Love & Marriage

^{I love the following portion of Scripture from The Message:}"If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, but keeps going to the end.
Love never dies."
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I am happily married, most of the time. I do love Hubs -- even when I am not happy with him, with myself or with the kids. The fact that I am (usually) happily married also puts me in the minority - and I am ok with that. It's my marriage vow and commitment to God that keeps me married. Our vows were a covenant that we made with our Creator and that's not to be taken lightly. It took some time to learn to serve in love, keep no record of wrongs and always hope the best. I have developed a temper since turning 40, unfortunately. I knew my Irish/Swiss heritage would catch up with me sooner or later! Ha-ha...

A long-time friend of mine - "Laurie" - got married for the first time - a couple of weeks ago, in a private ceremony. It was amazing... and beautiful. Love is attractive.

I first met Laurie in the 5th grade, when were just 10 years old. We were in the same class, our last names were fairly close together, so we often were seated near each other... and became friends. We both liked ELO, Kristy McNichol, Cheap Trick, rollerskating and skateboarding. We've remained friends through the years and sadly, we only get together a couple of times a year.

Isn't it silly that we don't get together more? We have very different lives - but, our friendship is still alive and I am so blessed to have the security and option to simply call her out of the blue. I think it will always be this way, and I am glad. This time, she called me out of the blue and told me that she was getting married in 2 weeks, and that it was a secret! Oh - it was so much fun to have a secret!

Hubs and I married in a tradition manner: at a wedding ceremony in our church. It was a beautiful and wonderful day; we wrote our own ceremony, vows and pledges. There's very little I would do different, if anything. No regrets! Come to think of it, it is a time that I can reflect upon and not have regrets, which is rare for me, especially since our son's situation has developed.

I wish I would have known more about immunizations and vaccines. I wish I would have known more about mercury and fillings. And, I wish I would have listened to my "gut instincts", on so many occasions... but - I didn't. And, here I am. Happily married, most of the time.

Not everyone wants a big fancy wedding. Laurie just wanted to marry her sweetheart. And - she did. I wish you could see her platinum and diamond ring... it is beautiful and looks perfect on her hand too. She's an artsy person, and has great taste, although it is different from my own. I love having friends who are different from me.

Since I only had a 2 week notice, there wasn't time to crash diet, and work on details... instead, another friend and I meet the happy couple at an attorney's office (An artsy office - I might add!) and we went out for lunch. It was wonderful, special and oh... it was a beautiful thing. (Pass the Kleenex, please... Sniff-sniff...) Love was in the air that day.

I didn't have much time to plan or order a gift. I couldn't figure out what in the world I would get the newlyweds - ugh. I finally decided that a photographer and photos would be the perfect gift. Finding a photographer with a only a 2-day notice even worked out.

I can not take credit for these photos. They were all taken by Graydon Schwartz, who does have his own photography website: www.graydonschwartz.com. It's interesting that God surrounded me with home-educators, SAHMs, photographers and computer programmers. I love them all, even if they are different than me. Thanks goodness for variety! I love variety...since we are focused on love.

And I love the last photo. I took it - can you tell?

Check out the bride's boots and the groom's shoes!