Gifts for Soldiers

One last thing we did this holiday season that I've never done before were cards and gifts to soldiers. Jake's teacher's son left for Iraq this fall. Her daughter is in high school and I believe her son is very young as well. Anyway, that inspired me and then we had a cub scout leader in the pack who had contact info for a unit (right word?) over there and so we 'adopted' two of the soldiers from that list as well. We bought snacks (beef jerky, nuts, hard candies) and other items like sunscreen, lotion, toothpaste, wipes, etc., the kids made cards and I wrote a letter to put in each of the gifts.

One of Jake's cards to a Soldier
(protecting & country are the mystery words :) )

We had to fill out customs forms at the post office and the shipping was pretty expensive, but while I was at the post office a young man came up and asked me if I had mailed the packages I sent to soldiers overseas. I told him I had and he shook my hand and told me he wanted to thank me. He said he was fortunate enough to be here this Christmas but that they LOVED getting packages like that when he was over there. It certainly made it even more worthwhile.

Sydney's Picture on Her Card

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. The weekend before, Martin was feeling a little unwell so we took it easy to make sure we were all in top shape for the big day. It was also our first real chance for a couple of days without children or big obligations since the honeymoon. We missed a couple of parties we had wanted to attend, but it was great to just hang out and have some down time to relax.

Christmas Eve
Monday we hit the ground running again - Martin went back to work and I wrapped presents and made pumpkin muffins and broccoli cheese casserole to take for Christmas. He was able to come home early and help finish the wrapping. We got the kids back from Rob that afternoon. They had gotten a Wii for Christmas at his house and were very excited about that. Jake's big boast was beating Daddy at the boxing game. We went to my cousin Joan's house for dinner, then to Tarrytown UMC for Christmas Eve service and home to put out milk and muffins for Santa and some reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter - YUMMY!). I read Christmas stories to the kids while they fell asleep and then we stayed up for a little while wrapping a few more things and getting them ready. The kids had strict orders to stay upstairs until 6AM - a wise mandate from Martin after hearing about last year's 4:30AM start to Christmas morning.

Christmas Day
We awoke on Tuesday morning to the sound of shrieks and pounding feet coming down the stairs. Santa had come to our house. It turns out both our children miraculously escaped the naughty list and we had a new black and red Nintendo DS waiting for Jake and an American Girl bed and accessories for Sydney's AG doll. We opened stockings and presents, then we actually all took a nap (except Jake?) for awhile until Jake woke us up to go to Gran's for their third of four Christmas celebrations. We got to her house at 10, ate some breakfast - lots of yummy sugar cookies - opened stockings and then gifts, and played with some of our new toys. We left about 1:30 and headed to our friend Mona's house with sugar cookies and gifts to share with she and Rian. We surprised them and got to stay about an hour with them exchanging gifts and enjoying each other's company.

Then, we were off to San Antonio to visit with Martin's family. We missed a lot of them by coming late in the day, but got to see his Mom & Dad, Steven and Sarah, and then finally I met his brother Bob, Bob's wife Anna, and their children Robert, Carolina, and John Matthew. They missed the wedding and hadn't been at any of the family events we had attended, so I had never met them and the kids hadn't met each other. They are close in age - Caro is in kindergarten, Syd in first, Jake in second and Robert in third grade. The boys immediately bonded over Pokemon cards and Nintendo DS games - very cute. Little John was adorable and captured everyone's attention right away. He's ten months old and not even Martin had met him before. I'll come back and add a photo to this post once we pull them off the camera.

We got back from S.A. around 10 Christmas night. The kids had fallen asleep in the car finally. It was a great day!

Finally Writing Again - Recap of the Last Month+

Thanksgiving
Things have been pretty crazy around here lately; I'm sure for everyone else as well at this time of year. I knew the first few weeks after the honeymoon would be long ones. We got back from Jamaica on Sunday night, kids had school the next day and Tuesday and then were out for Thanksgiving. Wednesday we had some time with friends (Dawn, Zachary & Tyler and Kristi, Conor & Max) at the movies and then we went to San Antonio for Thanksgiving. We stayed the night at Martin's parent's house and went to Wimberley on Thursday for dinner with my aunts & uncles, cousins, Mom & brother.

The Move
The day after Thanksgiving started our moving weekend. We spent most of that weekend getting stuff from the house on Swearingen to Rio Vista, with a break to take the kids skating on Sunday. My cousin Joan, her husband Kevin & my Mom helped us out and that saved us a lot of time. We ended up having to strap the mattress to the top of the Sequoia - which was very classy :). At least it was dark when we drove into our neighborhood and took it down.

In the week after Thanksgiving, we were focused on getting the house on Swearingen ready to rent. In addition to the ongoing moving of 'stuff', we decided to spruce it up a bit by painting the porch and door and adding flower pots and flowers for curb appeal. Martin had a few nights where he went to his old house after the kids were in bed and worked into the wee hours painting and packing up the little things that remained.

Kid-Free Weekend
That next weekend was our first kid free weekend since the honeymoon. We had said on the honeymoon that we would celebrate my Birthday that weekend, but Martin wanted to do a service project for AustinONE and I ended up having to work on a big proposal for work that was due on Monday.

My Birthday Week
The first week of December was crazy. I don't think we sat down together once for dinner at home that week. On Monday, I took the kids to choose Salvation Army angels from the tree in the mall. On Tuesday, Martin had his volunteer shift at Helping Hand Home. Wednesday, we had a meeting for our Gateway (church) Singles leadership team. Thursday was my Birthday but unfortunately it was also Martin's company Christmas party. He ended up not getting home until after 6, so we didn't get our tree that night because we didn't have enough time before bed to get it up and decorated. It was a hard day for me because of memories of my Dad (more on that in another post), so in the end I asked Martin to take the kids to scouts (we had planned to skip it that night) - and I climbed in bed and watched Grey's Anatomy, which was relaxing and enjoyable.

Marathon Weekend
Friday Martin took the day off so we could spend some time together, shop for Christmas, and take a few pieces of furniture from his house to our friend Mona. We had plans for a play that night and that was a lot of fun but the day was kind of crazy busy and all of the running was catching up with us. It was feeling like we hadn't had any time for us or just to take a break - which was pretty true. Unfortunately our time to relax was still weeks away... The next day (Saturday), we did our monthly service project doing bike maintenance for the kids in foster care at the Helping Hand Home. Then we got the kids, loaded up the car, and drove to Dallas. We went to a celebration for Pam's (our sister-in-law's) job promotion and then we stayed the night at Andrew's (Martin's brother's) apartment. We were up and out bright and early because Martin ran the White Rock marathon that started at 8. The kids and I met some friends at about the 7 mile marker on the course. We intended to move with them through about 8 stops total on to the finish line. Instead, we lost not only our friends but also missed Martin at the 3rd stop. From what I can figure out, Martin passed through the stop minutes before we got there. My cell phone didn't work in Dallas and Martin's battery was dead and we didn't have a charger, so I had no way to get in touch with anyone or figure out where on the course he was. It was pretty frustrating. We waited over an hour at that 3rd stop and it was VERY cold. Our hands were numb and it rained on us a couple of times. I just kept telling the kids - at least you're not cold and running 26 miles. They were troopers. The lesson learned for me is that once you've missed your runner and waited until you are reasonably sure you missed them, there is NO WAY to have any real idea of where on the course they may be from there unless you have cell phones to touch base. We went from stop to stop, waited awhile, got back in the car and moved ahead on the course for the remainder of the morning but never saw Martin or our friends again until we met up with Martin at the apartment.

The finish line was a mess - we walked around for awhile and looked for Martin but it was very windy and by then we'd been out trying to find anyone we knew for about five hours. In the end, I took the kids back to Drew's apartment, hoping Martin would have walked back there and we'd find him. He wasn't there, so I went back out and looked for him and we finally caught back up at the apartment about 2:30 - roughly 7 hours after we started our adventure :).

Anyway, Martin did AWESOME in the first half of the race - hitting the half-way mark right at 2 hours for 13 miles. Because he hadn't had time to really train, he started cramping part-way through and the 2nd half was tougher, but he did great!

Another Hectic Week
The drive back to Austin was uneventful and we got home pretty much in time to get kids ready for school the next day and in bed. The 2nd week of December we got our tree up, celebrated Mom's Birthday with her, I got to meet my friend Katie for coffee one night and catch up (thanks to Martin for putting kids in bed!), had another Gateway Singles meeting to plan for the Christmas party, had a Brownie field trip to the nursing home to do crafts and sing carols, had our last cub scout den meeting of the year, finished our shopping for the Salvation Army kids and returned those gifts to the mall, and then Sydney went to a Birthday party on Friday. This was also the week that my big contract for work was signed by the client and official!! It should keep me busy 25 hours a week for the next six months and give me enough income that I could be set for the rest of the year. It will be a good opportunity to start doing some better planning than I've been able to do financially - paying off debt (car & home equity loans are paid off in 2008 - yeah!), and starting back with contributions to my retirement and the kids' college funds.

Our Adopted Christmas Family
This 2nd week of December we also heard about an opportunity to adopt a family for Christmas where we could shop for them and then deliver their gifts in person. It was just the opportunity I had been wanting for the kids to have a more hands-on experience with giving and helping those in need. The downside is that when we looked at the calendar, our only real chance to take the kids to deliver gifts was on the 17th (Monday), which meant our only chance to shop for the family was on our Friday date night. Nothing like date night at Wal-Mart :). We got home about 11:00 that night with everything we needed for them - two shirts, a pair of jeans, new socks & undies for each of the three boys, clothes for Mom and toys and gifts for everyone. We stayed up until about 3AM wrapping everything to have it ready for Monday. We had told Jake he needed to give up one of his game systems (he has just about every one they make, which is ridiculous) - and he gave the boys his GameCube with really no complaints at all. That was definitely a highlight of the whole experience because I think the kids really got it.

A Weekend of Christmas Parties (Three!)
Saturday of that weekend we did a service project during the day, helping with a Christmas party for the families at the Booker T. Washington housing project in East Austin. We always really enjoy working with the kids there. Martin & I mostly helped out in the area where they got to choose a gift for their Mom and/or Dad and wrap it for them. Saturday night, we went to a party hosted by our friend Kathleen. On Sunday, we skipped church because we hadn't had a chance to relax in forever. From 4PM until about midnight we were off to the Gateway Christmas party. We mostly took drink tickets and served wine but had a little bit of time to visit with friends. It was good to see everyone and good to have that party finished and successful. We volunteer with a GREAT group of people at church and some have become close friends, which is a bonus.

Serving at the Gateway Christmas Party

Taking Gifts to Adopted Family & Finally, Some Time to Relax
This week has been easier; we mostly hung out at night and let the kids play with friends. They had less homework than normal and the weather has been beautiful so it's been a great week to be outside. Monday night was the exception, when we took the gifts to our adopted family. That was quite an experience for all of us. The Mom was very grateful. Her husband is in jail and she has three little boys ages 3, 6 & 8. She recently moved to Austin from Plano with $5 in her pocket and a tank of gas. She got a job the first day here at McDonald's and has been trying to get back on her feet. She said she had thought Christmas was going to be just another day for them because she couldn't buy them things but now she was able to give them a Christmas. While we talked to her with the help of a translator, the kids listened some and played with her kids some. My Mom went with us, which was great because she and I have done a service project on Dec. 17th, the anniversary of my Dad's death, every year since 2004 when he died.

Rob got the kids Thursday evening and will have them until Monday afternoon, so I feel like I'm finally catching up on things. The house is still a mess and kind of making me crazy. It always seems 'full' at Christmas time with the tree and gifts, stocking, decorations, etc. This year the dining room is also pretty much full of boxes from the house on Swearingen which adds to the feeling of chaos and clutter but is just life right now and a little thing in the grand scheme. We are getting Christmas cards out and finishing our shopping and wrapping this weekend. We have one final party to go to tonight at my friend Tina's house but the rest of the weekend is unplanned. Martin runs the 50K trail run in Bandera two weeks from today, so he has started trying to run every day and is doing well.

Sorry for the long post covering over a month!! I will try hard to write more regularly instead of publishing a novel all at once.

Courtney's Birthday

Courtney had a birthday this past week!! It was a lot of fun. The plan was to put our tree out and decorate but that didn't go quite as we anticipated. Let's ask the family how it went...

Martin: Jake, what did you think of your mom's birthday? Did you she get lots of cool gifts?

Jake: Not really. Martin brought home some great poison ivy for her. So, she's itching all the time now.

M: Um, okay, that's great Jake. We'll move on....

M: Sydney, what do you think? Was mom's birthday something to remember?

Sydney: What, mom had a birthday? Have you seem my DS?

M: Okay, well thank you Sydney for that outstanding recap. So as you might have gathered it was a busy week here at the house and the day went by with little hoop-la but we did have some great chocolate volcano dessert thingys with some ice cream a couple of days later and we went to see Santaland Diaries that Friday which is very funny and highly recommended (Courtney and I went to see this on our first official date).

Court's mom's birthday is on the 11th so we stopped by there yesterday and had some more celebrating. We decorated her tree which is a tradition that I was able to be involved with. She has so many ornaments and all of them (okay, most of them) have a story to go with them. And every year since they have started making them, Jeff, Courtney's brother, gets his mom a State Ornament commemorating our Capitol Building. She has them all since 97 or was it 96. I'll let you guys look it up.

As for our tree, we did eventually get it up on Monday. It was truly the only day this week that we would have the time. It's still lacks a few ornaments but it is a lovely tree and our first tree as a new family.

Austin in Hot Water

Lots has been going on over the past couple of days but I just haven't been able to find time to put a posting in place. I'm still moving from my old house to the new. We didn't plan on dragging it out, it sort of just happened that way. We're rolling with it.

After many trips Courts and I did finish painting the door. It looks pretty good compared to the dull brown/tan and blue that was there before. On our next trip there I'll take a shot of it cause I know that if you're reading this your are totally on edge about it.

So back to Austin Texas Ortiz. Yesterday he ate Jake's DS. It's a portable video game that you can insert cartridges into (made by nintendo). Jake was hating Austin yesterday. The incident came a day after I joked with Jake about feeding it to Austin if he didn't get his homework done. And of course Jake remembered that I said it. He has a mind like a steel trap. He remembers everything so watch what you say around him.

Evidence: Exhibit 1-A

So it seems that Rob, Jake's dad, purchased insurance when he got it which may even cover dog drool. Hmm. I really need to look into something like that for everything else in the house that Austin has tried to carry off in his mouth. Maybe that lizard fella has a special plan for that.

So Austin is kinda in the doghouse right now. I hesitate to post a picture of the damaged electronics. It might just cause the pain to linger. :)

Moving Picture

I'm mostly moved out of my old house but there are a few things left so I thought I would take this opportunity to show a moment captured with my cell phone camera. It's a little grainy but still cute.

Kiddos all packed up

Day 18

It's day 18 for the married couple. :)

We still working on transitioning and combining households. It's a challenge with 4 busy schedules to contend with but we are continuing to persevere. The house on Swearingen has not leased so Courtney decided to take some action to help get it moving. Today we are painting the front door. It was a very dull brown and navy blue and now it's half way to red with a neutral colored trim. And it's looking mighty nice.

The idea is that someone will take notice of it a little easier than with something that just blends into the houses around it. We also going to add some flowers to some pots to add a little more color.

It's a great little house that I'm sure will lease the second someone steps inside. I've committed to taking on some of the simple ideas that need to happen and haven't. I'll keep you all informed because I know this is a HOT topic. (whew! burned my fingers on the keyboard.....HOT!!)

Our lives have not slowed down even a little yet. In the next couple of weeks.....Courtney's birthday, her mom's birthday, Christmas (decorations and tree still in the works as well as the shopping), a big proposal and things kicking up with the Service organizations and projects that we are involved in as part of AustinONE and Gateway Singles (yes I know we're no longer single but hey it's too fun a crowd to separate from. :) )

Finishing up Thanksgiving weekend

Jake has been asking us about going skating every time he remembers that it's been over a month that he has not been. So we took the family out for a few hours of skate time. He's getting really good out on the floor and very daring. He loves the inline skates a whole lot, I think mostly because they are much cooler than the two by two wheel skates that Sydney and I still choose to wear.

Courtney has her inlines from a couple of years back so she's automatically promoted to cool status.

I can't really skate like I use to, certainly not as fast on the feet. But I can still keep up with Jake, at least until he figures out how to really get moving which won't take long. Courtney is much better at it and gives Jake a run for his money. :)

I'm more Sydney's pace. We meandered out onto the floor for two games. One was Wipe-Out and the other Dice (courtney came out for this one). The game of Wipe-Out was pretty uneventful except I fell really hard the two times during the game. Sydney escaped relatively unscathed. During the Dice game I did accidentally bash into her. She forgave me immediately after she whipped me at air hockey.

It was a really good time. I'm sure we'll be back again. Right Jake?! :)

If you're curious about the rules to either game, venture out to your local skating rink and hang out for a session or ask one of those kiddos that's skating circles around you.

Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving Day we were in Wimberley. Courtney's family tradition is to have dinner with the family there. Everyone brings a dish or two. Nancy hosted the dinner that was absolutely incredible. We had lots of veggies, potatoes and a yummy family dressing that she made especially for me and Courtney with veggie broth instead of chicken broth. They had turkey and lots of desserts!

And they were so sweet to offer their Van to help us move. Courtney's mom, Joan and Kevin were an enormous help. We packed and moved practically my whole house in the span of 6 hours. So, so very sweet. :)

Here is a great picture of Sydney. She had to have an after dinner snack.

Thanksgiving Dinner on Wednesday

Dinner the day before Thanksgiving is a tradition that was started many years ago by my pop. Just about everyone made it in which made it incredibly nice. We got there a little late after some heavy traffic.

The food was incredible! and we got to see the new addition to the Wilson family in person for the first time. Reid is very handsome little tiger.

This was wonderful time for Jake and Sydney to see some of their new cousins and run around a lot. Jake found out what it was like to have older brothers. They ran and jumped and laughed a lot.

Thanksgiving Preparations

They'll be lots of "firsts" for us this year as a family. Those of you that have already gotten married and have navigated the "we'll go here this year and there next year" game. Well thanks to Dad we have Thanksgiving figured out. We get to spend Wednesday with the Ortiz gang and Thanksgiving Day with the Stewarts (thanks dad).

This morning the kiddos had no school. I got up early for a run and when I got back the kiddos came piling into the bedroom to snuggle up with mommy. It was very cute. They watched a little TV as we talked about the day.

Court is going to get together with her girlie friends and their kids, see a movie, get some supplies ready for today, pack and visit a new baby. Yay Shannon!!! :) Congrats to you and Alonso. I'm sure you are very excited. Let Courtney take lots of photos.

I'll leave from work as early as possible today so we can get out to San Antonio. We're anxious to see everyone!!

The Honeymoon (with photos)

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed through our sendusoff.com site, enabling us to indulge in such a wonderful honeymoon. Below is a quick recap of each day with photos.

Monday
We had a 6 AM flight and read a book together on the plane. Arrived in Montego Bay around 2:00, got bad directions coming out of the airport and went on an adventure including a stop at Jack in the Box before the drive to Negril. I promise that was the only American fast food we had the entire trip and just because we were lost and seeking directions!

Courtney Gearing up for Driving on the Left Side of Narrow Island Roads

We arrived at the hotel, checked in and then went to dinner at the hotel. We ate Callaloo, a local vegetable and shared a bottle of wine before retiring to our room.

The View from the Rockhouse Restaurant

Tuesday
We got up and went to the grocery store. We were approached by Steven, a local, who offered to be our guide on a day trip. We went through the mountains across the island to the Roaring River, ate sugar cane, went on a tour of the river and a little village, and then stopped at the market to buy fruit afterwards.

Steven Cutting Sugar Cane with a Machete on the Side of the Road

And Courtney Tasting It!

We stopped at Rick’s on the way back to the hotel but it was very ‘americanized’ so we had a quick snack and went back to the hotel. In the first picture below, look to the right of the top of my head just past the center of the photo. There are two cliff divers perched in the trees. In the second, if you divide the photo into four quandrants, then look in the middle of the upper-left section, you can see a cliff diver upside down in mid-dive.

Cliff Diving at Ricks


Cliff Diver Upside Down in Mid-Dive

Sunset from Rick's

We watched the sunset together from our awesome patio at the Rockhouse had another great dinner at the Rockhouse restaurant.

Wednesday

We went to YS Falls and explored a park with seven tiers of waterfalls. We sat and listened to the falls, watched people on the zip line, watched a hummingbird, had a snack, and just enjoyed being with one another. We talked to a lady that worked in the gift shop that told us she had worked there 8 years, another man 14 years and had never missed a day of work. She said they mostly lived within walking distance and love their job. The drive was a couple of hours each way. When we got back, we were both feeling a little tired so we ordered room service and ate in bed.

Thursday
On Thursday, we ordered room service for breakfast and again ate in bed. Then we went to the pool. We swam for awhile and talked to a couple of women there from the States for a wedding. We packed up and checked out, then drove to Montego Bay after stopping for snacks J. Our first impressions of the hotel in MB were awesome! We were flagged for VIP reception and upgraded to a Jr. Suite because we were honeymooners. Our room at the Half Moon was amazing, with a huge bathroom, a separate sitting room, and a private outdoor patio overlooking the ocean. Before we went to the room, we caught the end of the lunch buffet. That afternoon, we explored the property a little bit and started gathering some pretty shells that we found on the beach. That night, we ordered room service and Martin got us a bottle of champagne to celebrate our marriage! He set everything up for a beautiful candlelight dinner on the patio while I took a nap.

Friday
We got up and Martin ran while I laid in bed, then we went to the breakfast buffet and had a big meal. Right at the end of breakfast, Martin was pooped on by a bird so we came back and washed his clothes out and then he rested from his traumatic ordeal while I sat on the patio, listened to the ocean, and read a book. When he got up, we shopped, walked on the beach again, played a game of chess, swam in the pool, and got ready for dinner. We went to the Sugar Mill for dinner and had another wonderful meal – grilled veggies and curried veggies with a Mondavi Merlot.

Saturday
We got up and Martin ran again while I laid in bed. We walked along the beach to the breakfast buffet and had a great breakfast with banana bread, omelet, grilled tomatoes, and fruit salad. We walked some more, found a bunch of little sea urchins, and then stopped off at the room where we hung out and relaxed for awhile. We went for a walk on the beach to the shopping village and gathered a bunch of great shells, then had some awesome pizza at a little English pub. We took the shuttle back and hung out in the room, later ordered room service and ate in bed then went for a late night walk on the beach with our flashlights.

Sunday
We got up and it was raining – pretty hard off and on for the first time since we’d arrived. During a brief break from the drizzle, we walked down the beach to the restaurant for breakfast and there sat a huge shell just waiting for me on our last day! We had another good breakfast – veggie omelet, banana bread, and a great fruit salad – and then mailed post cards and paid our final bill at the front desk. We went back, packed, and headed to the airport. We got a few good pictures of us together and a lot of pictures in general to help us remember the wonderful time we had on our honeymoon.

The Wedding (with photos)

I have included a few pictures here in low resolution that are previews from the photographer. She is working on processing the photos over the next couple of weeks but until then she sent us a few favorites to check out. We LOVE them! Thank you Elizabeth.

Pre-Ceremony

We had such a good time at the wedding. I got there at 1:10 and my family was there already – Mom, Jeff, and Tante. They were sitting at a table with the flowers, which were absolutely beautiful and which I’d forgotten to worry or even think about. They and the photographer were our two kind of last minute decisions and both turned out to be wonderful! Upstairs, I found my girlfriends getting ready in the bride’s changing room. I knew Dawn was coming from Tyler’s flag football games nearby and changing there but it was a nice surprise to find Kristi & Jill there also. Dawn helped Sydney get dressed while I visited.

Syd & I had gone that morning to Stylin Salon in Cedar Park to have our hair done. When they asked her how she wanted hers done she answered, ‘like Mama’s!’ I LOVE that adoration from her and I know it won’t last forever so I was more than happy for her to have a matching hairstyle. We had bought her a purple sweater to wear if it was cold, but in the end, looking at the photos, I was so happy for she and I to be so ‘matching’ in the same color dresses as well.

I waited for a pretty long time to get dressed because I knew once I put on the dress I had to put on the heels as well. I did that at about 1:45. Until then, I visited with my aunts and cousins and girlfriends. Right at the end, my friend Kim, who I hadn’t seen in years and who came from Dallas, came upstairs to say hello, and then when I got downstairs I also got to see Mona while we were waiting to walk down the aisle.

Syd and I waited for what seemed like a long time for our turn down the aisle. Right before we went, Martin’s sister Jacqueline and her daughter Mia arrived, and Jacquie was able to give Luanna a ring that almost all of my new sisters-in-law have worn at their weddings. I slipped it on with my ‘faith, hope, love’ ring that I got right after Dad died.

The Ceremony

I was honored to be walked down the aisle by Sydney, with Martin and Jake waiting with Corey. I had decided that since my Dad couldn’t be there I didn’t want a ‘substitute’ for him but to do something different that worked for me and us. We were so fortunate to have Corey Tabor officiating our wedding. We met him through the AustinONE service project, which is also how Martin & I met. He did the sermon for the Dec. 2^nd, 2006 event that we helped put on and we both really enjoyed hearing him speak. I cried through my vows, which were admittedly long although edited down (hee hee). I loved the reading about the hands and Corey’s charge, and especially the words that Martin said about me in his vows. Of everything about the wedding, we got the most compliments on the service and on Corey’s presentation – Corey, thank you again!

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Syd & Mom Getting Ready

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Sydney Holding Mom's Shoes (that she picked out)

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Sydney Watching Friends Arrive

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Sydney Playing Hostess & Exploring the House

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The Wedding is About to Start!!

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Jake & The Rings

Martin's Vows

My love, you are the most wonderful woman for me. You are my friend, my heart, you are wisdom and strength, and I want you as my bride from this point until forever.

When I do a painting, after thinking about it for many hours, I first add a base color or colors, and then I start adding elements to the piece. There is the primary element, the focus, and then there are secondary elements. Every time what I believe is the most important element of a piece, often is not. There is always that final element that I put in place that I feel led to add. A God given element.

When you came into my life I felt like you were a God given element, the piece in my life that God placed there to make my own image clearer. I know that God has made me in His image and that I'm wonderful because of it but you are my God element, the element that makes me more beautiful, more amazing, more giving, more loving....brighter, more vivid and more colorful.

I remember when we first met I knew that I liked you. We met at a church meeting to organize some different projects. I was introducing AustinONE to our church and you wanted to help organize the project. I remember your enthusiasm for helping children.

Last year at Christmas time we went to see the lights on 38th with some friends. Not our first date, just some time with friends. Shortly after, on an actual date, we went to a dinner and a play. We laughed and smiled a lot that night and I knew that we were going to be spending a lot of time together.

I realized that I was falling in love with you at a race in Bandera. It was an early start and I had camped out the night before. The plan was that you were going to meet me before the race, to see me off. It wasn't until minutes before the start that I found you. It was dark and rainy and not easy to get into the park but you made it. I remember you

walking toward me smiling with your beautiful hair moving in the wind. You stayed the entire day and met me at every aid station where we talked and laughed. It was the best race I ever had and one that I'll never forget. I had the most fun running up to the next stop knowing you would be there. I was always very anxious to see you. You were my angel that day.

Each time I arrived you had water, a place for me to sit, pleasant funny conversation, offered encouragement and support and extra socks, which in a really long run is extremely important. Running is a strong passion for me and you being there meant you cared about those passions even if you didn’t really understand it.

Marriage is about commitment, about selflessness, it's about trust, honor, respect and love for another person. That is the life I’m anxious to begin together. I'm looking forward to beginning my day with you, seeing you at the end of every day, kissing you, helping you, and working

with you.....for our family and for others. God has given us to each other and while I'm probably most fearful of being a less than perfect husband and parent I know that my imperfections will be filled in by the light of God. Through His guidance and love for us we will be fulfilled and will be able to survive any obstacle that might come our way.

I thank God for bringing you and your beautiful children into my life and I look forward to allowing God to shape our new shared path with new colors and shades. I am so gracious for the love God has shown me by granting me the honor of having you as my wife.

Vow Worksheet and Halloween (with photos)

We are supposed to be writing our own vows. We have decided that if we aren't finished by the end of Friday night, we are going with traditional vows. I had found a worksheet that suggested the following:

On the blank piece of paper you brought with you, write a letter to your fiancé using the following instructions:

• Begin with a salutation that is very heartfelt; For example, "My Dearest...", or something to that effect.
• In the first paragraph, tell him/her how much s/he means to you and your life.
• Begin the next paragraph with the words, "It seems like only yesterday that..." Run with it.
• In the next paragraph tell him/her how you felt when you realized you were in love with them.
• In this paragraph, tell him or her what marriage means to you. What aspects of being married are you looking forward to? What are some of your fears? How are you going to address these fears if and when they come about?
• Finally, close your letter with words of love and thanksgiving for your significant other.

Here is what I have:

Martin, my love,

You are all that I’ve hoped for; all that I’ve imagined. At one point I told my girlfriends I would be grateful for a man who didn’t have to be on time all the time but at least knew it was rude to be late. I got that and so very much more when we met and fell in love.

I feel so blessed to have your support in all that I do – you are passionate about many of the things I am passionate about, you are smart, capable and responsible. You laugh with me, hold my hand and hug me tight when I need the extra support. You treat me like a princess in so many ways: always showing me respect, planning fun things for us to do, bringing me flowers, cooking when I am tired, showing up to help with and support the kids at their activities, opening my door, and thanking me for my contributions to our family, just to name a few. I watch you with the kids and am so grateful for all of us to have the consistency, stability, and encouragement that you show and teach by example. I see you patiently working with Sydney on her school work and observe how you are holding her accountable and teaching her to be so much more than just the baby of the family. You participate with Jake in sports activities & camping that are opening up new doors for him and might otherwise remain a mystery. Jake has just this week truly laughed at himself for the first time in years. I have tried to teach him that and have explained the importance again and again but I think it is a gift that only you could give him. For that alone I will be forever grateful to you.

I first really thought we might be a perfect match when you went to Dallas for the weekend, did the DallasONE service project on Saturday, went out with your brothers, got up and ran the White Rock marathon on Sunday and were back at work Monday morning. I thought, ‘huh, he might be able to keep up with my crazy life full of kids, family, friends, dogs, volunteering, my own business, a big house, and on and on…’ I like that we both sat back and observed for a couple of months to see what we really thought before jumping in with both feet.

It seems like only yesterday you let it slip at Macaroni Grill that you loved me and then followed up on the phone to tell me in earnest exactly how you felt about me as you prepared for your small group that week. I don’t know the exact date, but it was after the Bandera trail run on 1/13/07. We had so much fun that day and I am excited to cheer you on again this coming year.

Of course it was exciting to realize that we were falling in love and that we were both feeling the same way about one another. More exciting to realize how different you are than anyone I had dated before. The biggest thing that struck me was your selflessness – in the service work that you do, in the way you treat other people, in picking up a piece of trash from the ground instead of just walking by. I was blown away at your New Years’ party by the fact that you had friends (lots of them!) who stayed past 2AM and helped with every aspect of cleaning up. I remember wanting to grab you and kiss you all night. When we’d first kissed earlier that day, I was so nervous and excited I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest.

I never thought I would marry again after Rob – that if I failed with my children’s Dad I would have the kids and a full life and that would be enough. Now I know how wrong I was, but before I met you I didn’t know what I was missing! In some ways I can’t believe I’m excited to be marrying again. I am also scared - of failing you, myself, the kids, and now of failing God. I am scared of the times that I know will come when we are bored with our lives, disappointed with one another, overloaded and distracted with work and other commitments, or simply moving in different directions. I am comforted by the fact that we are both very persistent and I don’t think either of us is going to give up on something this important. It would worry me that we would ‘stick it out’ even if we weren’t happy, but I truly believe that we are creative enough and stubborn enough not to let that happen. I believe we will find a way through those times and find a way to fall in love with each other again and again. If I didn’t really believe that I wouldn’t be willing to say ‘I do’ one last time. Even though I wasn’t particularly religious when I married the first time, it was an issue for me that I broke the vows I made and I didn’t think I would be willing to say traditional Christian vows again that included a promise before God to stay together forever.

When we hit bumps in our marriage, I promise to draw on my creativity to find new ways for us to connect. I will do everything I can to let go of grudges, not keep score, appreciate the things you do, find ways to show you respect even when it’s not easy, be aware of ways in which I can show subtle disrespect and choose not to do that to you and to us. I want to always remember the things that I already am grateful to you for and to continue to recognize, appreciate, and cherish the many ways in which you make my life richer and more fun, full, and happy than it could ever be without you.

I love you – I am in love with you and I choose to love you forever and make a life with you. I want to laugh with you, grow old together holding hands, and have a family with you full of life, love and respect for one another. I want to be your wife forever!

Love,
-me

On another note, we celebrated Halloween tonight and the kids went trick or treating. It was fun!

Hannah Montana and Captain Jack Sparrow

And another pose

Sydney hoarding candy

Crazy Pirate

Wedding Planning

We're in the final stages of wedding planning. Instead of taking it easy, we're going camping this weekend with Jake's cub scout pack! At least Martin & I have Friday night without kids to finalize the ceremony. You can see more at www.nov10wedding.com.