OUR WEDDING (PART 2)

This is the church, The Hillsboro Methodist Church, where we were married. It is a little old brick church that sits about a block off of the two-lane highway that runs through Leiper's Fork.

John and I met officially when we were in the seventh grade at Wilson Jr. High in Eugene, Oregon. We had probably seen one another before that since we lived only a mile or so apart, but we were in different grade schools. John played the trumpet and I played the violin so we were in the Jr. High Orchestra together. We didn't know one another well, but we both remembered the other some 40 years later when we became reacquainted. So I guess that somewhere in each of us there might have been a recognition of a connection we had, although neither of us guessed what it might be and that we would be celebrating our marriage so many years later. The funny thing is that we both lived in Connecticut or New York (me) since the early 70's and didn't know that the other was there.

Here is an inside view of the church. Aren't the windows pretty? People are just starting to gather. We had the best time with the little flower girls. There were five of our grandchildren between the ages of three and five. They spent the morning with Joyce Schmidt, wife of Pastor Steve, decorating their baskets with ribbons and filling them with flower petals. Due to the girls' age, we opted against a rehearsal and decided that whatever they did would be fine. These four are Hannah Dirlam, Josephine Lawrence, Chloe Lawrence (in the back) and Natalie Schatz. They each approached the job with their own style and distributed the petals perfectly, one way or another. Sophia Lawrence, the fifth flower girl was coming down with the flu and was barely able to participate, however she got to wear her pink dress. Shortly after the wedding, she and her mommy returned to the motel, where they spent the next two days until Sophia made a little recovery.

John and I have six children between us, and 14 grandchildren! And more on the way! It is a bit overwhelming to realize, but all in all, we feel so very blessed to have such wonderful families and now to have this life of ours together.

Our big fantasy is to have the entire bunch together someday. It almost happened at the wedding but not everyone could make it. It was a good beginning. They are all wonderful families and we can't believe our good fortune!