Key~Notes

I have 10 minutes to finish this post . . . or it will be Family History Saturday! (I wanted to get 5 commenters on the previous post before posting FHF, and then I got busy with other things . . . )

~How did you first meet your in-laws?~

James and I got engaged Valentine’s weekend.  In March, he came down to Seattle (and I came up to Seattle from Salt Lake) to go through the temple for the first time.  It was a special time for him as he made further covenants with our Father in Heaven to follow His path always.  It was a special time for me as I got to be in the most holy place on earth with the man who was to be my forever companion!

James went through the temple on Saturday morning.  After that, we had lunch with a bunch of his friends from his church congregation (who had come down to Seattle to attend the temple as well).  Then, the 2 of us drove north to Vancouver, BC (about 3 1/2 hours north of Seattle).

We picked up Jim and Jean (my fabulous in-laws!) at the ferry terminal (they live on Vancouver Island and were walk-on passengers) and then went to supper . . . Mom . . . I can’t remember where we went . . . was it Boston Pizza?  At any rate, that was the first time  I met my in-laws.

And look at that . . . I’m hitting “publish” at 11:56 pm . . . just in time!

Found this on Karla’s blog and thought I’d love to play along!

First Five!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It’ll be done this year. {might be a little while}

4. You have no clue what it’s going to be. It may be a something crocheted. It may be something cross stitched or a poem.   I may even bake you something. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

**The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog (or if you do not have a blog, Facebook . . . If you don’t have a blog, OR Facebook, then contact me and we’ll figure it out).  The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

And . . . GO!

This was the book I chose for our monthly book club meeting for January.  I thought the concept of a bunch of women writing stories about their wedding dresses was enchanting.

Some of the stories WERE enchanting, like the one about the bride who waited for a man who would quote a certain poem for her.  Some were funny, like the one with the bride who finds her skin dyed fuschia on her wedding night.  Some were heartbreaking such as the one with the bride who married days after tragedy rocked her family.  Some were just plain annoying, like the one about the bride who married only to avoid conscription into the Israeli army.

All in all, it was an interesting read.  I thought it might be fun to write a story about my own wedding dress, and this is what I came up with:

It is an 8×10 shot.  The bride and groom are sitting on some steps created to add ambiance to a photographer’s background.  They look young, happy, carefree.  All newlyweds should look like that.

I’m not sure when I noticed the photograph for the first time.  Perhaps it was on the wall of my soon-to-be stepmother’s house in Lethbridge.  Perhaps it wasn’t until months after the wedding when I lived with her and my father for a brief time.

Either way, of all the wedding pictures of my new brothers and sisters, this one drew me to it the most.  I loved the simply casual setting and the expressions of joy on Brad and Catherine’s faces.  But most of all, I loved the dress.

It was simple.   A white a-line silhouette, princess seams, short sleeved scoop necked, what I suppose you’d call a chapel length train.  Ahh . . . but to add to the simplicity was the lace overlay . . . such BEAUTIFUL lace . . . !  It made the short sleeves elegantly delicate with its scalloped edges.  It took the satiny scooped neck and became a high-necked affair.   It transformed the wearer into someone from an Anne of Green Gables novel.

I loved the dress.  I loved how elegant Catherine looked in it.  I dreamed about how I would look in the dress if I were lucky enough to get married one day.

Two years after my parents married, I met my own Canadian prince charming and became engaged.  Almost the first thing I did was to ask Catherine if I could borrow THE DRESS.  She said that if it fit, I was welcome to use it.  I waited eagerly for Easter 1999, when james and I would be visiting my family in Calgary and I could try on the dress . . . praying, hoping that it would work.

I remember slipping the dress over my head, feeling it settle comfortably around my hips.  I remember the anticipation I felt when the last of the buttons was buttoned and I saw myself in the mirror in my mum’s bedroom . . . it was perfect.

Wearing that dress, I felt like I was no longer a step-daughter or a step-sister.  It felt like  I was being accepted wholeheartedly as one of their own.  All of my wedding plans were like that really . . . my new mum and sisters rallied to create an occasion to be remembered forever . . . saying “welcome to the family . . . you are my daughter . . . you are my sister.”

Saying . . . “Welcome home.”

~21-01-09~