Five Years

This weekend Matt and I have been celebrating five years of wedded bliss! It's hard to believe five years have gone by already. When I think back to a mere two years ago, I was just starting my time abroad in Hungary, and Matt had just deployed to Afghanistan. He felt so very far away on that day and it didn't help that I felt like a very lost lamb, having newly arrived to Debrecen. I could never have imagined all the wonderful things that would lay in store as those two years passed, and now here we are, settled back into "normal" life and expecting our first little one!

I love reminiscing about our wedding day. I know it sounds oh-so-cliché, but our entire wedding day was like a fairy-tale-come-true for me. It's funny, too, because I had never been one of those girls who had planned out wedding details in their minds years in advance of meeting Mr. Right. Yet after Matt proposed, it didn't take long until I knew exactly what I wanted our day to look like. {And thankfully I had the most wonderful fiancé ever--Matt was willing to pretty much go along with whatever I wanted!}

Here are the things I knew I wanted:

1. To have our reception at the Hertitage Center in Saint Joseph, Michigan. I have always loved the building and knew the interior would be a gorgeous place for a reception. The venue was already booked for a Saturday and a Sunday wedding the weekend we wanted, but they were free for a Friday evening reception. That of course meant our wedding day would be on a Friday, but the day of the week was no matter to me, plus I really loved the idea of having an evening wedding ceremony {6 pm to be exact}.

2. To be married in the church where I grew up: First Church of God, Saint Joseph, Michigan. I also knew I wanted to use lots of ivy and have it lining the aisle. I knew I wanted sea green for my bridesmaids gowns {my favorite color} and my bouquets to use lots of roses in the palest shades of pink. I also knew that hiring live wedding music wasn't an option because I wanted to use Celtic music throughout the ceremony {one of my favorite genres and also befitting my red hair!}. Matt loved the Celtic music idea and approved all my song choices beforehand.

3. To have wedding pictures taken at the beach {St. Joseph is home to some of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see}, preferably at sunset. The beach pictures all turned out better than we ever could have dreamed!

We sailed through the entire wedding day without the slightest hiccup. My mom really should go into wedding planning because I kid you not, this woman thought of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. The most minute of details was covered. The wedding party all received ten-page packets at the rehearsal, and though it may have seemed over-the-top initially, it indeed ensured that every single person knew his or her schedule to the minute, had directions, contact numbers, and knew the odd job he or she was responsible for. For example, my mom had assigned a bridesmaid the task of gathering up my things post-ceremony and transporting them to the reception hall {a groomsman did the same for Matt}. Then we knew exactly who to ask when we needed our things for freshening up and later changing at the reception.

Because we knew everything had been so thoroughly planned out, Matt and I were able to truly relax and enjoy our wedding day to the fullest. There was no stress, no frazzle--it was simply able to be what it was: the single best day of my life.

Here are some more pictures for you:

Since our wedding ceremony and reception would be taking place in the evening, we had no choice but to take all of our wedding photos during the day. {I actually LOVED this idea anyway...I didn't want to have to mess with many photos after the ceremony. I just wanted to celebrate!} Matt and I still had a very special, private moment where we saw one another for the first time. It was so lovely.



Love LOVE this photo!

Our flower girl: my niece, Krista.

Isn't she the cutest? She did her job perfectly, too!

I adore this photo because it captures me smiling at Matt just before my dad hands me over to him.

I felt as if I was in a dream the entire ceremony.

While the guests headed to the reception hall down the road, we drove to the beach {five minutes away}. We arrived just in time for a gorgeous sunset! {Praise the Lord for fabulous weather that day!} In the twenty minutes or so that we were there, our photographer got the most amazing shots.

Our favorite.

We went back to the reception hall and snapped a few more pictures outside while the guests had hors-d'oeuvres inside. {Our caterer brought out some for the wedding party while we waited for our grand entrances}.

Matt was good-humored enough to let me have the Indiana Jones theme song playing while we made our grand entrance to the reception hall.

Krista totally wore me out on the dance floor!

The only downside to the day was that we weren't able to invite nearly as many people as we wanted. The reception hall only fit about 165 guests comfortably. I know 165 sounds like a lot, but remember that Matt and I are both pastor's kids, so we had many, many people we were very sad not to be able to include.

Not only did my mom do the most fabulous job of planning the entire event, we had so many other people help out with the details, decorating, setting up, and tearing down. From friends who served as wedding coordinator and my "personal assistant", to all the family who helped out as well, thank you from the bottom of our hearts to each and every one of you for making our wedding day the most beautiful and unforgettable day we ever could have asked for!

Memory Box

I love to gush about my Mom and just how incredible of a Mom she has always been. Way back when I first started this blog, I shared about a special gift my mom gave me, my brother, and sister when she presented each of us with a one-year calendar log of our lives as two-year-olds--a daily log of some of the funny things we did and said, and how our personalities really started coming out.

Just a few weeks ago, my mom presented my sister and I each with a box filled with all sorts of childhood papers and memories. We had a blast looking through them and couldn't believe all of the stuff she saved...

There are my first cards I ever received from family and friends,...

...all kinds of things I made in school,...

...and even "buttons" of my high school dance team photos {parents were given these to wear to any of their kids' sporting events or performances}. Oh, and my lovely Junior High photo i.d. card, braces and all.

Then there are drawings I did and my mom recorded the date and age I was when I created them. She also added extra notes, like the funny conversation we had below.

Apparently I dabbled in poetry at an early age, and dictated it to my mom before I could write it myself.

I love how my mom recorded precious moments like the one we shared below. If she had never written it down, it is likely it would have been forgotten. Now we can both treasure that moment always.

My mom saved all kinds of pictures I made for her, cards I wrote, and little letters I wrote to her during church.

And the box contained some of my oddest creations:

"One sunny morning I found Judy Garland under my egg. I was so happy.
Then I hugged her." {I had a BIG thing for the Wizard of Oz starting at age three.}

Here's Judy, under my egg.

How thoughtful is my Mom for taking the time to save all of these little things for all three of her kids? She knew how fun it would be for us one day to go back through them as adults. It brought back so many memories that I had forgotten, and as I looked at some of the things I drew, I was instantly transported back into time as I clearly remembered making it.

I found so many, MANY drawings and cards in the box where I wrote, "Mom, you are the BEST mom in the world!" I meant it with all my heart when I wrote it as a child, but I believe it now as an adult more than I ever did before.

This memory box is a priceless treasure. Thanks, Mom.

A Visit from Mom

My mom stopped by for a quick overnight visit yesterday. It was such a short visit {way too short!} but it was exceptionally sweet.

Mom needed to get her old piano books back from me. She passed them on to me when my parents gave us their upright piano several years ago, but now that my mom received a gorgeous keyboard from my dad for Christmas, she needs her old piano music again. It made for the perfect excuse for a quick visit and a chance to snuggle her grand-dog, Annabelle!

Mom treated us to a scrumptious dinner at BrioTuscan Grille and then also bought us coffee from Starbucks. This morning my mom and I went out for the loveliest mother-daughter breakfast at The Original Pancake House. {Which makes us reminisce about THE first Original Pancake House in Portland, OR--my mom grew up dining there}. Yes, it's true--mom {and dad} absolutely spoil us!

It was gorgeous day today with sunshine and a balmy 66 degrees {weather pretty much unheard of during March in Michigan}. We browsed some quaint shops I had never visited and had such a relaxed, happy day filled with so much good conversation.

And of course, Mom came bearing gifts!

She showed up at our door with these lovely and bright tulips in hand, perfect for welcoming-in Springtime:

She also passed on to me my Great-Grandmother's Bible {which is perfect in light of my recent family genealogy craze}.

I never had the privilege of meeting my Great Grandma Proffitt--she died when my Grandma was very young. In a way, I now feel connected to her by inheriting her treasured Bible.

It is in really poor condition and the first several pages are missing, so sadly we cannot know the year this Bible was published. Many pages are torn or have water damage but I treasure this book as a family heirloom, not as an antique.

This grand Bible is filled with beautiful artwork, too:

I feel very honored to now possess this.

Mom also brought me a cute recipe card-holder {which I needed!}...

...and a good book to read.

I so wish my mom lived closer so I could see her {and my dad!} more often, although with the size of the expansive US, I can't complain that my parents are only about 4 hours away!

Oh, how God has blessed me with the best family...

Trick or Treat

My mom emailed me this photo of Annabelle this morning. She looks so pathetic...hehe!

Also, today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mommy!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mother's Gift

Yesterday Matt and I arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas. Matt is taking a training course here for two weeks for his job with the military. I was able to come along for two reasons: 1. The army is paying for everything so I get to come along, basically, free of charge 2. My job with MSU ended for the summer last week (it’s seasonal; time off in the summer!) I have to keep myself occupied while Matt is at class during the day, but the hotel has an outdoor pool, a great workout room, and I brought plenty of things to do. This includes my laptop, so I can now add more entries to my blog and keep my page from looking so boring with its single, lonely entry.

I thought it fitting on this day after Mother’s Day to write a little ode to my own mother. You see, several weekends ago, my mom, Renée, gave me what is quite possibly one of the most amazing and wonderful gifts I have ever received. This gift in particular was preceded by another fantastic gift: a time-capsule of sorts, containing the outfit I wore home from the hospital, the dress and bonnet I wore on the day of my Baby Dedication at church, my parents and my hospital bracelets, the hat and mask my dad wore while at the hospital during/after my delivery, a bright orange banner proclaiming “Welcome Home Deanne and Mommy” that welcomed us home from the hospital, the newspaper from the day I was born, and a Newsweek magazine from the week I was born. My brother, Brandon, and sister, Erin, received a time capsule like this as well.

It was the next gift, however, that filled me with such awe at learning that my mom is even more amazing than I had previously thought. My mom handed my brother, sister, and me each our own old-looking calendars, the kind one would hang on a wall. She then explained that when each of us kids was two years old, she wrote something in each day of the calendar, be it something we did that day, something we said that day, something about our personality, etc. She hardly missed any days of writing something down. So here my brother, sister, and I sat, our jaws on the floor, as we each began to read a detailed account of ourselves at the meager age of two. We were soon laughing out loud and shouting to each other, “listen to this…” And as the moments passed, the magnitude of what each of us “kids” held in our hands began to sink in. We each held a kind of documentation of our lives at two years old. The funny things we said and did….and I think many would agree that two year olds do and say some pretty darn adorable things. I was surprised at several days where my mom wrote something about an event that I could actually remember. Another thing I was delighted to find was several entries where my mom had documented something about my friend, Katie. This is Katie Kyle, my first and longest friend in life, whom I still consider one of my dearest friends to this very day. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding last summer. We became friends at age one when our families both lived in Sheridan, Wyoming. And this is where I lived until I was four. One entry, my mom wrote that she overheard Katie and I talking to each other in the next room. I said to her, “You’re my best friend,” and Katie said to me, “You’re my best friend, too.” How priceless it is that I have that moment recorded for all time!

I marvel at the dedication of my mom to undertake this task for all three of us kids. I truly think she’ll never fully understand just how much it means to each of us to have this treasure. It’s something we can read over and over again and, hopefully, share with our own kids and grandkids someday. I could write pages upon endless pages about the greatness of my mom, but I think this gift can say a lot about her. As a full-time mom, rushing around after 3 young kids, my mom took the time at the end of each day to record something about me on this calendar. I have always felt my mom’s love for me in absolute abundance, and this gift has her love written all over it. It is one of my deepest desires in life to become as much like my mom as I can be. Although some daughters desire the exact opposite, this is the truth for me, because my mom is truly, without a doubt, the greatest woman I have ever known.

So, in conclusion, I’d like to share with you a few of my favorite “entries” from this calendar gift (remember, this is written in my mom’s voice):

~While driving we saw a rainbow. Aunt Debbie asked you, “Who made the rainbow?” Without hesitation, you said, “Care Bears.”
~You watched a Winnie the Pooh video over the weekend. Today whenever you were upset, you’d hang your head, cross your arms, and use Winnie’s expression, “Oh bother.”
~Brandon was upset and crying in bed. You came in to comfort him. You put your arm around him and talked to him. “Don’t cry Bandon (Brandon). It’s okay honey. You be alright.”
~When I change your dirty diaper (when I “open” it up) you yell, “Surprise!”
~I heard you crying in your room at nap time. When I went in, you were laying on your bed. You had tried to put your doll clothes on you. You had the pants almost pulled up and the blouse was behind you with your arms in it. You were stuck and couldn’t move!
~While you were in the nursery at church, you wet your pants. As soon as we got home you took them off and I heard you in the kitchen giving yourself a spanking with the paddle! I asked you why and you said, “Cause I wet my pants!”
~Daddy put you to bed tonight. He started to say, “Good night Deanne.” You said, “No, I’m Cinderella.” He said, “Goodnight Cinderella.” You said, “Goodnight Fairy Godmother.”