Remembering our wedding, 8 years later

John and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary today.  This year hasn't been an easy one for us, in large part because of the stresses of the move last summer, but I also do believe there's something to the idea of a 7-year itch.  So I'm extra glad to have reached this milestone today, and we're in a better place today than we've been for years, for which I'm thankful.


On Facebook today, I'm asking folks to chime in with their memories of our wedding.  I love hearing what others remember, esp. since so much of the day is a blur to me now.  Here are some of my favorites so far:


"The bubbles as you and John left your reception. :) I have a pic of that and it's one of my favorite wedding pics of all-time." -- Sherry, rival from elementary school and friend from high school


"dancing w/ Mike on the dance floor at the reception (we had just gotten back together after our break), being on the outside porch taking pics with you & Meredith, the bubbles at the end & you being sad that it was over, & I believe a funny pink flamingo tied to your get-away car ;)" -- Sarah,  church friend since childhood


"The incredible spy museum!!! I've been back there at least once since the event and remember how cool it was to have a meal there!" -- Jonathan, cousin


"I remember thinking what a special couple you and John are. ( I still think that!) Also watching your family on the dance floor. It was a fun wedding! Congrats!" -- Amy, high school friend


"Happy anniversary to a beautiful couple! I remember lots of little details--the girls playing violin at your ceremony, the pretty purple bridesmaid dresses, your mom as matron of honor, you and John dancing to "Grow Old With You," the weather being unbelievably and unexpectedly beautiful for March, blowing bubbles as you two left the reception to begin your new life together. A wonderful day!" -- Emily, high school friend


"I wasn't at your wedding, but I knew you before you married, and you two worked so hard at your preparation to make sure you had a solid foundation. It got you this far (with God's help). You were good examples of doing it right. I also remember a fun lacrosse game." -- America, work friend


"Happy 8th St. Kitts friends! Wish we could all go back to celebrate!" -- Kristin, whom we met on our honeymoon after both getting married the same day in different states


"I remember you and John dancing to the theme from "Moulin Rouge" and singing it to each other. I also remember loving the bridemaid dress, which I wore to a number of other occasions over the years. I think it's still in my closet!" -- Ruth, college roommate and bridesmaid

"Happy Anniversary Jen! My memory is watching you and John - with such love in your eyes - pledge your lives to one another. I watched with wonder and anticipation, basking in joy myself as Bob and I had just gotten engaged the previous evening. Felt like your joy kicked off our own which is a special memory.: -- Jen, work/Bible study friend

"the purple bridesmaids' dresses and my hair up in the back... I don't think I have worn a dress since. lol John burning himself on the unity candle (hehe), you two dancing to "Grow Old with You", the beautiful reception place, and lots of other little things... :)" -- Laura, sister of the groom and bridesmaid

"I love the picture that you gave me from that day with the Bible study girls and I got to see Mina that day and meet her husband." -- Lydia, church/Bible study friend

"I thought ur wedding gown was so beauty full , most of all you looked amazing that day. loved the reception & was so happy to see all of our friends from the bible study. Happy 8th anniversary to you guys.....Jason & i will be 9 year this jun 28.It has been such a wonder full journey, & experiencing GOD together & seeing his miracle in our marriage it's unbelievable.Love you guys & pray many more 8th;s to come to celebrate." -- Mina, church/Bible study friend

"I remember your beautiful, colorful flowers and how happy you and John were! It was a blessing to be there. Happy Anniversary!!" -- Laura, church friend

"Happy Anniversary! Does Daniel not making the roll call count??" -- Jason, brother of the bride and usher

"I remember thinking that where most weddings are all party and little substance, your wedding was the most meaningful and FAITH-filled. You and John were the most gracious couple at acknowledging everyone there. Oh, and I remember dancing! And seeing the stuffed animals on your couple-table that sing "Get to me the church on time" from My Fair Lady.And you had the BEST BEST BEST rehearsal dinner ever! I loved the theme and location - Spy Museum - plus delicious food." -- Michelle, junior high and high school friend and bridesmaid

"That beautiful bridesmaid dress - I had so many people who compliment about it when they see pictures. And since I was in YWAM at the time and totally broke I remember how you guys paid for my tickets and everything for me to be at your special day! I was so privileged to be part of your wedding! The meal you served was REALLY tasty. I also had a cultural experience when people were shocked when it was revealed by the beautiful bridesmaid dress that I had tatoos!" -- Karin, college suitemate and bridesmaid

"I remember the Congressman and his wife out on the deck."  -- Phil, church and Bible study friend

"I remember thinking, as I escorted you down the aisle, that I would be sobbing. Instead I had a tremendous smile as I experienced such wonderful joy. And I remember, despite my self-consciousness, our wonderful dance together to the song 'In My Life' as my life flashed before me...my little girl was taking the next step in her amazing journey." -- Jeff, father of the bride

"I remember what a PRIVILEGE it was to be by your side both as mom and matron of honor. I was honored to stand by Sue, a godly soon-to-be mother-in-law to my girl, lighting the separate candles before you lit the unity one. I loved being in the dressing room ahead of time . . . the anticipation and care that everyone was giving to one another, and standing in the narthex, a row of 'girls in purple' with the one in white so radiant. The bridesmaids' party (seeing Fiddler on the Roof at a dinner theater) was the best!" -- Debbie, mother of the bride

Were you at my wedding?  Please send along your memories, and I'll add them as I receive them!  :-)

Thanks everyone for adding to my joy today!

Jen

2009 in Review: September and October

Two days into 2010, I'm still trying to catch up on my 2009 blogging. Sorry! Here are some of my favorite previously-unposted photos from September and October of 2009.


I call this one "For every good photo I take, I have six more of these."


Cute ones of Katie and Joshua:


On September 6, we celebrated the birthday of John's brother Jamie at a nearby club to which we belong.

On September 2, my dear friend Meredith (one of my bridesmaids and a missionary in Mexico) came to visit. It was her first opportunity to meet Joshua and she and the kids enjoyed a round of giggling, tickling, and posing for the camera.


Joshua's soon-to-be-close-friend Adah (daughter of our close friends Mike and Cindy) was baptized a few weeks before Joshua. Here's a photo of Katie dressing up to "match" Adah's winter apparel, and a photo of Cindy and Adah before Adah's baptism.

September 14: Katie's first poo-poo in the potty.
And yes, I took a photo to note the occasion. But I will spare you. :-)

Joshua's Baptism

On September 27, Joshua was baptized. I've already blogged about it here, including a video of the sacrament, but here are some other photos from that day that I love.

After the baptism, I took Joshua to the church nursery so I wouldn't need to keep him quiet for the rest of the service. He promptly fell asleep after I dropped him off -- here are photos of him when I arrived, and just after he woke up and saw his mommy.


We had our family and a few friends over afterwards for lunch.


I know what you're wondering: What is that last photo? That's a photo of the giant branch that fell during the baptism lunch, spearing our front yard just as some of our friends were walking up to our door. We put Uncle Jamie in the photo so you could see the scale of the branch. We were so thankful that no one was hurt, especially later that week when I heard someone in our town had been killed that afternoon by a falling tree.

Here is the rose that was displayed on our church organ during Joshua's baptism -- our church's way of announcing his birth.

September 27: Joshua and Katie moved to their big beds
Already blogged about it here.

October 3: We visited John's parents. Katie marvelled at JPa's expanded model train set-up, while Joshua tried a playground swing for the first time at the local elementary school.

October 8-12: We went to the beach for Columbus Day weekend. Six weeks earlier, we had left to beach after my family vacation, and I had said goodbye to warm beach weather and bathing suits. However, we were delighted in October to still have weather warm enough to play in the water! Other highlights of this weekend were teaching Katie how to play mini golf and skeeball, and seeing Katie put a not-so-appropriate funnel (read the words on it) on her head as a hat in a souvenir shop.

October 18: Christy Rowe, the mother of my fantastic new sister-in-law Lindsey, paid us a visit from Seattle.

October 23: We left the kids with my parents and took John's parents to see Topol in his farewell tour of "Fiddler on the Roof". Topol is one of the most famous Tevyes ever (he played Tevye in the movie version, for instance), and the four of us were awed to see him in person. He exuded energy and charisma even at age 74.

Halloween. I blogged here about Katie winning our neighborhood costume contest, but here are some of my other favorite photos from the Halloween season.

Before the costume contest, Katie poses with the pumpkin and gourd that she and I decorated, using VeggieTales characters as a model. She called our creations "Jimmy and Jerry".

After the contest, Katie (who won 1st prize in the 2-and-under category) poses with "Cheetah", who won 1st prize in the 3-and-up category. She also tried hula hooping for the first time.


Since Joshua's pumpkin costume didn't win any contests, we tried a few costumes my friend Marce handed down to us. Joshua wasn't a fan of the monkey outfit because he couldn't use his hands.

In the meantime, John and I attended a Halloween-themed birthday party. John and his friend Wayne teamed up for a unique take on the Blues Brothers, while I dressed up as a baby (hey, I already had all the gear around my house!).

The next night was Halloween, and Joshua's third costume try was a charm. He was a Dalmatian, and I painted his nose black to add to the effect. That afternoon, John's parents had babysat while John and I took my parents to see "Jersey Boys", with the added bonus that both sets of grandparents were around when we started our trick-or-treating.

Videos: Here are our favorite October videos.

Katie swings at a pinata for the first time at the neighborhood block party:

At the beginning of most of our Sesame Street DVDs, there is a promotional intro that can't be skipped over. Thus, Katie knows it by heart and even enjoys it. Her favorite part of the segment is a muppet named Khokha from the Egyptian version of Sesame Street, "Alam Simsim". From the time she started watching TV, she has always cracked up after Khokha exclaims something that makes no sense in the English language. In fact, she just walked up behind me as I was blogging and said "Coco-kabaya!" which is our best translation. Here is her laughing as she watches the segment.



Katie runs in circles in the arcade where her daddy is playing skeeball. Katie runs in circles a lot ever since we taught her to run around the coffee table while singing "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain".


Katie tries her hand at mini golf (I had to post two videos because they both crack me up).

She's Walking!!

On Sunday, June 8, just a few hours after learning that her best friend Daniel (7 weeks older) was walking, Katie decided she couldn't let Daniel outpace her and walked for the first time! She took three steps to get to a toy. So exciting! While I couldn't get a video of the first few steps (we were watching National Treasure 2 at the time -- how dare she not give us warning beforehand?), here's a video taken shortly afterwards which shows a step or two.

And while I'm sharing the good news, let me share a few more highlights from this past week:

While we were dodging tornadoes, my friend Amy and her daughters took advantage of the regional blackout to come over for a fun sleepover! The next day, after our power finally came on, I babysat the girls and Katie fell asleep on 10-year-old Caitlin's lap as they watched "Hairspray."

Friday night our family took advantage of the 3-day weekends that John now gets every other week (what a blessed life we have with his new job!) and headed to the beach to visit with John's parents. It was way too hot to actually lie on the beach this weekend, but John's parents watched Katie several times so we could sleep in, go to the movies twice, and go out to dinner. What a wonderful, relaxing weekend -- especially when John's parents were supposed to be celebrating their own 36-year anniversary. (Speaking of which, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GRAMMY and JAY-PA!) Highlights from the weekend were Katie walking for the first time, trying chocolate ice cream for the first time, and enjoying her new doggie raft in the pool. She also now moo's spontaneously when I point to a picture of a cow.