Well, we are married. :D
But it has been a very challenging few weeks. The wedding itself was beautiful. More beautiful than I could have ever imagined. By Friday, I was done (I'll explain in a min), done with everything. I pretty much threw everything we had made into a pile & told my family to do what they could with it. I felt ridiculously bad for not helping decorate but I was done. I don't think I could have. I could no longer make any kind of decisions. It was the strangest feeling ever. But I have amazing family & I couldn't believe it when I saw it on Sat morning. If I had been able to make any decisions, I think I would have just messed everything up.
I know you want to see pictures & I will post a few here but I'm mainly waiting for the professional pics to come in.
So, let me tell you about how our life has been from the week before the wedding to present.
Challenge 1
My hall toilet has been running for some time & I had bought a new flapper to fix it a while back ago & had just been procrastinating. Anthony & I were going to pick up my sis & bro-in-law the Sun before the wedding at the airport. They live in Barrow, AK & about a week before all this, their sewer had frozen so they had not been able to use the toilet in their house for awhile. So, I wanted to provide a nice, quite, functioning toilet for them while they stayed with me.
On Friday I replaced the flapper; this did not stop the running plus, I noticed the water in the tank had a lot of black stuff floating in it. I quickly discovered that the flushing mechanism had a crack in it, so, on Sat, Anthony & I went to Wal-Mart & found one for $4 & replaced it. When we took the toilet apart, we noticed the rubber gasket between the tank & bowl and the seal in the water supply tube (what was causing the black stuff in the water) had started to deteriorate, but wasn't too bad yet. We put the new flushing mechanism on, put the tank back onto the bowl, & filled the tank with water. Almost immediately water started leaking between the tank & bowl.
After we picked Kim & Jonathan up at the airport the next day, we went into Lowes & bought a new water supply tube (later realizing we had the wrong size & having to go back to Lowes) & gasket. Anthony & Jonathan worked on the toilet only to have the leak still present. We made another trip to Lowes & still there was a leak. I called my friend Thomas & he came over on Monday to take a look at it. After taking the toilet apart & putting it back together about 5-6 times & talking to his plumbing buddy, we finally discovered the tiniest chip in the toilet. Thomas tried some sealant but it still didn't stop the leak. We finally decided a new toilet was going to be the only solution. So, Monday evening, during a big storm, Kim, Jonathan, & I went to buy a new toilet. Jonathan installed it like a pro with only one more trip to Lowes. Yay! Craziness over...not so fast.
Challenge 2
Tuesday night Kim forced me to finally go to bet at about 11:30pm. I walked into my bathroom to find white stuff all over the floor. I looked up & there was a decadent size wet spot on the ceiling & bits of the popcorn ceiling had fallen onto my counter & floor. Jonathan climbed up into the attic & onto the roof but couldn't find any holes. He figured it must be coming in through the vent in the roof. So, the next day, I had a roofer come out & take a look. Sure enough, the sealant around the vent in the roof had cracked & water was dripping down. He fixed it for $75 but also noted I had some hail damage & might start considering a new roof.
Challenge 3
Kim found some mouse dropping in the hall bathroom & hallway. Yay.
Challenge 4
Anthony had been sick all the week before the wedding but hadn't wanted to tell me because he didn't want to worry me. He told me on Thursday that he was starting to feel better. The day after the wedding, Sunday, he started feeling really bad again. On Monday, we decided to leave our honeymoon cabin & drive around Beaver's Bend. While walking around the visitor's center, Anthony became really dizzy & had to go to the car. We drove to Wal-Mart & bought some Tylenol, NyQuil, & a thermometer. He was running about 101 fever. We made an appointment with his doctor on Wednesday & she performed a chest x-ray & sinus x-ray which came back normal. While examining him she mashed on his right lower abdomen & he complained. So, she sent us to the ER for possibility of appendicitis. Naturally, I brought him to my workplace. They did a CT & he was normal. Yay! No surgery! But he still felt terrible for a few more days. He's feeling a lot better now.
Challenge 5
Since Anthony wasn't feeling too great on Tuesday, I drove us home from our honeymoon. I must have hit something because we got a flat & had to buy a new tire.
Challenge 6
Friday night, we were in the hall bathroom putting away towels or something & I looked up at the ceiling & saw this brown stuff that looked like it was growing on the ceiling. Anthony pulled the curtain back & in the tub were lots of dead termites. UGH! So, yesterday I left work early to meet with the pest guy. Very nice, little, old man. So, hopefully that will do it.
Challenge 7
This morning while I was having breakfast, Anthony had finished & was walking through the living room to go take a shower & screamed. Lying on the floor, like he owned the place was a snake! Just a little garden snake but still. EEK!!! Anyway, after a few minutes of what could have been a major laughing point on any prime-time comedy, we caught the snake & through him into the bushes outside. We aren't really sure if he was still alive... Anthony said that "Yakety Sax" should have been playing in the background during the excitement.
Ok...picture time....
Ever After Chapel
Instead of printing programs, Anthony, me, & my dad made a chalkboard & had my cousin/day-of coordinator/insanity preventer/one-of-the-most-amazing-women-I've-ever-had-the-pleasure-of-knowing, Kaylee, write out the actors. ;)
As you can see, my maid-of-honor was celebrating from Mongolia where she now lives. What a blessing technology is today! Her mom brought her iPad & Brandie was able to watch the whole thing via Skype. Amazing!
My dad had been sweeping off the front step & had set the broom down, dusted his hands off on his pants, & looked up to see me standing here. He said, "Oh my gosh!" & immediately reached into his coat for his camera & snapped this pic. It made me feel so pretty. :)
Our Twitter friend Collin played his cello (we actually had never met face-to-face until the rehearsal...that's how we roll). Kim (my sis) sang while her husband, Jonathan (most amazing bro-in-law in the world) played an AMAZING version of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." While Anthony & I had a private communion. Also in this pic is my INCREDIBLE cousin & day-of....week-of-coordinator, Kaylee (check out her adorable blog "Blue Mitten Green House"). I cannot put into words how amazing this woman is. She is more of a sister to me than a cousin.
Mr. & Mrs. ..... with Louis Armstrong's "'Bout Time" as our exit music.
Rev. Bob Oudin, my sister's father-in-law & one of the most sincere men I know, married us. We both love him so much & look to him as a spiritual mentor. He probably wouldn't like that but that makes him even more of an honorable man.
Here we are as a wedding party...sans Brandie, of course (but she was in our thoughts & hearts). Jason, Alejandro, my hunky husband, me, Kim (my sis & matron-of-honor), Anya, & Tanya (Anthony's sisters).
My sister & matron-of-honor, Kim, and her brother-in-law (also the maker of my ring...see his Etsy site) performed Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" with Joshua playing the ukulele that he made himself. What talented family & friends I have!
.jpg)
This is something special our friend Jordan made for us. She also designed our invites. She is super talented. If you have any interest in her designs check out her Etsy site.
I'll post more as soon as I get the professional photos back from the photographer. :D
