Wednesday, September 18, 2013
More Happy Times
Pictures from Seattle, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and California, from 2012 and 2013.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Happy Times
1st:^ August 2009.....................................................2nd:^ August 2010
3rd:^ November 2010...............................................4th:^ December 2010
6th:^ June 2011.........................................................7th:^ September 2011
8th:^ December 2011Sunday, October 2, 2011
Wedding & Honeymoon Posts
They are posted in order, so that you can simply scroll down and read the story in order...
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Two Years, Two Years Apart
2011, and 2009, respectively, at the OKC Zoo.One picture was from our first full day together; the other was from our last.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Arrivals and Departures
4:54 PM (Pacific) 9/26/2011. I had just typed out about 90% of the first Friday. Except the guy in front of me just reclined his seat (we're about a 1/2 hour away from San Diego), catching my little laptop funny and knocking out the battery, shutting it off and causing me to lose about a thousand words or so. I suppose today is just that kind of day. I had to leave my darling about a thousand miles away.
But it's the best time of my life anyway. I'm a married woman now. :)
Friday morning, September 16th, I woke about 3:45, very excited. I was very packed the night before, so getting out the door wasn't too hard. I had planned on walking to the airport, but I didn't quite leave when I wanted. And there was a taxi waiting across from the main gate... $5 to the airport?! I got right in.
I had the first flight out, and arrived before security opened. For breakfast I got McDonald's oatmeal, yogurt parfait & a sausage biscuit. They let it through security, when it finally opened. :) Fast forward through an uneventful flight to the Denver airport. Mom, Dad, Meg & Jason had my same flight to OKC! Since it was only a 1/2 hour layover, I quickly crossed the terminal to the right gate, scanning for my family. But their flight had arrived even a few minutes after mine, and I soon saw Meg and Jason running ahead of Mom and Dad. I was able to swap my aisle seat on an exit row for the seat between Mom and Dad's... who wouldn't take that deal? So I sat between Mom on my right and Meg across. Meg and I played a game of Phase 10 (and I lost), and I was altogether light-spirited. More so than I've been in a long time. Because I didn't pay attention to the safety talk, and because I was laughing with Meg, the flight attendant spoke to me as if I was 14 or so. But nothing could dampen my happiness.
Mike was on the freeway when we pulled into the gate... perfect timing. By the time the fam got their checked bag, he had parked and arrived in baggage claim. Because of the great thing we were doing, and the fact that it was different to have my family there too, I felt a little nervous when everyone met. But that was soon brushed away; everyone was friendly and very happy.
Mike and I took off to get the marriage certificate at the Cleveland County, OKC, courthouse. It was something of a generic office building, and after the security screen (wait, hadn't I just done that this morning?) we headed down a few stairs to a clerk's window and waiting area. We showed our driver's licences, raised our right hands and swore the information was correct and that we were not already married... that and $50... and we signed the certificate there. Apparently, witnesses had recently been signing in the wrong place, causing line-outs on official documents.
We had to stop to get out some cash, and we stopped by the chapel. He wanted to show it to me... and gosh! it was so beautiful! The small chamber was full of afternoon light from the five tall stained windows. A half-dozen row of chairs, six to a row, and a baby grand piano in the back filled up most of the room. A bright green kneeling cushion sat before a pedestal, which had two candles, a small polished brass cross and a giant Bible, opened to Psalm 139... which we were scheduled to read that night. It couldn't have been more perfect.
Next, it was to 416 Park Dr... my new home. I admired the new couch, and all the improvements Mike had worked so hard to get done in time. My family soon arrived, and they were introduced to Charlie and Patty, and we visited for a minute. We decided to all go look at the chapel, and after that we sat for a long while in the big sanctuary alongside. They have a massive 1920s pipe organ that fills up the entire wall in the front. There were many more stained windows that let in some delicious light as we sat, relaxed, and talked.
After deciding we'd like to leave before they threw us out, we drove a couple blocks to "Othello's" on Campus Corner. A locally owned Italian restaurant was perfect for the occasion... and it was a tradition stemming from my two earlier visits to Norman. Mike and I again had the meat lasagna. :)
We all returned to Mike's house, after the two of us went to pick up Mike's shirt and tie, for an episode of Remember WENN before saying goodnight; on a wedding theme, you guessed it, we watched "The First Mrs. Bloom". I stayed the night with my family at the Days Inn, for another tradition... we've stayed there each time! :) I had a roll-away bed and slept rather soundly. I woke up facing the full-length mirror, so that was a little surprising.
But it's the best time of my life anyway. I'm a married woman now. :)
Friday morning, September 16th, I woke about 3:45, very excited. I was very packed the night before, so getting out the door wasn't too hard. I had planned on walking to the airport, but I didn't quite leave when I wanted. And there was a taxi waiting across from the main gate... $5 to the airport?! I got right in.
I had the first flight out, and arrived before security opened. For breakfast I got McDonald's oatmeal, yogurt parfait & a sausage biscuit. They let it through security, when it finally opened. :) Fast forward through an uneventful flight to the Denver airport. Mom, Dad, Meg & Jason had my same flight to OKC! Since it was only a 1/2 hour layover, I quickly crossed the terminal to the right gate, scanning for my family. But their flight had arrived even a few minutes after mine, and I soon saw Meg and Jason running ahead of Mom and Dad. I was able to swap my aisle seat on an exit row for the seat between Mom and Dad's... who wouldn't take that deal? So I sat between Mom on my right and Meg across. Meg and I played a game of Phase 10 (and I lost), and I was altogether light-spirited. More so than I've been in a long time. Because I didn't pay attention to the safety talk, and because I was laughing with Meg, the flight attendant spoke to me as if I was 14 or so. But nothing could dampen my happiness.
Mike was on the freeway when we pulled into the gate... perfect timing. By the time the fam got their checked bag, he had parked and arrived in baggage claim. Because of the great thing we were doing, and the fact that it was different to have my family there too, I felt a little nervous when everyone met. But that was soon brushed away; everyone was friendly and very happy.
Mike and I took off to get the marriage certificate at the Cleveland County, OKC, courthouse. It was something of a generic office building, and after the security screen (wait, hadn't I just done that this morning?) we headed down a few stairs to a clerk's window and waiting area. We showed our driver's licences, raised our right hands and swore the information was correct and that we were not already married... that and $50... and we signed the certificate there. Apparently, witnesses had recently been signing in the wrong place, causing line-outs on official documents.
We had to stop to get out some cash, and we stopped by the chapel. He wanted to show it to me... and gosh! it was so beautiful! The small chamber was full of afternoon light from the five tall stained windows. A half-dozen row of chairs, six to a row, and a baby grand piano in the back filled up most of the room. A bright green kneeling cushion sat before a pedestal, which had two candles, a small polished brass cross and a giant Bible, opened to Psalm 139... which we were scheduled to read that night. It couldn't have been more perfect.
Next, it was to 416 Park Dr... my new home. I admired the new couch, and all the improvements Mike had worked so hard to get done in time. My family soon arrived, and they were introduced to Charlie and Patty, and we visited for a minute. We decided to all go look at the chapel, and after that we sat for a long while in the big sanctuary alongside. They have a massive 1920s pipe organ that fills up the entire wall in the front. There were many more stained windows that let in some delicious light as we sat, relaxed, and talked.
After deciding we'd like to leave before they threw us out, we drove a couple blocks to "Othello's" on Campus Corner. A locally owned Italian restaurant was perfect for the occasion... and it was a tradition stemming from my two earlier visits to Norman. Mike and I again had the meat lasagna. :)
We all returned to Mike's house, after the two of us went to pick up Mike's shirt and tie, for an episode of Remember WENN before saying goodnight; on a wedding theme, you guessed it, we watched "The First Mrs. Bloom". I stayed the night with my family at the Days Inn, for another tradition... we've stayed there each time! :) I had a roll-away bed and slept rather soundly. I woke up facing the full-length mirror, so that was a little surprising.
Wedding Day (Saturday, September 17)
Can I keep everything straight from this day? I'll try.
We slept in a bit, everyone finally getting up by 9:15 or so. The first plan of the day was breakfast at The Cracker Barrel, across the freeway from the Days Inn. Mike met us, picked me up and the family followed in their rental car. I was a bit scatter-brained. The words on the menu weren't making sense to me... I know I wanted eggs & pancakes... the waiter helped me figure it out. :)
We parted ways after a long breakfast. Mike had some things to get done, and Meg wanted to work on my hair after Mom finished ironing the dress she had made and brought with her. The bouquet mom made was at Mike's house... she had shipped it there earlier. I played Backgammon with Dad, and we watched a bit of college football on TV together after my hair had finally cooperated. The Washington Huskies game had just come on before it was time to go. They were losing to Nebraska in the first quarter when we turned on the channel, but they came stomping down the field to tie it while we watched. :)
Mike came by to pick me up around 2:30 - 3ish... memory is fuzzy. The family went to McFarlin Church, but Mike and I went to his house. I met his neighbors when he handed over his house key... very friendly! And very nice! They were going to look after things while we were away on the honeymoon. And then I helped him gather everything we needed for the ceremony. Judy, Dickie and Tracy (Mike's sister, brother-in-law & niece) drove up when we got back from the neighbors, but they went on to the church after saying hello.
Everything went very nicely from my point of view. Everyone took care of everything for me. :) I dressed in the sitting room of the women's restroom just around the corner from the chapel. Mom sat with me for a while, and that was very nice. Meg and Jason ran around helping and letting me know what was going on.
Since the ceremony was in his hometown, Mike had arranged everything. Tracy, his niece, is a Methodist minister, and through her we got use of this Methodist chapel at no charge. She performed the ceremony too... and took care of sending in the certificate after all was done.
Here's the transcript of the wedding that Mike wrote (mostly from a copy of Methodist wedding ceremonies):
ENTRANCE
Processional music: “O God Beyond All Praising” (Perry-Holst) [a hymn using the middle theme from Holst's Jupiter] Jen and Michael enter together as the processional plays.
We slept in a bit, everyone finally getting up by 9:15 or so. The first plan of the day was breakfast at The Cracker Barrel, across the freeway from the Days Inn. Mike met us, picked me up and the family followed in their rental car. I was a bit scatter-brained. The words on the menu weren't making sense to me... I know I wanted eggs & pancakes... the waiter helped me figure it out. :)
We parted ways after a long breakfast. Mike had some things to get done, and Meg wanted to work on my hair after Mom finished ironing the dress she had made and brought with her. The bouquet mom made was at Mike's house... she had shipped it there earlier. I played Backgammon with Dad, and we watched a bit of college football on TV together after my hair had finally cooperated. The Washington Huskies game had just come on before it was time to go. They were losing to Nebraska in the first quarter when we turned on the channel, but they came stomping down the field to tie it while we watched. :)
Mike came by to pick me up around 2:30 - 3ish... memory is fuzzy. The family went to McFarlin Church, but Mike and I went to his house. I met his neighbors when he handed over his house key... very friendly! And very nice! They were going to look after things while we were away on the honeymoon. And then I helped him gather everything we needed for the ceremony. Judy, Dickie and Tracy (Mike's sister, brother-in-law & niece) drove up when we got back from the neighbors, but they went on to the church after saying hello.
Everything went very nicely from my point of view. Everyone took care of everything for me. :) I dressed in the sitting room of the women's restroom just around the corner from the chapel. Mom sat with me for a while, and that was very nice. Meg and Jason ran around helping and letting me know what was going on.
Since the ceremony was in his hometown, Mike had arranged everything. Tracy, his niece, is a Methodist minister, and through her we got use of this Methodist chapel at no charge. She performed the ceremony too... and took care of sending in the certificate after all was done.
Here's the transcript of the wedding that Mike wrote (mostly from a copy of Methodist wedding ceremonies):
ENTRANCE
Processional music: “O God Beyond All Praising” (Perry-Holst) [a hymn using the middle theme from Holst's Jupiter] Jen and Michael enter together as the processional plays.
GREETING
Tracy to guests:Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses, to join together this man and this woman, Jennifer and Michael in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate, instituted of God, and signifying unto us the mystical union that exists between Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence in Cana of Galilee. It is therefore not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate these two persons come now to be joined.
READING AND MUSICReading: In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote of two kinds of love that enable and support a Christian marriage:
“What we call ‘being in love’ is a glorious state and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous; it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty. . . . Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called ‘being in love’ usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending ‘They lived happily ever after’ is taken to mean ‘They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they did the day before they were married,’ then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? . . . But of course, ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense – love as distinct from ‘being in love’ – is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace with which both partners ask, and receive, from God. . . . ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity; this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run; being in love was the explosion that started it.”As Jennifer and Michael unite in marriage, we honor those two loves. And we celebrate a third and greater love – the redeeming love of God, manifested through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is this love that provides the most stable foundation for a shared life. The first two loves join a man and a woman for as long as a lifetime. But we are promised this third love is unbounded and never-ending. Today we remember the words of the psalmist: “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.”
Music: “Love Never Fails” [live performance by a university guitar student]DECLARATION BY THE MAN AND THE WOMAN
Tracy gives the following charge to Jen and Michael:I charge you both, as you stand in the presence of God, to remember that love and loyalty alone will avail as the foundation of a happy home. If the solemn vows you are about to make are kept faithfully, and if steadfastly you endeavor to do the will of your heavenly Father, your life will be full of joy, and the home you are establishing will abide in peace. No other ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those you now assume.
Tracy to Michael:Michael, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others keep only to her so long as you both shall live?
Michael: I will.Tracy to Jen:
Jennifer, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others keep only to him so long as you both shall live?Jen: I will.
EXCHANGE OF VOWSTracy prompts them, line by line.
Michael to Jen:I, Michael, take you, Jennifer, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge you my faith.
Jen to Michael:I, Jennifer, take you, Michael, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold,
from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge you my faith.
Tracy, taking the rings:
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, signifying to all the uniting of this man and woman in holy matrimony, through the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord.Bless, O Lord, the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may abide in thy peace, and continue in thy favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(prompted, line by line, by Tracy):In token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love, with this ring I thee wed, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
DECLARATION OF MARRIAGETracy to guests:
Forasmuch as Jennifer and Michael have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have pledged their faith each to the other, and have declared the same by joining hands and by giving and receiving rings; I pronounce that they are husband and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Those whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder. Amen.Jen and Michael kiss, then turn and face the guests.
Tracy to guests:May I present Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Jennifer Waters.
(Applause) (At least I hope so)...there was. :)
It was a beautiful ceremony. From there, after a little milling around, and the witnesses signing the certificate and pictures being taken, we all headed to an elegant local restaurant called "Legends" were a dozen or so of us dined wonderfully, thanks to my Mom and Dad's generosity. I had a delicious chicken dinner... can't remember exactly... and then we tasted their famous cakes for dessert. A few presents and cards were opened... and then our magical day was almost done. My family came over to the house to say goodbye, and I loved that very much. We tried to sort out my stuff from theirs as best we could, and we did pretty well. A sewing kit and my wedding shoes got left with us. :)
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