Meeting His Family

I met Steven’s parents, Dave and Roxanne for the first time on the weekend that Steven and I started courting. I’m sure it was quite the surprise for them! Mrs. Sitler and I had communicated over facebook and email a couple times, but we didn’t know each other too much other than that. I believe I was chopping some sort of vegetable the first time Mrs. Sitler and Steven came in to visit and I was shaking so bad that all the sudden the knife made a crazy flip and clattered across the floor. Very smooth! 🙂 Though Steven was coughing suspiciously, Mrs. Sitler acted like she didn’t notice and instead turned the conversation to her jewelry business. There was really no reason for me to feel nervous, Mrs. Sitler made me feel super comfortable almost at once, which I have since learned is one of her greatest traits. She is an incredibly nice lady who knows what she wants, and goes for it! She is always on the move, getting things ready for the next big family get together, and is completely devoted to her family. She even has her own jewelry business you can find on facebook here or on etsi here! A very cool lady. 🙂

When Mr. Sitler came down to Moscow for dinner on Sunday during courtship week, I really didn’t know what to expect. Steven had told me a ton of stories about him and one in particular was that Mr. Sitler was famous for the end of the year parties where he would stand up and make fun of all his employees one after the other. There were a bunch of other stories he told me, but this was the one that stuck with me and worried me somewhat, as I have an amazing ability to be . . . well, me(ha ha)! I discovered, however, that while he is definitely on the watch for humorous situations, he also has more serious side. Not saying I saw too much of that though. He has a sharp eye and a quick laugh, and like his wife, is devoted to his family and is always on the go. He and my dad got along fairly well! 🙂

On Thanksgiving day was when I met everyone else. It was a very whirlwind-ish experience indeed, and afterward I was lucky to get everyone’s name right! 🙂 There is no way that I got to talk to them nearly enough to write a very thorough description, so here is a quick flyby!

Well, first of all let me take this back. Michael and Amanda also stayed at Mr. and Mrs. Sitler’s house all Thanksgiving week. So while I was completely hyped up on cold medication and about ready to collapse from tiredness on Thanksgiving (I was crazy sick for the tail end of the Thanksgiving trip, which was compounded by the fact that I got hardly any sleep because I was so excited), I was actually more coherent (sort of) for some of the time I got to talk to Michael and Amanda. Despite being warned multiple times about Michael, I decided he wasn’t so bad (even if he did make fun of me for using hand gestures for the word “bowling” during Taboo, ha!). He also gave us the domain for this awesome website. So if I did tell the truth about Michael then he could just take it off again. . . Just kidding! 🙂 Amanda has a very fun personality, and I do wish I had gotten to talk to her more. Their two daughters, Roslynn and Felicity, are also very friendly and super cute, especially when all dressed for playing in the snow!

Jeff and Shelly and their daughter McKenna, all of whom I met over Thanksgiving dinner and after, are a very friendly family as well. I discovered that Uncle Jeff plays a mean guitar, and that he is the first half of a family comedy team (Uncle Kevin is the other half). 🙂 I have seen few brothers who were as quick on the draw as those two! It was great fun to watch.

The first relative to introduce himself to me at Thanksgiving was Kevin. He came up to me and said something like “So where are your papers? Where are you from? What’s your social?” with a very serious look on his face. Lol! He is outspoken and has an opinion on pretty much everything. He’s married to Yelena, who may be the one to help you check in and board Horizon/Alaska Air in Spokane if you take that to come to the wedding. She has a quieter but strong personality. They have one daughter, Aviana.

I met Ken and Michelle and their two kids, Mattie and Ian, at a restaurant on the way to board my plane back home. They, like the rest of the family, were very open and friendly and asked me all sorts of questions. Mattie was quite dynamic and told me all about the part she was auditioning for in the Music Man play that was coming up at her school (I believe she got the part too!). I look forward to getting to know them better in the future!

One of the things that stood out to me in getting to know Steven’s extended family was the amazingly warm and easy welcome I got. They just pretty much acted like I had been there for my entire life. It is definitely a blessing to be able to have the chance to meet all these wonderful people, and I can’t wait to see them all again!