Soooooooo……this just happened! And I feel the Breeze from the page turning….

 

Soooooooo……this just happened!

And I feel the Breeze from the page turning….

Professional Wedding Pic's Day 4: THESE-THREE-MEN....

 

It was a short aisle at the Chapel....10 rows to be exact.

But as I envisioned my walk down that aisle months prior, I saw a couple of the greatest men in my life walking down it next to me. They were my late husband Chuck's brother and son, Doug and Troy. I'm not going to lie; I was nervous asking them for this favor. Very nervous.

How do you ask these men who loved my late husband so much, to walk you to your future husband?

But I believe their exact answers to me were, "I thought you'd never ask" and "I'd be honored to." I went home and cried. 

 

And I remember standing there in the foyer of the Chapel before the doors opened and seeing Doug Etheridge mouth the words, "You look beautiful". It was all I could do to not cry. And as he walked me to aisle 5, halfway to my future husband, my step-son Troy stepped out and walked me the rest of the way.

Chuck would have been so proud of these men he loved.

Troy walked me to my 93-year old Dad on the front aisle....whose face was wet with tears as he hugged me tight, told me he loved me, and handed me over to Wayne. 

 

 These Three Men......mighty men in my heart and soul and in my life.....men who lead by example that even through death, life is meant to be lived. There are no words in this girl-of-many-words' heart to fully express the BLESSING they showered down on me that day.

 

A truly unselfish love they each have.....and they are my heroes.

 

 

Professional Wedding Pic's Day #3: "THINGS"....

 

They are just "things". But isn't it funny how "things" have a way of grabbing our heart like they're a warm blanket wrapped around us?

 

These things.....well....they felt like that soft embracing blanket around my shoulders my wedding day that reminded me of people near and dear to me....and several who are no longer on this earth but still occupy a corner of my heart. 

 

The silver bracelet with the "L" on it was given to me by one of my dearest friends, Terri Ruyle, for my birthday a few years back. I remember everything about that moment, including the tears we both shed that June day as we ate lunch at Two Senoritas. In a little over a year, she would be gone....unexplainable, unimaginable and undeserving.

 

The pearl necklace was loaned to me by my friend Carla Melcher who knows style far-far better than Liz. As she went with me to pick up my wedding dress she said, "I know the perfect necklace for this dress!". And she handed me these stunning pearls to wear on my wedding day. This friend of almost 30 years who, if not for Chuck, I would have never met, has been one my greatest cheerleaders as I started this new chapter. 

 

 

 The heart necklace came from my then-fiance-now-husband on our wedding day....just minutes before the wedding....as he couriered it from person to person to arrive in my lap. I'm wearing it even today as I type this to you. And......it's engraved.....for just his and my eyes.

 

 My beautiful bouquet (thanks Savannah Mars) was put together with my Mom in mind. Mom passed away in 2012 and was my maid-of-honor at my wedding to Chuck. Mom would have loved Wayne and to see her youngest daughter happy....and I needed a part of her at my wedding to Wayne. Thanks to my niece Jacque, we found an embroidered hankie Mom had made and a butterfly broach I had given her and made it a part of my bouquet. She was definitely in attendance at our wedding.

 

 

And last but not least, our Guest Book was Wayne's & my Bible. A Bible hand-painted by our dear talented friend Madison Melcher. I've known Madison her whole life and she has now started her own business 

 

(https://www.facebook.com/coveredbygrace.design) 

 

 

personally painting Bibles. Check her out....you will fall in love with her and her art!

Friends...they're not just "Things". They're Love.

 

Professional Wedding Pic's Day #2: GRANDDAUGHTERS

 

These are my Granddaughters....two I've known for as long as 19 years and two, I've known only a year. 

 

 

But this, my friends, is a gift from God to this very woman posting right now. 

 

 

 A complete and beautiful gift straight-up from God's heart to mine.

 

 

Professional Wedding Photos Day 1 - COFFEE CHICKS

 

Hot Off The Presses!!! 

 

Professional wedding photos are in! 

 

I had to start by posting the Mt. Vernon Coffee Chicks who danced, entertained & made us crazy happy all through the reception! 

 

This “Always-A-Mt. Vernon-Coffee-Chick” couldn’t have been any happier except if ALL my coffee chicks could have been there!

 

Tuesdays With Pappo: "On Wednesday this week!!

#tuesdayswithpappo

Tuesdays with Pappo on Wednesday this week!!

 #tuesdayswithpappo

Guess what crazy day this is???? TUESDAYS WITH PAPPO!!!

Tuesdays with Pappo on Wednesday this week!!

Tuesdays With Pappo:

#tuesdayswithpappo

Tuesdays With Pappo!!

Tuesdays With Pappo: "The Family Partnership"

 

TUESDAY'S WITH PAPPO.....brought the two of us some mighty sweet together-time this week.

Pappo and I had our heads meshed together for two hours, comparing stories and laughing over the past. And he handed me his latest Senior Center Writing Class article. The latest from his memory bank. Hope you enjoy!!

"The Family Partnership"

jccalloway

This is a family story as told to me by my late Uncle Bill Calloway. As near as I can tell, it happened after the Civil War and somewhere around 1870.

My Uncle Bill lost all of his livestock and his three teams of horses. He was left with just four hogs and his faithful hunting dogs.

His home place was in Alabama. He had 11 acres with 2 of those acres fronting Highway 31, the main road between Birmingham and Montgomery. Times were hard. Uncle Bill and his wife Aunt Essie started a small leather goods store making and selling horse harnesses and work shoes, as well as other leather goods.

Soon after, Aunt Essie suffered a disabling stroke and was unable to assist Uncle Bill at the store, where he continued to work daily alone. Each day when he would arrive home from work, Essie would ask how the store was doing and he would discuss the happenings of the day.

This went on for several years until one day, Essie couldn't stand not seeing the store and doing her part. She took the dog and her cane and slowly made her way up the road to the store. As she got close enough to see it, to her surprise, the store was dark inside and Uncle Bill, with a tray hanging from around his neck, was selling shoelaces and buttons and other small items from the tray.

Aunt Essie then realized the hospital and doctor bills had used up all their money and Uncle Bill had to sell the store and its contents to pay the medical bills. She went to her grave never telling him she knew what he had to do and is now resting beside him and my mother in a small country church cemetery in Verbena, Alabama.

And She Said "Yes"

 

I think I knew he was “the one” when I received the letter titled “Dear Chuck” and it was dated March 21, 2021....Chuck’s birthday.

It started off like this:

“Dear Chuck,

I wanted to say Happy Earthly Birthday to you. I’m thinking you might know my life history and what’s happening now, but on the inside, it’s been an amazing few months. As you, Cyndi, Liz and I know, God has been directing our lives for many years. Liz has told me so much about you and your son and his family. I know you were a very special man from everything I’ve read in Liz’s blog. A few week’s ago, she shared the story of her wedding ring and what happened when she went to have it repaired. I will never forget the look in her eyes when she shared that story with me. The love poured out for you and it was beautiful. I’ll never forget it.”

As I read this letter, tears were dripping down my face. I hadn’t shared the story of the ring with many.....only those I knew would understand. And this man understood. We were in the exact same place in our grief process....in our time alone without our partners...and our confusion about the future. See, our spouses died on the exact same day, four hours apart.

The letter went on:

“Liz is an answer to many prayers and continues to make my heart full. I’m not sure what God has planned for us, but I wanted to ensure you that I will treat her with the utmost respect. I will care for and protect her. I believe God gave me an opportunity at this time in my life to know love again and not only with Liz, but with a renewed love for our Lord and Savior. “

Tears are falling even now as I reread this letter to you. He went on to tell Chuck how much he admired him and the courage it took to fight Multiple Sclerosis. His wife, Cyndi, had also fought a long battle; hers with cancer, and he knew the courage and determination it takes to fight such diseases. He knew, because he too had been a caregiver for Cyndi just as I had for Chuck.

This past Tuesday evening, in a plane high above Frisco seven months and 86 dates after our paths crossed and we discovered the definition of Joy again, he had me look out the side window and see the lighted words, 

 “Marry Me” 1000 feet below. I said “Absolutely Yes”. 

 

It has been both of our prayers since losing Cyndi and Chuck, that if we were meant to find a partner to finish out this 4th quarter of our lives with, that God would make it abundantly clear to us. I believe He answered that prayer in the boldest, most unpredictable way He could. And He sent me Wayne Sekerke.

 

We will always celebrate Chuck and Cyndi’s Homecoming Day of November 5, 2018....but from now on, we’ll celebrate them together.