I am thankful for…
nights that turned into mornings,
friends that turned into family,
and dreams that turned into reality.*
As I spend time this week with some bestie friends that have become like family…
and got to experience this sunrise yesterday morning on the beach…
I thought it apropos to share this quote I found that resonates so deeply with me.
Wishing all of this and more for you as well.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
On July 4th, Hubby and I went to our First Jewish Wedding.
Thanks to our dear friends, Pam and Glenn, who we met 17 years ago on a plane to Puerto Rico, we have learned and experienced so many wonderful traditions and celebrations in the Jewish culture.
Pam (who we fondly refer to as “Bub” or even more affectionately “the Bubster”), has exposed us to and invited us to join them in bar mitzvahs (both of her sons and her dear hubby), bat mitzvah (their daughter), Passover (with family and friends), Chanukah (gifts and foods and cards), and now, one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies we have ever attended.
We have watched Kyle grow into an amazing young man, and we have fallen in love with sweet Anna along with Kyle. Theirs is a love that was destined to be despite the difference in religious backgrounds. You see, Kyle is Jewish and Anna was raised Catholic. (Much like Pam and Glenn where Pam was Jewish and Glenn was Catholic). The wedding ceremony for both, however, was a Jewish ceremony. This was a Reformed Jewish Temple and Ceremony as opposed to Orthodox, so I’m sure there may be many differences that I am not educated enough in the religion to discuss.
But I thought I would share what a beautiful ceremony Kyle and Anna celebrated and the deep, beautiful meaning behind the symbolism.
The structure that Kyle and Anna stood under on the altar – along with both sets of parents, Best Man and Maid of Honor – is called a Chuppah. The chuppah symbolizes the first home for the new couple. It is open on all sides to welcome family and friends who will support the couple as they begin their life together. It was beautiful to hear them recite their own, hand-written, very personal and very endearing vows to each other.
The heart of the Jewish wedding ceremony is The Seven Wedding Blessings. Themes of joy and celebration and the power of love are expressed while the number 7 reminds all of the seven days of creation. The first blessing begins with Kiddush and the final blessing culminates with the image of the community singing and celebrating with the bride and groom.
Anna and Kyle created a very special Ketubah in a photo of the two of them with many special words on it. Ketubah means that which is written and was an ancient contract – written in Aramaic (the language of the time) – as a guarantee of monetary compensation in the event of the dissolution of the marriage. In present day, the Ketubah represents emotional love, trust and commitment to one another. The Ketubah is signed by the couple and witnesses prior to the actual wedding ceremony.
The Kiddush is the blessing over the wine. The first cup symbolizes the cup of life to be shared together. This blessing is combined with the ancient betrothal part of the ceremony. Laurel Barr, the Officiant of the Wedding, who was also the cantor for Kyle’s bar mitzvah over a decade ago, performed the ceremony in such a sweet and humorous and personal way that all of us there could not help but share in the joy.
I loved how the whole ceremony involved both families the entire time culminating with hugs and prayers,
and wrapping Kyle and Anna in Kyle’s bar mitzvah prayer shawl. It truly brought tears to my eyes.
And, of course, the ceremony concluded with the ancient tradition of breaking the wine glass. The meaning of this is somewhat controversial. One common explanation is that breaking the glass is a symbol of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Also, the shards of glass are plentiful, and this can represent the hope for abundant happiness in life.
The long-awaited kiss was welcomed with cheers and tears and smiles.
Here is the happy couple.
And our dear, sweet Bubby and Glenn ❤
followed by Kyle’s sister, Ally,
and brother, Bryan. All smiles as they joyfully welcome our beloved Anna into the family.
The reception was so much fun! We were immediately greeted with a SWEET candy bar featuring bowls full of favorites,
and take-out containers for midnight snacks.
Though there was no cookie table as is tradition in our Pittsburgh/Mars region, there were plenty of sweet treats between the candy
and the beautiful cake and pastries.
We had a very special table. The BEST table at the wedding! Table #14.
Table #14 featured a picture of Kyle at 14 years old (as well as one of Anna on the other side at 14). This was the year our families had a Football bet between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, who were vying in the playoffs for the Super Bowl position. The family bet was that whoever’s team won had to send all their team’s paraphernalia they owned (sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, towels, etc.) to the other family – and that family had to wear it to work and school one day that week. Well, our dear Griffith family lost – but they sure had fun with it. In fact, they made us a complete album of photos with each of them wearing their Steelers shirt or hat in school, with their class mates, with their work friends, even a family photo of them “mooning” us in their shirts! (You’ll have to visit to see that one!)
This one at Table #14 was Kyle pretending to flush our sacred Steelers Terrible Towel down the toilet!
It was fun to watch them do a traditional Hora chair dance where the groomsmen carried each of them up high and everyone danced around them. Kyle recorded the whole thing with his GoPro.
And we all hooped and hollered! And I danced well beyond 20,000 steps on my FitBit that evening!
The day after, Mother of the Bride and Mother of the Groom just happened to show up at breakfast in coordinating black and white chevron outfits – and matching smiles!
And when I expressed to the family that this was our first Jewish Wedding, Anna, the new bride, said,
“Me too!”
We smiled and hugged.
Thanks for letting us be part of it dear Griffith and Genova family!
We love you!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
What a fun Fourth of July Holiday Weekend we had!
I am just catching up after a great picnic in Conneaut Lake with family and friends…
a couple hours of sleep at the best “Brugnoli B&B”…
then off to Cleveland to to celebrate a wedding with more wonderful friends!
So today, I’m sharing a little photo journal of the fun festivities we had the great pleasure of being a part of at The First Annual Lake Park Bash!
And I’m guessing, it will not be the last!
I hope you will join me in reminiscing on the fun gathering.
We were greeted by an “Uncle Sam” Scarecrow
and festive decorations in red, white and blue.
Those who arrived by boat, were greeted by a salute from George himself
and directed with arrows to point the way to the party.
One you got near, the smell of smoking chickens, pork, lamb, and beef permeated the perfect summertime breeze.
And an ice cream truck offered sweet treats to satisfy every child….
and every grown up
with delectable, cool, creamy yumminess.
There was plenty of beer…
and “Crappie White” wine
and “Chewed Alive Red,” and even a special Fraternity Brother Blend!
There were games galore –
like Kerplunk,
and Bocci Ball,
and Corn Hole,
and pickle ball,
and putt putt.
There were crafts
and hula hoops
and music
and dancing.
There were families
and friends
and lots and lots of hugs,
and even High Fives!
Puppies joined in on the fun.
New talents were discovered…
and serious discussions were had.
There were private little chats,
and twinkle lights when the day grew dim.
And the day didn’t end until early the next morning
with bonfire songs sung with guitar and fiddle.
It was a great Bash on the Lake Park cul-de-sac.
Thanks to the members of “da hood” for allowing us to be a part of it!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Do you have a favorite place or space in your home?
One of my favorite spaces in our home is the family bookshelf.
It’s kind of center stage in the great room commanding half of one wall measuring about 8 feet wide by 9 feet tall.
Hubby custom built this a few years after we built our house.
My “usual” seat on the couch directly faces this “memory box,” and sometimes I just stare at all the memories while hubby is staring at the television or the latest book he is reading in the evening.
It’s filled with so many favorite things…
There are a lot of family photos – some from a long time ago and some more recent…
Like our oldest son at 4 years old playing a toy saxophone and then a framed newspaper clipping of him playing a saxophone solo in the high school band. There’s one of him and his beautiful wife – our beloved daughter-in-law. There’s one of him and his Dad with a cake they made for a Cub Scouts competition and one in his “cap and gown” at his preschool graduation.
There are photos of our youngest son dressed in his favorite Halloween costume that he wore two years in a row when he was Peter Pan at 4 and 5 years old, in his football uniform for midget football, sticking his tongue out with his Dad and brother on a summer trip to Cedar Point Amusement Park, grinning at me at his preschool graduation, with me at a Kindergarten party where I was his homeroom mom, and with his sweet girlfriend now.
There is a photo of my hubby with his sister when they were young children… a sister and aunt who we loved dearly and lost way too early from cancer.
And there is a photo of my father-in-law taken on his last day on this earth when he was blessed with a surprise visit from a favorite niece from far away who he hadn’t seen in years. It is such a sweet memory to see him so happy just hours before he left us. We will never be able to express enough gratitude to this sweet lady for the joy she brought him that special day.
There are photos of friends and fun times, like a trip to Hawaii with our besties and holiday celebrations with all of our kids.
There are a few books, some significant, some not… There are high school yearbooks, photo memory books, bibles, favorite children’s books – like our very favorite bedtime read-aloud story book – “Bob and Jack – A Boy and his Yak.” There are baby books for each of the boys and a special memory book made by my cousin Joyce and given to me at Christmas featuring my first year blogging at LifeinBetween.me. There are books read at book club and business books and bird books and favorite fiction authors. There is a copy of the book I wrote and had bound as a gift to my Dad for our second Christmas together after reuniting. Our wedding photo albums sit on one of the shelves.
Then there are other sweet memorabilia, like our youngest son’s stuffed animal “Curious George” who he loved so dearly as a child and slept with every night.
There is the birthday bear my Dad sent me on my first birthday after we reunited after too many years apart with a sweet note saying, “Happy Birthday Jodi, My Little Girl. Love you, Dad.”
It was my 48th birthday.
And there is the little trinket box he gave me that says, “Daughter – With all the Beauty on the Earth, there is nothing more Beautiful than you.”
There’s a statue of a yellow lab that was my father-in-law’s sweet memory of his beloved “Brandy.”
There’s a cruise ship trophy our oldest son won singing Karaoke on a cruise with his now wife on a family vacation he went on with her family.
There are “Friends” blocks given to me from my BFF.
There is a photo album of our Cleveland friends wearing Pittsburgh Steelers shirts and poses too explicit to share here after they lost a family bet during a rival football playoff season.
There is a gorgeous painting from a faraway friend who suffered from a life-altering traumatic brain injury that completely changed her life and turned a corporate CEO into an artistic genius and a genuinely beautiful creative inspiration. I bought her very first piece of artwork, and I treasure it so dearly.
My heart is smiling as I type and recall these memories.
You see – a home is not brick and mortar. It is not plaster and paint.
It is the memories.
It is the family and friends and people you share it with.
My favorite little plaque hanging on another wall in our home says it all….
“The thing I love most about my home is who I share it with.”
So that is my special home “space.”
What is yours?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Wishing you time for thoughts, walks, books, and friends.
Happy Weekend!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Isn’t that the truth? I daresay no family is perfect, but isn’t it wonderful when we are blessed with friends that are so special they are like family? Our “chosen” family.
I just got back from spending a wonderful week with one of my “friend families” and had to make a special card to thank them.
For this card, I used StampinUp’s Painted Petal stamp set. Instead of just stamping the flower onto the card stock, I wanted to give it more of a loose “watercolor” kind of look, so after inking up the stamp, I spritzed it lightly with water, then stamped the flower image. I like the effect. Then I just mixed a bit of water with some ink and flicked it on with a paint brush for the random speckles. I’m also loving the stitch embossed effect that the Lil Inker Designs rectangle framelits creates and achieved on this somewhat CAS (Clean and Simple) design. And dang it, I just couldn’t help myself and had to add a couple of tiny pearl embellishments. 🙂
Happy Friday to you and your families – the ones you were assigned by birth – and/or those you chose!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I’ve been blogging a little over six months now here at lifeinbetween.me, and I can’t believe how much I am enjoying it and how much I am learning…
about blogging, writing, technology, but most of all about MYSELF!
I thought it high time I build a Welcome (Home) Page for those that may visit and wonder what this is all about here.
It was fun pulling photos and linking them with the posts that I thought summed up my blog and my lifeinbetween.
Check it out HERE, and let me know if you think I hit the highlights or if I missed something important or should do something different. I did it very late at night and kept falling asleep in the middle of working on it! 🙂
I would LOVE your feedback, comments, questions, whatever you’d like to say or share – as I grow on this journey of blogging and the never-ending journey of self-discovery.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I hope everyone that celebrated yesterday had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
(It still blows my mind that people read my blog from all over the world, so there are places that don’t celebrate this American holiday!)
Today is a day of relaxing and reflecting for me – on an amazing day spent with this crazy coop of turkeys that I so adore!
My crafty and stampin’ friends might appreciate the table setting complete with hand-stamped fall wreath place settings :).
But… as much as I love to dress up the table, decorate, and prepare creative dishes, I have to say – Thanksgiving is no time for breaking tradition!
No messin’ with the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned jellied cranberry sauce (though Jill did cut them into adorable little stars that made them taste even better!), Pillsbury crescent rolls (or Nick would be seriously upset), pumpkin and apple pie.
A couple veggies took on a little twist this year – like my new favorite Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary, and the amazing Brussells Sprouts with Chorizo and Almonds that Joyce and Rob brought (still need to get that recipe!), but I did get in a bit of trouble with Marty (and only Marty!) for not making that disgusting green bean casserole with (GAG!) cream of mushroom soup…
We toasted family and friends, and of course Oh Rob had a story for us!
It just wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t! (Love you Oh Rob!) 🙂
and homemade Reflection Wine – for in wine there is life.
Colleen made this cute cheesey turkey – complete with brussells sprouts eyes straight from Jake’s garden, which was devoured immediately.
I also made this super easy, but TO DIE FOR appetizer: Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with Blue Cheese. Every single person L O V E D them, so don’t judge by the interesting combination of ingredients! I simply cut a slit in each date, removed the pit and replaced with a pinch of crumbled blue cheese, wrapped it in a half strip of bacon, jabbed with a toothpick to hold together and make for easy serving afterwards, and baked at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Even those that claimed to not like dates or not like blue cheese adored them! Highly recommend these for your next get together – just saying. 🙂
Sweet Jackie brought the most adorable gift. A print of a tree and a frame, to which we each stamped a fingerprint or two and labeled with our name and something we are thankful for.
I already have it hanging right outside my dining room. What an amazing memory I will always have of this day and these peeps I love. Thank you so much, Jackie!
And how cute are these? Isn’t this a fun way to take wine as a hostess gift? Dress them up for the holiday. Jackie also made these adorable bottles of red and white into boozy turkeys. I LOVE THEM!
Colleen and Jake brought me the most awesome smelling winter holiday candle – who doesn’t love a wonderful smelling candle – and Joyce and Rob brought a crock stuffed with bags of pistachios and a festive apron and hot mitt along with a Bountiful Blessings calendar with a note written on it saying, “Looking forward to spending more time together in the new year.” Now isn’t that a great idea?! Such creative peeps I hang out with – eh?
I share these for those looking for great ideas for hostess gifts around the holidays. Wine, candles, nuts, aprons, calendars – all very appreciated gifts!
And Jill handmade all of us these adorable turkey t-shirts. Is she amazing or what?!! And look how cute they all look.
They even had turkey feathers on the back!
It was wonderful to SKYPE with Julie, who if you look really close at the iPad Jackie is holding, is also wearing a turkey shirt that Jill sent ahead of time. 🙂 We only missed connecting with Jayme :(.
We ended the evening with board games, including Cards Against Humanity…
and laughed until our cheeks hurt!
We were even fortunate enough to have Marty’s 91 year-old Aunt Francie with us, who is such a good sport.
I am simply stuffed with thankfulness and reflecting on my many blessings.
Wishing you all the same!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I’m busy Roasting Turkey,
Mashing Potatoes,
Chopping, Slicing, Smiling, Laughing, Sharing, Clinking Glasses….
Being Thankful!
Happy Thanksgiving!
May you be thankful for everything you have at Life in Between and always.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Growing up – I lived in many different homes – for various reasons…
Parents divorced – Live with Grandma – Mom remarried – Bigger house – Smaller house…..
For as many reasons as moves, I never really had the opportunity to grow “attached” to a house.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not knocking those that had the good fortune of growing up in the same house with the same family their entire life.
In fact, I feel a bit of envy! But my life circumstances didn’t provide this, so for that reason I have never grown “attached” to bricks and mortar.
What I do love about my “home” is who I share it with.
It could be a hut, a tent, an igloo, a teepee, a boat, a trailer, a shack, a mansion. It really doesn’t matter.
As long as I get to share it with the people I love….
My family…
My friends that are like family…
That is what makes a “house” a “home.”
As we approach Thanksgiving, and I look forward to sharing my home with some of the people I love best, it reminds me of one of the best gifts I’ve ever received from my bestie Jill. Jill hand-painted the sign above in red knowing me so well that she just knew when she saw this saying it was me to a tee.
I love it!!!!
In fact….. I love it so much, Jill had not realized I had recently purchased a similar plaque with the exact same saying just a month prior, as you can see below. 🙂
So how lucky am I?!? I have two signs that express my deepest feelings of home hanging in my home.
Feeling so blessed… Feeling so loved… Feeling so thankful…
On this day before Thanksgiving, I wish for you a home shared with the people you love – whether they be family or friends that are “chosen” family. We really all are one family – right?
Cheers & Thankful Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 