Pagel Girls

Here's a picture of Ryan's mom and me on my wedding day. Ryan gets his beautiful smile from her. It's been fun getting to know her. I remember the first time Ryan told me about her...I was probing for details...anything...what's she like, what color are her eyes, ect...He wasn't much for details. He said, "I think brown." Hmm. When I asked him what things she's good at, he said, "Man, my mom never misses anything. She's good at remembering things and she does stuff like hanging wallpaper and little home projects." Suddenly in my mind, the shoes I had to fill became like snow shoes--I could just see myself clumsily tripping around...and me, hanging wallpaper? What a potential catastrophe! So, I already began to appreciate her before we even met!
So, I met Sharon when Ryan and I were already engaged. She did really well transitioning to mother-in-law, especially considering that Ryan didn't give much notice beforehand on his feelings for me. She's raised 4 boys, (well, 5 including Kim!) and all of them are just as sweet as pie, very cordial, intellegent, and handsome; however, they're still yucky boys and sometimes you just need a girl to talk to! Boys simply don't understand some things. She's done so well, having survived in a house full of them!
I like to call her and just talk...you know, for the sake of talking. There doesn't have to be a reason. She really loves the Lord and she loves to share her experience of Christ with me, which is above all, most precious in our relationship. We pray together about stuff and she's been sharing her experience of her many years of marriage, which is very much appreciated. She's always busy, taking care of people's needs. (She can work circles around me!)
Well, I'm not exactly filling those aforementioned snow-shoes, but I don't think I have to. (Whew!) Sharon and I have a lot in common anyway--we both love Ryan! And, we love musicals, and one day, we'll leave the boys behind and go out to see Phantom or My Fair Lady and drink coffee and eat chocolate in tribute to simply being Pagel girls.