Weddings are milestones. Big days with much planning and this weekend marks the wedding of “Uncle Robbie” to Auntie Jenn.
Uncle Robbie decided to apply for a job in our small town a few years ago. He didn’t get an interview. He taught at another school 250 miles from our small town and drove to many, many times to visit us and watch Hunter play basketball.
He was single and said how much more sense it would be if could be near us. He had been in bigger towns but liked our small town.
So he applied for a teaching job again last spring. He was hired as the fourth grade teacher in our small town, only now he was not single anymore.
He was dating a city girl with a career in Minneapolis. Enter Jenn into Robbie’s life.
By last summer, we knew Jenn was Robbie’s dream come true. Robbie’s life now was in our small town on the prairie. Jenn’s life was far from the prairie.
Robbie asked Jenn to marry him last fall. Following Christmas, Jenn made the leap and moved from the big city to the rural North Dakota prairie. She works at our local bank, attends a local Bible study, played in a winter volleyball league and is already a big part of our little community. Jenn went to almost every basketball game last winter that Robbie coached in and we shared many winter drives together. 
Jenn and Robbie are different and complement each other well. Together though their faith is deep. They love people. They passionately serve others. They are better together.
Having them live near us has instilled strong relationships and bonds with our kids. Our girls love them so much. Our son has Robbie as his mentor and basketball coach. It’s a unique bond. There is no price I can put on raising our kids around family and the deep relationships we all have because of the time we spend together. Robbie and Jenn are a couple that are friends to Nathan and me. We laugh. We socialize. We trust one another. It’s fun to have a sibling grow into your true friend and I can say that we have done just that. Now he is marrying a lovely woman who is also our friend. I didn’t know adulthood could be so rewarding!
The moments we have together matter for more than I can put to words. I am so thankful for Jenn and Robbie and am excited to see the start their life together. One thing is for sure, they will do big things, make an impact and share their generousity and love with many.
And now I am off to pack, pack, pack. I am a bridesmaid!
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