17 Years Ago...

... we tied the knot, jumped the broom, took the plunge...

got married!

Our home church was too small, so we 'borrowed' a Presby church across town.

Pretty, yah?

 

And had a big celebration :D

Kerry will tell you that he was so nervous during the ceremony his dad said he looked like a wooden Indian, but I didn't notice, because I was having a ball.

Also, my shoes were killing me.

Somehow we both managed to stay upright through the ceremony, and then sashayed down the aisle to the Big Band sound of Glenn Miller's In the Mood.

I know I know, you may be shocked.  (And not just because we look so young and skinny.)  My dress was deep, deep blue.  Nothing symbolic there (note the white flowers and candles), I just couldn't bring myself to pay hundreds of dollars for a poofy white dress.  I'm truly happy for all of you who did. More power to you.  It just wasn't me.  For a die-hard tomboy, this was as princessed-up as I cared to get.  (Besides, we were flat broke.)  And if you could only see under the table you'd know that I was sporting giant (UW) Husky slippers for most of the reception... much to the chagrin of my died-in-the-wool WSU Cougar husband (and many of his friends and guests.)  Oh well.  Who says mixed marriages won't work? ;D

We flew off the next morning for two glorious weeks in Hawaii.  Hallelujah and Amen.

Kerry was only three years post-cancer, so we waited a while to start a family.  Seems like forever ago, now.  We spent the first year and a half in a little apartment with kind, but eccentric and elderly neighbors, whose daily highlight was the eagerly awaited arrival of the mailman.  If, by chance, we failed to head directly to the box when we got home from work we'd likely hear one or the other of them call out from his balcony,

"Hey!  You forgot to get yer mail!  And I think ya got some!"  

Kerry was convinced that Frank, the story-teller next door, was in the witness protection program, but I think he was just lonely.  On the other side, Jane's cat - Inky - must've loved us, because he continually left little tokens of his affection on our doorstep.  (Can anyone tell me why a cat will eat all the bird but the feathers, but leave behind the tails and the little kidneys of the mice?  How do they do that?  And why???)  And then downstairs, right below us, Ernestine faithfully kept up with her hobbies -  every morning, playing the organ and singing along in a quavery voice (The..... hiiiiiills... are.... a.... liiiiiiiiiiiive....), followed by enthusiastic clog dancing (thumpety, thumpety, thumpety.)

Well, we kept busy, working our tails off, paying off Kerry's medical bills and saving up for a down-payment on a house.  Moved in when I was four or five months pregnant.  Nothing like taking on a fixer-upper when you feel like Shamu.  But we had a lot of help.  (Thanks Mom and Dad!)  I try not to be too picky, but I really did want a shower - not just a tub - in our only bathroom.  We scraped and sanded and painted and cleaned and it turned out pretty cute.  We didn't mind that none of the floors were level, some of the doors were hung upside down (hence the nickname The Duffer House), the nursery was a tiny 9'4" x 9'8" (and eventually shared by all three boys), and the carpet was pre-disastered.  The ancient wiring and the roof?  Well...  we just prayed a lot about what we couldn't afford to fix.

And if I go any further, it'll be all about kids, so thus endeth the saga of our newly-wed years.

Ta-daaaa.

Happy Anniversary, Honey :D