Something you might not know...

It just occurred to me that not a lot of people know about my foreign exchange student, Tom.  When I was a young lad, more like when I was four years old, my family took in a foreign exchange student from Poland.  His name is Tom Kobus.  When I say we "took him in" it wasn't like he was drifting among the hills of Oklahoma looking for a place to live.  My parents put in the request for a Polish kid- he was 16 at the time- because my mom's family is super Polish.  Her maiden name is Olzawski.  Coincidentally, Tom is my Grandpa Olzawski's name, too! 
Tom is my brother in every way possible.  He lived with us for two years because if he went back to Poland, his high school credits that he completed in Oklahoma would not be accepted..Or something like that.  Something else very cool...Madalyn and I are six years apart...Tom and Madalyn are six years apart....and Tom and I have the same birthday so that makes us EXACTLY 12 years apart.  Legit, right? 


I wasn't involved in this conversation. I was naked, running in the front yard. That's just a guess, though. 


Point is, Tom is coming for Madalyn's wedding! I am so excited I can hardly wait! One of my favorite memories is when my parents were out for the night and Tom was supposed to watch Madalyn and me.  I was, Lord knows, naked and running through the halls in our first house.  Madalyn was trying to catch me and Tom was trying to corral us to bed.  Tom got me on his shoulders, and as we ran down the upstairs, I hit all the fire alarms.  It was cool to do that, right? No.  Not really.  


Anyways, Tom has two little boys now and a beautiful wife, Jill.  I wish I could post some pictures of when we were all younger on here, but those are at home in Tulsa.  I got an email saying he would be arriving in Tulsa on Thursday before Madalyn's wedding.  The last time I saw him was when I was in high school in New York.  He had a baller job with some company in the city.  He is a genius.  


Here are some pictures from the shower Aunt Lori and I threw this weekend in Tulsa. 

The game. One "wedding or marriage" word with each hour of the day. 

The petifores. 

Barker girls.

Champagne in a can! Genius! 

Grandma Olzawski gets her every time.  This is one of Dede's, our great grandmother (and who I am named after, Edith Patton)  baskets.  

The waterworks. One of the Olzawski Christmas heirlooms passed down! 

Only four weeks until the big day.  I cherish my sister a little more everyday.