jmelenbrink
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 1, 2013
Hey all, at the recommendation of Lurkyloo I am starting a pre-trip journal so that I can get to know you all a little better and maybe even learn some tips for our upcoming wedding.
I've never done one of these before so you'll have to bear with me as I figure it out.
I guess I should start by introducing myself and my fiancee and our family. My name is Jenny and I'm a 32 year old from Missouri. I currently work as a Registrar with a Charter school here in the city but recently found out that the school is closing on June 26th so I am somewhat in panic mode facing the possibility I may not have a job at the end of the month. My fiancee is Dave and he's 37. He is a QA Engineer with a large company here and loves his job. We have two daughters, Katie (7) and Claire (5), two dogs (Lucy and Tex), four ferrets (Jynx, Lilly, Ivy and Bean), one rabbit (Dark Marshmallow) and a hamster (Snowflake). So needless to say, we keep pretty busy.
Dave has been my best friend for about 5 years and we initially met through the game World of Warcraft. We both raided with a local guild and actually first met at a guild Christmas party. At the time I was married to my high school sweetheart and obviously wasn't looking for anything else. But we became friends and because he didn't have any family nearby he began spending holidays at our house and so my kids grew up with Dave around. Anyways, right before my tenth wedding anniversary my husband at the time told me that he no longer wanted the responsibility of a family or house anymore and wanted to get a divorce. He said he hadn't loved me since college and had only stuck around because I was a good mom and I made his life easy but now he wanted more. I was crushed. He was the only man I had ever dated (we had been together since we were 15) and I was sad for me but even more sad for my children. The months that followed were really hard for all of us, but we survived and now I can look back and see just how bad things were and how much better my life is now.
Anyways, throughout the whole process of the divorce Dave was there for me. He was the one I could call at anytime day or night and he would just listen to me cry and be there for me. We started hanging out more, again just as friends. Then a few months later it was suddenly Thanksgiving. My ex gets the girls over that holiday because his family always has a huge reunion and it was my first time being away from them. I was a wreck. Dave invited me to join him for a road trip to Oklahoma to visit with his mom for the holiday. I found out later he concocted this trip just to get me out of the house. I had a really awesome time meeting his mom and sister and on the way home he confessed to me that he had developed a crush on me the first time we met at the Christmas party but never thought he would get a chance with me and now that I was suddenly single he didn't want to let the opportunity pass without taking a shot. I was floored. I wish I could say I fell into things really easily but I was so gun-shy and I made things really difficult for him for a couple months not committing to anything because I really needed the time to find myself. But eventually I got to a point where I was willing to take that chance. As I said previously, my girls were already really familiar with Dave and he fit in really well with our family dynamic. They seemed delighted that he was spending more time at our house and all was good. (He really is an excellent man and father!)
We had originally planned a trip to Disney World from Sept. 28th through October 5th just to have a chance for our family to bond and we were thinking if all went well we would look at getting engaged sometime in early 2014. Imagine my surprise when he proposed on February 14th of this year. I guess I should share that story too. My ex takes the girls on Thursday nights and one or two weekends a month. This year Valentines day happened to fall on a Thursday. We weren't planning on doing anything because we were saving for this Disney trip but Dave called me earlier that day and said he had made reservations for us to go out. He explained that most of the time we would have the girls on that holiday and he wanted us to have a special one this year while it would be just us. He wound up taking me to a beautiful winery in Defiance, MO. They had the fireplace lit and candles everywhere and it was absolutely breathtaking. We had a table in the corner and were just enjoying our meal and listening to the band when suddenly he turned to me and said he had been doing a lot of thinking lately. I was like, oh yeah? He told me that he didn't know if this was the right time to do this but that he figured there would never be a perfect time as there was going to always be something going on and that right now felt like the perfect time to him. With that he got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen (though I may be a little biased). He asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I started crying and accepted. It was so perfect. The next day he proposed to my daughters with sapphire necklaces asking them to become part of his family and they were really excited too. Claire's only instructions were they got to be the flower girls (because they are the best flower girls ever) and the wedding had to be short because weddings are boring. 
So, Dave and I got to talking about what kind of wedding we wanted. Having been married before, I wasn't interested in anything big but I did want it to be meaningful. I also wanted us to write our own vows because I wanted him to really mean whatever he promised to me. Dave insisted on me having a traditional wedding dress and an aisle. Both of us just wanted it to be extremely small (just family) because we really wanted to just focus on us and the girls. Extending our Disney World stay and adding on a wedding just made perfect sense to us. I called Disney and they had availability for an Escape ceremony on September 27th at Seabreeze Point. Everything has just fallen into place perfectly. It will be Dave, myself, our girls, my parents and his dad and mom. We found a pastor who is willing to perform a family ceremony incorporating the girls so Dave and I plan to write our own vows to each other and also to the girls. The girls are going to promise to make this the best family they can. We will do a sand ceremony where the girls each have their own color and Dave and I each have a color and we will blend it all together and be able to take home a visual representation of the blending of our family. (Though I'm not sure how to get that home without it getting all jumbled). Anyways, I am so excited. We will arrive on Sept. 25th. Be married on Sept 27th and Disneymoon there until October 5th.
I need to get back to work but I will post more later about all the little surprises we have planned for our girls and families while we are down there. It is wonderful to meet you all!!!!!
I've never done one of these before so you'll have to bear with me as I figure it out.
I guess I should start by introducing myself and my fiancee and our family. My name is Jenny and I'm a 32 year old from Missouri. I currently work as a Registrar with a Charter school here in the city but recently found out that the school is closing on June 26th so I am somewhat in panic mode facing the possibility I may not have a job at the end of the month. My fiancee is Dave and he's 37. He is a QA Engineer with a large company here and loves his job. We have two daughters, Katie (7) and Claire (5), two dogs (Lucy and Tex), four ferrets (Jynx, Lilly, Ivy and Bean), one rabbit (Dark Marshmallow) and a hamster (Snowflake). So needless to say, we keep pretty busy. Dave has been my best friend for about 5 years and we initially met through the game World of Warcraft. We both raided with a local guild and actually first met at a guild Christmas party. At the time I was married to my high school sweetheart and obviously wasn't looking for anything else. But we became friends and because he didn't have any family nearby he began spending holidays at our house and so my kids grew up with Dave around. Anyways, right before my tenth wedding anniversary my husband at the time told me that he no longer wanted the responsibility of a family or house anymore and wanted to get a divorce. He said he hadn't loved me since college and had only stuck around because I was a good mom and I made his life easy but now he wanted more. I was crushed. He was the only man I had ever dated (we had been together since we were 15) and I was sad for me but even more sad for my children. The months that followed were really hard for all of us, but we survived and now I can look back and see just how bad things were and how much better my life is now.
Anyways, throughout the whole process of the divorce Dave was there for me. He was the one I could call at anytime day or night and he would just listen to me cry and be there for me. We started hanging out more, again just as friends. Then a few months later it was suddenly Thanksgiving. My ex gets the girls over that holiday because his family always has a huge reunion and it was my first time being away from them. I was a wreck. Dave invited me to join him for a road trip to Oklahoma to visit with his mom for the holiday. I found out later he concocted this trip just to get me out of the house. I had a really awesome time meeting his mom and sister and on the way home he confessed to me that he had developed a crush on me the first time we met at the Christmas party but never thought he would get a chance with me and now that I was suddenly single he didn't want to let the opportunity pass without taking a shot. I was floored. I wish I could say I fell into things really easily but I was so gun-shy and I made things really difficult for him for a couple months not committing to anything because I really needed the time to find myself. But eventually I got to a point where I was willing to take that chance. As I said previously, my girls were already really familiar with Dave and he fit in really well with our family dynamic. They seemed delighted that he was spending more time at our house and all was good. (He really is an excellent man and father!)
We had originally planned a trip to Disney World from Sept. 28th through October 5th just to have a chance for our family to bond and we were thinking if all went well we would look at getting engaged sometime in early 2014. Imagine my surprise when he proposed on February 14th of this year. I guess I should share that story too.
My ex takes the girls on Thursday nights and one or two weekends a month. This year Valentines day happened to fall on a Thursday. We weren't planning on doing anything because we were saving for this Disney trip but Dave called me earlier that day and said he had made reservations for us to go out. He explained that most of the time we would have the girls on that holiday and he wanted us to have a special one this year while it would be just us. He wound up taking me to a beautiful winery in Defiance, MO. They had the fireplace lit and candles everywhere and it was absolutely breathtaking. We had a table in the corner and were just enjoying our meal and listening to the band when suddenly he turned to me and said he had been doing a lot of thinking lately. I was like, oh yeah? He told me that he didn't know if this was the right time to do this but that he figured there would never be a perfect time as there was going to always be something going on and that right now felt like the perfect time to him. With that he got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen (though I may be a little biased). He asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I started crying and accepted. It was so perfect. The next day he proposed to my daughters with sapphire necklaces asking them to become part of his family and they were really excited too. Claire's only instructions were they got to be the flower girls (because they are the best flower girls ever) and the wedding had to be short because weddings are boring. So, Dave and I got to talking about what kind of wedding we wanted. Having been married before, I wasn't interested in anything big but I did want it to be meaningful. I also wanted us to write our own vows because I wanted him to really mean whatever he promised to me. Dave insisted on me having a traditional wedding dress and an aisle. Both of us just wanted it to be extremely small (just family) because we really wanted to just focus on us and the girls. Extending our Disney World stay and adding on a wedding just made perfect sense to us.
I called Disney and they had availability for an Escape ceremony on September 27th at Seabreeze Point. Everything has just fallen into place perfectly. It will be Dave, myself, our girls, my parents and his dad and mom. We found a pastor who is willing to perform a family ceremony incorporating the girls so Dave and I plan to write our own vows to each other and also to the girls. The girls are going to promise to make this the best family they can. We will do a sand ceremony where the girls each have their own color and Dave and I each have a color and we will blend it all together and be able to take home a visual representation of the blending of our family. (Though I'm not sure how to get that home without it getting all jumbled). Anyways, I am so excited. We will arrive on Sept. 25th. Be married on Sept 27th and Disneymoon there until October 5th. I need to get back to work but I will post more later about all the little surprises we have planned for our girls and families while we are down there. It is wonderful to meet you all!!!!!
How about you? only 109 more days!!!!
I just can't wait. I started writing my vows today. I know I will probably tweak them again before the wedding but I was pretty happy with my start. Other than finalizing those and my final dress fitting, it is mostly just waiting!
