Growing God's Way

During those same first 5 years of marriage, along with working and playing, we were growing in our faith. The bible says "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". We were excited about our new relationship with Jesus. The kind of excitement that you have when you first fall in love and that's all you talk about to everyone you meet. We got baptized and joined the church. Guy and I started attending the Young married Sunday School Class. Today we call it "Life Groups". We developed good friendships with the teachers and other couples in the class that God placed in our life. The kind of friendships that if I needed help I could call these people and they would be there for me after many, many years of not seeing them. And thanks to Facebook I have been able to re-connect with many of them.
During that same time frame, Guy and I experienced a personal loss. I was 5 months pregnant and we were so excited to be having our first baby when the doctor told me that there was no baby. Everything else was developing except the baby. I had never experienced a loss of anyone in my life to this point and knew that I never wanted to feel this way again. I remember wondering why would God even allow me to get pregnant if He knew the baby wasn't going to live. That also was our first experience with Gods Grace and Comfort through family and our church family. I remember that everyday one of the Pastors would visit me in the hospital and pray. Meals and letters were sent to the house. But there was one person that comes to mind the most during that time in my life. I don't even remember what she said, I just remember feeling that everything will be alright. Thank you, Pat and Dwainn Arnett for always being there for us and teaching us through your life example.
During those same first 5 years as I have mentioned in previous blogs that we were busy going after the "American Dream", having vacations, making friends, enjoying our hobbies (Guys hobby was making cars go faster and mine seemed to be getting tickets for going to fast). Just living life. When I started feeling like we were not as close to God as we were before.
I started praying that Guy would get more spiritual. Be careful what you pray for. God might answer your prayer and God did. We started teaching a children's Sunday School Class. Thinking that teaching children would be easy. Those kids were smart!!! They would ask us questions in class that we would have to get back with them next week with the answers. I loved those kids. They helped us to grow in God's Word.

Around about this time I got pregnant again. We were so excited and I wanted to tell everyone but we wanted to be sure that the doctor heard a heartbeat and that everything was good. Because when you put that news out it went as fast as it does now with Facebook and that's pretty fast. Our baby's due date was April 2, 1980. We didn't know what the sex was until he or she was born. While waiting for our baby to be born we were also waiting for our house to be built. We were growing in so many ways.

To be continued........  "In -Retrospect"

Our First Road Trip

I do love to travel!! I didn't realize it at the time that the memories we made on our vacation we took during those first 5 years would have to last us a long time before we took another vacation. I am so glad we fully enjoyed our time together. Our next vacation was about 15 years later.

I know you are on the edge of your seat just waiting to find out where we went and how we got there. I will not leave you in suspense any longer. It was the GRAND CANYON!!!! Who doesn't want to see a really big hole in the ground. And to top it all off we saw it from our RV Camper. I love flying, I love train rides, I love going on cruise ships but small little truck campers are not my top choice. I have our first night embedded in my memory for life. It was pouring down rain, I mean really, it was coming down in bucket loads. It was cold and dark out. We pulled into the AA Campground. Guy said "You need to get out and help me back the camper in". This is the time I look at him and would have said "REALLY" if we said that back then. So I got out in the dark, cold typhoon weather to help back up my man and his RV. As soon as I got behind the truck I fell into a hole filled with mud. Guy cracks his window open and asked where I am and why am I not helping. My arms are waving and I start laughing and more laughing. Now I get to go take a cold shower in the public bathroom in the middle of the night. Finally, this night is over. That was Day 1. Can you tell this my first time camping?
Ready for a new day. The plan for Day 2 was to make it to Texas. I was really excited until I realized that on Day 4 we were finally coming out of Texas. And that was driving straight through. We were diffidently not in Florida anymore. Lots and lots of rocks and mountains and the open road. I am so glad I saw that part of the country before I saw "Hills Have Eyes".
All I wanted to do when we got to the Grand Canyon was take the donkey ride to the bottom. And after a normal night of camping we got up the next morning to start our adventure to the bottom of the canyon. Included in the price was a Boxed Lunch for all the riders. It takes 4 hours to get to the bottom. The path your donkey walks on was about 8 feet wide. We were instructed to never let the donkey face the wall because he will back up right over the edge. No pressure there!!!! At the bottom we ate our Boxed Lunch. When we got to the bottom I fell off my donkey and my foot was stuck in the thing where you put your foot. We stayed at the bottom for about 1 hour and then the climb back to the top. Same path back up.
I had so much fun that day!!!! Now, the next day was a different story. One word. SORE!!!!!!!

Now on to Colorado, where we climbed and hiked in the mountains. We made friends along the way. There was this older couple that happened to stay at the same campsite every night that we stayed in. Now, when we take vacations we are the older couple. I hear a song coming on "It's the Circle of Life".

Our first vacation was coming to an end and I can honestly say that RV Campers are still not my first choice but there not my last anymore.






              HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU
       
    YES, this was Guy and I. It must have been the "In Thing" to get your childs picture taken on a pony.
         
   

Chasing the "American Dream"

The first five years we were married we had not had any children yet.  I am having a little difficulty in remembering those years. Maybe because today when anyone ask me when events happened in my life I remember back to the birth dates of our children. I have had 13 pregnancies and of those 13, 7 children and 6 miscarriages and yes all with the same person. Some people have asked me if all our children are from the same father. That says a lot about our society. I need to stop because I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to life before children. Before children we had a dog. Isn't that what every newly married couple does. We had a Lab and his name was Buster-runski. My husband named him. He also gave me a pet nickname (no pun intended). I had two names during those years. One was BongoBabyButt and the other was Feets which has lasted longer. But Today I'm Chickee.
Our goal back then was to achieve the "American Dream". And we were moving pretty good along that tract. Our hopes and dreams were to buy a house, a car, furnish the house, take vacations once a year, enjoy our hobbies and go to church. That is me sitting on the roof of what would soon be our first new home.  In order to make those dreams come true we needed to have good jobs which I thought we did. Guy was a firefighter and he was advancing his career by going to paramedic school. I also was working and thought I had a pretty good job as one of the Seven Dwarfs at Disney World. But my career as a dwarf was short lived (I'm on a roll right now). Again no pun intended. One day when I was on the float and tied to a poll so I wouldn't fall off I got so hot and needed air. The last thing I remember is yelling "Help Me Snow White". See how good I stayed in character. Then I thought to myself, This can't be good when the only person that can help me is  Snow White. But the music was so loud and she was busy dancing around the dwarfs to hear my cries for help. Then I must have passed out inside the costume but the pole was holding me up so no one knew until the end of the parade when they pulled Doc's head off. After arriving at the hospital by ambulance I knew my Dwarf days were over. My next job at Disney World was waitressing at the Diamond Horseshoe. Less pay which I didn't think was possible but great tips made it worth it. And then a couple of years later I moved to the Parking Lot.  I enjoyed every area I ever worked in at Disney World. FUN JOB!! Guy also loved his job with the fire department. Being a fireman is more than a job. It was family!!!!
My "American Dream" has changed a bit over the years. Life has taught me about priorities. There is nothing wrong with wanting to take care of our families and enjoying the fruits of our labor as long as we keep it all in balance.

This photo says the "American Dream" is over. Maybe its time we get a "New Dream". What is Yours?

Sweet Dreams and "In Retrospect" we'll talk again soon.

SAVED!!!!

It was 3 months after we got married on January 28, 1976. Guy was working at the Orlando Airport Fire Station. One of the other fireman asked him how married life was. He said. "Well, it's not what I thought it would be. There's something missing." Wow! Words that every newly married wife loves to hear. The other fireman's name was Charlie. He told Guy that everyone tries to fill the void in their life with something. But it won't be completely filled until you invite Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. Then Charlie shared with Guy some verses from Romans in the Bible. He also shared with Guy about something called the rapture. After they talked for a while they both knelt down beside the fire truck and Charlie lead Guy into a prayer of salvation. Guy asked Jesus to forgive him of all sins and come into his heart and be Lord of his life. At that moment Guy went from being a seeker (when he wasn't even seeking) to a believer. Old school way of putting it is he got saved, born again, Holy Spirit living inside of him and going to Heaven when he dies. Not for what he did but for what Jesus did for him on the cross. Charlie then told Guy of a good church to go to in order to learn and grow in his faith and walk with Jesus. Charlie was faithful to share his relationship with Jesus with others. It's not easy to share with co-workers, family and friends.

The next day when I got home from work, like I always do, I asked Guy what happened at work. He said he got saved!!! I thought he was trapped in a fire and someone saved him. Spiritually speaking That's Exactly What Happened!!!! Then he explained what he meant by that. Guy told me everything that Charlie told him. He even had the verses written on his hand that he asked Charlie to write so that he could share them with me when he got home. He also explained to me about the rapture and that it could happen at anytime. No one knows the day or hour that Jesus would return for those that have accepted Him as their Savior. At that moment Guy reminded me we were supposed to go to his families house for dinner. He said we'll talk about this when we get back home. The whole time we were eating dinner I thought Jesus is going to return right now and I would be left eating dinner with his family. I asked him if we could go home right then. As soon as we got home I repeated the same prayer that he had prayed at the fire station. I knew this is what I had been searching for. Jesus now was Lord of our lives and our marriage.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CHARLIE BRACEWELL!!!

THESE ARE THE VERSES THAT CHARLIE WROTE ON GUY'S HAND TO SHARE WITH ME
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord; and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart a person believes; and with the mouth he confesses; resulting in salvation.
Romans 10:13 FOR WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED!!!!

It Didn't Take Long

Awesome Honeymoon!!!!!! We had a cabin in the north Georgia Mountains. The leaves were changing. Well at least that's what we were told by those who went outside. Just kidding! We went out to eat. :)
I was so excited to get back and start our new life together. I am one of those people who likes everyday life. That's where the good stuff happens!! Don't get me wrong, I love to travel and make scrapbook memories but getting back where you love to live is the best!!!!
It didn't take long getting in a normal routine of me working at Disney World as a character in the parade. One of my characters was one of the Seven Dwarfs. Can you guess which one? I'll give you a hint. The only one with a doctorate degree. Doc is right. And Guy got back into his schedule with the fire department. 24 on 48 off.
It took a little getting use to each other and married life. He found out pretty quick that I couldn't cook. So he taught me how to cook chicken. So that's what I cooked every night until he told me he liked other things also. I got the hang of it eventually. On the other hand I found out that his dirty clothes would always end up beside the laundry basket not in the laundry basket. I'm not saying he wasn't a perfect housekeeper but when I used his bathroom before we were married I noticed his towels would stand up by themselves on the floor. Love is blind!!!!  It didn't take long for the little things to take away our joy.
I wanted to be the perfect wife. Girls that I worked with would always talk about their church and being a christian. So one Sunday while Guy was working I decided to go to church. I didn't realize that at the same time I was seeking God, God was seeking us. Next blog will be how we found Him.

Our Wedding Day

This October 11 is our 36th wedding anniversary. And as I look back at these pictures on our wedding day I see love and excitment about our future together. We were full of hopes and dreams like every couple has on their wedding day. We said our vows to each other "For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health so long as we both shall live". We had a pretty good plan for our life together. But God's Plan was quite different then ours. His plan  involved Faith, Hope and Love at the deepest levels I could have ever imagined. I do know that I am glad God doesn't give us the whole plan in advance. Happy 36th Anniversary to my Guy. I love you <3
And "In Retrospect" we'll talk again soon.

Top Ten

My Top Ten Memories during those nine months before we were married

10.  Hanging out and Fondue Cooking together. Fondue cooking helped me to look like a pretty good cook.

9.   Working at the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. When working at the Haunted Mansion you are not allowed to smile. One night I did my job to good because someone came up to me and told his friends "Look at the dummy" and hauled off and punched me in the mouth because he didn't think I was real. It was so worth the look on his face when my mouth started bleeding and I started crying.

8.   Being in a car accident with Guy. It was all my fault. Guy was in his car and I was following in my moms car. It was the day after we got engaged. While sitting at a red light I remembered I still had a picture of an old boyfriend in my wallet. No better time than the present to take care of that. So while my head was down I thought the light turned green but it didn't and I crashed into Guy. All ended good. Small dent to his car and no damage to my moms tank. Just a fat lip when I hit the steering wheel but I was in good hands. Guy was a paramedic with the Orlando Fire Department. REALLY What was I thinking?

7.   Being Head Majorette my senior year of high school. I had been baton twirling since I was in the 5th grade. I was so happy Guy got to see me being a majorette with the band at a football game.

6.   Guy bought me a CAR. It was a 510 Datson.  I don't know much about cars but I loved it!! I thought his car was a Porsche.  It was really a Datson 240Z

5.   Saying YES to the Dress.  Enough Said!!!!

4.   Learning to shoot and going quail hunting with Guy and his brother. I found out I like to hunt quail and I think I was kinda good at it. At least that's how I remember it.

3.   Graduation

2.   Our First Date. I was so nervous. I was 18 and Guy was 23. He took me to this fancy restaurant called the Bodega. I ordered Lobster. I was so scared that when I pulled the lobster out of the shell it was going to fly across the room. I was trying to act  more grown up. After dinner we went walking in a park in downtown Orlando.

1.   Getting ENGAGED!   At the same park we went on our first date <3

The Next Nine Months

Nine months after we met we were married on October 11, 1975. It's not what you might be thinking. In those nine months I got engaged (Valentines Day 1975), we met the families (I met his mom,dad and 2 younger brothers and he met my mom and dad and I have no brothers or sisters), got a job (Walt Disney World), graduated from high school, planned a wedding, got my first car (510 Datsun) and searched for our new home we would live in after married. When meeting his family I found out that his brother was dating a girl that I knew. She would talk about her boyfriend which is now my brother-in-law. We spent a lot of time with them. I finally had a brother and a sister that I never had before. I was enjoying every moment of my life. All of my free time was spent with my Guy. Because of his work schedule we could spend a lot of time together. Guy was a Fireman and Paramedic with the Orlando Fire Department. He worked 24 on and 48 off. And I was allowed to visit him at the station when he was working. I truly felt like Cinderella and he was my Prince in a orange 240Z which I thought was a Porsche. I loved the way I felt when I was with him. I was so excited to get married!
To be continued and "In Retrospect" we'll talk again soon. :)

The Night We Met

It was the weekend after Thanksgiving in 1974. I was a senior at Colonial High School in Orlando, Florida. One weekend a boy from my school called and asked me to go with him to a Debutant Ball. I'm really not going to share my opinion about Debutant Balls because I am now related to one of those Debutantes. And to be honest I still don't really get it. But it seemed like it might be fun, so why not. The event was at the Country Club. I had never been to a country club before or worn a formal dress. So this was kind of a BIG deal night for me. I felt like Cinderella going to the ball. Pretty much as soon as we got there my date took off and hung out with the guys all night. So I just sat and watched everyone having a good time. Then the night started to get a little more interesting. I guess as the story goes it was getting close to midnight so my Prince Charming needed to show up soon. And just then a guy sitting at the next table stood up and asked if anyone wanted to do the bump with him. That was a popular dance. My girlfriend said "Terri Will" and pushed me out on the dance floor. I thought to myself he's cute and I'll never see him again so why not. I didn't know his ENTIRE family and EXTENDED family was there. Before the night ended I got to dance one more time with this guy I just met. I mean really his name is Guy. This time a slow dance which was a little awkward because he brought a date with him, also. But she didn't want to dance and my date was still hanging out with the guys. I found out later he hung out with the guys because he likes hanging out with the guys if you know what I mean. Four days later my Prince Charming called me and asked me out. And that's how we met almost 37 years ago. To be continued and "In Retrospect" we'll talk again tomorrow. :)