant, too)

Douglas MacArthur, military leader during World War II and the namesake of Megan's elementary school

Here is the church...

At this point you might be thinking to yourself, Megan has told us a lot of random things, but nothing really that important. Well folks, that is all about to change!!



Josh and Megan will be getting married at St. Hubert catholic church in Hoffman Estates, IL.





This is the church that Megan's family has gone to since they moved to the house that Megan grew up in. She made her first communion, reconciliation, and confirmation at St. Hubert and has a ton of good memories being involved with Youth Group during high school.

While the church as changed a lot since Megan was a girl, the new church is beautiful and Josh and Megan are very excited to complete the most important part of the day at St. Hubert!

The food

So, after two delays, we finally tasted the food that we will be serving on the big day.

Megan's main focus was on potatoes and veggies. She used to choose to go to Old Country Buffet when she was a kid just so that she could have a plate of potatoes and now it was a wedding task to be checked off!?! It was great!! Luckily for you, the other participants had a slightly wider focus, so there will also be meat on your plates...

The chicken choice will be (drum roll) Herbed Lemon Chicken. Josh couldn't stop talking about this one!

The beef choice will be... Roast Sirloin! This Megan really enjoyed, very tender and tasted fantastic!

There will also be a steamed vegetable, pasta, marinara sauce combination for all of those who prefer not to have meat!

So, now you can all eat, drink, and watch us be married!

Now a few thoughts on ice cream...

You may be wondering why Megan would choose to write about ice cream in February, or why as a grown up, she would write about ice cream at all. Well, first of all, it is not just ice cream, but Dairy Queen ice cream. Megan's parents taught her to love it. She in turn passed that love on to Josh. On thier second date they went to DQ to try the new Kit-Kat blizzards (which neither of us really liked). Since then there have probably been hundreds of trips to DQ. Josh will be Megan's family, after all, and he needs to know all about the greatness of (and Megan's slight obsession with) DQ.

Why then, is Megan writing about it in February? Because a few days ago the best Dairy Queen in Kenosha (22nd Ave. try it if you don't believe!) opened for the 2010 season. Josh introduced Megan to it shortly after they started dating. Since then, Megan and Josh would generally be there on day one, getting a small cup of chocolate ice cream or perhaps an oreo blizzard, but Megan is still longing for her first taste of the season. Why might she be making this sacrific? For Josh, of course. They will be getting ice cream on Saturday, when their schedules finally intersect for the week. While the wait has Megan missing the choclate ice cream, she knows sharing even the little things with my best friend always makes them sweeter!

A whole new year

So, just about three weeks ago, December was coming to a close. Josh graduated from the police academy and started officially working for the Racine Police Department. I was frantically buying, wrapping, and spreading holiday cheer.

Josh and I had a great Christmas, celebrating in both Wisconsin and Illinois. We then had a fantastic New Years, ringing it in with my "Sara cousin" and her husband Tripp (and me imitating the Beatles on Rockband) in their adorable new home. And then...

I came to the startling realization that it is now 2010 and Josh and I are getting married in 2010. I was filled with a mix of excitement and panic. Excited because in just a little over 6 months I will be Josh's wife and he will be my husband, but panicked because there is a lot to still do. So, while it has taken me a few weeks, I have some resolutions:

1. Get married. That's right, this will be the year I get married and maybe even become an adult.

2. Focus on the excitment and less on the panic. The first thing I have done towards this goal is buy a planner and remember to take things one step at a time. It is helping, so far...

First up: We will be tasting food on Wednesday at 6:30 pm, and I will probably fast until then so that I can try as much as possible!