The above events sound so insignificant mentioning them in a single blog, so I hope to go back and finally write about these experiences which I have neglected to document. Thank God, again, for pictures.
Let's start with filling you in on my jobs. Yes, I work two jobs -but they are both part time. I am at King's Daughter's Medical Center in the Outpatient Speech Therapy department 3 days/week and totally LOVE it. I LOVE the people I work with (I get to see my best friend all the time now) and the patients I see. I am getting a broader scope of my practice, getting to stick primarily with kids but seeing some adults as well. I'm getting a lot of experience with pediatric feeding disorders which I'm growing to like a lot. I've even toughened up and do videofleuroscopy swallowing exams 1 day/week (usually 2 per day). That's a huge deal for me. I've actually gotten a lot more comfortable doing them too, believe it or not. All of the SLPs at KDMC rotate in on working Saturdays over in inpatient/rehab, so I work over there every 7th Saturday. I thought I would hate that, but it's really not that bad.
Now for my second job, I work 2 days/week doing home visits for Kentucky First Steps Early Intervention program. This is the age that I love working with the most. I am getting quite a bit of experience and referrals and work with some wonderful people. My job can seem busy or stressful at times, but it is incredibly rewarding. I'm blessed to have found and chosen this career.
Moving on to married life.... Yes, I got married, as you already know because you were there! The wedding was perfect. I know every bride says that, but I truly mean it. The most important people in our lives (minus a few who couldn't make it) were there to share in that special day. We were able to redefine the meaning of LOVE that day -on the same day my mom and dad voweled to LOVE one another until death parted them. There were so many special moments in our wedding including our written vowels to one another:
My Vows to Jason:
Jason, today I give myself to you… my hand, my heart, and my soul… my love and my divine commitment, loving what I know of you and trusting what I do not know yet.
Promises:
I promise to inspire and encourage you, to respect and appreciate you, to LOVE you unconditionally and to show you that love each and every day, to be patient and fill the only distance to ever come between us with faith and with trust. I will be there for you through the good times and the bad, through the happy times and the sad, through the light and the dark, through the failure and the triumph. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow old together, getting to know the man you will become, and falling in love a little more every day.
Wishes:
I wish for the life we have today for the rest of our lives, for your parents to know how important they are to this day because as my dad stood up here and gave me away to you, they are giving me the most precious gift in this world…. their son. I wish for us to wake up each and EVERY day and remember that our love is unique, it is real, it is present… and because of that, the rest of this day is simply just details.
Jason's Vows to me:
Melissa Rae Stillwell… Today I take you not only as my wife but also as my confidant, my best friend, and my other half, my BETTER half! Life is strange in the way that one moment you can be completely satisfied, content with the way you exist, and then something, someone can open your eyes in an instant to how much richer, fulfilling, exciting, and loving every second of the day can be! Missy, you have enriched my life in all those ways and so many more! What you have shown me with your endless compassion, your strength inside and out, your understanding, your openness, your creativity… I could go on, is something I will NEVER take for granted.
As your husband I pledge to cultivate every desire you may have. Your ambition, your drive, and your talents are too great of gifts not to use to their upmost.
As your husband I pledge to always have an open ear, to listen to whatever you have to say and when you don’t wish to speak, I promise to be attentive and do my best to pick up on the nonverbal things and emotions.
As your husband, Missy, I promise to respect you… Your fears, your emotions, and even your insecurities are things I will never exploit and in the same regard, your views, opinions, and wishes will always take priority and be in the forefront of my mind.
As your husband and more-so as your partner in life, I promise to always be open to new experiences. If careers, curiosity, opportunity or even misfortune have us starting anew this will never be an issue. You are what makes a house a home, and now importantly my family, so location, circumstance, and stature will never matter.
Most importantly though, Missy as your husband I pledge to LOVE you, not just for who you are but for what you make us. Your outer beauty can only be surpassed by your inner beauty and it is that which drew me to you since the night we met. I pledge to love you without reservation, and in times when this union is challenging it will be comforting to know that better times lay ahead. The joy of the thought of our future together, raising our children, and enjoying each other as we grow older is more than should be humanly possible. You have me from here till the end of time.
Other special moments include: Wesley Boggs singing his own version of "Marry Me," Jason's stepfather marrying us, the in-memory-of table for Jason's dad and my mom, the beautiful hand-made details that created such beauty that day, the good weather, the pre-recorded video played for our guests that made everyone laugh, our first dance to "It Feels Like Home" which I played and sang (I prerecorded it), my dance with my dad which created laughing and tears all at the same time, Jason's dance with his mom to "Simple Man" by Lynard Skynard where they jammed out on air guitar and drums, the best-man and maid-of-honor speeches which were classic, the amount of work everyone did to help us that week, the Verde Farm cottage we got to use for the weekend, and let's not forget the incredible rehearsal dinner that my in-laws prepared for us at the MU Hall of Fame Cafe. Then, to top it off, the wedding night ended in a dance party with the bride & groom doing keg-stands, LOL. Epic. Fun. Approximately 200 guests, and every single one of them being an important part of our lives. I've never seen my family having such a good time -EVER. It was definitely..... a night to remember.
Some exciting news: Our wedding will be featured in the 2012 WV Weddings magazine, out on shelves in February! We get a 2-page feature, telling our story with pictures from our photographer. We are so excited about this! Also, we were chosen to be one of 12 weddings featured on the website... we get the month of May. This will have more details of the wedding and our story will be featured for the entire month. I know everyone LOVES their wedding, so I think it's okay for me to say that I loved every detail and the way it turned out. Like I said... It was perfect!
Married life has been great thus far. We waited four months to go on our honeymoon, but it was totally worth the wait. I will tell about that in a moment. Jason and I have pretty much gotten into a routine, like any other average couple. We go to work, go to the gym, take turns cooking dinner (most of the time we like to cook together), and team up on household chores. We go to bed early on most week nights. Jason gets up at 5:30am, and I just like to sleep a lot, lol. We watch a lot of movies on nights we like to relax and simply enjoy each other's company. I LOVE our simple but exciting lifestyle. We are happy.
The honeymoon was beyond what we had expected. All-inclusive is definitely the way to go. Other than the fact that we lost our luggage and had to wait over a day to get our clothes and stuff, everything else turned out great. There are three Sandals resorts in St. Lucia, so we got to stay at one and play at all three. We stayed at Halcyon which is the most romantic and peacful of the three. La Toc was on a hill which we thought was pretty cool. There was a lot more going on there, which is why we liked it the most. The Grande is exactly that -GRANDE! It was nice but a bit too busy and large. It was luxurious and had the best beach. We spent a day there and rented a jet ski -FUN!!!! We ate at restaurants at all resorts. I ate a lot of seafood, and Jason had a lot of steak that week. We took full advantage of the "all-inclusive" meals and drinks, that's for sure. Jason had upgraded our room before we got there, so we had a fully stocked bar and refrigerator as well. YAY! :) We had a private candlelight dinner in a gazebo by the beach, which was one of the most memorable moments for me. I'm a hopeless romantic! It was a four-course meal with flower petals, champagne, and the company of my handsome, loving husband. We also did the Soufriere Jeep and Waterfall excursion. It was a jeep tour around the island which took us up to the Pitons which are volcanoes. The tour guide told us about the history and culture of the natives and island. We got to take a mud bath in the center of the volcano and then wash off under a big waterfall -another memorable moment. They took us to eat local food for lunch, and we even held a snake -YIKES!!!!!! The other excursion we did was a horseback ride to the beach where the horses took us into the ocean... this was my favorite! I waited all week for this, and it was an awesome way to top off our vacation. Our last dinner was at a Japanese Steakhouse called Kimono's at La Toc. We met some nice couples there, one of whom kept buying rounds of Saki shots for everyone. We hung out with them until we had to catch our shuttle back to Halcyon and pack to go home. We LOVED our honeymoon and will go back to St. Lucia again.
We made it back home just in time for the holidays. My family and Jason's parents all came over to our house for Christmas Eve. This was a nice change for us. My family doesn't really have a tradition and always just goes with the flow, so I was happy to have everyone come to our house this year. We cooked all day, ate dinner together, and then played Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase.... we had a total blast! We went to Jason's parents' house on Christmas day for dinner and ended up playing Catch Phrase with them too. It's always a good time! Jason and I had a New Year's Eve party at our house this year as well.... we believe it was a complete success. We had about 20 of our close friends there, and everyone seemed to have had a great time. I can honestly say that I LOVE our family and friends. I never truly appreciated the friendships I had here at home until I skipped town for a couple of years and never got to see them. They don't insult me, ever. They don't make fun of me for telling my soul mate that I love him. They surround me with positive entergy. They let me know I am appreciated. They ask me about my day and care about the answer. They talk to me. They listen to me. They encourage me and motivate me. They LOVE me and I LOVE them. I don't can't remember why I ever wanted to leave this place.
