The Wedding

This post is a little late, as our anniversary has already passed (yesterday), but as we were gone for a wonderful anniversary vacation, you'll have to accept it now instead of earlier!

So, where I left you last....oh yes, we had "decided" to get married. The day finally came. I was a bundle of stressful nerves all day as I waited for the clock to tick. The time finally came for me to go to Jeff's mom's house, where I was to meet Jeff, leave my car, and take off on this incredible adventure! We were so afraid that someone would find out, but I have sinced learned that we really were so sneaky that no one even suspected. I waited at Jeff's mom's house on pins and needles until Jeff finally arrived--he was late! He was also very worried, because he knew that he was going to be late, but tried to call me several times. I had left my cell phone in the car and so kept missing his calls! He was afraid that I had backed out. Silly Jeffrey. A teary grandma poo kissed us goodbye and we took off in the silver bullet.

We drove all the way to Gatlinburg, Tn that night (about 7 hours), but when I look back on it, it seemed as if the hours just flew. We felt giddy with excitement. We got in to Pigeon Forge late at night and checked in to our hotel rooms. I don't believe that either of us slept much that night....we were both too excited. Early the next morning Jeff, ever the planner, got us up and out before 8 a.m. He wanted to find the license branch and get our marrige license with plenty of time, just in case we got stuck in traffic or some other catastrophe befell us. It took about 15 minutes. Really. That's it. In Tennessee there are no blood tests or waiting periods. As long as we both had identification and someone was able to witness our signing, we were licensed for marriage. Scary, huh! From there we went to the chapel, again, just to check it out and make sure that we knew where it was. Our "wedding" was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., but when we arrived we learned that we were the only wedding scheduled for the day, and that we could get married any time we wanted! So, we changed into our wedding attire and got married at 11:00 a.m. The "reverend" asked me if I wanted to walk down the aisle carrying flowers. Honestly, I was shocked. "Absolutely not", I said. "Been there, done that, no reason to do it again". He was a little surprised, but then I think that everything about us was a little surprising. I mean, we weren't kids, and yet here we were, running away like kids to get married. We stood before him in the chapel and held hands. Jeff asked him if he could pray. Again, the reverend was surprised, but of course it was our wedding, so Jeff prayed for us, for our marriage, and thanked God that we were together, finally, forever. The minister then asked for our consents in marriage, then we read vows that we had written for each other. We exchanged rings and the minister pronounced us man and wife. We both just looked at each other and laughed. It was hard to believe it was really true. What took a very short time was packed full of meaning for both of us. I think that when most young couples get married and they make promises to each other, they have no idea to what extent they will have to go to in order to keep those promises, or how much work it will be, or how incredibly binding they are. Jeff and I already knew what it was to make those promises, only to see them torn apart. I guarantee you that we both said our vows that day with an incredible insight to what they truly meant, and that NOTHING would ever cause us to break them.

Then we went to Texas Roadhouse and had lunch.

It was all very fun, and meaningful, and incredibly exciting and romantic. We spent the next few days in a log cabin in the woods and we loved it.

Enjoy our photos. We look at them many times and remember how much we enjoyed that weekend. It was the beginning of our family. At that time, Jack was not even a tiny thought, and yet our family was beginning.

Thank you, Jeffrey, for marrying me, as flawed as I am, and loving me above all others. You are, and always will be, my best friend.



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The "Proposal"

It was a moonlit night on a warm, sandy beach. The palms trees were swaying gently back and forth........um, nah.

So what is our "engagement" story? It's pretty simple, really. We just decided to get married. On February 11, 2005, we realized that was what we wanted to do. We told no one but Jeff's mom and brother (actually I told my mom that we were going to get married, but didn't tell her when). Those two weeks before we got married were probably the hardest for us because of the fact that we knew we were going to be in big trouble when we got back and everyone found out. Unfortunately, there were circumstances that I won't get into and we just decided to literally "skip town" and get married. We started making plans to go to Gatlinburg, TN. I bought outfits for us to wear, purchased Jeff's ring, made travel arrangements, and did a ton of work at school to get ready for my absence (sorry, Laurie). I'm pretty sure that I didn't sleep or eat during that entire time! In the meantime, Jeff was putting a rush on my ring, and preparing the house for my arrival. Since no one knew we were getting married, it was going to be a shock to my two roommates when they found out that their roomie was no longer living in their house! There were a lot of things that, looking back, we could have done and wished that we had done differently, but the end result was that we left on Thursday, February 24, for Gatlinburg for an incredibly romantic weekend. And that will be another post!


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The Reason

Jeff and I had two songs that meant a lot to us. The first was "Bless The Broken Road", and the second was "The Reason".

Bless The Broken Road
(Boyd Bobby/Jeffrey/Hanna/Marcus Hummon)

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

Now I’m just rollin’ home into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you



The Reason
(Hoobastank)

I'm not a perfect person
as many things I wish I didn't do
but I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
it's something I must live with everyday
and all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
and be the one who catches all your tears
that's why I need you to hear

I've found a resaon for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
a side of me you didn't know
a reason for all that I do
and the reason is you

The Way We Were

Jeff and I will be celebrating two years of marriage this coming Sunday, February 25. It has been, without a doubt, the absolute BEST two years of both of our lives, and we are incredibly grateful for our marriage, our family, and the church that God has given us. Many of you may not really know the story of US, so I've decided that this week I will tell it.

Jeff and I were both divorced from our first spouses in the last five years. Our lives as "singles" were fraught with lonliness and pain, and yet, there were some real joys too. God gave us GREAT friends. When you are single and away from family, the friends that you make become your family. It was like this for both Jeff and I. Jeff was a member of the Career Class at our church, and although I attended a different ABF, I was dubbed an "honorary member" of the CC because of the fact that I attended many class events and became friends with many members. Our friends were our lifelines. Jeff's house was known as the "party house". I also had friends outside the career class--friends that were my family (and still are!) God gave both Jeff and I opportunities to do things that we would never be able to do as married people, and we are so thankful for that time. It was hard. We didn't want to be single. We were both searching for someone to share our lives with, and before we found each other, we had our friends. So this blog is dedicated to that people that were our friends when we met. We miss you! Things have definitely changed for us, and for a great number of you as well, be we will always consider you our friends, and a very important part of how we were when we met.

We'd like to invite you all this summer to our house for a bonfire--a career class reunion bonfire! We invite any former career class members and ANY current career class members to our house for a great time! All hammocks will be removed.

Love you guys!



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Bored Baby

As you can see, Jack is getting a little tired (as am I) of being in the house.

Today he took it upon himself to rearrange all of my pantry goods.

Our Blizzard Pictures

Blizzard continued......

Speaking of southern friends, Steven, are you ok? Do you need Jeff to come get you? By the way, this is NOT something that your Swiffer Wet Jet can handle. Try your dirt vac.

The Blizzard of 2007

We're having a blizzard! Yay! Evidentally the winds are blowing at just the right speed, the visibility is just bad enough and the snow is coming down fast enough that this can be called the "Blizzard of 2007". It's all very exciting, except for the fact that I am alone here in the house with Jack, and although we are "snowed in" (snicker, snicker) there is no one to share it with! Aunt Gigi, get in your little car and head this way! Ha! Just kidding. There is talk that Jeff's plant will close, in which case he will get to come home and be snowed in with us. I say this all a little tongue in cheek, because when we lived in Wisconsin, I can remember driving 40 minutes away to go to church in much the same weather, but no one called it a blizzard. We do have the 4-wheel drive truck that will get us just about anywhere we want to go, so we're hardly snowed in. So I guess we're perfectly safe and the only exciting thing that might happen is that our power may go out, in which case, we'll just start the wood-burning stove and sit in toasty warmness. Our conference guests DID make it to the church this morning, but they may not be coming back! G-Poo has graciously offered for them to stay there if it becomes necessary.

I will say, though, that we had a little bit of excitement Sunday morning, when we woke up with no heat! It seems that when we had our dog, Neo, he chewed a hole in the hose that is hooked to the sump pump. Well, the hose froze outside and backed the water up and it was spraying out the hole onto the side of the house. We had a huge ice patch on the side of our house and it was covering up the intake vent to our furnace! So Jeff had to go out and chip the ice and fix the hose and now we're all nice and warm.

I hope that you are all staying indoors today, and that my southern friends THANK GOD that he allows them to live in such warmness.

It Just Kept Snowing

We received our second significant snow of the season today in a very short amount of time. In just a few hours we watched the snow pile up on the birdhouse and the deck railing, and I couldn't help but measure it. It actually snowed a little bit more after I measured, but I don't think the increase was very great. So, all in all we got somewhere between 4-5 inches in about 4-5 hours. Not a bad day's snow! This was the second day in a row that Jack and I were stuck in the house (yesterday was because of the cold and because Jack HAS a cold), so to help pass the time we played with our new camera.....as you should be able to tell by all the pictures.

Mix Match Jack

White Wood

I'm not huge on poetry, but I have a favorite poet that I love, I think mostly because his poems are about nature, and every day sort of things. There are no lofty ideas, just beautiful word images. My favorite poet is Robert Frost, and among my of his works are "Birches", "Two Roads Diverged In A Yellow Wood", and "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening". I am privileged to live in an area where there are beautiful trees around my home. When it snows I am always reminded of my favorite Robert Frost poem.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it's queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there's some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Itchy....the aftermath

It's Saturday morning now and I woke up extremely groggy after sleeping soundly all night. Jeff got up and made me coffee and got Jack out of bed so that I could wake up slowly. It appears that the hives are gone, although I still have a couple places that feel a little itchy. So, hopefully that adventure is over and we can move on to something more fun--like pancakes for breakfast! Yay! Have a great day!

The Itchy And Scratchy Show

I spent all day judging a music competition at our school. It was great--I got to get out, see people, have adult conversation, and picture my little Jack as one of the students playing their instrument in competition. G-Poo watched Jack for me. All in all it was a great day. When I went to get Jack I noticed that I was itching a little bit around the straps of the cami that I was wearing under my sweater. I didn't think much of it because I have kind of sensitive skin and sometimes my clothes make me itch if I've been in them all day (oh come on, YES, I wear clothes all day, but you know what I mean!). Anyway, I came home and Lee came over for dinner and a movie. We were watching Batman Begins (very cool movie that I had not yet been able to see all the way through) and I really started itching. Now it was worrisome because I had changed my clothes hours ago. I went in the bathroom and was shocked to find what I believe to be hives all over my shoulders, neck, legs, and I can only imagine my head as well, since it is also itching! The red dots have grown into large welts now as I am writing this. Jeff and Lee are on an emergency run to Walmart to get me some Benedryl. All I can think is that I've gotten in to something that I am very allergic to and it has given me hives. I am also sneezing a lot, but that could be totally unrelated.

I'm stumped. I have to say that I don't think this has ever happened to me, and it's, well, a little unsettling. I just hope that Jeff wakes up if Jack gets up in the night. I guarantee after I take a full dose of Benedryl, I won't be hearing anything. Scratch 'ya later!

Jack in the shop

Jeff has been out in the shop a lot of nights lately, working on a cargo trailer that he is using for this summer's "Hand Up Housing" (a church based community ministry that I'll explain more about later). He's been building shelves and putting all his tools in a tidy fashion. Total bliss for Jeff. He has had the wood burning stove going which makes the shop all nice and toasty and, frankly, he could be out there for hours and hardly even register the passing of time. Jack and I went out to visit him and check on his progress. I brought Jack's little "pushy cart" in the hopes that he would play with it instead of with the dirty stuff in the shop. Side note: Jack loves his little pushy cart. He piles his toys on top of it and pushes it all around the house. He doesn't need it to walk, he just likes to PUSH it. Jeff thinks that he needs some kind of cargo trailer of his own. Anyway......we were visiting daddy and all was going well......until he had to cut something with his saw. It made a big noise and Jack was very frightened. For the rest of the evening he clung to me and made very sad faces. Jeff was disappointed that he was so scared of the saw, but I assured him that as a true Gray he would soon get over it. At any rate, here are some pictures of the evening.

Bathtime With Jack

Jack loves his bath. As soon as you ask him if he wants to take a bath he heads for the bathroom and throws open the shower curtain. He loves to watch the water run in, and he likes LOTS of toys in the water with him. The only problem is that sometimes he, well, poops in the water. I know, those of you with children are nodding your heads in agreement, and those of you without children are cringing and gagging. When Jack does "muddy" the water, I will frequently send out the poop alarm and daddy will come running. It takes two of us to right the world. One of us takes Jack, dries him off and gets him dressed while the other takes care of the bathtub and all the toys. Inevitably it is Jeff who gets bathtub duty, but he really is so good at it. He gets everything out of the tub and into the bucket. Then he sprays antibacterial Scrubbing Bubbles (the BEST thing ever invented), and then the toys go in to the dishwasher to be sanitized. We work pretty well as a team, especially when Jeff does all the hard stuff! Ha!

Jack is actually in the bath right now and I am hoping that he does not somehow "sense" the topic of this blog, because daddy isn't home at this moment and I'd have to do the whole thing by myself! Thank you, honey for always being such a servant.

I hope everyone's day has been a good one, and lacking any poop emergencies!

A Trying Day

Yesterday was a very discouraging day for this mama. Jack woke up at 5:30 a.m. and refused to go back to bed. It seems that he truly woke up on the "wrong side of the bed". He was cranky and fussy all day long. He had no physical ailments that I could see, but he was throwing tantrum after tantrum all day long. Around 5:00 I finally called my friend, Laurie, for some advice. It seems that her first son was also what we would call "a strong-willed child". Her son is now 13, and although he is not perfect, I see definite qualities in him that are strong, positive, desirable qualities. He is a born leader. He is quick to make a decision and go with it. Kids his age and older follow his lead easily. All very good qualities. Laurie assured me that she had to discipline him consistently everyday no matter how tired, how discouraged, or how little she felt like doing it. It was a great encouragement to me, and at the same time, it was hard news to hear. Although I knew that it was the right answer, it is daunting to think that those wonderful qualities that Caleb possesses, and that Jack could very well someday possess, depend heavily upon my comittment to guiding him, my consistency in disciplining him, my patience with him, and my desire to do what is right no matter how I feel. Wow. What a responsibility. I'm not sure that I'm up to it. I just keep reminding myself that no trial is given to me by God that I am incapable of handling. No matter what Jack does, I know that I can handle it, because if I couldn't, then it wouldn't be happening! That IS a great comfort.

I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength! Phil. 4:13

I've Been Tagged

a: available or single? Neither. I am happily married.
b: best friend: Jeff!
c: cake or pie: Pumpkin pie
d: drink of choice: Starbucks White Mocha, Coke products
e: essential item I use every day: Huggies wipees
f: favorite color: green
g: gummy bears or gummy worms: Neither--Sour Patch Kids
h: hometown: Dwight, Illinois
i: Indulgence? White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks
j: January or February: February
k: kids and names: Anne-marie Violet, 12, Bryan Joel, 12, Jack Douglas, 1
l: Life is incomplete without....: God and my family
m: marraige date: February 25, 2005
n: number of siblings: 2
o: oranges or apples: Neither....although I do like those little mandarin oranges
p: phobias or fears: Spiders...just read my archives
q: favorite quote: Don't really have one. Favorite verses: 1 Peter 1
r: reasons to smile: Jack's kisses
s: season: Summer and early fall
t: tag three or four people: Let's see...Michelle, Jessica, and Jeff
u: unknown fact about me: I was born with a birth defect--cleft palate
v: vegetables you don't like: Tomatoes and celery
w: worst habbit: whining
x: Hey, there's no x!
y: favorite food: anything ethnic....chinese, mexican, greek, italian......
z: zodiac: Taurus

First Kiss

Today Jack went to a new babysitter's house. I had an appointment to have my hair done and I called my friend Katrina to see if she would be willing to watch Jack. Katrina's daughter, Sophie, is 18 months old and absolutely beautiful. She has the MOST striking color of red hair that I've ever seen. I took Jack over and was a little nervous that he would cry when I left. However, Sophie came right up to him and tried to give him a hug! It was so sweet. So I told Jack, "Sophie's giving you hugs and kissies". When I said "kissy", Sophie pulled her pacifier out of her mouth and puckered up at Jack. He smiled at her and looked at me, and I said, "Jack, she's giving you a kissy". So he opened his mouth and leaned in! And that was Jack's first kiss (other than me and dad and grandma poo and Sissy and Aunt GiGi). He got along great with Sophie, and Katrina said that he didn't cry once! It felt great to know that I could leave him somewhere and just relax knowing that he was well taken care of. Of course, that's how it always is with G-Poo! I have to admit though, as happy as I was that he liked Sophie, a little sadness entered my heart at the thought that he will one day want to kiss another girl more than me! Good thing that a LONG way off!

The Boy Loves His Dad

So far Jack and Jeff have survived their stomach flu incidents. Yes, that's right, Jeff got it too, again. Unbelievable that I have NOT gotten it, especially in the light of the fact that both Aunt GiGi and Grandma Poo have fallen to it as well. I guess we'll just keep praying.

On a much sweeter note, yesterday Jack was very excited that his da da was here when he woke up. He followed Jeff around (as he usually does) like a little puppy. However, Jeff had to leave, so he sneaked out the back door, thinking that Jack didn't see him. A few minutes later I noticed that I hadn't heard from Jack, so I went looking for him. The best way to find him is to yell, "where's momma?" and do a little fake scream. He will generally answer me back with a little fake scream of his own. He did this time too and I could tell that he was somewhere in the kitchen. Rounding the corner I found him with his back against the back door, coat in hand. When he saw me he smiled and said, "Da Da".

If that wasn't sweet enough, when I called Jeff on his cell phone to tell him, he got all choked up and said, "Promise me that you'll blog about that so I'll never forget it".

Sick Again

Some time in the night Jack woke up and made a coughing noise, cried for a few seconds, and then went back to sleep. I didn't think much of it. I woke up and listened to make sure that he was sleeping again, and then went back to sleep myself. This morning when I picked him up out of bed, I noticed that he had corn in his bed. This was puzzling. He did have some corn chowder for dinner last night and I thought, somehow he has squirreled away some of his dinner and now it's in his bed. This is what you think when you've been awake for one whole minute. So I gave him his bottle and laid him down in my bed, thinking that I would just investigate the corn thing later. He finished the bottle and sat up and started talking to me. I don't know exactly what he said, but just after he finished telling me this long baby talk story, he threw up all over my bed!

So we are doing the whole "vomit schedule" (drinks of water a little bit at a time). He's not as bad as last time, thank you God! He did fall asleep in my lap this morning, a highly unusual occurrence since most of the time he will not actually sit in my lap. And after trying some toast and some water, he is sleeping again. He is playing ok and not too cranky, but I have had him quaranteened in the living room just in case he hurls again.

So, things are not as mommy would have planned for the day, but hey, this is what childhood is like, and I love taking care of my precious baby! Hopefully he will feel much better when he wakes up from his nap. I think I shall take the opportunity to take a much needed shower, since I was in the bed when he threw up! Mmmmmm......yummy!