Emily's Wedding

My best friend since kindergarten got married last Saturday. 
It really was a beautiful wedding.
They held the ceremony out in Emily's yard (thank goodness it didn't rain).
At the reception, Joy, Katy, Haley and I sang 'In Christ Alone'. I was really nervous. But, after being told multiple times that we sounded good, I'm beginning to believe we sounded ok. :)
And then, we sent them off on a motorcycle. 

Derek and Emily

It's hard to put thirteen years of friendship into words. But, I've been blessed to have her as a friend and I'm extremely excited to make Derek and Nathan like each other so we can do fun couple-y things together.:)

I think I'm going to have more potlucks than is probably practical, but oh well, friends are wonderful things.:)

In Christ

~Michelle

Wyss Vacation

The best week of the year.

 The Wyss/Streitmatter clan is so incredibly blessed.  We have such amazing grandparents and great aunt, all of my aunts and uncles, and wonderful cousins. 

Sure, the week is full of goofing off, sleeping in, eating, laying out, swimming, shopping, and laying around. :) 

But, the best things about last week were:

Singing around the piano before every meal. 

Listening to the adults carry on three conversations at once, and learning a ton from it.

                                    

Driving my grandparents to and from vacation. 

Playing at the playground like we were kids again.

Quiet moments on the beach watching the sunset. 

                                      

the three 22 year olds :)

Oh, and Nathan came for part of the week :)

Having great spiritual discussions late into the night with my cousins. 

An evening around the campfire.

And the raccoon that broke up the party.

Going out for frozen yogurt on the coldest evening of the week.

Taking little miss to the beach.

WATER!

And, we had an awesome place to stay, The Grand Beach Inn.

one of the halls

deck and pool area

large room

dining room

another large room

and a big kitchen :) just whats needed for wonderful food.

As usual we didn't get much sleep, at too much, spent too much time in the sun, sat around a lot...and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. :)

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for all you do to bring this week together. We are truly a blessed family. :)

In Christ

~Michelle

Puddle Jumping

Cecily, a "boppy", and a big puddle. :)

Enjoy :)

In Christ

~Michelle

(P.S. this is my second post today, check below)

on my days off

So, when I'm not at my internship or wedding planning. I actually keep pretty busy. 

The other weekend I got to babysit for Cecily. And, she came to the farm too.

she likes to splash in the puddles

and play with gussy

a very big puddle

Last Thursday, Matt and Lena came over and helped Jake and I mulch around the house.

Joy, Haley, and Katy have been showing up a lot to practice a song for Emily's wedding.  We're singing "In Christ Alone", hopefully we won't embarrass ourselves. 

I spend plenty of time with Nathan (shocker). :)

Last weekend, my roommate Laura got married. We've been swapping wedding planning stories and ideas. 

The Upper Room girls

I spend a lot of time driving between home and Champaign. 

On Wednesday nights, if I'm in Washington, a group of us girls usually head out to the Blend for coffee. 

Any time I have free time and the sun is shinning, I try to soak up some rays :)

It all just turns into busyness and time seems to fly.  


In Christ
~Michelle

to answer your questions

When is the wedding?- August 4th

How  are wedding plans going?- Fine.

What does the dress look like?- Lacey

What are the colors? - Blue.

What do the bridesmaid dresses look like?- Wait and see.

Where am I living?- We don't know yet.

Where will we be going to church?- It depends on where we live.

Do I have a job yet?- No

Do I plan on working?- Yes


 Tehe. :) People ask so many questions. And, I'm slightly sorry if I sound cranky when I answer. It's just that I'm answering that same question for the 500th time. :)

But, yes, wedding plans are going well, are on schedule, etc. I think I'm going to like how everything turns out, even if I really don't care by then. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Court Date

Yesterday, I got to go to Adoption Court with my internship. It was awesome.

First off, old court houses are beautiful. 
Second, I love dressing up.
Third, adoptions are just awesome. 

I had read through the whole case file on this family a couple weeks ago, so I felt like I knew them.  It was a relative adoption of four adorable little kids. 

One of the younger kids watched his birth parent get arrested right in front him. It was obvious he was trying very hard not to be afraid of the many police officers that were in and out of the court rooms. He kept saying "there's a police man, but he's not going to arrest me." Or "there's a police man, he's not going to put me in jail, he's working."

At one point, the elevator opened and three convicts, escorted by two very buff police men, walked out. The little boy shouted "look! there's three bad guys, and they're dressed in orange just like on TV!" Just as they we walking through the courtroom doors one of the officers quickly turned around, grinned and waved at the little boy. It was hilarious. 

The hearing itself lasted only a few minutes. And, each of the children got to wave their hand when their name was called. I think the Judge fully enjoyed watching the kids more than what was actually going on in the hearing. I did too. :)

When they finally pronounced the children legally adopted, the oldest two cheered and the adoptive parents burst into tears. :)

I love my internship.

In Christ
~Michelle

Internship

This is for those of you who are wondering.

This summer I got an internship at CYFS, a foster care and adoption agency, in Champaign. Three days a  week I work with the  Adoption Specialist. 

So far, I've been doing a lot of practice cases but, I have started working on a real one! I get a case file (a huge folder) filled with information on the birth parents, mental health and medical histories, criminal records, the adoptive parents histories, the child's history in foster care, and court records. Then, I type up a huge assessment (10-14 pages per child) basically summarizing their file for the court. 

I've come across some crazy cases already.  Its really cool to see children getting a chance at a better life, but sometimes the adoptive parents only seem like a slightly better life. (Insert: soapbox about how more good Christian families should adopt!)

In the future, I think in a few weeks actually, I get to go to a few court dates. I'm extremely excited. I get to see adoptions take place! :)  And, I may get to go on some home visits. 

It's pretty much a desk job, but I love it.  And, if they offer me a job at the end of this, I might just take it. :)

In Christ
~Michelle