Catching Up

Hello world!!! I feel like I haven't blogged in ages!!! It has been a while, that's for sure. Jeff and I have been so busy since we got married, that I haven't had time to sit at the computer to type a blog. So, today, I am taking a few minutes to do just that!

Jeff is working, and actually I have to go in to work for a couple of hours this morning, just to get caught up. We have been so swamped at work lately, I've had to work through all of my lunch hours this week just to get my normal closings done. Plus, I stayed till almost 7:00 on Wednesday. So, I will be going in this morning to finish one file and get some of the "crap" work done (as we call it in the office) just so my desk can be cleared off, and so I can focus on my closings for Monday and Tuesday....not to mention the ones for the rest of the week that I haven't even looked at. It's been CRAZY I say!!!

Ok, now that I am done venting about work, I will get down to why I really have been wanting to blog...My Wedding!!! I haven't even had time to sit and type about how I felt and and what it was like walking down the isle to my new hubby. So here I go...

Thursday, Sept. 22, (my birthday I might add) was the rehersal. Rev. Naile went through it so fast, I wasn't sure I knew what I was doing. Pastor Hawk was there too, and I think he was somewhat nervous, just unsure of what to say, and the procedure of the ceremony.

After the 15 minute (no exaggeration!) rehersal, we went into the fellowship hall and Jeff's mom and dad had a fabulous meal catered for everyone; lasagna, spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, etc. It was great! And she had decorations for the tables, that were oh so cute. She brought little pots of a variety of yellow flowers, nice yellow table clothes, and even had coffee cup sleeves made with our names and wedding date. Those were too cool! We even had yummy desserts! She went all out and made it really special.

Jeff's sister Amy, her husband Brendan, and the boys, Asher and Truman, came just when rehersal started, and she exclaimed to me, "Are you my sister-in-law?" It made me feel like part of the family right away. And I heard Truman was saying he couldn't wait to meet his Aunt Mary. But, as soon as he met Karlie, there was no more thought about Aunt Mary, he was all about Karlie after that! Too cute!!!

After dinner, those who could, stayed and helped decorate the sanctuary and the fellowship hall for the wedding and the reception. It went very smooth. With everyone's help, we were home by 11:00 and we were the last ones to leave.

The next morning, (the wedding day) we started the day out bright and early in the morning around 9:00 a.m. I think. I went to Lisa Block's house and she and I went running around doing last minute things, like picking out some flowers for the top of the cake, getting some more gifts for the wedding participants and others who helped with the wedding. Lisa and I even went to breakfast together. Then around 2:00 it was time to get my hair done. That took a couple of hours. My mom was there too, getting her hair all beautiful for the wedding. We didn't need to be at the church till 6:00 so we had a couple of hours to relax, which we did at the apartment. Trisha and Karlie showed up at the apartment after getting their hair done by Lora. Then, we all decided we were hungry, so we ordered pizza, which we had delivered to the church. We went to the church about 5:50 and no one was there to let us in, so we had pizza in the parking lot. Finally someone showed up with a key.

So, us girls went to the nursery and the boys went downstairs to the youth room. We sort of piddled around for the first 1/2 hour or so, taking our time to get ready. We had 2 hours till the wedding, and our hair was already done. I helped Karlie and my mom with their make-up. Trisha had some "enhancers" for the chest area (trying to keep it clean here) and we tried those on, but they made me look more deformed than enhanced.

Then it was time to put the dress on. So, here I am, in my undergarments and all these people are walking in. People I love and was excited to see, but I'm in my underwear!!! Kassy Bosley came all the way from Colorado which was a very nice surprise! Ursula came in to check on the hair, give it a final spray, Alexis Hager came in and gave me one of her fabulous hugs. And there were a few others who came in to hug me and say congratulations, as well.

Then after I had my dress on, it was about 20 minutes to 8:00 and all of the sudden no one was in the room with me. Trisha and Karlie were in the bathroom finishing the touch ups on their make-up, and I suddenly realized I didn't know when I was supposed to go out in the hall. And how did Kaleb know when to meet me? And when were the girls supposed to go out there? But, just as I was freaking out about all of this Rev. Naile poked his head in the door and said, "In about 5 minutes, I'll come get you." I was so relieved! So, we waited, impatiently I might add. The nerves were starting to kick in.

Then Rev. Naile came and got the girls, and left me there all alone. I was nervous now! Not about getting married, just because I was unsure of how all of this was going to come together, and I didn't know what was going on in the rest of the church. Except that I could hear the music being played by Only 9 AM and Joanna Bozin over the intercom in the nursery. That put me right at ease. And then, Rev. Naile came and said "It's time!". So, I followed him out into the hall, and Kaleb came right up and met me, and we walked down the long hallway to the entrance of the sanctuary. Trisha and Karlie were there, waiting patiently for the signal from Rev. Naile. The music changed. Karlie was the first to take the long walk down the long isle. She kept looking over at us, a little unsure I think. Then Trisha descended down the long isle. Kaleb and I waited nervously, patiently. As soon as she got to the alter, Dustin and Don rolled out the isle runner. The music changed again to the traditional wedding march and Kaleb and I began our long descent down the isle. At first, I was looking at all the family and friends who were there, and I was smiling at them (I think, I hope). Then when we got about 2/3 of the way up, I looked at Jeff. And he was beaming! I started crying. Not obvious to everyone else, but inside I was shaking, trying not to break out in a big ole' sob! I could tell Jeff was doing the same. All we could do is hold hands and look at each other. I think there was only a couple of times that I took my eyes off of him. One was at the beginning when the musicians played "Shout To The Lord" and we all sang it together. And once when Pastor Hawk was saying some personal stuff about me. Good personal stuff, like how I was the oldest in the 20 something group, and how I was in his cell group. It was very touching. Rev. Naile had to say something funny of course, about Jeff. But, it was touching as well. Then we exchanged rings, lit the unity candle and had our first communion as husband and wife. (All of that was pretty normal and traditional.) The whole time, though, Jeff and I just kept our eyes on each other as much as possible. I remember telling him that he looked really cute and all he could do is smile at me. He told me later, that if he tried to speak, he would just cry. How sweet is that?! So, then we were pronounced husband and wife, and we kissed, and we walked back down that long isle, only faster this time, and now I was Mrs. Jeffrey Lutz! And we went in the sacresty (I don't know if that's how you spell it or not, but basically its a closet) and waited for the sanctuary to clear out and then we went back in for photos. You can check out our photos on flickr.com too, in Brendan's account.

And then, after the reception, we left the church about 10:30 I think, and went to our hotel room at Marsh Ridge. Compliments of my kids! The room was The Oriental Room, whose name describes itself. In there on the table was this huge vase of a dozen, long stem, red roses. From my hubby, of course. And he got a huge bottle of champagne. And since neither of us are drinkers, 2 glasses each of that, made us feel quite buzzed! LOL. It was kind of funny! The rest I will leave to your imaginations!

The next morning we got up at about 9:30 and headed over to "our" house. (I still have to get used to calling it our house, as opposed to Jeff's house). There, again, his mom and dad had a beautiful brunch set up and all the Lutzes who could, were there. And friends from Holland and Fennville. My mom, Trisha and Ben, Kaleb and Karlie were also there. Aleene (that's Jeff's mom) she had waffles, and eggs and sausage and potatoes and bagels and other rolls and coffee and juice and everything! She had a canopy set up in the front yard with tables and chairs for everyone. It was fabulous! (See flickr.com for photos of this under luacreskid-Jeff's dads.)

We opened our gifts, chatted and mingled and everyone trickled out as they had to get on the road to their various destinations. Mom and Dad Lutz got everything packed away and put away and loaded up their RV, and they and the Connelly's (Amy, Brendan, Truman and Asher) said good-bye and were on the road by 3:00ish.

Jeff and I hit the road shortly thereafter, and headed for Alpena. There we got a room at the Days Inn, got some dinner, and headed over to the Emmaus Walk. It was great seeing all of our Emmaus friends who couldn't be at the wedding due to the walk. Jeff did his speech and we stayed for candlelight, and headed to our hotel.

The next morning, we got up and went and took pics at Thunder Bay (see flickr.com) and found a park and ate our cake (because the only cake we got at the wedding was the pieces we cut). And we decided we didn't want to save our topper for our first anniversary, so we at some of it then. It was yummy! We got a ton of compliments on the cake.

So, to wrap it up, the wedding was as beautiful and romantic and I imagined, even more so. And I have to say I am the happiest girl in the whole world!

Jeff and I are now adjusting, still adjusting I should say, to our new lives together. We are in the process of moving the stuff out of my apartment, which has to be done by tomorrow I might add. We brought some stuff to the house yesterday and the day before, and now the house is a mess. So, I am cleaning that up today, while Jeff works and then I will go over to the apartment and get the rest of the stuff and take it to storage.

Oh, and before I forget, Trisha and Ben got married last week as well. And we went to Pittsburgh, which I hope to be able to put two seperate posts about sometime in the near future. But, for now I better get busy on this house!

P.S. I love it when day light savings time ends and we get an extra hour of sleep because now, it is only 9:45 am, and not 10:45 am!

Have a blessed day! God loves you and so do I!