Priscilla Marie

One of the truest blessings of my life is companionship. I have been given an incredible husband, precious babies, a dear family and family in law, and some of the most amazing friends you could imagine.  But….this post is not for  everyone, this post if for just one, my dear friend and cousin Kristyn Neiel Haws. Today is her birthday and I thought it would be fun to honor her here on my little blog. So, Kriss, sweet cousin of mine….Happy Birthday to you!!!!!  You are dear and precious.  What an honor it is to know you and to be your friend. To have your love and support and encouragement. I have known you my entire life, and have been blessed with your friendship for as long as I can remember. You have stood by me through EVERYTHING.  Some of my craziest, wildest, most fantastic memories were made with you. Some I wouldn’t dare mention on here (i.e. think Papaw’s field….whahahahahahaha). One of my favorite things to do with you is, of course, to sing….And what a lovely voice you have. My mind is filled with such wonderful memories of walking through deserted city streets singing The Counting Crows or Tori Amos or who knows who we were singing at that point in our lives. Thankfully our tastes have improved a little (or at least the moral quality of our music choices ) You, my dear friend have added music and laughter and love and excitement and so many other sweet things to my life. Thank you for being my steady friend. Thank you for loving me and being patient with me. Thank you for your encouragement in dark times. Thank you for wisdom when I was desperately seeking it. Thank you for always letting me know that you love me as much as you do. You are a gift to me and to ALL who know you. Thank you God for this incredible and extraordinary woman!!! I wish I possessed the vocabulary and creativity to fully articulate what you mean to me. This will have to do. I could say so so SO much more, but these kids are demanding my attention. I leave you with a snippet of Lord Byron. He’s much better with words than I am.

“There be none of Beauty’s daughters
With a magic like thee;
And like music on the waters
Is thy sweet voice to me”

Happy birthday!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. If you happen upon this, and you know our sweet Kriss, please leave a comment here for her. Thanks.

Ok, maybe not my most favorite, but they’re right up there with “Daddy days” (this is what the kids call any day Richard is off work) and HoliDays. You get where I’m going.  I love snow. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! Actually, I love it so much I really wish we lived up north so we could get more of it. Downside to all this, Richard does NOT love it. After living in Pennsylvania  for many years, and many winters of shoveling the driveway, having to drive in the snow, freezing cold temperatures, (whine whine j/k Richard) etc etc…he’s not quite as  thrilled with snow in the forecast as I am. Still…I love it. Did I mention that??

So, we finally got a decent snow here in the valley. At least four or five inches (unless you ask my mom, she’ll say a foot). It was plenty of snow for loads of fun times. So…. if snow’s in the forecast, what’s the plan? Make some bread, make some chicken soup (gotta be prepared in case of power outages), load up the car, and head for the hills….well, to mom and dad’s house anyway. No offense to the city, but it’s just not as pretty in the snow.  ”The Farm”, as we call it, is the perfect spot to soak up all the snow times.

There is so much I love about being out on Tindell Lane in the snow.  So many memories flood back from childhood. Like the time my brother Luke woke us up in the middle of the night to go tramping through the snow in the moonlight. Then throwing rocks at my cousin Jonny’s window to try and wake him so he could come out with us, but of course, if you know Jon, you’ll know he’s IMPOSSIBLE to wake up. Anyway, there is something entirely pleasant about the atmosphere in the old log cabin. The wood stove burning hot while the snow piles up outside.

Here’s a shot of mom and dad’s house.

So, after a cozy nights sleep and a fantastic breakfast of biscuits and gravy (my mama’s), we headed out into the snow with the kiddies all bundled. Actually, I think Eden might have been a little too bundled, because she couldn’t walk well. Every time she took a step she tumbled over. Think “A Christmas Story”.

For someone who’s not so wild about snow, sweet Richard really got in there and played hard to make fun memories with his babies. Here he is making a snowman for them.

Gibbie making a snow angel.

Eden having a taste of snow. mmm mmmmm

Elliotte not liking the taste of snow.

mr. snowman borrowing Richard’s pipe

little Eden sweetie pie

our precious buddies

my favorite people in this world

me and my sweetheart

snow smooching is always fun

I had to include this one of my mom. The kids went to the kitchen door to call her out to see their snowman, and came she did….in her flipflops. Yeah…she’s nuts. Still….lovely pedicure.

And then there was the snowball fight with Pop. I think this is Elliotte’s retaliation after he through a snowball right in her face. Watch out, Pop!

Now, drop the baby off in the warm cabin with Grannie and head out exploring. This is Gideon and Elliotte on their snowy walk to Uncle Warren and Aunt Judy’s.

When we were back from our fun walk in the snow and lots of exciting sledding with Max and Aunt Judy, we headed back home and were met by a sweet baby waiting for us at the door. Eden is completely enthralled by the snow. She will stand at the window and stare out for the longest time. The first time she ever saw snow on the ground, she stared out the window saying “uhoh…uhoh”  over and over. She didn’t know what to think of it, but could definitely tell something was not right.

Well, in to the warm house we went to get dethawed and have some lunch. We snuggled up and watched movies and played inside for the rest of the day.

Then came the night. The kids were all “snug in their beds”, and Richard was cozy on the couch watching a movie with my parents. And why was I not snuggled up with him when it was freezing cold outside and all warm and cozy inside? I had a plan. So on went the layers and the snowboots and hat,  and out the door I went into the moonlight and snow, heading to meet my sweet friend, little “sister”, and cousin Debbie. This was one of those nights you know you don’t ever want to forget for as long as you live. It was around 11 o’clock and 19 degrees as I headed up this dead end old street to my friend. We were going to go……. “night sledding”. The moon was full and brilliant in the sky. The snow sparkling a billion sparkles. Everything serene and lovely. And now for a song…..

“We will walk on a hill
Red hats and blue coats, and everything still.
Snow will cover until we cant tell the sky from the ground…..”
-the innocence mission…..of course

Debbie and I hugged in the snow and then together walked up the hill with great plans to sled back down it, because of course, that is why you trudge up a giant hill in the snow holding a sled, right? We did have great plans for sledding, I promise we did. However, we were too engrossed in talking to think about anything else, so the sledding never happened. Except, of course, for the few times we went sledding on our feet and ended up on our tails. I don’t think that counts though….Up to the top of the hill we walked. I had to pause several times to stare up at the trees. “Bare branches against the stars is a synonym for beauty”. Earlier as the day had warmed, all of the snow had melted from the bare branches and was quietly dripping into the snow. Then when evening came and the temperature fell again, the drops were suddenly frozen, each of them like crystals scattered about the barren branches.  Add some moonlight and you have a spectacular sight. A winter tree adorned with thousands of tiny sparkling jewels. I was enchanted, mesmerized, spellbound. Actually, I think I still must be, because I’m having trouble moving on. Ok….back down the hill, walking and talking, catching each other every now and then when we slipped on the ice. Then out Tindell lane till we met a slippery hill in the road and decided it wise to turn back. Now to the dead-end of the road, then down by the pond, back down the road, up Uncle Albert’s drive,and finally back to where we had begun. Talking all the while. All this to say, lots of walking, tons of talking.  Sharing about life and love and hopes and dreams and memories…..and everything else I’m sure. So lovely. One day, when I’m old and gray and have 137 grandkids,  I’ll hunt around in my rattley old brain and pull out this memory and find myself back on that hill again with my sweet friend.   Seeing as  I don’t have a “biological” sister, you are the closest I’ve ever had to that. I love you with all of my heart, Deborah Elizabeth. What a joy it has been to watch you grow into a beautiful woman, within and without. I’m so proud of you!

OK, teary eyed I’m moving on.  Here are a few more photos of our fun from the following day.

Debbie pulling our lazy kids in the “boat”.

Eden contemplating sledding down the hill.

Debbie and Eden

Ok, I realize this is really choppy, but if I try to ”perfect it” (this is impossible for me anyway) I’ll never finish. So, here it is, rough as that may be. At least there are some nice photos???

Right….

and this is how we get the good smiles…..

EDIT: Video 1:

My pretty Elliotte looking all sweet in her red coat.

Thanks to the sweet PA grandparents, Gideon has a bike!!!! Here’s a few shots of his first bike ride ever.

and this is just silly

and this is Eden doing who knows what???  Interpretive dance? I have no idea….Still, pretty funny. I know these are a little fuzzy, but I had to share them.

right….she’s a weirdy….but she is cute. at least her mama thinks so.

Allright, that’s all for now. Come back again later and maybe I’ll have a real post.

Wow, a very long time and an outrageous lack of posting.  Please, no one read my very first blog entry where I said something completely absurd about posting weekly.  Guess that was a joke.

So, where to really begin. So much time has gone by, and so many wonderful opportunities for blogging have come and gone. Why haven’t I written??? I’ve been living by my feelings again, and have not felt like writing. It just seemed too overwhelming at the time.  The last few months have been difficult for us. First off, being prego sick 24 hours a day made things harder. I know women who deal with “morning sickness” through the majority of their pregnancies, so I probably sound like a big baby, but feeling like throwing up every waking minute was not the norm for me. Then just shy of twelve weeks we found out that we had lost our baby. Wow, this is even difficult now….  It was incredibly difficult to lose another baby, but then on top of that, my body just didn’t handle the miscarriage well and we’re still dealing with the physical aftermath of this loss. But, as always, God’s grace is so incredibly sufficient for us in every. single. need.  My thought at the time, “God please, I don’t want go through this again….I want this baby”, but I’m learning to trust and believe that He knows my heart better than I do, and he loves me more than I could ever imagine…I”m his child, and like the the amazing Father He is, he knows what’s best for me. He knows what I need. The Lord has done quite a bit of “shaping” in our lives these days….and I can see the good of it. YES difficult, NO don’t want to ever go through anything like this again, but still…somehow all this sorrow and loss and uncertainty has revealed so much truth and grace and love and beauty and ….faith. I’m thankful for it all.

So….why Jerusalem? What is that about? Before we found out we had lost our baby, Gideon had mentioned a few times that if we had a boy we should name him Jerusalem. He came up with this on his own, and we thought this was a great idea. So….that’s his name. And even though we won’t get to hold, kiss, raise, love or even see our Jerusalem on this earth, he’s still a part of us….forever a part of us. Jerusalem is home….and we can’t wait to meet him.

sigh…too much too much.

We have so much to be thankful for. For example….

How can we keep from rejoicing???

So, thank you all for coming back. and for being patient with me and my lack of writing. I’m not going to make any promises about weekly bloggings, but I will try and do better this time around.

….FOUR….

Our Elliotte Marie turned three years old August 31st. Again, where does the time go? How did the last three years go by so fast? How did my Bobbin get to be such a big girl, and so quickly??? Is it just me, or does it seem like the more kids you have, the faster time flies by. Or is it the older you get….?  I’d like to think it’s just cause we’re having so much fun….seriously….

We are having fun! Life is beautiful! The kids are a blessing and we’re loving every day with them. We’ve so been enjoying our August girls! Elliotte’s birthday celebrations were especially exciting. Her birthday week was full of special surprises for her. Beginning on Thursday, Elliotte had a surprise visit from her “Aunt Kriss”, Judah, and Anna. They showed up on our doorstep singing many rounds of “happy birthday”, waiting for Elliotte to come and let them in. She was very shy about this, but obviously pleased.

How exciting to get to spend three whole days with two of your buddies, and all for your birthday too. Kriss, thank you for loving our baby girl so much, and for letting her know in a THOUSAND ways how special she is to you. It was wonderful to have you girls here to share in the celebration!

So, seeing as Elliotte has been getting rather girlie these days, we thought it would be fun to surprise her with a tea party for her birthday. We made plans for Saturday evening, got Elle ready for a special birthday date with her daddy, and sent them on their way so we could get the house ready for a party.

Here’s a pic of Elle getting ready for her date.

I had to include one of her date. Handsome devil, eh?

Look at those eyes! Can you tell Elliotte is not a big fan of being the center of attention? (Notice her dress, Kay?)

Out  on the town.  Richard took her to Cafe 4 in Market Square. He said it was so sweet the way people would take notice of his pretty girl, but she was completely oblivious to the special attention. She was just excited to be out on a date with her daddy.

While those two were out having fun, us girls were back at the house busting our tails to get the house decorated, treats finished, tea and lemonade prepared, and ourselves “princessified”.  Oh yes, even us older girls got in on this dressup fun.

The tea table.

Princess Elliotte.

The ladies….(Eden was unable to attend the party due to extreme fussiness)

Mmmm….tea

To top it all off, the power went off just after our party had ended. I think the girls were as excited about the power outage as the party itself.

Our party was great!  Mom and Kriss, it would NOT have been the same without you! Thank you so much for all of your help!

And on a side note, the only disappointing thing about our party was not having the cousins here to celebrate with us. So….Ashlynne, Rachel, Emma, Lauren, Grace, Kate, Teah, and Lydia….you were missed. We love you!

The next night we went for a prebirthday picnic down by the river. Peanut butter and honey, water fountains, and beautiful August weather makes for really fun times.

Here’s Elle with her special Hello Kitty bottle from daddy.

Sharing a drink with sister.

Hooligans.

First gift on her birthday morning.

Sadly, we don’t have a lot of photos from her birthday, our blasted camera batteries died on us!

To summarize, we went out for a birthday dinner with Pop, Grannie, and Uncle Matt. Uncle Matt and Elliotte are birthday buddies.  Man, I wish I had a picture of the two of them together…sigh…. We went to the park and duck pond, at Elliotte’s request, and played till dark. We even got to visit with Uncle Luke and Aunt Jordan for a bit. Then it was off to the homestead to get Gibbie and Eden down, so we could have a bit of time with Elliotte all to ourselves.

We stayed up late, ate cake and candy, watched some Berenstein Bears and headed off to bed. It’s a birthday tradition to let the kids sleep in our bed with us, but Elliotte declined this offer. She preferred to sleep in her princess airbed in the tent with Gideon. I mean, I guess I understand how a big tent set up in your house with chrismas lights and your very own bed would be more exciting than sleeping with old mom and dad….still….we were pretty disappointed : (.

So, another year to celebrate our precious Elliotte. We are SO thankful for our baby girl! What a precious gift from our loving Father!

Now, just for fun……a look back…..

Elliotte 21 weeks in the womb.

This is one of my favorite pictures! It’s from the birthing center where we had Elliotte. All of these ladies were present for her birth.

Snoozin’ away around two months. Elliotte used to sleep in the strangest positions.

Christmastime 2006

January 2007

Late summer 2007

Silly girl.

The famous “yuck face”.

Pretty, blue-eyed, messy-faced cowgirl.

Our ice muncher.

Fall 2008

Spring 2009. I know this is a silly face, but she’s so stinkin’ cute!

Now a few from earlier today.

Happy Birthday, beautiful Elliotte Marie Mann!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I promise to limit my next post to no more than 5 photos : )

Our baby is one year old! How did this happen? Where did the last year go? Where did my tiny Eden go? Is she really toddling all over the place, using actual words, and throwing real fits? Where does the time go, and why doesn’t it ask my permission before it runs off with my tiny babies and turns them into….kids.

So, Richard and I could not even begin to express our thankfulness to the Lord for this precious child. Eden has been a tremendous blessing from the moment we knew she was growing inside of me. I found out before Richard that I was pregnant (we usually find out together) and then decided to keep it a secret so I could surprise him with it as his Christmas present on our little getaway to NYC. I kept that secret for 10 whole AGONIZING days. I will NEVER do that again. It’s not any fun to keep a secret like that. Yuck. Still, it’s a fun memory. We left our other two babies in PA with Richard’s parents, and headed off to the big city for a few days….alone. Long plane ride, long subway ride, not eating for 8 hours straight on a pregnant belly, good times. Secrets are so much fun! right… We walked to the beautiful Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center to exchange our “secret gifts”. His gift from me was getting to share my precious secret. The burden was finally lifted. We could talk about our baby….TOGETHER. Then we could dream together…and we did.

So, moving on. It was a long, normal pregnancy,  nothing super interesting to tell you about this. We did take Gideon and Elliotte with us to find out the gender of our tiny baby. Gideon was not happy when the tech told us we were having another little girl. He was pretty much grumpy for an entire day over it. He wouldn’t trade his baby sister for anything now! He was completely taken with her from the moment he saw her.

Eden was born August 22nd at 6:02am….THREE DAYS LATE (I was halfway convinced I was just going to be pregnant forever)! My labor with Eden was the most unusual of all three. Most people reading this already know this story, so I won’t go into details. I’ll just leave it at “unusual” and abrupt and crazy and out of control and almost in the parking lot, etc, etc….You get the point. Equate it to one of those dramatic labor/births from the movies and you’ll see what I’m getting at. On the whole, it was a pretty amazing experience and I wouldn’t change it a bit, except for maybe less pain. I honestly don’t miss that part of labor. I worry about any woman that does….

Ever since she was born, Eden has been such a joy in our lives. She has been, like, an extra helping of sunlight in our home, our “sunshine flower”. She started smiling only days after she was born, and giggled for the first time at a month old. She has always been an easy going kid (till she doesn’t get her way about something or when she’s teething). She’s snuggly and sweet. Eden belly laughs (Gideon says she laughs like a hippo), and sings (her favorite is “by-lo baby”) and dances to anything with a beat. She makes monkey sounds, lion roars, and even crocodile snaps. She is SO much fun!!!! An incredible blessing!

Allright, allright, I hush up and let you get to the photos. You know I have issues with only choosing a few, so 25 sweet photos of our first year with Eden. Hope you enjoy them!

First time in Daddy’s arms. So calm and sweet, looking up and listening to his voice.

One week old.

Sweet smiles. Both of these are around two months.

Just after Christmas.

Learning to sit up. 5 months.

Silly girl!

8 months old.

Some of my favorite moments with my babies are when they fall alseep either with or on me. Sharing a sweet moment with Daddy. She’s 9 months old here.

These next three were taken in June.

Daddy says this is her “smug” face.

“Everybody loves a brwon eyed girl” Remember this shirt, Alyssa?  How appropriate. I mean, who couldn’t love this baby???

These next show Eden’s funnier side. The first two are of her in one of her favorite spots, climbing in the kitchen cabinets.

Playing with my springform pans. She likes to stack them up around her, then tries to walk with them around her legs. It’s pretty entertaining.

Here she has just opened her very first birthday present ever, a gift from Grandmama, Granddad and Gavin. Doesn’t she look pleased?

This final series is from her birthday.

Eden refused to take her second nap on her birthday. I guess she knew something exciting was happening and she wasn’t going to miss any of it. She fell asleep in her carseat after running to the grocery store with daddy. He lugged her inside and covered her up for a belated birthday nap. Poor kid was probably so confused when she woke up.

Birthday dinner.

Present time! She’s peeking in at her present in this first one. This was my most favorite part of her birthday party. Richard and I got her her first baby doll, and I have never seen her so excited. As soon as she saw what was in the box, she was chatting and panting and giggling with excitement. When the baby was freed from the box Eden snuggled, kissed and carried it around continually….still giggling.

Sportin’ her new hoodie from Aunt J and Uncle Lukie

Cake time!

The post-cake bath.

Happy Birthday, Eden Neiel Mann!!!!!!!

I realize it has been MONTHS since I last posted. I’m totally failing my commitment to blog for you out of towners. I’m so sorry. I do sorta have a good excuse. Our PC crashed a few months ago and we just got our Mac online a few weeks ago, so we were completely computerless until then. Using this mac is all well and good except our external hard drive is not compatible with it and we don’t store our photos on this computer….so….blogging on the Mac is more of a trial…. blah. Ok, this is a really lame excuse for not blogging. Just go ahead and call me lazy. Blast.

Recent and most exciting news, our precious Eden Neiel turned 1 year “out of the womb” yesterday. It’s so amazing how fast this past year has gone….sigh…..So, I’m going to attempt to do a post for Eden’s birthday tomorrow, but no promises….I’m going to stop making those when it comes to blogging, I think it wise….

I first took notice of Richard early in the year 2001. He was a skinny little guy, wore glasses, and kinda had that Buddy Holly geeky look. He caught my eye…..I remember asking a friend who he was. “oh, that’s Richard….” I remember thinking what a “grown up” name that sounded like. He didn’t look like a Richard…. Still, there was something about him…. I would have to wait a year and a half before I would get to meet him. I didn’t waste any time though. I studied his character and learned all I could….from a distance. I could see he was shy, had a great sense of humor, the leader type, and pretty….(yes, I can say “pretty”)

(a shot of my pretty bouquet created by the lovely Jean Vestal)

Peter Barbee introduced us on July 21st, 2002. Pete was playing the matchmaker back in those days and thought we’d go together well. Smart fellow. Thanks, Peter! I remember that night I met Richard we both were so painfully shy we could barely look at eachother. I don’t think we said a word…. Then a little while later, I still holding my inerest, we ended up going to a play together (my friend Ev and one of his friends came too). I sat beside him for several hours and…. he didn’t say a word to me. Shy or lack of interest??? Probably both. I stole glances at him as he watched the play, such a beautiful man. I remember how he fidgeted in his seat and nervously looked at the floor during a shady scene in the play….I liked him even more….. We rode home in his car, Nada Surf was on the radio, I wore my good old peach tank and plaid skirt…. he wasn’t interested….

(these two are TRUE servants, they also happen to be Richard’s sisters. These girls gave their brother a pedicure the day before the wedding. If you have ever seen Richard’s toes, you will know why I call them servants….)

Time goes by, I try and move on from him. I went to New Attitude at the end of 2002…. and he was there. I got to know him a tiny bit better….and honestly, I didn’t like him any better. I remember him saying something smart to me, and I went away from the conversation thinking “what a jerK”. I learned later it was just sarcasm. Funny, you’d think I of all people would pick up on sarcasm….hmmmm….

We started hanging out at good old Cup A Joe. Ev and I would go there for coffee, Richard and his buddies would meet there for accountability. Ev knew I liked him and would take the initiative to “get us together”, I being too shy to do this. We were unknowingly interrupting their meeting. They let us intrude SEVERAL times before we found out. How embarrassing. Still, those were such great times. Chatting, playing cards, slowly getting to know eachother…becoming friends. Over the next few months we increasingly spent more time together. Our dear Lisa was with us every step of the way. She was our chaperone, our friend…. She went everywhere with us and was my constant encourager. She was convinced Richard was interested, I was not. That Easter we both were invited to the Barbee home for dinner. I remember climbing a tree with Richard and watching the sun set. Then later when we were inside he was playing the guitar and would not take his eyes off of me. “What is this guy looking at??? Must be in a zone. He surely wasn’t really looking at me with those dreamy eyes.

Richard finally called my dad up and asked if they could go out and talk. He asked my dad’s permission to persue a relationship with me. My dad gave him the green light. The next step, find Priscilla and ask her. I knew what was going on and I had never been more terrified in my entire life. He kept trying to draw me out and get me alone so we could talk. I was avoiding this. Finally, cup a joe was closing, I was headed to my car, richard gave lisa the “go on home” goodbye and followed me to my car. It was the faithful GREEN volvo, Billy Bragg and Wilco were singing “mountain bed”. Richard was waxing on about what a relationship should look like. He was so nervous he was shaking. I aware of his being so unsettled was calmed by that. It was actually pretty funny. He asked me if I wanted to be in this sort of relationship….I said yes and….we prayed together asking for the Lords help, protection, etc… and June 23rd, 2003 we were officially a couple. Then began all of the fun getting to know eachother. We spent our time walking about the city, exploring the mountains, spending time with family, involved with our church, learning together, etc etc…..Richard was always extrememly guarded about what he would or wouldn’t say to me. We never said “love”, we never spoke of marriage. It’s easier to get to know someone when you leave the romance out for a bit.

We had been together for 6 months and I was growing restless. Was this guy just using me (trust is one of my bigger battles, and was even more so then)? Did he love me or didn’t he? I was ready to take this to the next step. I was ready to use the “l” word and all that. I came home from work one day and he was there. I had this shirt that says “I’m His” on it, and I would never wear it around him because we just didn’t say/talk about stuff like that. However, for some reason, I wore the shirt this day. I remember being a little sassy with Richard that day. but every smart comment I would make, it just seemed to bounce off of him into oblivion. He couldn’t be touched. Something was amiss. something was different. Richard was aglow. It was a blasted cold winter day, January 6th 2004, and we were headed off on a date. We at dinner together and then afterwards Richard had this “random” idea to go up to the mountains. It was against my better judgement, I was tired and it was cold out there (I think it was below 20 or something…felt like it anyway). Off we went. We found our spot by the river, sat on the stone wall, the full moon straight in front of us, a million sparkles in the river far below our feet. I was a little drowsy from the cold. Then Richard starts talking, he’s getting kinda SERIOUS. What is he talking about? Then he said those words…”I’ve grown to love you”…..and I knew what was up. I never thought my heart could beat so fast without bursting from my chest. Honestly, I think that’s the only thing that was sparing me from frostbite. He put his arms around me, his chest against my back and I could feel his heartbeating too. Just a fast as mine. In a dreamy glowing daze, I saw this beautiful man down on his knee by moonlight asking ME to be his WIFE. He asked and I sqeaked out a ‘yes”. He had to ask again to make sure…..I had a beautiful ring, a single white rose (the rest of the dozen was in the trunk, he didn’t want to “overdo” it), and a FIANCE!!!! We laughed nervously and held each. “Still no kissing!”, he said. Dangit! After a bit, we were reminded of our mortal flesh that was currently freezing off and got back in the car. We could finally TALK. Everything that had been help back could now be said. One of the first things Richard asked, being alowed to now, was “So, how many kids do you want?” I think I said something like, “What??? you can’t ask me that! blast! I guess you can. I don’t know!”

We made plans for a fall wedding. We were going to marry on October 3rd with 10 months to plan. Naturally, as plans often do, they changed. We decided in April that it just made more sense to get married sooner rather than later, and had a month and a half to plan. It took some convincing, but we finally talked the parents into letting us get married on the farm. I got my dress in two weeks, by miracle alone, everything fell beautifully into place, well, except for a week and a half before our wedding Richard totaled his car and the engine blew in mine. Good times. Getting married in a week and no car.

June 6th, D Day, came! It was a beautiful day, nice and cool, a million secadas serenading us. The farm turned upsidedown with tents and flowers and people everywhere. I’ve never seen the farm prettier. We got married in my grandfathers field. His beautful wife Jean did all the flower arrangements! Extraordinary! Rows and rows of wooden chairs. Tiny flower girls, Ashlynne, Rachel, Lauren, Emma, and a two week old Grace. A little bitty Gavin as our ringbearer. The ceremony was by Papaws vinyard. We were attended by siblings and friends.The time came for us to “go”. I came outside to find my dad and everyone was gone. I was alone and incredibly nervous! So nervous that I left without my beautiful bouquet. Dad came for me and we walked together up Tindell lane for the last time with me as his little girl. I clung nervously to his arm. I heard the processional for our attendants, for our mothers….then it was our song. “Come Thou Fount”. It was time….That aisle felt at least 5 miles long, and everyone standing and watching the whole time….yuck. I tried to hide behind my dad. Then there he was. My beautiful Richard all snazzed up in a tux. He was all sweet and smily and teary eyed. My dad put my hand in Richard’s it was then that I realized I had left my bouquet. It ended up being pretty entertaining, Richard’s sister Alyssa asked if I wanted her to go and get it, I said no, but Richard said yes, so she took off to find the missing bouquet, I’m pretty sure she sprinted the entire way. People said afterwards they thought she must have needed to use the restroom! Thanks, Alyssa. That was an incredibly brave and sweet thing to do. Richard’s dad married us. The sun was setting to our left. Everything was magical. We made our vows, exchanged rings and then…..Richard Lee kissed my lips for the very first time. I was his wife!!!! I was all his….

Our reception was ethereal. My brother josh worked his tail off putting white and amber lights up everywhere. Aunt Carolyn made our honeysuckle cake. It was BEAUTIFUL! Everything was beautiful! There was good food, lovely music being played on the old grand piano that was moved onto the porch for this blessed occasion. We danced together, kissed eachother a lot, had some cake, toasted with Jones Cream Soda (in a bottle naturally). It was getting late….we were ready to go. We left the reception to “Son of a Preacher Man”, totally appropriate….Drove away, leaving behind many broken hearted, teary eyed friends….Did you guys really have a crying fest after we left. Ridiculous.

We were married for 3 months when we found out we were pregnant with Gideon. We were elated, and definitely a little scared….Our little Gideon was born May 1st, 2005. I didn’t realize how much having a baby could grow my love for my husband. It just opened up so many more avenues to love him more, by seeing the way he loved me through the whole pregnacy/delivery/newness to motherhood, and how he loved my son…. Gideon was 7 months old when we found out we were pregnant AGAIN. This was a bit of a shock. We had wanted to wait a couple years before having another baby, but the Lord wanted to give us Elliotte, and we are so thankful he did. A daughter….We were overjoyed! “We” did a little bit better with the spacing of the next, Elle was 14 months when we found out were yet again pregnant. Eden was born August 22 of last year. Three kids!!!!! It’s still hard to believe!

(reception shots. thanks so much to all the family who made this so BEAUTIFUL!)

So much has happened in these five years. SO much to be thankful for! We have been through extraordinary things together. Amazingly wonderful and incredibly painful. We have grown through all of it. I love Richard more now than I ever have. It’s funny how when I think back to those early days of our relationship, I thought, how could I possibly know or love this guys more. Now I laugh at that thought.
Richard is the most amazing person I’ve ever known. He loves me and our babies with a selfless love. He’s not perfect, and we have our share of conflict, but on the whole, I have never met anyone more selfless and inspiring and beautiful than Richard Lee Mann. I remember Elizabeth Plewniak telling me years ago when she heard that Richard had asked me to be in a relationship with him, she said “what and honor to be asked by him!” It is an honor Richard, an honor I often take for granted, but an honor that I can’t even fully express to you what it means to me. You, my best friend, are precious to me. Every day I see within you so much GRACE! God has blessed me more than I can even articulate by giving you to me. You are my companion, my completer, my beloved friend. Thank you for loving me, thank you for choosing me…..for giving me your name and making me your wife. Thank you for continually laying down your life for us and others. Thank you for kissing me every morning! for listening to me, for praying for me….and with me. Thank you for being so patient with me, for always reminding me what life is truly about! Thank you for how you lead our home, for how you strive to make the Cross the center of our lives. Thank you for snuggling my babies and changing their poopy diapers….WITHOUT EVER COMPLAINING!!!! I love you with all of my heart…and I’ll love you till the day I die. I could go on and on, but I fear I’ve lost everyone but you…..

This was not, by any means, an attempt to compete with the post prior to this one, that would be impossible. I just wanted to honor my sweet husband. I know this was really choppy, I just didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to put into this, so if you made it to the end, thank you!

Happy 5th Anniversary. Richard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. If you have any memories you’d like to share, we would really appreciate reading them!!!

OK, Richard here.  I know, this is Priscilla’s blog.  Which is precisely why I have hijacked it today, Mother’s day, to honor my amazing wife, and of course mother of 3 kids.

Now, we’ll stick to the motherhood stuff today, though I could go on and on about what a great wife/friend/person/etc. I think Priscilla is.  So before I go on, and ramble, and lose everybody here let me post these gems that I made with the kids for Priscilla.  First up, an interview with the hooligans about their Mama (except for Eden. She was unavailable for comment, but when asked later about it said “mamamama”:

Now, here also is the kiddos singing Come Thou Fount (their favorite song.) I think it appropriate here, on this day 1.) because we recorded it for Priscilla as a Mother’s day gift, and 2.) because Priscilla is indeed a blessing to these kiddos (and Eden, of course, who was unable to sing as well) of which we are thankful to God for giving to us. (Do note, that both the interview and this song were recorded quickly, as it had to be done with Priscilla out of the house…we only had time for one take on guitar and the kiddies singing. Still, pretty cute…)

Now, I want to point out some things about Priscilla; ways she is a wonderful mother.

First of all, she is loving.  Priscilla LOVES Gideon and Elliotte and Eden.  True love is is selfless, and I think this is embodied in a mother constantly serving her family/kids.   This is so true with Priscilla.  From washing dishes and clothes, staying home everyday while I take off to work, changing diapers, never getting any sleep with babies, etc. etc. she consistently places the interests of these 3 kiddos above her own.  It is not uncommon, in fact quite common, if Priscilla and I are talking about the kids for her to express to me how much she loves them.  And I can truly say, that I know she feels this; but more than that – she lives this out.

Nurturing/caring.  This something Priscilla exemplifies to a T also.  When you think of a mother nurturing it is more than just feeding/taking care of the kids.  Though Priscilla obviously does this, serving those kiddos and me daily, it is more than that.   I think there is an emotional aspect.   And I know she exemplifies this.  Something she has expressed to me, and does in fact seek to do with our kids even at the young ages they are, is always be there for them, and for them to always be able to tell her anything.  This attitude and desire clearly shows how nurturing she is. 

Teaching/Instructing.  Priscilla will surely have plenty of opportunities for this with our plans to homeschool our children.  But it is something she does so very well.  From making a little alphabet book with pictures/ etc. from magazines for Gideon when he was learning this, to daily teaching our girls (well, mainly Elliotte at this point) about modesty and being a girl, to pointing out and teaching all of them about God, Priscilla excels at teaching and instructing them. 

Fun.  Now I know there is probably not really a biblical or etc. aspect to just being a fun mom, but Priscilla is.  I do think it gets at/stems from loving them and caring for them so much though.  But Priscilla really is a fun mom.  It is not uncommon for her to be chasing them around like a monster (quite common, really.) or turning them into ‘flying shish kabobs’ (laying on her back, kid on her feet up in the air), coloring with them, etc. etc.  Just yesterday she had the idea of a scavenger hunt for them.  So she made little clues on paper and hid them and then got the kids started.  But she didn’t just leave it at that at let them do it.  She walked around with them the whole time because she was enjoying them figuring it out, and was having fun with them doing it.  She really is more than a mom to our kids, she is a friend also.

Priscilla…though the kids may not be the best at showing it or saying it, and I certainly don’t say it or express it well enough or often enough, please know that we thank God for you.  You are a wonderful mother, who daily is bringing glory to God in your selfless life spent loving, training, nurturing, caring for, playing with, talking to, etc., etc, these 3 little ones.

We love you!!!!!!!!!!!!