July 4, 1993 to July 4, 2013

Today is our 20th Wedding Anniversary, yes we were married on the 4th of July!! I thought I would share with you the love story of how two highschool sweet hearts made it to their wedding day. 

In 1990, I moved to to a new city and started a new school this was my sophomore year of high school.  (When I was in middle and high school I played the trumpet and french horn.)  I walked into the band room at my new high school to get settled in, next I walked out the side door where there was a metal rail at the edge of this small over hang where the drummers would practice drumming, cause it sounded really cool on that rail the click click clicking of the drum sticks.  That was the first time I saw J.  He was standing there drumming away on this rail wearing a navy plaid shirt and dark (tight) blue jeans and cowboy boots.  It was love at first sight for me!  I knew right then that I just had to get to know this guy.   Come to find out my section leader R was J's best friend.  I asked R to introduce me to J.  From there on out I did all I could do to get to know J.  It took a while for me pushing before J realized I was interested.  One weekend we went to Cape Coral for a band competition.  J was not allowed to sit on the bus with the rest of the seniors (I had lucked out and gotten a seat on that bus)  cause of a bad choice he made at a football game.  So I went to him, he barely knowing who I was, told him that I would switch from bus 3 to bus 1 where he HAD to be IF he sat w/ me.  That way he would have a friend on that bus.  J seemed happy about that idea, said okay if you want.  So the day came to leave and I get on that bus and J had sat w/ another girl! I was mad and made a big stink about it.  He ended up sitting with me! We won that competition and we also got to know each other on that long bus ride.  J asked me to be his girl on Nov 9, 1990. 

We dated all through out his senior year, then he moved away for a few months, during my junior year.  Oh the pain that was.  This was before cell phones w/ free long distance or even computers email accounts.  I did not even have a computer in my home at that time.  We lived for our Sunday evening phone calls.  Needless to say he moved back, got one of many jobs, the summer before my senior year J asked me to marry him.  We wanted to get married Nov 9, 1992. But that was before I graduated high school.  My parents agreed but said that WE would have to pay for the whole wedding. Well that was the down fall to that idea.  (The wisdom of my parents, got to love them)

So we chose July 4, 1993 for our wedding date. I then spent my senior year planning our wedding.  Very small, hot wedding.  J and I paid for the whole wedding except the food, my parents paid for that.  Here is an interesting time line.

I got my drivers licence in April.
I turned 18 in May.
I graduated in June.
Got married in July.

Our wedding was outside garden in Clearwater and was very hot, also the day of our wedding J had a 102 fever and was sick (he was sick for 2 days after our wedding so it was not just nerves).

We  became Mr and Mrs.

2 years into our marriage we moved to PA for 9 months and then returned to FL.
5 years into our marriage we purchased our first home.
5/6 years into our marriage we where blessed with the pregnancy and birth of our first son. (99)
13 years into our marriage we where blessed with the pregnancy and birth of our daughter.(07)
14 years into our marriage we where surprised and blessed with the pregnancy and birth of our second son (08)
18 years into our marriage life started to really through us some ups and downs.
20 years into our marriage we are still going through those ups and downs, but we are doing it together. We celebrated with my parents as they celebrated 40 years. We also morn my Daddy as he went home to be with the Lord.

It has been a busy long 20 years. There are not many people who can say they have been married 20 years.  I can say it has not been a perfect marriage but then what marriage is perfect.

Happy 20th Anniversary! 

Lil' Momma

18 Years Ago Today!

I married my highschool sweet heart 18 years ago, today!  Here is our Love Story.

Happy Anniversary Big Daddy, I love you, more today then the day I married you!

Dec 28, 2009

A year ago on Dec 28, 2009; was the worst day of my life thus far.  I recieved a call in the one o'clock hour from someone I did not know but they were on my husband's phone.  On the other end of the call they said.

This is (name don't remember) I am here w/ your husband and we are on our way to Northside Hospital, he has been in a motorcycle accident.
Me - What ? Steve quit joking around! (I thought it was one of my husbands friend being mean)
Er Guy - Ma'am I don't joke about these things.  Your husband is ok, but we are headed to Northside Hosptial.  Do you know where that is?
Me - Really? really? really? yes i know where that is.
Er Guy - You can meet us there. And bring a change of pants for your husband.
Me - Yes, O'my, Lord help him.
Er Guy - Ma'am he wants to talk to you.
Me - Yes, yes, yes, yes,
Jay - Hi babe, I am ok, I will see you at the hospital. I LOVE YOU!
Me - I love you, too, I love you, I love you. On my way.

I got off the phone and called Uncle K, told him Big Daddy had been in a motorcycle accident and I needed him for the kids NOW.

I hung up w/ him paced the floor while I called my Pa, my dad, and told him.  Pa told me to take a deep breath and he would meet me there at the hospital.

I hung up w/ him and called my Ma. told her and she said she would meet me at the hospital, too.

Uncle K walked in the door, I told Uncle K, "He told me he loved me" I then passed Moose off to him and walked back out the door.

On my drive to the hospital, which was only about 5 minutes away from our home, thank goodness, I called my friend Dee. I told her and kept saying over and over and over and over and over "He told me he loved me." "He told me he loved me" "He told me he loved me"

I got to the ER at the same time Pa and Ma got there. Then we had to wait 30 minutes before they let me back to see him.  That was the LONGEST wait ever! All I kept telling my parents was he told me "He loved me"

When they finally let me go back Pa went w/ me.  We found Big Daddy laying on a table in the hallway in front of the nurses station. We were told there was no rooms available yet and he would be moved when one was available.  He was awake and was able to talk to me.  He was laying on his side w/ a sheet covering his lower half. I could see he still had his jeans on but when I looked under the sheet his jeans had been ripped pretty bad and his boots were off.

He was still had on all his layers from riding the bike except his jacket.  That was a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt and his work shirt. He was sweating a lot. He kept saying his back and butt hurt. We stood in the walk way for about 15 - 20 minutes before they came and took him for a cat scan of his back. We had to go back out in the waiting room then they called us back again, he was in a room this time. He was still sweating from his layers.  We asked a nurse if we could take his shirts off and that nurse said hold on let me get your nurse. No nurse wanted to take claim of my husband, how aggravating.  Finally a different nurse came in and I said do you have a pair of scissors so we can cut his shirt off. He needs to get his shirts off he is hot. Now Big Daddy could not move very well at this point. He was in to much pain. So we cut his top shirt off and were able to get the second long sleeve shirt off over his head.

Things got a little confusing after that. No one really came back in to talk to us except to tell us that he had a small issue w/ his back, a compression fracture but could go home just follow up w/ the a Orthopedic Dr. Like it was no big deal that there was a FRACTURE in his BACK.  No one helped change him out of his torn pants. Remember I had brought extra clothes that the Ambulance Guy had said to bring.  They sent him home w/ pain meds and a script to follow up. They did not even have a nurse walk us out. Can you believe that.  The man had a broken back and they sent him home. He did not even ride in a wheel chair to leave it hurt to much to get up and sit down.  I tied his long sleeve shirt around his waist so the world would not see his torn pants and he walked out w/ help from myself and Pa.

I got him home very carefully.  When I got him home he went right to getting his pants changed and getting him all cleaned up.  This was a painful thing but we both made it through. When I cut his jeans off of him, I found a huge hematoma on his butt and bend of his upper leg.  Yeah if the hospital had done their job and cleaned him up and taken his torn jeans off they would have seen that.  When I got him all cleaned up and settled I got the story on what had happened.

Big Daddy was driving home and slowed down to get into a turn lane but was not at the turn lane just yet. When a work pick up truck came across 3 lanes of traffic on the right hand side of the road to turn left.  In doing this he did not see Big Daddy coming.  Big Daddy laid the bike down on its side.  He slid under the pick up truck. When he laid the bike down that was how he ended up w/ the hematoma where he hit the concrete and his pants tore.  That was also how he broke his back.

After that day we have been from Dr. apt to another.

When we followed up w/ the orthopedic and had a MRI done of his back we found that he went from a compression fracture (where the bone is compressed) to a burst fracture. The best way to describe a burst fracture is if you hold a gum ball and smash it. Now look at those white lines you see through the candy shell. That was Big Daddy's back.

He was in the wrong back brace for 2 weeks.  Finally got the back brace that the Dr. wanted. It was NO fun.

He wore this awful thing for almost 4 months.  He had to use a cane the first month or so. Until he was able keep his balance and get his strength.  It has been a very long recovery.  He did go back to work on May 27th. But he still has pain daily from all of this some days are better then others.  But being the wonderful husband that he is, he works hard to take care of his family.

We have a lot to be thankful for most of all Big Daddy is alive.  This could have been the day he chose to not wear his helmet but he had it on!

This is a hard day for our family but w/ God on our side we will get through it.  We are going to FOCUS on 2011.

November 2010

Lil' Momma