Joys of Marriage

Ah, the joys of marriage... to a maintenance man.

My husband came home from work today looking like this:

 Oh yes. Mud. And grease. And just... dirty.

And this is only the bottom half. I'd lovingly asked him to take his shirt off outside. Because it was worse. Worse than the pants. Believe it.

Joys, I tell you. Joys.

Balance.

This week, I've been working.

Which means that my season of alone time, of quiet time, of "me" time, is over.

I'm working as a Substitute Teacher Aide with special ed eighth graders this week. It's a small school- the teachers are close, and the kids are close. And I like my students. I genuinely like them. But, like working with every type of eighth grader on the planet, it gets to be a little... well, exhausting.

I head out for work at about 7:15 in the morning. My day mostly consists of, "Where's your book? Let's get that out, please," and "Nope. The question is asking you where this took place, not who the main characters are," and, "Sloan, that behavior is unacceptable. What would an acceptable behavior be, in this situation?" And it's good. I love being back in the classroom. I get home around 4 pm.

When I get home, I just want to sit. Sit and do nothing. Maybe watch TV. Maybe eat some junk food while watching TV.

When I was student teaching, that would be exactly what I'd do.

But I'm married. And I have to actually feed my husband- and he won't last long on just a couple pieces of string cheese and a quart of cookie-dough ice cream. And he likes having clean clothes. And talking to me. And doing things in the evening, like boating or visiting friends. Zeke helps a lot at home, actually, which I truly appreciate, but still.

It makes me feel like a bad wife, sometimes. Like the things I need to do are so overwhelming compared to the things that I want to do.

Then I start comparing myself to other people. People with children. How do they ever get anything done at all? Working all day, coming home and talking and sharing and cooking and feeding and cleaning and bathing and laundry and sleep... well, maybe no sleep... How? I feel inadequate just thinking about it.

I think that I'll make a transition. Learn to balance. I keep telling myself that it's only my first real week of work, and that I'll get into the swing of things. And I truly hope that I'm right. Still, though, there's something lurking... something telling me that I really can't do it. I'll just have to prove that thing wrong.

Budget Bride: Unity Braid

I don't really know if this post can be considered a Budget Bride post... mostly because I really had very little to do with making this thing. This DIY project was all Zeke. He got the wood for the base, he structured the cross and figured out how to mount the thing... I have no idea how he did it, so I can't give you any kind of tutorial or tip.

But I'm posting about it anyway! Why? Because I think that a unity braid is a great alternative to the unity candle. Or unity sand. Or unity been-there-done-that.

Our Unity Braid

I've always liked the idea of the unity braid (sometimes it's called a Cord of Three Strands) because it really embodies what a marriage (at least a faith-based marriage) is all about. Both Zeke and I have very distinct personalities, very unique characteristics. We didn't lose those characteristics when we said our vows. No, we're still ourselves. That's symbolized by the two different colors, the orange and blue, in our braid.

At the same time, our marriage is made complete and strong only because we have another strand in our braid- God. He's represented in our braid by the lighter (almost white-beige) strand. Like it says in Ecclesiasties, "A strand of three is not easily broken." We were brought together by the Lord. We will remain strong in the Lord, and He alone will get us through our times of trial and will keep us together.

Zeke made our unity braid in the shape of a cross. He actually tied the top part of the cross before the wedding, and then we braided together the bottom part. I'd never seen anything like that before. When I asked him to be in charge of the unity braid, I was picturing just a simple braid. He totally went above and beyond with the cross shape.

Unity Braid

 It's so fitting, though. By forming a cross with our braid, we're saying that our marriage will be a reflection of the kind of love that led the Son of God to die for humanity and take away our sins. We're saying that individually, we are strong and beautiful, but by being braided together, we are more than the sum of our parts. Our marriage is bigger than just Zeke and Adrie. Three little ropes are okay, but when they're braided together, there's so much more there.

During our ceremony- Braiding the Unity Braid

 Anyways. Now that I've told you the reason behind our using a unity braid, I'll fill you in on the very few details that I know. The strands themselves are actually rope used for boat tie-downs. I thought they were pretty, there were lots of colors to choose from, and we were running low on time, so that's what we went with. I would have preferred to use a true white for the strand representing God, but there wasn't one
available. In the end we went with a beige cord. It has red flecks in it, which made me think of the sacrifice of Christ, so that made up for it not being white, I think.

Unity Braid

The base was given to us by a woodworking friend at Zeke's old camp. He also made our cake topper. He had a rough piece of wood that he hadn't started working on yet, and it looked great. I actually didn't even think of using it for a unity braid base, but Zeke saw the purpose in the wood and grabbed it.

... and that's all I know. It turned out really cool, though, and it's something that we'll be able to display in our home for years and years to come, unlike a unity candle. It's a definite symbol of our marriage and will remind us of our commitment to be unified with each other and with God as we celebrate our lives together!

2012 Black Hills Vacation! Part One

Okay, so I'm finally going to post about our Black Hills trip this summer (which we got back from a week ago. But whatevs.)

(I kind of hate it when people say "whatevs." Just saying.)

Story Book Time!

HH and LW Present: 

The Black Hills! Summer 2012

 We packed up and Zeke expertly strapped it all down to the motorcycle. Ready to go!!

 It started to look like rain...

 ... so we put on our rain gear! And then it didn't rain.

We stopped for gas and to stretch our sore bums.

The Badlands were beautiful! And very windy. Very very windy. So windy that my helmet was catching the wind and felt like it was going to rip my head off. I didn't get to see too much of the Badlands, because I put my head on Zeke's back most of the way.

 Despite all the wind, we made it to the Black Hills!

 And we made it to our campground!

 We set up our tent (this is the view from our tent), ate supper, and went to sleep.

 The next morning, Zeke went dirt-biking with his brother-in-law, and I went horseback riding with Zeke's brother, JB, and his dad!

Me on a horse. Thinking about the fact that maybe this wasn't such a great idea after being on a motorcycle for eight hours the day before. Hmmm.

 In the afternoon, JB, Zeke's dad, and I went on an hour long four-wheeler ride! As if my bum hadn't had enough. It was really bumpy in places, but I was riding behind JB (who is an excellent four-wheel driver, by the way) and he kept me from completely falling off. We were headed to White Sand.

And this is it! White Sand isn't accessible by car... it's a hike (or four-wheel trek) to get there, and, like many of the beautiful places Zeke and his family visit every year, is definitely not a tourist spot. Which is why these places are so special.

(We'll continue our story later in the week, when I haven't been subbing all day, when I don't have a little headache, and probably after I've made supper. Stay tuned!)

Budget Bride: Wedding Program Wording

I've had a couple of questions come in about how I worded by beautiful (and simple) wedding programs. I'll break it down for ya!

Keep in mind, my wedding is not your wedding. You may have completely different wedding traditions. The order of ceremonies may be completely different in your wedding than it was in mine. Or maybe you won't want to include musician's names (our musicians were family members). Or maybe you added a totally cool element to your wedding that you'll want to explain. Every wedding is different, so every program is different!

On our wedding programs, I left the front cover blank, with just our two heart logo on it...

...so the wording started on the first "inside" page (which I printed on just plain computer paper). I printed the inside (computer paper) pages front and back, so page two is actually on the back of page one.

Remember, I used fancy fonts for my programs (fonts that won't show up here on the blog, so you'll just have to find your own- I have tips on my post about booklet wedding programs).
Here's the break down:

First Page: 

Zeke and Adrie (just our first names here)

Wedding Date

Name of the Church

Location of the Church (town and state)

Pastor Joe Schmoe Officiating

Second Page: 

Ceremony

Prelude and Processional

Susie Q (Organ)

Entrance of Bride

Susie Q (Organ)

Welcome

Pastor Joe Schmoe

Giving of Bride

Message

Reading

Lucy Black and Karen White, Sisters of the Groom

Third Page: 

Congregational Song

"One in the Spirit,"  Jimmy Bob (Guitar)

(See last page of program for Lyrics)

Exchange of Vows and Rings

Unity Braid 

The braiding of three strands demonstrates how HH and LW are joined by God in marriage. 

Soloists: Little Sister and Littler Sister, Sisters of the Bride

Declaration of Marriage

Benediction

Recessional

Susie Q (Organ)

Fourth Page: (I won't bore you with fake names, here... here's the basic order I used...)

Wedding Party

Groomsmen

Name.................Relationship to Groom

Bridesmaids

Name...................Relationship to Bride

Flower Girls

Name...............Relationship to Bride

Parents of Bride

 Names

Parents of Groom

 Names

Fifth Page:

Grandparents of Bride

 Names (I only included those who are still living here)

Grandparents of Groom

Names

Ushers

Name.....Relationship to Couple

The roses next to the guestbook are in memory of (deceased grandparents' names).

Sixth Page: 

Thank You!

For sharing in this very special day with us, 

For supporting us and encouraging us along the way, 

For your prayers and thoughts as we continue this journey together, 

And most of all, for being an influence in our lives and making us who we are. 

Seventh Page: 

 (Here I put the song lyrics to the congregational song, which saved us time and hassle with using the church projector.)

Eighth Page: 

 Crossword Puzzle!

(For this, I actually just used Microsoft Excel. I first figured out my clues, then made the puzzle using a puzzlemaking site. I didn't like the quality of the free printable version, so I just blacked out cells in Excel to make my own puzzle. I used text boxes to number the words up in the corners.)

Inside Back Cover: 

(Here I glued the clues to the crossword puzzle)      

So there you have it! Our wedding programs worked out great, and a lot of people commented about the crossword puzzle.We included little golf pencils with the wedding programs, too- ones with erasers (fancy).  I just know that having to sit and wait for a wedding to start (and most of the time, you don't know all that many people who are there) gets a little boring, and having something fun to do while you wait for the thing to start already can be really great. 

The puzzle also sparked some conversation among our guests... we made sure that we used clues and words that encompassed many aspects of our lives. Like, what kind of pet do we have? What was the name of the camp where HH worked? When was LW born? Some of our guests would know each of the answers, but very few guests knew all of the answers. 

Anyways. If you have any questions, I'd love to hear them! I'm all about helping the next bride! Thanks for your comments and your searches!  

 

First Day of Work!!

So, the night that we got back from the Black Hills, I got a phone call. From a school.

I'd called all the schools in the area to ask about what paperwork I needed to become a sub, because it seems like every school is different. Now, I hadn't turned in this paperwork yet (still waiting on my teaching license to come in the mail... switching teaching licenses from one state to another takes forever), but one school had asked if I'd be willing to substitute for an Aide position. I said sure.

And then the school called and asked me to sub for an Aide position.

It was a little whirlwind, just getting back from vacation and getting called in for the next day. Very exciting. I had no idea what to wear.

The school was great- small, close-knit, and the teachers were wonderful.

It felt great, GREAT, to get back into the classroom. I was totally making mental notes of teaching styles, classroom set-ups, use of technology... it felt wonderful. Just another testament that teaching is where I'm supposed to be.

When I got home, I checked the mail, and lo and behold! My license! I made copies right away, and I'm planning on driving around tomorrow and delivering my application packets to a bunch of school districts. I'm excited. Hopefully I'll be busy this fall!

The Turkeys in my Yard

Our camp (and our home) is situated near a state park, near the lake, and has beautiful big trees.

And deer. And bunnies. And.... turkeys.

Yep!

 I have turkeys in my yard.

 Wild turkeys. There are a couple of flocks, the largest has about thirteen birds.That's a lot of turkey.

The turkeys are doing a great job of distracting me from laundry and dishes. And from putting up vacation pictures. It'll get done. 

Gobble gobble.