Has it been 3 years already?

I can't believe Bill and I got married three years ago today. My great friend and amazing photographer, JC Carley, shot our pictures which were awesome. She also gave me a CD with all our proofs and these are some of my favorites. So for some of you who were at our wedding whether it was too far to travel or you didn't know us yet or for those who were there, here are some snapshots of the day it all began.

My uncle Bill and Aunt Linda bought these Hawkeye Pom Poms to shake as we walked down the aisle as husband and wife. Star Wars Ceremonial March was our recessional which was always a dream of mine.

Ever Bloomin' Thing is the best florist in town and they outdid themselves with my gorgeous flowers. My bouquet was so wonderful but the girl'ss tulips were the real show stoppers.
Here is Bill right before with Nile who looks so little and Tom, his godfather, who was his best man. We had Nile and Gabby stand on $10 bills which were taped to the floor. If they stood still the entire ceremony, they got the money. I've never seen them move so little. They were eyeing that cash!
Madison was my flower girl and this is a great black and white shot of her. JC does a fantastic job of catching the little moments.
Here is a picture of the outside of Old Brick where we got married. I ran past this today and it was open so I rested a minute, walked in and just soaked up the memories.
I love this shot of us. This is the story of our lives. Bill and I trying to make out while the kids are being goofy.
Here is a great shot of the ladies and their amazing tulips. The gal on the R is Bill's sister Susie.
Bill with the kids. Looking back it is amazing to see how much they have grown espeically Gabby.
Our whole family. My brothers and their wives, my folks and Madison on the L. Bill's sister Susie, her family, Uncle Tom and the kids on the R.
Walking through campus on the way to take pictures.
I have learned a lot in three years of marriage about myself, my spouse, the kids. Nile could eat cereal for every meal and is more generous and kind hearted than you would think he is. Gabby likes olives on her pizza and is a very loyal friend. Bill will sing show tunes and dance in the kitchen when the mood strikes him and he lives up to the meaning of his name, William - the great protector.

Thanks for going down memory lane with me. I promise not to blog with pictures every April 16th or maybe I can't promise that. :-)

If you are ever in Connecticut and need a photography, www.carleyphotography.com

My fans demand it

Some of my adoring fans, I mean friends, well just two of you asked for face shots with the red hair so here they are. I don't think it comes out that well in these pictures but they were the best I could do. The top definitely took the red bolder than the length did but close up the whole darn thing is red.
Bill is the one who wanted to see me as a red head. After a few days, he has decided he likes my hair better black than red. He thinks the red changes the tones and coloring of my face and makes me look at times a bit orange. Good thing it is permanent dye; he knows he have an orange tinted red headed wife for at least the next foreseeable future.

Righteous suffering

This Saturday Bill and I decided to run another 5 K race. This one was in Des Moines and was a fundraiser for AIDS. So we get up early, get on the road and this is the scene that greets us. We knew it was supposed to be cold and windy but we weren't expecting snow on the ground. This picture does not do justice to the sleet falling almost horizontal. Needless to say, it was freezing, but it wasn't until we started to run did the real misery begin.Here is me before the race. I look happy albeit a bit cold, right? If I knew what was awaiting when the gun went off, I may have stayed in the car. The race starts off OK, I ran the first mile fast for me in 9:43. Then the hills came and came and came. We were warned on the brochure saying the race was over a 'hilly picturesque course'. First of all no one cares how picturesque the course is when they are running it, it is not the Parade of Homes and secondly, hilly was an understatement. The second mile was the worst mile I have ever run, not in terms of time but in terms of pure suffering. I learned this about myself. When I suffer, I feel righteous. I start to compare my suffering to righteous suffering. Like MLK Jr who had to walk for miles to gain civil rights and he was beaten and he spent time in jail, not to mention shot before this dream was realized. He did that, I think, I can run up this hill. Then I think of Mother Teresa who probably slept on the floor most of her adult life, unclear if that is true but it made me feel more righteous to think about that in my suffering. The list goes on and on in my head; everyone who has suffered for a cause throughout the ages I compare myself to and think if they did it, I can keep running up this hill. I stop short of comparing my suffering to Jesus'. You can all be thankful for that.
Here is me after the race. Bill says I look the same as I did before the race. I tell him that is because it is supposed to seem effortless. He laughed. But you all now know it wasn't effortless and there was a litany of righteous suffers whom I was comparing myself to along the way.
Bill got first place in this age group, but was too cold to pose with his ribbon outside so I got a shot while in the car.
Bill is tired of hearing me talk about my righteous suffering. Won't he be pleased to know I blogged about it for all to enjoy?

The Flickering Blip

Work has been really busy and not so rewarding the past few weeks. The opening our new gigantic ER has meant more work and less fun while at work. I'm not big on change so it is taking time for me to get used to it.

I have told probably a dozen women over the year I've been in the ER that they are pregnant. No one has ever been happy about it. I've had that news met with swearing, yelling, wide eyed looks of disbelief followed by tears, sobbing, asking for information about abortions etc. No one has every been pleased... until Friday.

I told a 37 year old woman who had been married for over a year, thinking she may have missed her time to conceive that her daily vomiting was actually due to pregnancy. The look on her face was priceless. She and her husband could hardly contain their joy. We ended up doing an u/s as well in the ER and saw this little flickering blip of a baby. I got to turn the monitor and say, "Look there is your baby's heartbeat". They were both tearful and for one minute on one busy Friday night I said to myself, "I love this job".

Carrots

I got plenty of compliments about my hair today at work. No one called me carrots. But then again I have always thought carrots are orange and not red so I don't know why red heads are called carrots.

Almost as long

I have wanted red hair like Angela Chase's (anyone remember her?) for almost as long as I have wanted a red bathroom. Red, real red is hard to do on dark hair without bleaching it first which I refuse to do and it has to be permanent. A friend from church dyes her hair really cool colors of red so she gave me the dye info and off I went. Had to wait until I was sure I wasn't pregnant this month before invading my scalp with toxic chemicals so last night was go time. Bill took some before shots and I took a few after shots. One shows how nicely my hair almost matches the bathroom :-) We'll see if I come to regret the permanent red color when my roots start to show, but for right now it is fun and I feel kinda like a vixen.

Oh the humanity

Nile just called Bill and decided he doesn't want a laptop after all. He thinks he will just use it to 'screw around' and he'd rather save his money. Smart kid, we've been trying to tell him that for weeks now. Oh the humanity of it all. I just got back from buying it for him. Good thing there is a two week return policy, I have had it less than two hours. My friend Erica said husbands and children are in our lives for our santification. I will add step children to that list as well.

Peck Peck Peck

Ok I saw this card once which said having kids is like getting pecked to death by chickens or something like that. I thought it was funny, theoretically speaking until this weekend. And the disclaimer here is that Gabby and Nile are not my children but I do love them, would jump in front of a bus for them and greatly enjoy having them in my life. But, sweet mother of Abe Lincoln, Nile has been pecking me to death this weekend with questions. Nile wants to buy something with his hard earned chore and school money combined with upcoming birthday money (6/11). First it was a cell phone but we said he can't have that until he is 13 which is rule in our house. Then it was the air soft bb gun which isn't supposed to hurt but I have seen two puncture wounds in the ER in recent weeks made by these 'benign' toys. Then it was a go kart and now it a laptop; our rule is no wireless internet in our house in their rooms only in public places but we can't find any reasons to say no a laptop. We have decided to forego Christmas presents as a family which will make the kids birthday presents bigger. We (Bill I mean) perhaps got ourselves into a pickle by getting Gabby her birthday present early (she was born on 8/16) this year because it was a new Ipod to replace hers which she is giving her best friend who is about to move away. Nile thinks that means he will get his sooner as well. Anyhow, back to the laptop. Bill defers all questions regarding things which plug in to me, the 'technical' one in the family. Nile has been obsessing asking two millions questions about laptops. We have made several trips to Best Buy followed up by phone calls and trips to Office Depot and now he has found the ONE he can afford. And so it goes.

What is an ethernet port? Do I need that? Is 6 lb too heavy to put in a messenger bag because I saw a cool messenger lap top bag? Can I get a wireless card? How many USB ports do I need? Should I buy a printer? I don't really need a protection plan, do I? What is a parallel port? How fast does the internet run? Can I play Axis and Allies on that computer? What is RAM? How many megabytes in a gigabyte (I had to call my dad about that one)? I am not bothering you, am I? I am just excited. (Bill - I don't want to hear any more about the computer. Nile- I am not talking to you, I'm talking to Katie and I told her to tell me if I was bothering her and she hasn't said anything so I am still talking) So do you think I can buy this today? The sale only lasts until the 12th. Gabby got her present early so couldn't I just this once? (Ask your father, I say to that --- he is the one who got us in the mess in the first place :-) ) and so on... it is non stop. Sweet little dude is sure inquisitive which is a good quality and he reports it is question asking which made him so smart when he was a kid. I pointed out that he is still a kid. I don't find that card about being pecked to death by chickens so theoretically funny anymore.

Addendum:
This just happened..."When I am done buying my laptop and all its accessories, I am going to save my money for a car or a moped. I don't want to buy stupid things and then at 16 not have a car and everyone think I'm a dork. So how many miles per gallon does a moped get? How much do they cost? I think it would be good for around town and in college, right? Probably not in the winter? How dangerous is a moped? How many people have you seen in the ER from moped accidents? (me- Ben from church almost died when he got hit by a minivan on his moped. nile- really, the Ben I know? followed by a thoughtful pause) Was he wearing a helmet? I mean I'd wear a helmet. I think a moped is a good idea. I don't know, I'm only 11 and I have years until I need to get it"