Saturday, May 30, 1992

The Wedding Party

the Best Man helping Dad out
The Bride
With my Parents
With Jerry's Parents
Surrounded by handsome Wood men
Bird Seed Shower
Our Departure

Seventeen years ago today Jerry and I were married at Stillwell Bible Baptist Church in Clarksville. We had been engaged for 5 months, had dated for 5 weeks, had known each other for about 1 year! But of that year, 6 months passed with no contact.
We met at State Special Olympics, each encouraged by an acquaintance--Jerry knew him as the basketball coach at U of O, I knew him as fellow member of the Area 4 S.O. committee. On the second day of the competition, I was returning to my team of students. There was this gray-headed man standing under the bleachers, right where I was going....no one else was around....and I couldn't turn around and go the other way. It would have been awkwardly obvious that I was avoiding him, so I just accepted the fact that I was going to have to talk to him. So, we introduced ourselves, I thought he was handsome enough, he tolerated the conversation, and we went our separate ways. Months passed and our mutual friend asked me if Jerry had called, and I told him "no". When he would talk to Jerry about basketball, he would ask if he had called me, and Jerry told him "no".
Then, in November, Jerry was asked to come to U of O to referee a high school pre-season tournament. So, he decided to call and see if I would be interested in going to dinner followed by the tournament--to watch him ref. Since my best friend's son was playing on the Clarksville team, I accepted, knowing I would have friends to sit with during the games. It was a nice dinner, nice conversation, fun games, and a nice time with my friends in the stands.
The next week, I had to return some items to the Special Olympics storage unit in Fort Smith, so I called Jerry to see if he would be willing to meet me there and help me unload the items. He accepted, and took me to the Red Barn for dinner after we unloaded my car. He came to church with me the next Sunday, stayed for lunch, stayed for dinner.....and well, 5 weeks later he asked me to marry him--and I accepted.
I accepted...with a couple of assurances....#1, he would have to go to my parents home and ask them for their blessing, and #2, he had to understand that divorce would never be an option for us.
Shocked as my parents were, they gave their blessing. And by the grace of God alone, we are celebrating 17 years of marriage today. It has not always been easy, it has been things I never expected or anticipated, but it is exactly where I want to be for the rest of my life. I love you, Jerry, with all my heart. Sometimes you frustrate me to no end, as I do you. Sometimes I wonder how we can be so happy together. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering me before you. But always, I thank God for bringing and keeping us together.
I hope you enjoy these pictures of our special day.

They're Playing BASKETBALL!!!

Last night, we met Tyler, Casey, Asher, and Leila at the Van Buren Arena to "watch" the high school basketball game. Jerry and I did more playing with the grand kids than watching the game, but that's really what we wanted to do! Leila and Asher each tried their hand at "self-portraits" with the camera, and I think they did a great job. Leila was so cute when she sat in grandpa's lap and played with his hair--then she decided to play with his face!

Christmas Custard

Sharing a cup with dad and sister Cindy.


The

"famous"

recipe!

Stirring until just the right consistency.

Beating the egg whites before adding the vanilla.

Folding in the egg whites.

Stir until there are absolutely no lumps!

Perfect! Time to pour it up and chill completely!

The Wood family has had a tradition over the last 80 years that still stands today. It is "Boiled Custard", but I prefer the name "Christmas Custard", because it just sounds better! If you ask Jerry's 86 year old father, he can't remember if anyone before his mother (Jerry's grandmother) made the custard or not...and he doubts that she started making it from a written recipe...she probably just made it up. This special custard was, and is, only made between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It was a treat Jerry and his siblings always looked forward to. After his grandmother passed, Jerry's dad started making the custard. Now, Jerry makes it. Jerry decided to make a batch Saturday night before going to his dad's house. Jerry's mom would always tell him, "I think this is the best batch you've ever made". Well, she would have definately said that this year, and it would have been an acurate statement. It really was a perfect batch of "Christmas Custard"!

What goes up, MUST come down.

My least favorite part of Christmas is the taking down of all things Christmas. I gave Jerry a ZZ Top cd for Christmas, so when we started the undecorating process, he put in it, turned it up, and showed me a new way of taking down the decorations. Funny...we decorate for Christmas listening to Christmas music, and we take it all down listening to ZZ Top! ( I have a video of the "dance" but for some reason, it won't load...sorry!

Merry Christmas!

Santa Jerry hands out the gifts.

Family portrait. "Don we now our gay apparel!"
Mrs. Claus and Santa are pooped after all the gifting!
Annee and Emmee enjoying their new fleece blankets.

Pink fleece for Lucee!

After our family Christmas Eve celebration, mom and Phyllis came to our house. We have an unspoken rule for Christmas morning....NO CAMERA"S! (hence, only pictures of us and the girls on Christmas morning!) So after making my traditional "Christmas Morning Coffee Cake", and Jerry making a huge breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and gravy, we exchanged gifts with each other. I was pain free until about noon, then had to take pain medication and wait for it to work before making our non-traditional Chicken-'n-Dumplings late lunch. They were worth the wait, and we enjoyed a late afternoon Christmas meal together.

Once again, I am reminded of just how blessed I am in all areas of my life. I am so thankful for the birth of baby Jesus, who chose to leave the splendor of Heaven to become like us, for the single purpose of making a way for each of us to have the gift of eternal life. What a Savior!--it's a plan for salvation that none of us would ever be able to dream up on our own...it just doesn't make sense to us that He would come to this earth as a baby, subject himself to temptation, hate, and the brutal beatings He endured. But because of His love for each of us, that's exactly what He did.

Happy Christmas Eve

P and her Papa enjoying the train.

G and Uncle Nathan watching the train.

Christmas music provided by P and G.
"I can open it!"
"Thank you G!"
"Are these mine? Oh boy!"

The gifts were ready, the plans were made, and the food prepared for the Sorrells Family Christmas Eve traditional gathering. We would gather at Janice and Bruce's circa 1905 home anytime from 3 p.m. on, with the Christmas Eve Service starting at 6:00. We'd eat before (and after), and exchange gifts after the service. Jerry and I planned on leaving home by 2:00....until I started having horrible lower back pain related to my recent kidney stone/removal. I called the doctors office, and they basically told me to take the pain medicine, and give it time to work. After an hour, I thought it had time to work. So after another pain pill and a muscle relaxer and 2 hours of lying perfectly still in bed, I thought that I might actually live and be able to make the hour ride. Jerry had already called to tell them we wouldn't be able to make it...and I have never missed a Christmas Eve family gathering--daddy missed it once when he was in the hospital, but i think that was the only time a family member missed Christmas Eve. So, we started gathering everything we needed, got ourselves ready, and headed out. Needless to say, they were surprised, but happy to see us...there was no where else Jerry and I wanted to be. So, I just took pain med's every 2 hours, and a muscle relaxer every 3! And I actually remember the evening! The food was wonderful--the visiting time priceless, and watching the little ones enjoying the train around the Christmas tree was precious! Enjoy the pictures of our little ones during our Christmas Eve together!

Celebrating the Season of Christmas

Last night we went to Tyler and Casey's to celebrate Christmas with them and Asher and Leila. Casey prepared a delicious meal, then we enjoyed watching Asher and Leila open their gifts. Asher was quick to identify his presents as soon as they were placed under the tree, but he was so patient to wait until after we finished eating to open them. He showed Leila hers, Tyler his, and Casey hers, and he had his ready to open. Then, he helped Grandpa and Lala open theirs as well. We had a great time! After the gifts, Asher engaged grandpa and I in ""hide-n-seek", of which he is a master player...and Leila gave grandpa some serious love! We had a great time, and really enjoyed sharing in the Christmas season with the Wood's.