Married to My Best Friend

[Wow!  The grandiose ideas of posting every day in 2012 sure passed me by.  I'm amazed the last post was December 15.  Life started into overdrive and is just now settling down.  I'll try to catch you all up on everything going on.]

Christmas was highlighted by a wedding in our household!  On Friday, December 23, we all drove to Seacrest, FL for the beginning of a wonderful weekend.  A three-story house right on the beach had been rented and the Daviduk/Vinson families had a great time getting to know each other better and to celebrate the joining of our children in marriage.  That night we enjoyed self-serve sandwich fixings and sat around with lots of laughter and sharing memories from our families.

Saturday, December 24, stared out cloudy, very cold and windy and brought just a little apprehension when thinking of a noon wedding about to happen.  But, God is good, and with my pleas to Him while walking on the beach in the wee hours of the morning, He so chose to shoo the clouds away and bring out the sunshine!  It was truly a "chamber of commerce" day at the beach. 

The morning went smoothly, everyone was relaxed [dare I say such a thing before a wedding?] and our intimate family wedding went off without a hitch!  Carl had the amazing task of officiating for the ceremony and was so honored to do so.  [Let me interject here that he started getting sick on the drive over and was really feeling horrible on Saturday and Sunday - but he faked feeling well throughout and did a wonderful job!] 

The day could not have been more beautiful - azure blue skies, crashing waves, and a breeze with 70 degree temperatures, on the pretty much isolated beach.  And how nice to be barefooted or wearing flip-flops during a wedding instead of fancy, toe-hurting shoes!  Everyone was comfortable, happy and relaxed -- I highly recommend the simpler, one-month planned weddings...our children are just as married and my, how much more enjoyable and economical this was...and the venue couldn't have been more perfect.

Nichole's parents provided a delicious reception/lunch of homemade lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, which we all enjoyed immensely!  We had the honor of providing the wedding cake, which we indulged in following lunch, along with a champaign toast from family members to the newlyweds!  What a wonderful day!  As the sun started setting, we went back down to the beach for some sunset pictures...beautiful and breathtaking!  God's paintbrush was fully involved.

[thanks to Suzanne and Vince Fontana "Flowers by Vince"]



The evening consisted of us sharing lots more laughter and memories, while creating new memories for the future.  Us older folks finally went to bed and let the younger folks welcome in Christmas morning!

Sunday morning we had our family private time and communion, followed by our family opening their Christmas presents.  How wonderful to have a "daughter" in the mix now!  Carl and I provided the Christmas lunch consisting of ham, turkey, dressing and all the trimmings.  And after that, there was the lazy afternoon just spent talking and looking over digital pictures - over 1000 - on the computer from the day before.  [We didn't take a single picture opening presents...]

Monday started very early for Nichole's parents and younger sister, Laura, who had to be at the Ft. Walton airport by 5am for her flight back to California.  We had said our good-byes on Sunday evening, and look forward to more times with the Daviduks in coming months.  The Vinsons spent a little more time with the newlyweds that morning before heading back to reality in Tallahassee. 

Charlie & Nichole then spent another day at the beach ... alone finally... before also getting back to reality, which for Nichole has been studying 8-10 hours a day for her upcoming Boards, and for Charlie, getting business settled in Tallahassee and preparing for their move to Pennsylvania the first of February.

Our year-end was spent quietly together, while our grown sons were working (Mike) and enjoying time with his new bride (Charlie)...God bless you all and may 2012 be a great year for everyone!