Thank You

photo by Greg Lincoln

by Greg Lincoln

Today we celebrated the wedding of our son Mack to his beautiful bride Kaitlin. Our hearts are so full of love for the both of you and the happiness in your faces and your smiles give us so much to be thankful for.

We are grateful to all who helped with the preparations and the planning – the ceremony, delicious foods, the setting up for the reception, the decorations – everything looked perfect, we felt so honored to be a part of this day!

We thank those special folks who came great distances to share in the joy of our celebration. Quyana to Damon Oscar for coming all the way from college to play the piano. Thank you also for members of the wedding party Jim Samson and Rachel Chakuchin for also coming from college to be here. We wish you all success in your schooling endeavors.

And coming all the way from New York is our friend Dan, he gets the prize for the longest distance traveled. We appreciate the sacrifices you made just to be here with us. Your presence means the world to us and we appreciate that you were able to come.

Quyana to all the guests who attended along with us including my dad and the grandmothers. It was so nice to see all of you and some of you we haven’t seen for a while. You shared in our great joy and your kindness will long be remembered. We wish you safe and speedy travels back to your homes and communities.

Thank you to mother of the bride Alice Nicholai and family and the army of volunteers who worked so hard to make everything ready for the big day. With the union of our children, we are now connected, bonded together. Quyana to our wonderful church family for standing by us through the hard times and also through the happy times.

Quyana to all who made this day a day to remember, they are memories we will cherish and think about with joy in our hearts. The happiness is unforgettable and it will carry us through the days ahead. And our dearly departed loved ones were with us in our thoughts, our hearts, and in our minds throughout this day as they are with us each and every day.

We welcome our new member of our family. In Yup’ik we say ukurraq, she will be as our own daughter, holding a place in our hearts that none other can fill. What an amazing thing it is, love is the greatest force on earth. Thank you Lord for this day.