This Week.........Eleven Years Ago

Some weeks are so memorable that they stay with you for a lifetime. I distinctly remember this week in 1997. The whole winter had been a particularly bad one. There wasn't much snow, just ice...and lots of it. Every day for weeks ice covered everything in sight.

That Friday night was particularly exciting; I was going to meet my mother. My parents divorced when I was four years old, and the last time I had seen my mother I was five. Now, fast forward 14 years later, the day I had so often dreamed of was here. There I stood outside of a door in the Holiday Inn, trying to calm myself enough to knock. The door opened, I saw my mother, and I immediately began to cry. But my dreams of an emotional reunion were quickly shattered when my mother said, "Now stop that, or you'll make me start and my mascara will run." Not exactly the first words I wanted to hear, but life doesn't always turn out like our dreams. I distinctly remember thinking how she was shorter than I had imagined. I had no memories of what she looked like, other than from pictures, but I had always thought of her as about my height. It turned out that she is only 5'4", and I am 5'7".... I remember how strange it felt to "look down" on her. But I also thought that she was very beautiful.... even more so than I had imagined.

We didn't talk very long that day, and unfortunately this was our last conversation of the visit. You see, tomorrow I would be busy getting married.


The weather was still nasty as I tried to fall asleep that Friday night. I was so excited; full of anticipation about my big day tomorrow. Saturday I awoke early and noticed a wonderful gift from God. The weather had cleared..... and not just the ice; the sun was shining and it was warm! We didn't even need a jacket. I know that this day of warmth was a special gift to us, and it is my favorite wedding memory. I wish that I could post a bunch of wedding pictures, but although I know I have changed a lot, it's still not enough to be safe. Here's a couple that I can get away with:

I've never had good aim, and throwing my bouquet was no exception. Someone managed to catch it though....... but she's still not married!

Our wedding cake turned out lovely. That's a little pink lemonade fountain underneath. There's a lovely story behind this as well. We didn't have much money for our wedding and a friend and I were going to try to make the flower arrangements ourselves. We were at Wal-Mart looking through the artificial flowers and another shopper overheard us. She gave me her mother's card and said that her mom was a Christian who liked to help other Christians who didn't have a lot of money. My dad and I went to meet this lady and she ended up making all of the bouquets and corsages, making the cake, and taking all of the pictures for a very low price. (She took all of the pictures on this post) I was/am so thankful for her. I looked her up last time we were in our home town and gave her a call. She remembered us and she took our family pictures; still at a great price. It was wonderful to be able to catch up with her and thank her for helping us back then.

February 1st, 1997...... Eleven years...... and they keep getting better. Our marriage didn't start with the best foundation, but God has changed it into something beautiful. My husband is my leader, my protector, my best friend, my love...... and I thank God for him and for the graciousness that He has shown to us over the years.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart; I love you!