Monday, July 26, 2010

Happy Anniversary Baby.....

This is the anniversary of the day we met face-to-face. That day was October 26, 2008. Twenty-one months ago. What a great day that was. Did we know that would actually be the start of our new life together... maybe we did, who really knows. It seemed to be just that.

Nearly two years together, so far....
....and our wedding is less than 14 months away.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

What I've done on my "summer vacation", so far.

Well, as you can see, we all know who the writer/journal keeper is in our "family"... ah, that would be and is Jeff. I have good intentions, yet just don't seem to keep up too well.

A lot of gatherings, events, mini-vacations have taken place since I last posted. I'd like to think that was in MAY, but I have found out it was in late APRIL.

Well, since then, we've celebrated Jeff's birthday with a family dinner at a local restaurant and a trip for us to Hood River for a photo shoot and exploration. We had great weather, discovered some micro-brews at Full Sail and Big Horse Brew Pubs. We thoroughly enjoyed the area. A place we'll visit again.

We celebrated Father's Day with my Dad in grand style. We made him breakfast, took him to a movie and later had a wonderful strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits like my Mom made and fresh strawberries. YUM.... OMG were we full!!!

We took a bike trip... loaded up the bikes and headed to a nearby town to ride on their river path.

We attended a high school graduation where my Dad awards a scholarship in memory of Mom. Later that day, we were guests at a beautiful garden wedding. Yes, we took notes, besides had a great time.

We again took a mini-vacation to the Columbia River Gorge... Yes, I'll post a few photos... that's what this is for, right. See... I did post a photo.... :)

I finally got to go spend a few days with Jeff at his home in Cove. What a retreat. That was the 4th of July weekend. Can you say BBQ... each evening meal was cooked over the coals. YUM... the leftovers were great too. That very weekend we got the news we were hoping and praying for. My nieces husband, yes, my nephew, arrived home from a one-year tour of duty in Afghanistan. Talk about a great day to come HOME! We heard their 2-year-old daughter follows him around a lot... even to the bathroom door. "Daddy, are you in there?" She just does not want him to get away.

Last weekend, we went to Athena to take in the sights and sounds of the Caledonian Games, a very Scottish celebration. Both Jeff and I are of some Scottish ancestry which made it all the more fun. While in the park enjoying the shade we saw my cousin walking through to go assist his wife with some tasks related to the celebration. We stopped him...and was greeted in his usual manner... a joyous smile and a big warm hug. I had the pleasure of introducing Jeff to Delbert and Kayla... two of my favorite people, three including Jeff of course. We asked to meet them at their church later. You see, Delbert is a minister, besides being a wonderful man and an oh-so-terrific cousin. They showed us the church and the amenities and we asked Delbert if he officiate our wedding... and the steps it would take for us to make this happen. With formalities out of the way, we commenced to having a most enjoyable and fun visit, but that's how it is with wonderful people who just happen to be family. Jeff had just met Delbert and Kayla and felt right at home.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Celebrating Pre-Anniversaries

We may not be wealthy people, except in spirit, but each day we celebrate the spirit of abundance. That may explain all the various special days we celebrate. That and making up for a half century of lost time it took us to meet each other. Sure, we enjoyed those 50 years. We had many wonderful experiences, learned a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot. But knowing at best we will only be together for 30 or 40 years, if health blesses us richly, as a couple we need to make each day, each month, each year count.

We celebrate the day Teri responded by e-mail to my first wink (the 12th), the day of our first (10 hour) date (the 26th) and now also the 10th. That's our Pre-Anniversary. At this writing, we are 14 months away from the wedding day. What makes the July 10, 2010, Pre-Anniversary celebration more special is that we met with Teri's cousin, Delbert, and tentatively chose a wedding venue, the church where he preaches in Athena, a small town named for the Goddess of Nearly Everything. I'm especially excited, as a person dedicated to lifelong learning, about Delbert's requirement of six pre-marital counseling sessions. We both enjoy his company. We'll be entertained as well as enlightened. We have done a good job already establishing a family meeting structure where we can talk about anything and everything, especially the tough issues, and come up with satisfactory compromises. We also are realistic enough at this late stage to know puppy love and a crush from a deeper form of love, and we also know that our relationship needs constant nurturing and will continue to evolve. But an objective outside voice of wisdom can help supply other building blocks for a foundation that will make the marriage more storm proof.