~All Good Gifts~ - Faith Sisters Scrapbooking Gallery

Michael & I got married on December 30, 1978. A friend of the family, married us at Glenkirk Presbyterian church, the church I grew up in. My maid of honor was my best friend from college, DeeAnn and Michael's best man was his best friend Alan. My bridesmaids were my cousins, Kathy & Cindy and another friend from college, Caroline. Michael's groomsmen were his brothers Tom & Philip and my brother Todd. His younger brothers Darrel & David sang the song ~All Good Gifts~ during our wedding and were accompanied on guitar and mandolin by a friend from high school, Brian and his wife. The thing that everyone involved in our wedding remembers is the wedding planner. Michael referred to her as ~the nazi wedding planner~ and that was the nice term! She came with the church so we had to deal with her...and deal with her we did. She was just mean and rude. As was the organist, who refused to play ~Ode to Joy~ for our recessional because she didn't have time to ~practice~ it. WTH? I remember Tom pulling me aside and telling me that if I really wanted that song at my wedding he would play it for me. The thought of him kicking her out of the organ pit was a little too much drama for me, but it was the sweetest gesture. The actual wedding is basically a blur to both Michael & I. The first thing about the ceremony I remember was my dad and I standing at the head of the aisle waiting to walk down it. The next thing I knew, my cousin and his wife who had arrived late, gave me a big hug and my veil ended up all crooked. Our wedding homily were words and thoughts made up of the letters of both our names. I remember saying I do and I remember Michael kissing me and then it seems the fog lifted =) Driving to the reception we just laughed and smiled. We stood in the reception line and thanked everyone for coming. Then we walked around to all the tables and said hi and thanked everyone again. Because we were so busy greeting our guests we missed out on most of the hors de oeuvres. We did get a piece of cake, but we did not drink any champagne because Michael's family didn't believe in drinking. We didn't really have a traditional first dance because Michael's family did not believe in dancing. (Notice a trend here ) But Brian did make a point of us getting up to dance just one dance. We thought our getaway card was locked in my parents’ garage. But Alan told his girlfriend where it was and she in turn told Michael’s brothers. Imagine our surprise when we opened the garage door and found the car all decorated with paint and stuffed with balloons.We spent our first night at the Hilton in San Bernardino. As we drove up to hotel, there was a high school dance going on and the kids asked us ~did you just get married...duh?!?! The next morning Michael wanted to get the car washed because we were heading into freezing temperatures, he didn’t want the paint to freeze onto the car. Because it was New Year’s Eve, he had a hard time finding a place that was open and one that would let him use it because off all the paint and stuff all over the car. You have to remember this is before cell phones. So there I was sitting in a strange hotel wondering if I had been abandoned the night after my wedding! Fortunately, after over an hour he showed up and off we left for our honeymoon. We spent a week in Flagstaff Arizona. We went to the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, Waputki, Sunset Crater & Montezuma's castle. In other words, every indian ruin known to man! We drove home to my parents’ house and spent the day opening all our wedding presents. The next day we headed off to San Diego and the one bedroom apartment Michael was living in at the time. The first thing I did was go in search of a house that was big enough for us and all our stuff to move into. We found a cute little two bedroom craftsman home near Balboa Park in San Diego. We decided on this area because the majority of hospitals in San Diego were close by. Of course I ended up taking a job at Scripps which was the only one in the north county. Our introduction to this quaint and friendly neighborhood was when everyone came out to watch us move the baby grand piano up the steps and into our new house. We settled into our married routine. Michael was very busy with law school and clerking for a law firm. Before I was able to find a job, I would hang out with my cousin and visit with my grandma who both lived in La Jolla. I decorated the house, planted a garden and practiced my cooking skills. We settled in to making our house a home and spending our life together, a true gift from God.

Wedding Homily made from with letters of our names…pity I don’t have all that he said
Joy
Admire
Caring
Kiss
Inspire
Emotion

Money
Imagination
Children
Happiness
Adore
Eternal
Love

Our Wedding Song:
All Good Gifts
We plow the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land
But it is fed and watered
By God's almighty hand
He sends the snow in winter
The warmth to swell the grain
The breezes and the sunshine
And soft refreshing rain

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above
So thank the Lord
Oh thank the Lord for all his love

We thank thee then O Father
For all things bright and good
The seed time and the harvest
Our life, our health, our food
No gifts have we to offer
For all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest
Our humble thankful hearts

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above
So thank the Lord
Oh thank the Lord for all his love