A Beautiful Time

I told you guys that my mom and dad got remarried on Christmas Eve.
They first got married in 1957 and were married for 34 years before deciding to part ways.
They got back together in 1998, seven years after the divorce was final.

I have asked them repeatedly since them when they were going to make it official and get married again.
Same answer every time...later.

Well, when my mom called me this past Fall and told me they were going to the justice of the peace and get remarried, I was thrilled.
However, I was not going to allow them to just go to the courthouse for this special occasion.
And I wanted to be there.

So, I told them I would plan it if they would come to El Paso and get married in my church. They agreed and I got busy planning.

Not only would I get to have my family with me at Christmas, I would be present for the wedding that I had wanted for so long.
 If I had my way, it would have been a big extravaganza with lots of flowers and food and fun. But they wanted small and simple.
Jerry's mom is an ordained minister, so she agreed to perform the ceremony.
Woohoo! More people for Christmas.

We were allowed to use my church for the ceremony, and since it was already decorated for Christmas, I didn't need to do any more.

We decided that since it was Christmas Eve, we would do it in the afternoon and have a big feast at home for the "reception." (I suppose it isn't really a reception when just family is present, but whatever.)

Here is the beautiful bride.

Josh, Jamie, and my nephew Stephen were the best men and walked down the aisle with my dad.

Next up...the two granddaughters.

Then, it was time.
Joy and I walked our mom down the aisle.

After an emotional prayer...

The ceremony began.

Next up was picture time.

Erica caught the bouquet, which is fitting since she is engaged to be married next fall.

When we got back to the house, I made the newlyweds wait in the car while I ran in the house to get the rice.
I know, I know, you aren't supposed to throw rice anymore. But I forgot about it until right then, so I didn't have anything else.
Besides, it's winter, the birds are supposed to be south. Oh wait, El Paso is south.. Oh, well.

Dad insisted on carrying mom over the threshold. That was truly hilarious!
Sorry about the lighting, I had put the camera down right as he picked her up. I had to hurry to get the shot.

It really was a special, beautiful wedding.
No matter how old you are, you want to see your mom and dad together and happy.
I am so glad they decided to get remarried and I am beyond thrilled that I got to be there.

Marriage Retreat/Family Weekend

This weekend, Jerry and I had the chance to go on a marriage retreat weekend to The Lodge in Cloudcroft, New Mexico sponsored by the Army chaplain's office.

We decided to make it a family weekend and bring the kids with us instead of finding a babysitter.

Jerry and I had classes to attend in the morning and evening, but the rest of the time was spent having a great time and bonding as a family.

Here are some pictures of the accommodations.
By the way, I took all these pictures. I am getting used to my new camera now. 

The first thing the kids wanted to do was go out and play in the snow. Josh found a frozen waterfall out back and was amazed. He kept breaking pieces off of it to keep as a souvenir.

We explored the entire Lodge the first day.  Josh's favorite part was the tower. He wanted to go up there all the time.

Trina's favorite spot was this balcony. She spent most of here time here reading.

Jamie's  favorite place at the Lodge was the fireplace. He would have stayed there the entire time if we had let him. If he wasn't with us, we knew just where to look. Inevitably, this is where we would find him.

There were two chess sets in the lobby, so Jerry taught the kids to play. Trina  would have sat there all night playing, but after Jerry beat her twice, he was ready to stop.

And the boys played all evening. Even though they really had no idea what they were doing.

The meals were all included, so each day we got to eat in the fancy hotel restaurant. The kids were on their best behavior most of the time and we had wonderful family dinners at the beautifully set tables.

I think my favorite part of the weekend was the sunsets. Friday, the family enjoyed it from the wall to wall windows in the dining room. Saturday evening, I had some time to myself and decided to get some good shots from different places. I started outside and ended up at the top of the tower. I can't decide which I like better; seeing the sun peeking through the trees as it goes down or being above it, watching it disappear into the valley.
Both were incredibly spectacular.

It truly was a magical weekend. I really hope we can do it again soon.
I highly recommend unplugging from the rest of the world and just enjoying your family from time to time. And there is no better place to do that than from the top of a snow covered mountain in the middle of winter.

Christmas

I got to host Christmas for the first time this year. Since we are in the Army, Jerry and I usually take the kids to make the rounds this time of year visiting parents, siblings, and friends. It is always fun but also exhausting.

This year, our families came to us! 
My parents, sister and kids, mother in law, sister in law and baby.

We had 13 people in the house. And if you've been to my house you know what a feat that is. Our house is tiny, which made for some interesting sleeping arrangements.
But, it was awesome. I loved being surrounded by my family, the chaos, the laughter, the rough housing.
You thought only kids horsed around inside the house? No, no, no. The adults were worse than the kids.


It snowed two days before Christmas. The "kids" took full advantage of the white stuff.

Christmas Eve, my parents go remarried! (More pictures on that coming later)

It's a tradition in our family to open one gift Christmas Eve. So, they gathered around the tree and waited impatiently to start.

 My niece Erica is getting married next fall, so Jerry and I got her some stuff.  Apparently, she liked the underwear.

Jerry finally got the guitar he's been eyeing for quite some time. I know, I know, I'm a good wife.


But since he got me this little beauty, I had to step up my game.

I haven't stopped playing with it yet. I predict lots of sweets and breads being made in the next few weeks.


After the kids went to bed, Santa came and left the gifts for the kids.
I was impressed with Santa this year. He knew just what they wanted.

See that one for James? That was the hit of Christmas. The kids didn't stop playing with it all day Christmas Day. Or since then, for that matter.

We had a candlelight service at church Sunday morning. It truly was beautiful and moving. Have I mentioned before that I love my church? Well, I do. It is such a blessing to be a part of God's family.

After the service and our yummy Christmas feast, some of us slept and some of us played with new toys.

And this boy here

I held him all weekend.

And loved every minute of it.

Support

I am so proud of my boys. They have all decided to shave their heads in support of our friend who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry decided to join other men in our church who are doing this to show their support.
I asked the boys if they wanted to do it also. Jamie said yes right away. Josh had to think about it for a while. When he saw Jerry and Jamie with their bald heads, he wanted to be included.


So, here they are in all their bald glory...

The doctors tell my friend he will be losing all of his body hair because of the chemo. Eyebrows, chest hair, face hair, everything.

I wonder if Jerry will shave everything?

Somehow, I doubt it.  :)