A See-Saw of Little Ups & Downs

Really great things have been going on and some really rotten drama at the same time that adds a bit of a sourness to it all.

Friday night was awesome because at work I got free tickets to the Astros game and we all went. There was a huge thunderstorm during and after which flooded a lot of Houston. Chris got us home safely though but my stomach was in knots the whole time and hasn't settled into place yet.

Chris had a birthday which we happily celebrated with his family and then our annual trip. Between Chris's birthday and mine there are 17 days that we get to be the same age. That time is drawing to a close this coming week. Chelsea, Colin, and I got him a 16GB purple iPod nano that he has been eying, a beard trimmer, and a pair of Oakley sunglasses. He also got several things from his family at a combined birthday dinner for him and Peter. Chris and his dad both have birthdays in April; Peter on the 9th and Chris on the 12th. We ate at Star Pizza which was delicious as per usual. Peter got Chris an absolutely fabulous telescope for his birthday! It is wonderful. On a clear night you can easily see the rings of Saturn and two of it's moons. This thing is powerful! I love it.

We took the telescope with us to the group's annual trip. For several years now we have been taking a trip in April to the beach but, thanks to Ike, there are no more rentals on Bolivar so we headed to the river instead. The place we stayed was so perfect and beautiful and idyllic and wonderful that we all said we wouldn't mind getting the exact same house every year.

You can kind of see the house from the back in this photo of Matt, Lisa, and Chris K. It's directly above them on that rocky cliff overhang. Look at the flat roof with windows along the whole wall. That was the back living room. We were right on the edge of the Blanco River.


Then in the next shot this is the view of the Blanco River running by below from the patio area outside of the house we rented.


A section of the riverbed was higher than the rest right here so we could easily cross without getting wet much above mid-calf and only in some places. Below is a shot of the river from directly on the river. Chris took this one with his camera on the tripod which was situated on the bare rock sticking up out of the river. This is apparently called a "rocky bare."











Here's another picture showing the depth of the drop off after the high "rocky bare" ended.


This is Matt, Julie, Caleb, Chris K., Lisa, & Brandi having a swim on Saturday evening.



The lighting was perfect for this shot. I know the water looks green but it's really just a reflection from the trees overhanging on either side. The water was the clearest I've ever been in. FREEZING but clear.







When Chris and I were standing in the water we were surrounded by little fish and we could see straight down to our feet and all the little fish too. It was amazing and refreshing. Chris K. apparently jumped in the river at midnight the first night of the trip but that night Chris and I were so exhausted that we were crashed out by 11:30 and missed it.

Here is a picture of me chilling by the river's edge. We got all these great pictures because Chris and I had already been swimming once that day and didn't want to go again so we played veggie / fruit baseball while they swam.

This is my favorite picture of Caleb from the whole weekend. He had such a great time at the river.




Ah, this was the life! What a weekend it was.


And then for the down side - Chelsea is not doing well in school at all and is in serious danger of failing the 11th grade. It makes me angry and sad and worried and frustrated all at the same time. Chelsea assures me that this progress report doesn't reflect some missing assignements that she has just turned in but I'm nervous. She is on restriction and that always sucks for me too.

My mother still can't wrap her head around the fact that I'm no longer Catholic like she wants me to be and continues to try pulling her tired old guilt routines - this time about my wedding. She told me that she wouldn't be recognizing my marriage because it wouldn't really be one since only a Catholic wedding would lead me to Jesus or some such rubbish.

I think Jesus would be really happy to know that, of all the people wandering the earth, Chris and I both happened to be in the same city at one time, happened to be interested in writing a novel, met, happily found a mutual compatibility, fell in love, and built a relationship and a family out of our little lives. I don't think that has anything to do with who officiates our vow ceremony.

And it IS "OUR" wedding - mine and Chris's. Not my mother's. She had one and planned it the way she wanted. There is no reason why I would plan my own wedding to be something that goes against every fiber of my being and have it religious in any way. I want it to be fun and beautiful.

Anyway, as a result of the fact that I'm not having a Catholic wedding, my mother said that she would not be recognizing my marriage and that she could not celebrate something that isn't even there. (Yes, these are direct quotes and not hyperbole.) So I told my mom that I would not be inviting her to my wedding. There is no reason I could come up with why I would invite someone to my wedding so they could condescend to me about their religious opinions to me during the ceremony and then join in the Celebration of our Marriage for the reception when she would not be "recognizing our marriage."

Then my mom wrote me a lengthy e-mail about her religious views and how I was pretty much damned to hell if I didn't have a catholic wedding and that she couldn't "just be happy for me" because it went against everything she believes in. But that she really wanted to come to the reception for our wedding so she could be with me on that day; but not the ceremony, just the reception.

So I responded to her in no uncertain terms that for the last time, I'm not Catholic, I don't believe in the catholic religion and that I would never have a catholic ceremony for a wedding and if she didn't like it then why did she have a problem with me not inviting her. It would be ridiculous of me to open myself to that type of judgmental manipulation.

Well then my dad writes to me to tell me how I'm so harsh to my mother, that my remarks are vile and I have crossed the line, I should be ashamed, and that he is not coming to my wedding either.

So now neither of my parents will be in attendance at my wedding. And you know what - that might just help it to really be the happiest day of my life. You never know how mysterious God's ways really are.

Wedding Plans & Karaoke

Chris and I both have new projects, which is kind of fun.

I'm planning a wedding. I've honestly never planned or even helped someone else plan a wedding in my life. I sort of had a brainstorming session with my, now, sister in law, Sheryl when she was going to marry Brian but I didn't like have to find a venue to accommodate a large number of guests for a ceremony that merges my family with Chris's family as well as a big party complete with food, music, cake, nor have I planned so far in advance what I might wear to such an occasion. At first I felt really overwhelmed with all the decisions that I needed to make. However, I've had a couple of weeks now to adjust and get a few things decided at least.

Our plans are slightly flexible but we definitely want to get married on the beach - barefoot in the sand at sunset. I also want a very "green" wedding. I have this book called The Green Bride Guide by Kate L. Harrison which is really truly helpful. We are not only trying to conserve in our budget but we are making earth-friendly responsible decisions about what resources we use.

We've set the date - September 26th, 2009. Now we just need to find a place along the beach that will accommodate a party of about 60 guests, mostly family members, two of whom cannot climb stairs or walk even short distances, and a reception location for a party. That is seeming to be the difficult part.
We're working on a website.
We've designed our "save the date" cards.
Penny has generously offered to do our mailings and invitations. Thank you, Penny!
Rob will officiate. Thank you, Rob!
I already know what I want to wear.
We've got our wedding party picked out - Chelsea for Maid of Honor & Colin for Best Man.
Carmen & Kevin will perform a guided meditation. Thank you, Carmen & Kevin!
We've decided on a menu.
Chris is building a playlist on his big iPod rather than having a DJ or a band. Chris is awesome.

So, Chris's project is building the greatest, most diverse, most eclectic library of karaoke songs in the world and making it available to his friends and family by bringing a CD of personally picked songs for his Karaoke Jam Birthday Party this weekend. I'm poking fun but this has been an interesting and fun project that he's got going on.

Not only have I recently read the words to scores of songs I never knew the words to but we get to sort of practice and pick the best songs for Saturday. A few weeks ago Chris found this venue called Third Coast Comedy that has a family karaoke night once a month. The four of us went and had an absolute blast. So we're going back for Chris's birthday. We're planning to go as rockers from the '70's / '80's or whatever. I have no idea what I'm going to wear or how I'm going to do my hair.

This past Saturday was our engagement party and it was a lot of good fun. Chris's parents gave us a lovely set of summer glasses with a tray for carrying them outdoors. They are all fun colors - bright blue and lime green and orange. My parents couldn't make it because my dad's isn't doing very well lately. But several of our friends and siblings made it and it turned into a karaoke jam well into the night with the little karaoke machine and all these new songs Chris has now.

I'll get an up to the minute count on songs. One sec...
As of this moment Chris has over 2,000 karaoke songs - it wasn't an exact count after all - but a good rough estimation. He bought a huge package of CDs but he's also scouring the net for others.

Anyway, so yeah, he's obsessed at this point. I still haven't thought about what I might sing on Saturday. I'm more concerned with catching it all on video. Last time we went, Colin stole the show with his dance moves. And I learned that Chelsea can sing just about anything. She's great at karaoke! I told Rhonda that Chris would have just about any song she would want and she named two Melissa Ethridge songs that he did not have.

He's been going through this whole library of songs playing each song so the lyrics are scrolling across his screen and he sings each one for anywhere from a few lines or just the refrain to the whole song. It has been the best fun watching Chris running through these songs.

Then I guess we have a "together" project of cleaning out the empty house so we can get it on the market as soon as possible. We got approved for a home loan and want to move forward but need more of a down payment. We have access to about half of what we truly need. But selling Chris's house would be the best solution to everything. The thing is that we have a couple of things pressuring us - our lease expires at the end of next month and we found two houses that are on the market right now that are gorgeous and perfect for us. I want to grab the one before someone else takes it. The other one is the back up house which is actually on the same street so the location is still incredible, and it actually has a nicer yard (front & back) and a bigger kitchen. But the upstairs lay out won't suit our needs well. So we are buying a house and getting married all in the same year. We need money! Thus our project is fund raising. We're planning a garage sale. We've got several items for e-bay. We are unloading everything of value that we can. We are also interested in any fund raising ideas you might have. Thank you!

much LOVE