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Oh my goodness.... I can't seem to remember what I did last Saturday! I think it had something to do with laundry, yard work, etc... hmmm... I'll have to think about that one! I DID work that morning. I remember swimming! We got our pool put up! It's a 27 foot above ground pool, and it's huge! And the girls swam so much.... and got sunburns to prove it! On Sunday we took ALL the girls to Busch Gardens. It's the first family outing that Kayla was included in. There were definite, uh, hurdles to jump over. Beth is jealous of Kayla, Kayla is used to being an only child, Kalena was pms'ing... but all in all it was a good day. Beth was finally tall enough to ride every ride there. She grew that half-inch in the last month. She was so excited that she got to ride one of the major coasters. Monday was Memorial Day, and we just hung out around the house, did some swimming, did the bbq thing. Really relaxed, not much to it... THANKFULLY! It was the last week of school for my girls. They had half days all week. Today is their last day. We did have a first this week. Kalena had her first boyfriend. I say HAD because it only lasted one day. We also had our first heartbreak. This boy at school (a 15 yo) asked her to be his girlfriend, and then talked with her on the phone for two hours that night. The next day he broke up with her. She was so heartbroken. She's gotten over it already, thank goodness. We were gonna go to Georgia to visit his dad again, but his mom asked us to wait until it was closer to the end. She understands how tight money is, and knows we can't afford the gas. I am so mad at my dh's ex-wife. She is such a nasty person. Nice and gushy to your face, while stabbing you in the back at the same time. She's pulled another one of her nasty tricks, which took $500 out of our pockets initially, not to mention the additional lawyers cost to get her to stop it. She's so two-faced. what a horrible woman. |
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So, this has been a challenging week. A lot of stress from his dad die-ing (does anyone know how to spell that one correctly?), this whole custody issue with his ex, trying to sell his trailer, adjusting to the blended thing... SO! we're going BACK to Georgia next Thursday for another long weekend. The custody issue has a 'soft' resolution and looks promising, the 'blended' thing seems to be easier... Now we just need to get that trailer sold so we can finish remodeling the basement. So, now that I'm caught up maybe I'll be able to keep up! |
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So that Wednesday after I got off work we headed to Georgia where I got to spend a few days with his mom and dad, his brother and sister-in-law, and his sister and brother-in-law. I feel like I got to know my sisters really well, as well as his mom! They are total angels! I love them to pieces! The guys were great too! His dad was kinda hard to get to know with him being so sick. he's also ex-military, so that doesn't help either. But it was a wonderful time and I hated to leave... |
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Well, married life is an adjustment anyways, but you can imagine how much an adjustment it is with blended families. I think it went pretty well. He didn't tell his parents right away, but he finally did. They were shocked but ok with it. His dad was upset that he hadn't met me first. His dad has cancer, and doesn't have much longer, so when hospice was called in we planned to drive down to Georgia to visit the family. |
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So we got home ALL exhausted on Sunday. He said that if I was serious about marrying him, that I'd find out where to get the license and all that jazz. My parents weren't going to be home until the end of the week, so we were together a lot, which was a great opportunity for the girls to get to know him. So, I got all the info on where to get the license and where we could get it done. However, Friday served up a kink when his ex-wife served him with papers trying to get sole physical custody of their daughter. He was so upset that I knew we wouldn't be getting married so I didn't really say anything. We were sitting in 'line' at the school to pick up the girls, when I mentioned that I had the information whenever he was ready to get it. He turned to me, and said "what? why don't we get married right now? call and see if we can get an appointment right now!" So I called and made the appointment. We got the girls out of school about 10 minutes early, and went and bought wedding bands. Then we drove back to appomattox and picked up the marriage license. We then drove across the street to the 'marriage celebrant's' office. It was next door to the salvation army, and actually LOOKED like it! We waited until the man was ready and then went into his office. He started the ceremony. TWICE during the ceremony Kalena's cellphone rang. So we were married! We went home for a little while (hee hee!), then we drove to the airport to pick up my parents. Now we DID tell my parents before we got married. They were totally cool with it. Now, his parents.... that's a different story! |
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You have to understand that we both knew immediately that we were soul mates, and that we were totally meant for each other, and that God had answered both of our prayers. We were talking about getting married someday before the end of the first week. This week got complicated fast. Granpa died on Monday morning, so I had to prepare to fly to California for the funeral. I asked Jimmie Lee to go with me. So I had friends watch my girls. That Tuesday night, before we left, we were sitting on the bed watching tv and eating subway sandwiches. That's when he proposed, ring and all. Of course I said yes. We laugh about how un-romantic it was, but I think our whole relationship has made memories and that's important. We flew to California on Wednesday, and picked up my son Jay. We stayed at my grandma's place with my parents. We had tons of family there (my brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.), and they all got to meet Jimmie Lee and they ALL approved of him. We were there until Saturday, but we flew home on the red eye and got back here on Sunday. On Friday he started saying we should get married right away, and I said sure. He meant it too, but we never had an opportunity. So the fact that we weren't married THAT weekend is only because it was physically impossible. |
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Honestly, the rest is a blur, and I know the longer I wait to write it the more I'll forget. So, I'll do the best I can. That Monday after work I went over to his place for a couple of hours (1:30-2:30). We had initially agreed that we wouldn't meet each other's children until we knew that it was serious. That afternoon he said we should all meet casually and I agreed. So that afternoon we went and hung out at the church and just let the children play together with no pressure (3:30-5:30). That Tuesday I went to his place after work (7:30-8:00). I wasn't there long, but I got to get to know his daughter a little better, and she was cuddled up on my lap by the time I left. Wednesday I went to his place after work (1:30-3:00). He told me he loved me. Then after we picked up all the girls we went to dinner together and then hung out at the church until 6:30. Thursday I went to his place after work (7:30-8:30). I can't remember WHAT we did Friday-Sunday, just that we spent most of it together. oh yeah, he met my parents on Friday night, and they loved him. A couple of dinners, hanging out at his place, went to church together... On Sunday night we got a phone call about my grandpa that he was not going to make it through the night, so we drove my parents to the airport together. |
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So Jimmie Lee and I had arranged to meet outside the dollar theater. I was gonna drop my girls off to see a movie and that would have given us about 1.5 hours to talk. Denise offered to take the girls for the afternoon, though. So when he called to confirm our plans we changed our meeting place to sheetz. Since he doesn't have a cell phone, we couldn't meet anywhere too crowded. I was honestly thinking of ditching cuz I was getting nervous. He told me on the phone that HE was real nervous. I found out later that he came real close to canceling. I dropped off the girls with Denise and met him at sheetz. He had seen my picture already cuz I had given him my myspace address. I had no idea what he looked like though. I got there first and fixed my makeup a little. I was real nervous. He pulled in next to me a few minutes later, and we got out of our vehicles. I walked around my car, and he says that the moment I walked around the car he knew I was 'the one'. He told me that he had a problem with his tub back home and had to run back to his place to check on it. He said he'd understand if we wanted to keep our meeting at what we'd just done, or I could go back to his place with him to check on it. I said I'd go with him. Then he asked if I wanted to ride with him or follow him in my car. I told him I'd ride with him. I swear he asked me at least 100 questions before we got back to his place. His tub was ok, so we sat on the couch and talked forever. After we had talked for a while he asked if he could give me a hug. I said 'not yet'. an hour later he asked again, and I said 'not yet' again. By this time I knew he was 'the one'. He gave me a quick tour of his place and we ended up in the kitchen. He told me that he really wanted to kiss me. I proceeded to tell him that I preferred not to be asked about being hugged or kissed. I preferred a guy that just took the risk and did it. He said "in that case..." and leaned over and hugged me. His hug, the way it made me feel, was just indescribable. It was so comfortable and familiar. We were perfectly fit for each other. Then he kissed me, and WOW! After the kiss, I looked him in the eyes and said "what's your last name?" We started laughing. Needless to say, we spent 6 hours together that afternoon, and by the end he asked me to 'be his girl'. I went home that night and told my mom that this was the man I was gonna marry, and she said "that's exactly how I felt after I met your dad". |
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This was a Saturday. I was pleasantly suprised when Jimmie Lee called me. He explained that he had been unable to call me 'cuz he had been in the ER with a friend that had a problem with a pacemaker. He still wanted to meet me, so we arranged to meet on Sunday... |
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On April 4th, about 7:45 a.m., I received a phone call. I was almost to work for the day. It was Jimmie Lee, and we talked for about 15 minutes. It was an easy conversation. At the end of our conversation he said that I sounded very interesting and that he'd like to meet me. I agreed. He also said he'd call me later that afternoon. I was hoping he would, cuz I had a date with another guy and I was thinking I would go out with Jimmie Lee instead. He never did call that night though. I honestly was a bit disappointed, but I figured that he must have changed his mind. |
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April 3rd would change my life, although I didn't realize it when I crawled out of bed that morning. It was my long shift at Curves that day. I worked 8-1, and then 3-7:30. By 5:30 I was starting to drag. One way to keep your energy up is just to be with the women working out, chatting with them, encouraging them... So, that's what I was doing. Just being my normal friendly self. At the end of her workout one of my clients said "I know the perfect guy for you. Can I give him your number?" I asked about him and then agreed to it. I shudder to think... what if I'd said no? |
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Well, I hope all my 'friends' can find me. I have literally started everything all over. Not just my blog! My whole life has changed! The biggest change is that I'm now married! I'll share the whole story later! |