All married up!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! Weather wise it was perfect for an outdoor wedding. Some felt it was too warm, at 32 degrees, but we had a wonderfully shady part of the park for our festivities, which helped beat the heat!

Everything was exactly how I wanted it to be, a community of family and friends, joining us to celebrate love and family commitment!

Since so many weren't there, I thought I'd post a copy of our ceremony here! *at the end*

I have no pictures yet, our photographer, Charissa, 35 weeks preggers with TWINS!!) is getting a disc to us ASAP and then I'll share photos! The girls looked so beautiful and Andrew spiffed up for the event!

I got tons of black fly bites on my arm, s tupid things wouldn't leave me alone while I was supposed to be saying my vows! I just tried to ignore them because well what would you do if the bride suddenly started twitching and swatting at something you couldn't see???!!!

My beautiful Leishabeth shed a tear when it was her turn to say her commitment to our family. Awwwwwww! My sensitive little punkin.

My sweet amazing Jaala, decided half way through the (12 minute) ceremony, that picking grain and shredding it was much more fun than standing in a semi circle being bored! hehehehe! That's MY girl!!!

Yelli was SO nervous, we (Faron, her and I) stayed up late on Saturday night allaying her fears and supporting her nerves! She did super duper, looking beautiful and poised, she didn't look nervous at all. Great job Punky!

Andrew was a charmer, looking very handsome and very tall! He just sort of went with it all. Jaala had a great time playing with him afterwards. She has given her *little sister stamp of approval* to him.

So here is the ceremony, don't leave yet, I have more to say after!

Family and friends, we are gathered here for the purpose both solemn and beautiful. We
are to witness the marriage of Faron and Teri who have already promised themselves to
each other in their hearts.

I take you (Faron)to be my (husband)I promise to live with you, to trust you and to be faithful to you.I will love you in sickness and in health,In joy and in sorrow.I promise to always listen to you with a kind ear And speak to you with an open heartyou are my most precious gift in this lifeI vow to support you, and comfort you,To empower and encourage you, all the days of our lives

Not only to I promise to be a faithful wife but also a paitent and loving mother to Danielle
and Andrew, caring for them and providing for them, being a source of love strength and emotional support as though they are my own. I will love them with all my heart until the end of their days.

I take you (Teri)to be my (wife)I promise to live with you, to trust you and to be faithful to you.I will love you in sickness and in health,In joy and in sorrow.I promise to always listen to you with a kind ear And speak to you with an open heartyou are my most precious gift in this lifeI vow to support you, and comfort you,To empower and encourage you, all the days of our lives

Not only to I promise to be a faithful wife but also a paitent and loving father to Jaala and Leisha, caring for them and providing for them, being a source of love strength and emotional support as though they are my own. I will love them with all my heart until the end of their days.

Leisha: you have come with your mother for her marriage to Faron. Your life will be
changed in that you will have more people to love and support you and who you can also
love and support. Do you say yes to this marriage, and do you welcome Faron and
Danielle and Andrew as part of your family?
Leisha: I will

(etc for all the kids)

These are children who will share in this marriage. The gathering of this new family will
have a deep influence upon them. We realize that in order for the home to be a happy
one, it is essential that there be love and understanding between the children and the
adults being married.

each of you hold sand in separate containers, the sands represent your families
and lives to this moment; individual and unique. As you now combine your sand together,
your families and lives also join together as one family.

You may now blend the sand together symbolizing the uniting of the two families into one.


So, that's that!
We had a beautiful pot luck bbq 10 steps away from where we had the ceremony. It was intimate and special. My family and Faron's family, some of whom were meeting for the first time, struck it up famously.
One of the HIGHLIGHTS of the day, was seeing my baby brother Vern, walk up wearing board shorts, a red zip up and a ball cap!!!
He lives in Winnipeg, so I doubted he would be there. It was super special having him there for me. Nearly made me tear up, and I just DON'T do that!!

Faron's mom and dad made it too, which, with how Anne's health has been, was awesome! We rushed through a couple things, like cake and thank you's, so she could be there for all of it, she was pretty worn out and left quite early, but we were so so happy that she was there!

When we returned home, we had a chance to visit and connect with the little girls.
Leisha was very emotional. My sensitive little doll.
She explained that she liked our wedding better than she liked her dad's wedding. She liked that she and Jaala had a part in the wedding and had something to do, and that the grown ups paid attention to them and that they also got to play and not just *sit, sit, sit*

Her dad's wedding was 1 year ago, and yet the amount of sadness and hurt Leisha expressed must mean it is a real sore spot for her.
She explained that Daddy didn't pay any attention to her at all, she wasn't even allowed to sit with him for the food. They walked up the aisle throwing petals, then they had to sit in the front and wait for the ceremony to be done, then they had to pose for pictures NEXT to a play park, and they weren't even allowed to go play on it! (well, how would you feel?!!)

Then, after hours and hours of wanting daddy and not having him, Grandma drove the girls back to their dad's house, jammied and snacked them, sent them to bed, and went back to the wedding.

I held Leisha and snuggled her and she cried and both Faron and I told her we were so sorry that it hadn't been a good experiance for her, and that we love her very much.

Jaala's impression of our wedding was different. She HATES pictures, hates posing, hates standing still and HATE HATES it when people watch her!
She was anxious to get out of there. She did tell me however, that she was really glad Faron and I were married, her statement "Of course, I really love Faron and I'm glad he's my Dada, cause if I wasn't, I WOULD NOT have said *I do*, that would have been a lie"
AWWWWWWW!!!
I love that little girl.

Pictures to follow.......
Signing off as Mrs. Teri Kyler-Halliday!