Meet the lovely ladies standing up!
Lei
Lei and I go back to sixth grade where we meet at a summer basketball camp. Lei played the point guard position and I was a center/forward. Needless to say, it was a perfect match. We even took down a few opponents playing 2v2 and promptly rewarded ourselves with a trip to 7-11 for slushies. We stayed close all through junior high and high school playing sports, going to school dances and passing notes between classes. We joined up with Kelly and Sarah (see below) our sophomore year of high school to form a special relationship with a special group of girls. Even through college and graduate schools, we stayed close with phone calls and visits. Lei’s charismatic and competitive attitude always keeps me in good spirits and pushes me to do my best. When I first told Lei about Matt, she said go get him. And, I did. Matt affectionately calls Lei his agent. Why? For a few reasons. The main one being that Lei is a jeweler and actually set the center stone of my engagement ring. How cool is that?!?
Andrea
Andrea was the last of Matt’s immediately family I met while dating Matt. For some strange reason we were kept apart. Probably for our own good since Andrea and I get along famously. Fun fact, we both enjoy British mysteries especially anything on Masterpiece Theatre. Andrea is always the first to offer me advice on teaching my college level speech classes. She is also a great date for painting by numbers classes or for manicure/pedicure. Her taste in wine is delicious. Andrea has an infectious personality that will always make you smile. Probably because she’s so smart and witty!
Bethany
Bethany was one of the first people I met when I started working at Concordia. And right from the start we hit it off. Bethany became my work lunch buddy and I became Bethany’s official helper at any event she needed assistance with. Of course I then recruited Bethany for a variety of athletic events. It was only fair! From playing intramurals to the Concordia bowling league Bethany and I were always on a team together. After hanging out with me so much and realizing how awesome a person I am, Bethany decided to play matchmaker and introduce me to her older brother Matt. And the rest is history.
Jill
Jill is my matron of honor. Jill and I were randomly paired roommates our freshman year at Valparaiso and have been inseparable since. We both joined the same sorority, continued to be roommates throughout college and even traveled around the Midwest, across the country and beyond, including Europe and northern Africa together. Jill is the sister I never had. Jill even lived with my parents while I was studying abroad in England during college and became the replacement Karla! We talk every day, whether on gchat, the phone, skype or text. Sometimes it’s a combination of all of those. We love to shop outlet malls together, swap recipes – especially if they are desserts, and most importantly, love to laugh.
Kelly
I met Kelly in high school through a friend of a friend. Kelly and Sarah (who you’ll meet in a bit) are best friends and they were part of the same group of friends with Lei and I. Need a diagram yet? Kelly and I grew even closer when we moved to Oak Park together. For the last five years Kelly and I have co-hosted countless parties in their apartment – most notably an annual New Year’s Eve bash. We’ve worked together on furnishing our apartment, sometimes even flipping finds at the local resale shop. But beyond that Kelly has been a steady and true friend. She’s always there to offer sound advice from her HR perspective or to remind me to slow down. Some days I doesn’t know what I would do without her!
Sarah
So by now you already know the story of how Sarah and I met. Becoming close friends in high school, Sarah would always do the hair for dances and I would do the make-up. During college we stayed close visiting each other and of course getting the whole gang together over break at Palmer’s or Blue Water for martini nights. Reunited after college, we stayed close going to concerts, finding fun things to do in Chicago and crafting together. Even though now she’s a few miles away in Denver, Sarah is always there with her upbeat personality to cheer anyone up. And somehow, she still manages to make sure we’re all stuck together. I think it’s just in her crafty nature.
Hein's in the Water 