After Daniel and I got engaged I made a Shutterfly book of our journey up to that point, all our dating years and such. So, since we are quickly approaching the five year mark of marriage, I wanted to make another book documenting all that has happened in our lives' since: our wedding, honeymoon, the few moves we've made, babies, vacations, etc.
As I was jamming away to Austin Stone Live (they have great worship music!) and browsing through our thousands of pictures from 2008 on, analyzing each special picture to determine if it makes the cut, I came across a folder titled "honeymoon". As I clicked it open, in anticipation of reminiscing over all our beautiful pictures taken in Jamaica, I realized there was only one picture in there... ONE! This one.
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An unbelievably beautiful picture of the Jamaican sunset.
I think it needs to be on a canvas somewhere in our house... |
As thrilled as I am to have this picture, it only captures a teeny tiny part of our time there. I wasn't too concerned at this point though, I just figured the pictures had been misplaced, and I was just bummed I would have to look other places to find them. But then, I looked, and looked...and looked. Looking quickly turned into fervently searching, desperately clicking open folders, upon folders in all depths of the computer world... nothing, nothing!!!
What?!?! HOW does one loose their honeymoon pictures!! An event that holds much importance in our relationship, one that we had dreamed about, planned for, saved for (in more ways than one), anticipated for, for years! Now all (but one!) of the tangible, visual objects that we had to remember this event by more vividly as the years slowly and subtly dimmed our memories, are gone...forever gone.
I've kind of come to terms with that "forever" part. It took Daniel a while to get that through my head, because I really just couldn't accept it (and I'm not gonna lie, I'm still holding out a bit of hope they miraculously show up...God answers silly little prayers about disappeared honeymoon pictures right??)...I mean, how, seriously, how did that happen? It wasn't some sort of computer error, it was just us losing them somehow amongst all the switching of computers, cameras, memory cards, and programs, but of all things to misplace...
It may seem like I've overreacting, and maybe I am, but in this moment, it's how I feel about this situation...this sad, sad situation. No matter how many times we go back to the very spot the pictures were taken (which may very well be never) it will NOT be the same as it was almost five years ago, you can't recreate something like that. But, what I can do, what I came up with late last night as I was trying to sleep, is write the memories I do have of that special week in paradise. I can write as descriptively as possible about the pictures I do remember, so that I can snap a picture in words of what those pictures captured years ago. It won't be exactly the same, but it will be something, and I intent to cling onto that something for many, many years to come!
So, here we go, from the beginning...
**DISCLAIMER: From here on out may only be enjoyable to read by me. It's going to be a bit wordy with lots of boring details...read at your own risk, I'm not responsible for time wasted ;)**
Our wedding took place on a Friday evening in San Antonio, TX, and against my mom's better judgement, we left right after our wedding for our new home in Austin, TX. My mom even offered to pay for a night in a nice hotel in downtown San Antonio for us to take some time to rest and relax before our next big adventure (the honeymoon), but we turned the offer down. Not so sure what we were thinking, well, actually, I do, we were just too excited and couldn't wait to get started on living our lives at newlyweds, and I guess for us that meant driving up to Austin at around midnight so we could catch a 6am flight on Saturday. Take it from me, no matter how fun that may sound a month or two before you wedding, DON'T DO IT!! Rest, relax, take.your.time! Mothers really do know best, most times, and in this case, she did!
Well, we ended up getting to our new apartment, which, let me pause here and tell you, this was a really big deal, because we had never stayed a whole night together or lived together up to this point. Call us old fashioned, but it is what we believed was right for us. So, I was super stinkin' excited to be with my best friend ALL NIGHT, and not have to leave to go to a separate place! I should also mention, that I am really glad that we did it this way, not that I think everyone needs to, but for us, I'm glad we did. I entered the apartment to a nice surprise of rose pedals covering the floor, so romantic!!
Since we immediately left from the wedding I was in desperate need of a shower to get all that hair-stiffening goo out. After a relaxing shower, we both realized we needed to leave to catch a flight in about four hours, so obviously, sleeping was out of the question, it makes much more sense to just pull an all-nighter, ha!
The opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics was on that night (I LOOOOVE the Olympics!!), so we laid on the floor of our living room (no couch at this point) and watched the Olympics. Well, until pulling an all-nighter became impossible for me and I fell into a deep sleep (right around the time the drums were being played by the talented Chinese my eyes got very, very heavy), and then Daniel had to gently wake me a few hours later. What a man!! We grabbed our suitcases and headed out the door for, what ended up to be, our less-than-appetizing breakfast at Denny's before hitting up the airport.
Once in the car and at the airport I was on cloud nine! I was just thrilled beyond words for our upcoming adventure together and I felt the energy bursting forth, but then, out of nowhere, while we were waiting to board our first flight, ZONK!! It hit me, and it hit me hard! The sleepiness, the exhaustion, it was too much for even the excitement of a honeymoon to conquer! Months before, when we came up with this awesome plan, I envisioned having endless energy, but no, there was none. I vaguely remember boarding our flight, I don't remember AT ALL getting off the flight, and then again, I vaguely remember Daniel finding me a blue cot, in whatever airport we were in, to nap away our first day of marriage. Poor Daniel!! Good thing he is an amazing man who was very understanding and patient about his unconscious wife and companion on this first day of travel! I'm sure he was exhausted too, but he kept awake and alert so that he could take care of me while figuring out how to get us to our honeymoon destination.
I know this is starting to sound like the worst honeymoon ever, but don't worry, it gets better, much better!
Finally, after sleeping for who knows how long, I awoke to the sound of clapping and cheering for American soldiers getting off a flight. By this point, I was much more rested and pretty much awake. I swear, I have never been so tired in my life, and I have had two children, one of which didn't let me sleep more than 4 hours at a time until he was 9.5 months... I was TIRED!! We got on our second flight, made it through customs, and then hopped on a bus that took us to the resort. We got there around dinner time, so we just freshened up a bit, took a little tour of the place, had my first taste of champagne (we were 20 when we got married...I know, goodie goodie here, but not a self-righteous one, I don't judge!), and then made our way to find dinner, where I unexpectedly had my first taste of rum as well, apparently when you ask for lemonade they assume you want rum in there! I must say, I grew to love that rum!! After dinner we walked around the resort a bit more and then headed to our room for the rest of the night for a peaceful night's rest in a large, luxurious bed with fluffy pillows and cool, soft, puffy blankets...when you come from sleeping on an air mattress (no bed at this point either!) a comfy bed is heavenly!!
My memory gets a little hazy from here on out as to what exactly we did when, but I'll do my best.
We woke up that next morning to this view...
and got breakfast (my absolute favorite meal of the day!) that was served buffet style. There were delicious omelets, various pastries, fruits, and meats (Daniel's fav, he would live off bacon if he could!), and ice water in cool blue wine glasses, I don't know why, but I just loved the glasses!
I had *sniff, sniff* a picture of one of the waiters
walking and dancing around with those glasses on his head
as he took orders out to people. What talent!
You could tell he liked his job and had fun doing it,
always had a smile on his face that put a smile of others' faces.
And that Jamaican accent, gah, I love it!
After breakfast each morning we would usually head right out to the beach...
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Gorgeous blue water at the perfect temperature with clear skies...
doesn't get any better!!
This particular picture is taken of one of the places they
would hold wedding ceremonies...we saw several beautiful brides and their
dashing grooms make their wedding vows that week!! |
to swim, relax in those lounging chairs, drink fruity frozen drinks with sweet rum (yum!), play in the sand, or swim in the pool, until our tummies told us it was time for lunch. Repeat above activities after lunch, until it was time to get all fancified for dinner...what a life, how blessed we were to have had this experience!!
There was a picture that Daniel had taken
of me looking in a mirror to get ready
for dinner. I was wearing a brown and purple skirt
with a purple shirt. I was giving him a little playful smirk
because I really didn't want him taking my picture.
I'm glad he took it though because
whenever I would look back at this particular picture,
I could remember all the feelings of
excitement of getting dressed up (which I do
very rarely), and getting ready to be treated to a delicious
meal with my HUSBAND. It was such a fun, new experience!
There were a few times we veered from our typical activities of swimming, lounging, and eating (but really, do you need more??).
We went kayaking on one of the days, which I was surprised to discover was pleasantly easy and enjoyable, until Daniel stopped rowing...I didn't realize how much I was slacking on my end of the rowing responsibilities! I mean, we literally didn't move when he stopped..and laughed. So basically, he was doing it all as I sat in the front effortlessly going through the motions...oops! It's kind of funny how this scenario can be used to describe many different seasons of life in a marriage, or just life in general. Maybe something to just ponder for now, and write about in another post later...
We only left our resort once, and it was to go to another resort, we live dangerously, I know. My main memory from that other resort is that once we were heading to the bus that would take us back, there was a dance party that ensued. Everyone started doing the "to the left, to the left, to the right, to the right" song and dance (not sure what the name of it is). It was so fun to watch! And, apparently, I was living under a rock because that was the first time I heard that song while my brother knew alllll about it come to find out later. But now anytime I hear that song my mind goes immediately to this day.
It only rained once while we were in Jamaica (most the time it was sunny and a perfect 70 degrees) and when I say rained, I actually mean poured, and it happened to be on an afternoon when we had planned to go on a glass bottom boat ride. The downpour only lasted a couple hours though (perfect length of time for a refreshing nap!) and then we were able to reschedule and go on our boat ride. Unfortunately, we didn't see a whole lot of excitement under the deep blue sea, just a few fish and a turtle, but it was a very enjoyable boat ride...anytime I am on a boat in any body of water I'm a happy girl!
We also did things like...
Play a life-sized game of chess.
There was a picture where I'm standing on the
board holding one of the pieces. I have know no idea
how to play chess, and it's no fun to play
if only one person knows, sooo
we just monkeyed around
and had lots of fun doing it!
We also ventured to this somewhat secluded area on the beach
where they had massive beds with inviting white pillows and
sheer fabric, hung from canopies, billowing in the wind.
We thought anybody could just go relax on one of these babies,
but no, after a few moments of snuggle time,
feeling the cool breeze, and watching the beautiful view,
we were told you had to reserve (pay) for that luxurious moment.
Oops!
We left, but not before snapping a few photos!
We had a couple close buddies that liked to hang out near us
on the beach, especially in the evening hours...
our friend the crab.
We got a few neat pictures of these tiny pink crabs
that would retreat at the very last minute before
being squashed beneath your feet.
Never did step on one of them, thankfully!!
We had a handful of pictures with the both us in them, and here is the only one we have left because it is one that I printed off and framed at one point, and it is still framed in our bathroom now...I will treasure this picture more than ever before.
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Look at these two lovebirds!!
I believe this was taken on the patio of our room
right before heading out for dinner. |
We also had a picture of the two of us in the water
that someone took for us, a picture of
us waiting to to walk into the Italian restaurant
that was on the resort, and one of us standing
by the railings separating the dining area from the water
with the sunset behind us.
A groom and his bride, celebrating the beginning
of their new life together...we were so happy,
so very, very happy, and these
pictures captured that!
On our last night in Jamaica we had Mongolian stir fry, and it was delicious, but possibly poisoning. We went to bed that night pretty early, around 8 o'clock, because we had to catch our bus at 3:30am to take us to the airport. I woke up with a very unhappy tummy, but I figured it was just because I was up so early, but it got worse, and worse, until I was holed away in one of the bathroom stalls of the Jamaican airport's...awful experience!!!! I was so sick that at several points I couldn't even stand to walk from gate to gate so I literally crawled through the airport. I know this makes me seem rather dramatic, but I am not one to complain and I absolutely hate extra attention on me (and one crawling through an airport unfortunately results in eyeballs pointed in your direction), so ya, it was just that bad. Again, Daniel was my hero and saved the day and helped get us both back to the States safe and sound...but we both vowed while driving to our apartment from the airport that it would be a very, very long time before getting on any more flights, we prefer road trips, in the car, on the ground. When we got back to the apartment Daniel prepared a warm, soothing bubble bath with Michael Buble serenading in the background...that's the kinna guy I married...I love him!!!
Although I still am bummed about so many wonderful pictures missing, I also realize how beyond blessed I am to have found this amazing man I get to share life with, and I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity to make these memories with him in the first place, even if they aren't all captured in pictures anymore.
Looking forward to all the many more wonderful memories that are waiting to be made, we've only just begun on this journey God's put us on together, so much to look forward to!!
