Here is the final phase of our long review of 2008. A wonderful year full of adventure.
He Said:
October – Again, don’t remember much here. I think the constant throwing up for Amber went on for a while because the doctors were not taking the indicators seriously. She had to loss 25 pounds before they finally realized that something was wrong. And even then what the doctors did didn’t help as much as it was intended to. This was the month where I went to Coeur d’Alene for the health district audit. Our audit team was there for nearly 2 full weeks and we stayed at the Ameritel Inn. These traveling audits can be both nice yet miserating. On one hand it is cool to be able to stay in a hotel for a while, eat out, and have it all paid for. On the other hand, because of the extra hours we put in, and a basic yet temporary change in lifestyle, they can get old real quick. Normally, after the first week your brain is already fried!
At the beginning of the month, during General Conference, Amber and I went to the ER so that she could get an I.V. That’s how bad the vomiting was. Because she couldn’t even keep water down, we had to resort to a different method of getting fluids in her body. While I was up at CDA for the audit, Amber came and visited me over that weekend I was there. It was nice to have her stay a couple days, and we got to rent a mini-van since the rental place was out of compacts. We drove around to a few places and even went to church at the nearest LDS building. Basically this turned out to be an extension of our honeymoon since all we really did is go random places together.
She Said:
October: What I remember most about October is being really sick. As Brinton and I were watching the Sunday morning General Conference session, I just felt miserable. I debated after several prayers and a blessing from Dad and Brinton the night before of what to do. I decided it was time to get help from the ER. The best way to describe how I felt was, depleted. I hadn’t been able to keep any food down for two weeks at that point. I had lost almost 20 pounds. Granted, I did gain 10 the first month of pregnancy, so I did have some reserve to rely upon. My ER experience wasn’t too bad. I was in desperate need of fluids, so that is what they gave me. The doctor also prescribed a drug to aid me in the digestion of food. This was the one thing that started working for me. My food for some reason was unable to digest at all and my diet consisted of brothy soup. Even water was difficult to keep down.
**Sidenote, Brinton’s audit in Coeur d’Alene actually took place mid September. It was a nice trip to be able to break away for a few days, despite being sick. Thank goodness the plane ride was short. I had a window seat both times on full flights, I kept my handy in-flight barf bag on my lap, just in case I couldn’t run from my seat. I was blessed with a non-eventful flight and didn’t get sick. I was so grateful!
He Said:
November – Though I am getting my events in September and October mixed up, there is no mistaking what happened in this month! And the reason I remember so well is because I didn’t get to take Veteran’s Day off due to an audit I was on that needed to be done soon. After getting back from CDA and trying to finish off some HD audits, I found out that I needed to get my tail over to the Dept. of Labor to complete that audit. I had left that agency temporarily in order to go to CDA. And since they wanted the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) signed by the beginning of December I had to book it over there and get the thing done. Which meant working 9 hour days at one point until I was done. So all that pressure ate into my Veteran’s Day hopes – but at least I got to dress in casual clothes, that’s always cool to do when you’re in a professional environment. Thanksgiving was pretty simple if I recall. Amber’s brother Tim had Thanksgiving with the Waite family over at his house. I invited my parents to join since my little sister Courtney was having it with her husband’s family – Pete’s family. It’s kind of funny watching my Mom in crowds. She had a hard time just sitting there and watching everyone else mix and mingle. If she’s not in the action and gabbing it up like everyone else, it bothers her. Yet I enjoy watching people interact with others. Some may think I’m a little reclusive or reserved in crowds, but really I just enjoy watching people socialize and view their body language.
On Black Friday we decided to take advantage of some of the sales in the mall by going to JCPenney and ordering custom made blinds. We also took advantage of the time and checked out some washers and dryers to put into our new home. So it was pretty busy on Friday. That Saturday is when we moved into our new home. I had the BEC section of the CPA to take so I wasn’t there for most of it. Amber’s family showed up much earlier than we both thought they would. So while most of the moving was taking place, I was failing an exam. Funny thing is, even though I had to give up on studying for this one weeks and weeks before taking it, I did better on this one than any of the others I’ve taken. When I finally got done, Amber and I pushed ourselves to get the rest of the house packed up and moved over. That day killed us. Amber stayed home from church the next day so she could rest – and considering that she was going to have to go back to work on Monday, she really needed to rest up. Man, this was a real busy month. Even from making our offer on the new house to it closing happened all in this month. Actually, the process took only 2 weeks total. I think I’ve said enough.
She Said:
November: Still sick and two visits to the outpatient center at the hospital for two more IV’s over the course of the month. Mid way through the month in desperation I went to a Nature Pathologist. She started me out on enzymes to clean out my liver and kidney’s as well as digestive enzymes. Then later enzymes for nausea and my blood sugar. This was the first of things looking up in this pregnancy. I only worked the first week of the month. I was advised to take a two week break from work to try to recuperate. It ended up being three weeks away with Thanksgiving break and days I missed, before they told me to take time off. I spent a lot of time in bed and going to the doctor for my weekly weigh in visits. I began feeling the fluttering movements of the baby this month. It was exciting to feel something going on inside, knowing it was our little one, getting bigger. She likes to move to music and the first few times I felt her move it was to Brinton’s voice. When he would come home from work and he would talk to me she would move like crazy.
To get my mind off being sick, I started house hunting on the internet and around the neighborhood. Brinton and I weren’t exactly planning on buying a house this soon into our marriage (especially with all of the other changes and unexpected sickness) but we decided that since I am still working and real estate is such a buyers market, we would at least take a look. This transitioned quickly when we found a house that we thought would suit us well. It ended up being a three week process from start to finish and botta-bing the weekend following Thanksgiving we moved into our new little home.
He Said:
December – Besides the Christmas spirit being in the air, I think what I was most excited about for this month is that the CPA was behind me and I wasn’t going to revisit it until after this little kid of ours was born. So I could really, truly just not think about it for a while. And believe me I need that; I was burning out from it. Well, at this point we’re in our new home, it’s a major mess, and Christmas and by birthday are right around the corner. We stayed in the Hampton Ward (the ward we just moved out of) for a couple more weeks before starting up at our new ward (Kimball Ward). Since I was Ward Mission Leader I wanted to help make sure the transition to the next WML would be smooth. They called the next one a couple weeks into December, and that Sunday became our last Sunday in that ward. With having a house full of junk to go through, we proceeded to work on the stuff that was most crucial to us – and at the very least get this home in a livable order before we allowed the gradual unpacking to settle in. We know that unpacking is a long process, so we only wanted to get through the real vital stuff right away. Really, this month mainly consisted of unpacking, throwing away, and reorganizing. And for me, it’s been a HUGE motivator in getting rid of stuff I otherwise wouldn’t want to – of course, this is the fourth residence move more me in 3 years. When you move 4 times in 3 years, you just get sick of some of the stuff you have. Unfortunately, I won’t be throwing away my textbooks – unfortunate for my Mom that is; she HATES that I still have them. At work I was spending my time going between audits and getting as many outstanding ones wrapped up as possible before using up my comp time over the Christmas holidays. See, some of the audits I was on in recent months helped me collect enough overtime (comp time) that I was able to take 2 weeks off around the Christmas break. And since Amber already had that time off from school, it worked out great for both of us. So during that period we focused on stuff to clean up in the house – though, honestly, we didn’t get as much done as we could have. But we did get our blinds up and that was the biggest thing to get done during the break. My folks also recorded several College Bowl games for me – I have 2 left to watch. So on occasion I was at their house watching it. And then we ended our year with the same way we started it – a kiss on new years at the Boise Institute New Year’s party. And yes, Amber still wouldn’t give me a good, long kiss!!!
She Said:
December: I returned back to work, but only had to work two weeks due to Christmas break. What a blessing! I still had bouts of sickness, but was able to cope much better at this point. Brinton took the two weeks off from the break and so we were able to spend a lot of time unpacking, putting up blinds and just being together. We spent Christmas Eve, which is also Brinton’s birthday with his parents. We went out to eat and hung out at his parent home. Christmas morning we enjoyed sleeping in and later gathered again at his parents home to celebrate with his sister and her husband. Later in the evening we went to my mom’s house to celebrate with my family.
Over all 2008 was an exciting and eventful year. I knew it was going to be a good year and it really was. At the years end I was 25 weeks pregnant and ecstatic to be over half way to my due date. It seems that a quarter of the year was over shadowed by the sickness of pregnancy, but so many wonderful things did take place. My record at this point of not throwing up since the sixth week of pregnancy is a week and a half. Sad to say it still stands to that this day. I look forward to the day a few months from now where I get to see this precious little one and hold her in my arms. What a blessing that will be. 2009 will be divine.
Thank you to all who made 2008 possible for the many adventures we encountered!!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Part Three: 2008 July, August, September
He Said:
July – I don’t remember much about this month. I think I was beginning my CPA study again; so much of my time was devoted to that. Amber and I would meet at a bus stop near the Fitness 19 we went to and would drive over there. Due to rising gas prices I got more serious about utilizing public transportation because a daily commute could easily get out of hand with fuel costs. So we would meet at a bus stop near there and exercise together. Little did we know that this was the month Amber got pregnant, so some changes were taking place and we didn’t even know it. However, she had expressed feeling very tired and lacking energy but not knowing why. She also got to meet some of my extended family at the Flake Family Reunion in Snowflake, AZ; so that was nice. Although she was also very exhausted there, too, so when everyone would want to play games at night, she wanted to go to bed. Again, she was pregnant and we didn’t even know it yet.
She Said:
July: Not nearly as eventful as the months preceding. We celebrated being married one month, which seemed like a great feat. We also took a trip to Snowflake Arizona for the Flake family reunion. Brinton showed me around ASU’s campus where he went to school. We also took a few little road trips from Snowflake to visit the small towns of Woodruff, Pinetop and Lake Side where my Grandma and Grandpa Ison grew up, met and fell in love. That was a neat addition to the trip for me. I taught and closed up my summer program for the school district teaching the homebound students, as well as the preschool transition program. It was a great month of settling in and getting to know one another as a married couple.
He Said:
August – I believe this is the month where I took a section of the CPA exam – though I’m not exactly sure. That really is all I remember about this month. Oh yeah, except that we finally found out that Amber was pregnant. I recall the night well. She had gotten back from Girl’s Camp that day. I think we went to a wedding reception for someone who I was in Del Sol with. We might have even done a few other things. Anyway, that night we were getting ready to go to bed and as she was kneeling down by the bedside and I was getting ready to join her, she randomly blurted out, “I’m pregnant!” I remember laughing a little because I thought she was joking around and then she said to me again that she was pregnant and she was serious. But I still didn’t believe her because it just didn’t seem right and we were using preventive measures so we could spend a few months together before starting our family. And she proceeded to tell me over and over again that she is pregnant, she is being serious, and that she even took a home pregnancy test that confirmed her suspicions – after all, she was very emotional at Girl’s Camp for no reason. Eventually I started taking her seriously and just had this blank look of shock on my face – because let’s be honest, I still didn’t believe it. It was just too crazy a concept at the time. We had only been married for about 2 months at this point. There simply is no way she could be pregnant yet. I remember us talking a bit about it and she got emotional. All the while I’ve got this look of “huh?” on my face and just in that mental state of listening but not grasping or truly comprehending. Just didn’t seem real to me!
She Said:
August: A busy month. The first week we had Dean and Candice’s kids while they were away in Oregon. I spent part of the week at their home then later in the week brought them back to our place. Brinton was a good sport to have three kids join us in our newlywed state. The second week I spent away at Young Women’s Girls camp. It turns out all of the Young Women’s leaders in my ward were about to have a baby or just recently had a baby, so none of them were able to go. You can’t have girls camp without leaders, so they asked me to stand in as assistant camp director so the camp director wouldn’t have to run the camp alone. It was fun to have a chance away up in the mountains for a few days before I had to return to work. I suspected I was pregnant, my chest ached like no other, I hadn’t gotten my period, I became exhausted by 8:00 at night and could hardly function after then. After dropping off girls at the end of camp, the first thing I did was run to the store and purchase a pregnancy test. Brinton took part of the afternoon off that day, so he actually got home before me. I snuck into the bathroom and took the test. I sat in shock when the two lines appeared and it stated I was pregnant. I looked at the little stick over and over comparing it to the directions. I couldn’t believe it. Even though I felt it in my heart and even suspected the actual time where I became pregnant, I still couldn’t believe it. It happened so quickly, really the first chance it could have in our married life. We were hoping for a few months together as newlyweds un-pregnant, but the Lord has something else in store for us. That night as we knelt for our evening prayer I told Brinton I was pregnant. He didn’t really believe me and was more in shock than I suspected he might be.
He Said:
September – Yes I was a good sport for having the 3 kids J. This was the month that we had the first doctor’s appt. to confirm whether or not Amber really was pregnant – because I still didn’t believe it. We met at the hospital and went through the “normal” routine. The doctor used the very inaccurate circle of life to estimate the due date – which was off by about 3 weeks. Took the usual samples and stuff and last of all, probably to humor me and show me this is all real, they brought in a simple little ultrasound device and gave us an unofficial ultrasound. And there it was, our little whipper-snapper. The baby was about 6 weeks old at that point; making us fortunate enough to see the heart beat. Well, if you do not believe it at this point then you’re hopeless. My doubts were certainly removed after the ultrasound, but it was hard to believe. Cause really, up to this point I had been a single guy for so many years and this was just such a huge change that it wasn’t setting in. But I did believe at this point – just had to get to the actually comprehending point now. So then it came time for us to start planning and making arrangements little by little for the kid. Unfortunately that did get put on hold for a time due to Amber’s very excessive vomiting and tremendous lack of energy she experienced everyday!
She Said:
September: Summer is over and back to school. The summer seemed to fly by, I was so busy with working and babysitting and girls camp, then it was over. I made an appointment to see an OB for my first baby visit. At our first visit she did an unofficial ultrasound where we were able to see our new little one with a beating heart. Her measurements didn’t match up with my dates. I suspected at that point that I was 8-9 weeks pregnant. After getting an official ultrasound it was determined that I was actually 6-7 weeks pregnant at my initial appointment. I was bummed that my due date was later than I had calculated, but grateful to see this new little one developing with in me. I hadn’t really felt well since I got pregnant. I had digestion issues and had gained ten pounds the first month. Although I didn’t really feel well, I didn’t really get sick until after my first doctor’s appointment. That is when it all began, my lovely journey of months and months of throwing up and being quite ill.
July – I don’t remember much about this month. I think I was beginning my CPA study again; so much of my time was devoted to that. Amber and I would meet at a bus stop near the Fitness 19 we went to and would drive over there. Due to rising gas prices I got more serious about utilizing public transportation because a daily commute could easily get out of hand with fuel costs. So we would meet at a bus stop near there and exercise together. Little did we know that this was the month Amber got pregnant, so some changes were taking place and we didn’t even know it. However, she had expressed feeling very tired and lacking energy but not knowing why. She also got to meet some of my extended family at the Flake Family Reunion in Snowflake, AZ; so that was nice. Although she was also very exhausted there, too, so when everyone would want to play games at night, she wanted to go to bed. Again, she was pregnant and we didn’t even know it yet.
She Said:
July: Not nearly as eventful as the months preceding. We celebrated being married one month, which seemed like a great feat. We also took a trip to Snowflake Arizona for the Flake family reunion. Brinton showed me around ASU’s campus where he went to school. We also took a few little road trips from Snowflake to visit the small towns of Woodruff, Pinetop and Lake Side where my Grandma and Grandpa Ison grew up, met and fell in love. That was a neat addition to the trip for me. I taught and closed up my summer program for the school district teaching the homebound students, as well as the preschool transition program. It was a great month of settling in and getting to know one another as a married couple.
He Said:
August – I believe this is the month where I took a section of the CPA exam – though I’m not exactly sure. That really is all I remember about this month. Oh yeah, except that we finally found out that Amber was pregnant. I recall the night well. She had gotten back from Girl’s Camp that day. I think we went to a wedding reception for someone who I was in Del Sol with. We might have even done a few other things. Anyway, that night we were getting ready to go to bed and as she was kneeling down by the bedside and I was getting ready to join her, she randomly blurted out, “I’m pregnant!” I remember laughing a little because I thought she was joking around and then she said to me again that she was pregnant and she was serious. But I still didn’t believe her because it just didn’t seem right and we were using preventive measures so we could spend a few months together before starting our family. And she proceeded to tell me over and over again that she is pregnant, she is being serious, and that she even took a home pregnancy test that confirmed her suspicions – after all, she was very emotional at Girl’s Camp for no reason. Eventually I started taking her seriously and just had this blank look of shock on my face – because let’s be honest, I still didn’t believe it. It was just too crazy a concept at the time. We had only been married for about 2 months at this point. There simply is no way she could be pregnant yet. I remember us talking a bit about it and she got emotional. All the while I’ve got this look of “huh?” on my face and just in that mental state of listening but not grasping or truly comprehending. Just didn’t seem real to me!
She Said:
August: A busy month. The first week we had Dean and Candice’s kids while they were away in Oregon. I spent part of the week at their home then later in the week brought them back to our place. Brinton was a good sport to have three kids join us in our newlywed state. The second week I spent away at Young Women’s Girls camp. It turns out all of the Young Women’s leaders in my ward were about to have a baby or just recently had a baby, so none of them were able to go. You can’t have girls camp without leaders, so they asked me to stand in as assistant camp director so the camp director wouldn’t have to run the camp alone. It was fun to have a chance away up in the mountains for a few days before I had to return to work. I suspected I was pregnant, my chest ached like no other, I hadn’t gotten my period, I became exhausted by 8:00 at night and could hardly function after then. After dropping off girls at the end of camp, the first thing I did was run to the store and purchase a pregnancy test. Brinton took part of the afternoon off that day, so he actually got home before me. I snuck into the bathroom and took the test. I sat in shock when the two lines appeared and it stated I was pregnant. I looked at the little stick over and over comparing it to the directions. I couldn’t believe it. Even though I felt it in my heart and even suspected the actual time where I became pregnant, I still couldn’t believe it. It happened so quickly, really the first chance it could have in our married life. We were hoping for a few months together as newlyweds un-pregnant, but the Lord has something else in store for us. That night as we knelt for our evening prayer I told Brinton I was pregnant. He didn’t really believe me and was more in shock than I suspected he might be.
He Said:
September – Yes I was a good sport for having the 3 kids J. This was the month that we had the first doctor’s appt. to confirm whether or not Amber really was pregnant – because I still didn’t believe it. We met at the hospital and went through the “normal” routine. The doctor used the very inaccurate circle of life to estimate the due date – which was off by about 3 weeks. Took the usual samples and stuff and last of all, probably to humor me and show me this is all real, they brought in a simple little ultrasound device and gave us an unofficial ultrasound. And there it was, our little whipper-snapper. The baby was about 6 weeks old at that point; making us fortunate enough to see the heart beat. Well, if you do not believe it at this point then you’re hopeless. My doubts were certainly removed after the ultrasound, but it was hard to believe. Cause really, up to this point I had been a single guy for so many years and this was just such a huge change that it wasn’t setting in. But I did believe at this point – just had to get to the actually comprehending point now. So then it came time for us to start planning and making arrangements little by little for the kid. Unfortunately that did get put on hold for a time due to Amber’s very excessive vomiting and tremendous lack of energy she experienced everyday!
She Said:
September: Summer is over and back to school. The summer seemed to fly by, I was so busy with working and babysitting and girls camp, then it was over. I made an appointment to see an OB for my first baby visit. At our first visit she did an unofficial ultrasound where we were able to see our new little one with a beating heart. Her measurements didn’t match up with my dates. I suspected at that point that I was 8-9 weeks pregnant. After getting an official ultrasound it was determined that I was actually 6-7 weeks pregnant at my initial appointment. I was bummed that my due date was later than I had calculated, but grateful to see this new little one developing with in me. I hadn’t really felt well since I got pregnant. I had digestion issues and had gained ten pounds the first month. Although I didn’t really feel well, I didn’t really get sick until after my first doctor’s appointment. That is when it all began, my lovely journey of months and months of throwing up and being quite ill.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Part Two: 2008 April, May June
He Said:
April – The big month, whopper of them all. This is the month Amber and I made our plans of getting married official with me officially, traditionally proposing to her. What an experience it was, shopping for a ring and my stomach and wallet dropping to the floor wondering if this is really worth it (which I’m sure Amber didn’t appreciate). But I’m in my 30’s and fed up with being single. So come hell or high water I was marrying this dame – even if that meant discontinuing my CPA study to make sure this worked out (thank you Elder M. Russell Ballard). If it didn’t work out I would have given up on dating and would travel the world by getting employed by Boise Cascade in their internal audit function. Anyway, ring shopping was very interesting and fortunately we found a great ring real quick. I proposed to her in the front room of her house and we proceeded to make plans – I even recall my Dad screaming for joy when I told him it was official. Now the Boise temple can send out the letters and we not hide this; I certainly left my mark with that call to the temple. At that point the rest of the month was somewhat of a blur…I think!
She Said:
April: Once Brinton returned home from his audit, that same evening we went ring shopping. The journey started with his parents at Carats. We visited four stores and later met up with both of our parents at Chilies for the “meet the parents” opportunity. This was something that was important to Brinton since we were soon to make our union. A few days later as a part of our family home evening together Brinton proposed at my house by the fireplace as he knelt on one knee. He stated that since we would be beginning our lives together here, he only thought it was appropriate to propose at the place that soon would be our home. The funny thing was I was in the middle of doing laundry and he kept peeking into the hallway as he was waiting for me to return to the living room. I knew it was coming, but really I didn’t know when it was going to happen. We had already gone down town and walked and walked I guess he didn’t muster up the guts to do it down there. He told me it was too windy. !?! He did well and choose the ring that was my favorite when shopping. The planning was underway with seven weeks to get the wedding pulled off!
He Said:
May – Since wedding plans filled this month, not much else happened. I think I took the BEC section of the CPA exam, and didn’t pass of course. Most of my time got occupied in helping my sister and brother-in-law move from West Des Moines, Iowa to Tucson, AZ. That took about a week and happened at the end of the month. I flew back up to Boise a week prior to my wedding date and helped out in whatever way I could. By this time in May we were slowly separating ourselves from the singles branch we met in – not necessarily because we wanted to, but because preparation for the big event required us to. Our friendship was growing and we were anxiously awaiting that big day. I was even moving my stuff in little by little as I could. I guess at this point all we could really do was wait for the day. And as it got closer, I often wondered when I would start feeling nervous…but in the end I never did.
She Said:
May: A busy month of planning and preparation: wedding invites, many conversations with my older sister about decorations for the reception and lots and lots of processing within my heart, of changes that were soon to occur within my life. Here are two very independent individuals trying to mesh as one. I had my fair share of debating in my mind, as well as time on my knees trying to figure out how all this oneness works. This is a thought that returns often still for me. I reflected on thing like, “How am I going to share a bed? I love hogging my queen size bed, all to myself.” Of course that kind of conversation was easy to compromise and get over quickly, “Well we’ll get a king. And hey, you no longer get to sleep alone and have someone to snuggle with!”
He Said:
June – 6/7/08 was the day of reckoning, and yet I was as peaceful as I have ever been. It’s true that you don’t remember anything that they tell you in the sealing room – and even after I had concentrated real hard on what President Coleman was telling us. No, I do remember a few things, but it’s fascinating what I don’t remember even when trying hard to remember. That day started out real funny; at least to me. Our session wasn’t until 1pm, so we had plenty of prep time. So after sleeping in and taking my time to get up and get ready, I went over to Amber’s to change and take us both to the temple to begin our lives together. As I arrived at Amber’s home, so did a Jehovah’s Witness proselyting couple. That was so funny to me, on the day we’re getting married a missionary couple shows up at the door. We respectfully told them we were too busy because we were getting married that day. It ended being a wonderful day – meteorologically speaking. And eternally speaking too! But it was a very nice day. We got to spend almost a week together for our honeymoon. When we returned from the honeymoon I went through the arduous task of moving my stuff in to her, now our, home. I am so sick of moving. We had a few bumps in our first month of marriage, but nothing we didn’t overcome. We both had our moments of taking a few things too personally, but being the mature adults that we are we soon overlooked them. Now we’re living happily ever after!!!
She Said:
June: Call me crazy, but there is nothing more busy than the last week of school. This year at my school the teachers were required to pack up their classrooms to prepare for summer cleaning and painting as well as finish all grades. In my case I had IEP progress reports and other needed paperwork to complete. With the temple being closed for all of July and other conflicts in the month of June we had chosen Saturday June 7th as our wedding day, two days after the school year ended on the 5th. My coworkers thought I was insane. After all no sane person would do this to themselves. To me it was the perfect day. I was also teaching summer school and had previously arranged with my supervisor to take the first week of summer school off so Brinton and I could honeymoon following the wedding.
Earlier in the week as we were preparing to set up for the reception that was going to be held in my brother Tim’s back yard, we were met with rain. Not just dribbly spring rain but torrential down pour rain, with inches of water in his back yard saturating the clay soil. Everyone kept asking me what the back up plan was. I told them we would have to hold it in the third bay of my brother’s garage. Several people didn’t think this was a valid back up plan. I was happy with it. All that mattered to me was that we were getting married and we were doing it at the right place at the right time. I did however offer up prayers asking for the rain to stop and that the ground would dry out in time, stating that my back up plan was the garage. Prayers were answered and we were blessed with the most beautiful mild June day that was absolutely perfect. Brinton and I were calm and collect and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.
April – The big month, whopper of them all. This is the month Amber and I made our plans of getting married official with me officially, traditionally proposing to her. What an experience it was, shopping for a ring and my stomach and wallet dropping to the floor wondering if this is really worth it (which I’m sure Amber didn’t appreciate). But I’m in my 30’s and fed up with being single. So come hell or high water I was marrying this dame – even if that meant discontinuing my CPA study to make sure this worked out (thank you Elder M. Russell Ballard). If it didn’t work out I would have given up on dating and would travel the world by getting employed by Boise Cascade in their internal audit function. Anyway, ring shopping was very interesting and fortunately we found a great ring real quick. I proposed to her in the front room of her house and we proceeded to make plans – I even recall my Dad screaming for joy when I told him it was official. Now the Boise temple can send out the letters and we not hide this; I certainly left my mark with that call to the temple. At that point the rest of the month was somewhat of a blur…I think!
She Said:
April: Once Brinton returned home from his audit, that same evening we went ring shopping. The journey started with his parents at Carats. We visited four stores and later met up with both of our parents at Chilies for the “meet the parents” opportunity. This was something that was important to Brinton since we were soon to make our union. A few days later as a part of our family home evening together Brinton proposed at my house by the fireplace as he knelt on one knee. He stated that since we would be beginning our lives together here, he only thought it was appropriate to propose at the place that soon would be our home. The funny thing was I was in the middle of doing laundry and he kept peeking into the hallway as he was waiting for me to return to the living room. I knew it was coming, but really I didn’t know when it was going to happen. We had already gone down town and walked and walked I guess he didn’t muster up the guts to do it down there. He told me it was too windy. !?! He did well and choose the ring that was my favorite when shopping. The planning was underway with seven weeks to get the wedding pulled off!
He Said:
May – Since wedding plans filled this month, not much else happened. I think I took the BEC section of the CPA exam, and didn’t pass of course. Most of my time got occupied in helping my sister and brother-in-law move from West Des Moines, Iowa to Tucson, AZ. That took about a week and happened at the end of the month. I flew back up to Boise a week prior to my wedding date and helped out in whatever way I could. By this time in May we were slowly separating ourselves from the singles branch we met in – not necessarily because we wanted to, but because preparation for the big event required us to. Our friendship was growing and we were anxiously awaiting that big day. I was even moving my stuff in little by little as I could. I guess at this point all we could really do was wait for the day. And as it got closer, I often wondered when I would start feeling nervous…but in the end I never did.
She Said:
May: A busy month of planning and preparation: wedding invites, many conversations with my older sister about decorations for the reception and lots and lots of processing within my heart, of changes that were soon to occur within my life. Here are two very independent individuals trying to mesh as one. I had my fair share of debating in my mind, as well as time on my knees trying to figure out how all this oneness works. This is a thought that returns often still for me. I reflected on thing like, “How am I going to share a bed? I love hogging my queen size bed, all to myself.” Of course that kind of conversation was easy to compromise and get over quickly, “Well we’ll get a king. And hey, you no longer get to sleep alone and have someone to snuggle with!”
He Said:
June – 6/7/08 was the day of reckoning, and yet I was as peaceful as I have ever been. It’s true that you don’t remember anything that they tell you in the sealing room – and even after I had concentrated real hard on what President Coleman was telling us. No, I do remember a few things, but it’s fascinating what I don’t remember even when trying hard to remember. That day started out real funny; at least to me. Our session wasn’t until 1pm, so we had plenty of prep time. So after sleeping in and taking my time to get up and get ready, I went over to Amber’s to change and take us both to the temple to begin our lives together. As I arrived at Amber’s home, so did a Jehovah’s Witness proselyting couple. That was so funny to me, on the day we’re getting married a missionary couple shows up at the door. We respectfully told them we were too busy because we were getting married that day. It ended being a wonderful day – meteorologically speaking. And eternally speaking too! But it was a very nice day. We got to spend almost a week together for our honeymoon. When we returned from the honeymoon I went through the arduous task of moving my stuff in to her, now our, home. I am so sick of moving. We had a few bumps in our first month of marriage, but nothing we didn’t overcome. We both had our moments of taking a few things too personally, but being the mature adults that we are we soon overlooked them. Now we’re living happily ever after!!!
She Said:
June: Call me crazy, but there is nothing more busy than the last week of school. This year at my school the teachers were required to pack up their classrooms to prepare for summer cleaning and painting as well as finish all grades. In my case I had IEP progress reports and other needed paperwork to complete. With the temple being closed for all of July and other conflicts in the month of June we had chosen Saturday June 7th as our wedding day, two days after the school year ended on the 5th. My coworkers thought I was insane. After all no sane person would do this to themselves. To me it was the perfect day. I was also teaching summer school and had previously arranged with my supervisor to take the first week of summer school off so Brinton and I could honeymoon following the wedding.
Earlier in the week as we were preparing to set up for the reception that was going to be held in my brother Tim’s back yard, we were met with rain. Not just dribbly spring rain but torrential down pour rain, with inches of water in his back yard saturating the clay soil. Everyone kept asking me what the back up plan was. I told them we would have to hold it in the third bay of my brother’s garage. Several people didn’t think this was a valid back up plan. I was happy with it. All that mattered to me was that we were getting married and we were doing it at the right place at the right time. I did however offer up prayers asking for the rain to stop and that the ground would dry out in time, stating that my back up plan was the garage. Prayers were answered and we were blessed with the most beautiful mild June day that was absolutely perfect. Brinton and I were calm and collect and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
2008: He Said, She Said.... the first few months
2008 He said, She said January, February, March... stay tuned for the remainder of the year to come!!
He Said:
January – We started off the New Year on the right foot with a kiss at midnight on January 1; even though it was a short kiss. This was the month we saw our first movie together, The Bucket List. So we were already unknowingly setting in gear our first firsts together. Our first movie was The Bucket List. How appropriate for a couple like us. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman almost personify our relationship – unexpected and one of a kind. I guess in some ways the theme song to the movie, “Say” by John Mayer, could have been our song.
She Said:
January 2008: Brinton and I rang in the New Year together, with neither of us expecting or anticipating a relationship to follow. Brinton wanted to kiss me, so I went for it. He kept returning for more kisses and I thought pecks were appropriate for two people who had only been on one date together.
Our friendship really developed over the elliptical machines at Fitness 19. We met up 2-3 times a week to work out together.
He Said:
February – Though we were just getting our “going steady” in order, I felt confident enough to buy Amber some flowers for Valentine’s Day. This was also the first time I had ever purchased flowers for a special girl in my life – so you can imagine that I was probably envisioning potential between us. Though, this Valentine’s Day didn’t exactly turn out ideal. As I picked Amber up for us to go to dinner, she mentioned she wasn’t feeling good. So we did take out at Olive Garden and went back to my apartment to eat and watch a movie and cuddle – we watched Multiplicity with Michael Keaton and Andie McDowell in case anyone was wondering. Eventually during the evening we had a discussion about our relationship; somewhat of a DTR, just not really because I think we already knew what was going on. We both expressed some frustrations about our situation, and even a few fears came out. I’m sure we both hurt each others feelings that night, but when it came down to it I just knew this was going to work out and I was more willing than I have ever been to make it work out. I may have even told her that I love her…and if I recall correctly a scream shortly followed that!
She Said:
February: In February I spent the greater part of the month debating back and forth at whether or not Brinton really liked me, even though we had already toyed with the idea of marrying one another. We spent a few evenings dancing at the Institute dance instruction nights and enjoyed waltzing with one another. Valentines started early in the morning where I delivered a package to his home with notes and tokens he could open for each half hour of his work day. We had dinner together that evening and he brought me flowers. The evening ended on kind of a rough note. Brinton was falling faster than I was and he told me it all had to stop, the notes, emails, touching and seeing each other. He wanted to spend two weeks apart. I thought his reasoning was bit irrational, but it did help me gain a clearer vision of where I was having difficulties and what was holding me back. After all we had only been dating a month, he has got to give me a break somehow.
He Said:
March – At this point Amber wanted all the benefits of a relationship without the commitment; sound familiar people. With kisses, hugs, snuggles, and even saying “Love You” at the end of each night together. Notice we said “Love You”, not “I Love You”. For some reason Amber had difficulty reconciling herself to this simple change in verbal grammatical expression. Oh well, I still told her that I love her because at this point I did. It is so interesting how you just know when it’s right. Its no big vision or angelic experience – just a simple, little feeling that is undeniable and unique above all other feelings. Even one that cannot be put into words. However, though I knew this was right and was ready to take that step forward, Amber was still having some apprehension, reservations, cold feet, whatever else you want to call it; and I grew up thinking it was suppose to be the other way around. Luckily for us we did have 3 weeks away from each other to breath and think. She went to Europe and I had an audit in Lewiston – they overlapped one week. Prior to these trips we made plans on the Ides of March (“Julius Ceasar”, William Shakespeare) to get married in June. What was funny about the discussion was that it went from talking about “if” we were to get married this would be the month, to this is the month we’re going to get married. In literally a blink of an eye we went to considering the potential of a wedding date to actually setting a wedding date. That day we decided to get married.
She Said:
March: For the last week of February and the first week of March Brinton was away on an audit in Twin Falls. We did spend time away like he wanted but not a whole two weeks prior to his leaving for the audit. While he was gone I had my 30th birthday and celebrated at my sister Alisha’s house with her family. Later that week my younger brother and sister threw a huge surprise party for me at the church (over 70 people in attendance, I was beyond shocked). Brinton arrived back in town earlier that day and that evening we went out to dinner with my mom to celebrate. What I didn’t know it was all part of the surprise plan. I met Brinton’s parents the next week. It was a wonderful visit, I then realized that I did love him and that I wanted to become a part of his family. I felt at home when we were at his parent’s house. I secretly bought a wedding dress knowing that it wouldn’t be long until I would be marrying this man. Before I left for Europe we both knew that we would be getting married in the near future but decided to keep low profile until we both returned from our travels.
At the end of the month I headed to Europe for two weeks. While I was away Brinton headed to Lewiston for his second audit of the year. I relished in Germany, Switzerland and Italy while he slaved away at work in Northern Idaho.
He Said:
January – We started off the New Year on the right foot with a kiss at midnight on January 1; even though it was a short kiss. This was the month we saw our first movie together, The Bucket List. So we were already unknowingly setting in gear our first firsts together. Our first movie was The Bucket List. How appropriate for a couple like us. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman almost personify our relationship – unexpected and one of a kind. I guess in some ways the theme song to the movie, “Say” by John Mayer, could have been our song.
She Said:
January 2008: Brinton and I rang in the New Year together, with neither of us expecting or anticipating a relationship to follow. Brinton wanted to kiss me, so I went for it. He kept returning for more kisses and I thought pecks were appropriate for two people who had only been on one date together.
Our friendship really developed over the elliptical machines at Fitness 19. We met up 2-3 times a week to work out together.
He Said:
February – Though we were just getting our “going steady” in order, I felt confident enough to buy Amber some flowers for Valentine’s Day. This was also the first time I had ever purchased flowers for a special girl in my life – so you can imagine that I was probably envisioning potential between us. Though, this Valentine’s Day didn’t exactly turn out ideal. As I picked Amber up for us to go to dinner, she mentioned she wasn’t feeling good. So we did take out at Olive Garden and went back to my apartment to eat and watch a movie and cuddle – we watched Multiplicity with Michael Keaton and Andie McDowell in case anyone was wondering. Eventually during the evening we had a discussion about our relationship; somewhat of a DTR, just not really because I think we already knew what was going on. We both expressed some frustrations about our situation, and even a few fears came out. I’m sure we both hurt each others feelings that night, but when it came down to it I just knew this was going to work out and I was more willing than I have ever been to make it work out. I may have even told her that I love her…and if I recall correctly a scream shortly followed that!
She Said:
February: In February I spent the greater part of the month debating back and forth at whether or not Brinton really liked me, even though we had already toyed with the idea of marrying one another. We spent a few evenings dancing at the Institute dance instruction nights and enjoyed waltzing with one another. Valentines started early in the morning where I delivered a package to his home with notes and tokens he could open for each half hour of his work day. We had dinner together that evening and he brought me flowers. The evening ended on kind of a rough note. Brinton was falling faster than I was and he told me it all had to stop, the notes, emails, touching and seeing each other. He wanted to spend two weeks apart. I thought his reasoning was bit irrational, but it did help me gain a clearer vision of where I was having difficulties and what was holding me back. After all we had only been dating a month, he has got to give me a break somehow.
He Said:
March – At this point Amber wanted all the benefits of a relationship without the commitment; sound familiar people. With kisses, hugs, snuggles, and even saying “Love You” at the end of each night together. Notice we said “Love You”, not “I Love You”. For some reason Amber had difficulty reconciling herself to this simple change in verbal grammatical expression. Oh well, I still told her that I love her because at this point I did. It is so interesting how you just know when it’s right. Its no big vision or angelic experience – just a simple, little feeling that is undeniable and unique above all other feelings. Even one that cannot be put into words. However, though I knew this was right and was ready to take that step forward, Amber was still having some apprehension, reservations, cold feet, whatever else you want to call it; and I grew up thinking it was suppose to be the other way around. Luckily for us we did have 3 weeks away from each other to breath and think. She went to Europe and I had an audit in Lewiston – they overlapped one week. Prior to these trips we made plans on the Ides of March (“Julius Ceasar”, William Shakespeare) to get married in June. What was funny about the discussion was that it went from talking about “if” we were to get married this would be the month, to this is the month we’re going to get married. In literally a blink of an eye we went to considering the potential of a wedding date to actually setting a wedding date. That day we decided to get married.
She Said:
March: For the last week of February and the first week of March Brinton was away on an audit in Twin Falls. We did spend time away like he wanted but not a whole two weeks prior to his leaving for the audit. While he was gone I had my 30th birthday and celebrated at my sister Alisha’s house with her family. Later that week my younger brother and sister threw a huge surprise party for me at the church (over 70 people in attendance, I was beyond shocked). Brinton arrived back in town earlier that day and that evening we went out to dinner with my mom to celebrate. What I didn’t know it was all part of the surprise plan. I met Brinton’s parents the next week. It was a wonderful visit, I then realized that I did love him and that I wanted to become a part of his family. I felt at home when we were at his parent’s house. I secretly bought a wedding dress knowing that it wouldn’t be long until I would be marrying this man. Before I left for Europe we both knew that we would be getting married in the near future but decided to keep low profile until we both returned from our travels.
At the end of the month I headed to Europe for two weeks. While I was away Brinton headed to Lewiston for his second audit of the year. I relished in Germany, Switzerland and Italy while he slaved away at work in Northern Idaho.
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