tara.elmadera.com

Most of you who know me from TU know my sister - we were there together for my last and her two first years of college. Melissa graduated from Taylor last May, and has been working in Pennsylvania for the last year or so, living with Mom and Dad and trying to save up some money to pay off school loans. She just got accepted to Wycliffe Bible Translators. She'll be leaving just after the wedding to go to a training camp in Florida, then to a semester-long schooling program in Texas. From there, she'll ship out to some other country (tba) for a year.

Melissa and I go back a long way - 22 years. =) She's been my best friend and chief rival for all of those years. We've always loved each other because we're sisters, but while we were growing up, we fought about everything from who had the best tricycle to who was prettier to who got the TV remote.

It's been great... amazing... to get to know my sister as more than just some member of my family that I *have* to love. =) I tease her and call her a kid still, but I've started to learn what an amazing woman she really is. She's my maid of honor because she is my best friend. And because my mom would pitch a fit if she wasn't. =) (just kidding, Melissa!)

I love this kid so much - she's like a breath of fresh air in my life. =) I could tell stories about her all day - about how sweet she is, how kind and generous is her nature, how funny she was when she was little (and still is today!)... Leah's in 8th grade now, going to the same school I went to in 8th grade (that's exciting because it's the first time in her life she's in the same place I was when I was her age). She lives with Mom and Dad, and is about to move to Hawaii with them.

← This is Leah. =) Isn't she beautiful? And isn't her head all glowy? I thought this would be an appropriate picture to put on this page... Here's why: This picture was taken when Melissa graduated from Taylor, the college that Leah's decided to go to. =) As I was graduating from high school and touring Taylor with my family, trying to decide where to go to college, Leah (7 years old at the time) spoke up and informed us that as *she* was going to be a Taylor student some day, I had better find somewhere else to go to school. Confused, I asked her why I wasn't allowed to pick Taylor. It turns out that she was under the impression that only one sister per family could go to any particular school. Since she liked Taylor so much, she decided *I'd* have to find a new school. Thankfully she was mistaken, and gave both Melissa and me permission to go to Taylor. If I hadn't been able to go to Taylor, I wouldn't have met my David. So, I guess we could say we wouldn't be getting married if it weren't for Leah!

Anne Mejeur (who's still Annie Mahannie to me) was my roomie for my favorite years of college. She was a year behind me in school, so I met her when I transferred to her dorm my sophomore year. We lived on the same floor, but didn't really get to know each other until the end of the year when we went on band tour. We were roomies on tour, and afterward were inseperable.

We moved off campus my senior year, into an apartment just above her boyfriend-then-fiance-then-husband Russ. That was the best year! We had so much fun together... but more than that, we both changed a lot that year. I got to watch Anne and Russ' relationship deepen, to watch Anne grow into such an amazing woman... I got to be there when Russ proposed to Anne - a memory I'll love to talk about when I'm 90. Anne got to listen to my drama as it unfolded with David - it was because of Anne that David and I got to know each other outside of Chorale.

Later, I was in Anne's wedding. It was my favorite of all, I think, because I knew them together from the very beginning. In the same way, I wanted Anne to be a part of my wedding. Her friendship has meant so much to me, and she and Russ have set an example of the kind of couple I want us to be.

Bethany has been my roommate for the past two years. Living with her is like living with ... one of your best friends ever. =) She is one of my best friends ever. Beth has taught me more about good, serious and solid friendship with women than anyone else in my life.

We met in college - she was one of those people everyone recognized (whether by her face or her laugh, I'll never know) and loved immediately. So, of course, I decided to dislike her. =) Immediately after deciding not to give her a chance (our freshman year), we got assigned to the same group in a month-long intensive calc class. I quickly learned about her and grew to love her, as does everyone who knows her.

We used to joke about how we'd be great roommates, on our long trips to and from Pennsylvania during college. When I moved out to Indy, she called me up and asked if I needed somewhere to live. The rest is history. =) We've been Beth-n-Tara since then - we have the same sets of good friends, we are members of the same church (and therefore, family), we like the same things and dislike the same things. I think one of the hardest parts about being married will be giving up Bethany as my roommate. But Dave won't let me keep her. =)

Shawn and I have been friends since we were freshmen at Taylor. He and I were math majors and euchre partners - once we almost won a campus-wide euchre tournament together. (The final match, as I recall, was highly disputed ... by us.) Sometime during our freshman year, one of us called the other "bum" as a way of complaining about some card played in a euchre game. And the name stuck ... for both of us. To this day, we'll call each other "bum," both in person and through e-mail. You could say it's sort of a term of endearment.

Shawn has been a constant friend to me over the years, especially now that we live in different places. Women, life decisions, churches, you name it - we've been down those roads before. When I need a level-headed, unbiased opinion, I know I can count on him. (Ok, so sometimes he's biased in my favor, but that's all right with me!)

Shawn is now a graduate student at Indiana University, where he is three years into doctorate studies in mathematics. Eventually he will probably be a math professor back at Taylor University - unless he gets a permanent position being a professional swing dancer.

Ever played Settlers of Catan? Or ever danced to the rhythmic beat of Dance Dance Revolution? Those two games are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the mad skills of Jim Ostrowski. Jim and I were math graduate students together at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) for two years solid ... and we spent a lot of that time hanging out together. Whether it was playing games or dancing until the wee hours of the morning, watching obscure yet hilarious movies, eating some very fine ice cream (Graeter's), or talking about religion and/or women, we shared plenty of good times. Oh yeah, and Jim's a fan of the Cleveland Indians, too. Instant connection.

Jim has an exceptional combination of qualities: he is exceptionally brilliant, and he is extremely practical. He certainly helped me understand my relationship with Tara and my decision to move into seminary. By bringing up tough questions - and by exercising a great sense of humor - he taught me to be more careful and intentional in my life decisions. (or, in where I place my initial settlements)

I got to see Jim develop in his Christian faith and in his relationship with Jessie, who is now his wife. They were married on July 9, 2004, exactly one year to the day before Tara and I will tie the proverbial knot. Jim and Jessie live in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where Jessie teaches music and Jim is working on a doctorate degree at Lehigh University.

Randy is six years older than me - so while we were growing up, he always had a size advantage on me. For several years, we shared a bedroom. And while we were sometimes very territorial about our toys and our "halves" of the bedroom, we spent a lot of time playing together, too. The matchbox cars, the stuffed animal music videos, the "CHiPs" bicycle adventures .. lots of fun memories.

Since Randy was so much older than me, we were really in two different worlds as we each went through adolescence. But now that we're more or less both adults, we've been able to establish a more meaningful relationship. We often talk about two of the things that are important to us: women (noticing a trend?) and sports.

Randy is a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan. Everything else is kind of secondary. :) He works at the county jail and is currently about to break into (pun intended) the police force of Edgewood, Indiana.

Mike and I were math majors at Taylor at the same time. We even managed to take one class together before Mike graduated in 2000, two years before Tara and me. Imagine my surprise when I showed up for graduate school orientation at Miami University, and there sat the same Mike, ready to start a master's degree in math at the same time! Over the next two years, we spent a lot of time together - quite frequently at Jim's apartment playing Settlers until the aforementioned wee hours of the morning - and talked about lots of things, including (ready?) women (you guessed it) and religion. If it wasn't Settlers, then it was disc golf. I have no idea how many times he and I played the course at Miami ... it must have been in the hundreds. Literally.

Mike and his wife Connie (another Taylor grad - she was in Tara's probe group back in the day!) are excellent people, solid Christians, faithful friends, and constant supporters of those they know and love. Mike has an incredibly strong streak of competitiveness, which made our Settlers games all the more entertaining. :) And what could possibly be bad about a guy who's a big fan of baseball, even if his team of choice is the lowly Detroit Tigers? I'm really glad he always talked me out of doing homework and into playing those many rounds of disc golf. :)