Going home...

On January 24th, I made a surprise visit home. It is just a quick visit, only 5 days.

Mom and I decided to just keep it between us and surprise everyone.

I landed in Grand Rapids at 9:30 in the morning, I was exhausted from jet lag, traveling all night and getting only 3-4 hours worth of sleep but through my fogginess, I was thrilled to see everyone again.

Mom and Lisa had planned to go to the bridal show in Grand Rapids to scour the area for some sweet wedding deals. Brittany, my cousin, decided to join in on the fun. As they were driving towards Grand Rapids, Mom told Lisa and Brittany that she needed to stop by Sam's Club first and do some other errands. When she pulled off the exit towards the airport, Lisa's suspicions grew. As Mom turned onto the road towards the airport, Lisa finally asked, "Mom, there aren't any businesses on this road except the airport. What are we picking up from the airport? Laura?"

Mom smiled.

When Mom pulled up at the airport, I stepped out into the frigged cold. I couldn't believe that I had already adapted to warm tropical weather so quickly that I forgot about the biting cold of the Midwest. Lisa and Brittany jumped out and gave me a wonderful welcome-back-home hugs.

We went to Sam's club to pick up supplies for the parties that night. One was the 2008 Beckman Christmas party celebrated in January of 2009. Most of the family was in Hawaii celebrating my wedding with me that they decided to postpone the traditional family get-together till everyone was home. The other party was Matthew's party. That day was the same day as Matthew's midwinter dance. He invited everyone over for pictures and they brought their parents. Our house was filled to the brim, I was just surprised not to see the floor fall out from our feet.

After Sam's Club,we went to the bridal show. I am just glad that I am not a bride anymore. Just dealing with the sales people was exhausting. However, it was fun just to go through it again and watch Lisa deal with them all. It was also fun to give Brittany my ring and pretend she was a bride so she can get free stuff.

Finally, we made our way home. My family was to bring the fruit platter. I brought home three fresh yummy pineapple from Hawaii. So I prepared the platter with delish fresh, melt-in-your-mouth-goodness fruits. Lisa and I left to head over to Mormor and Papa's for the Beckman Christmas.

I sent Lisa ahead to grab the camera and start taking pictures as I walked through the door. I wanted her to capture the emotions of my loved one's faces. She only snapped four... but it was enough.

Mitzi, my beloved aunt, gave me the best reaction. She just stood there with her mouth gaping open. Then she smiled and covered her mouth. I think she said "Oh my gosh" and started laughing. She was the first to notice me and to give me a wonderful hug.

Then Mormor and Papa saw me and were just shocked. They couldn't believe their eyes. I was in Kauai with them for two weeks. During that time they had expressed that they really wish that I could come home for the party. When I left them at the airport, they expressed their sorrow that I wasn't able to join the fun festivities. I just gave them a sympathetic pat on the back and fake a sad face, declaring, "Oh me too."

Now with a grin on my face, I approached them. Mormor just stood there shaking her wet fingers at me, saying" You. You. You." I laughed and was enveloped into her arms.

As Papa hugged me, family started pouring into the kitchen. I have to say this is one of my favorite pictures. Just peeking over Papa's shoulder, I saw my beloved cousins' faces. Each one of them priceless.

For the rest of the night, we swamped stories, shared laughter, opened presents and ate a feast of delicious foods. We ended the night with no other pictures. Just warm memories that are stored into the deepest parts of my heart.

My joy is remembering priceless memories.

A brief glimpse...

On New Year's eve, I married my one true love.



It was wonderful...

Intimate...

Beautiful...

Special...



I was surrounded by loved ones. Loved ones who put together a ceremony too marvelous for words. Loved ones who loved on me all day and made me feel like a lovely, precious bride. Loved ones who made me feel so blessed.

So. Very. Blessed.

The whole day was wonderful. From the moment, I woke up till the time I walked away with my man, my husband.

*I will be recounting the moments of that day as soon as I have more pictures.


My joy is marrying my man, my marine, my love.

Engagement

Yes, I am hitched now.
I PROMISE to post about the wedding but first, I need to tell of my engagement story.


Every year on October 31st, I celebrate two things, my birthday and Halloween. This year for my 24th birthday, I was in Hawaii. James had to work all day so I decided just to keep myself busy.

I had been recieving birthday messages from friends and family throughout the day. It brighten my day but it simply was not the same as celebrating and seeing them in person. The only person on the whole island that knew it was my birthday was James.

After texting James once, asking, "Did you forget to tell me something?"

To which he replied, "What? What do you mean? Happy Halloween?"

I decided that I wasn't going to beg. I would just let him tell me when he finally remembered. When I went to pick him up from work, I said, "Hey, why don't we go to the Cheesecake Factory for supper and then meet up with friends after that?"

He made a face like he really did NOT want to do that plan. After a moment, he answered, "Why don't we go to the Cheesecake Factory and then we will see what happens after that?"

Letting his attitude affect me, I shrugged, "Fine. Whatever."

We had to go back to his barrack so he could change clothes. By the time he came back down to the car, I had decided that I was tired and didn't care to go to the Cheesecake Factory anymore. I told him how I was feeling.

"What? No. We ARE going to the Cheesecake Factory." was his huffy reply. By this time, I was thinking that he really has had a long week and was acting strange.

So off to the Cheesecake Factory we went. When we reached the hostess' stand, we were told that it was a 60 to 90 minute wait. James happily exclaimed, "Great!"

Okay, honestly, who in the right frame of mind would be happy about an hour and half wait? The typical responds is a groan and/or ask whoever they are with if they want to wait that long. Right?

By this time, I knew something was up. I decided to just roll with the punches. James suggested that we head behind the Cheesecake Factory to walk on the Waikiki beach. After walking a little ways, I asked if we could just sit and talk. He looked around and said, "No, not here. Let's walk a little bit more."

"How about here?"

"No, not here." And on we would walk. Finally, after glancing over his shoulders, he motioned that we could sit. I noticed that it was in a spot where the lighting was good so I could easily see his face. (Sweet guy.)

We watched as the waves crashed on shore in the dim starlight and streetlight beach. There was a gentle breeze floating from the sea, reaching up and tickling our hair. After soaking in the peaceful setting, we talked of our day. At one point in the conversation, I looked at him and said, "It is really bothering me that you won't say something to me. I know that you know what day today is. And you still acted like you didn't care. That you forgot that it was my birthday."

Swinging his body around and pinning me with a pointed stare, he answered, "I knew it was your birthday. I did not forget it was your birthday. In fact, I have something for you."

He got on one knee, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet black box. Opening the case, he asked,"Happy birthday. Will you be my wife?"

"Are you serious? You are kidding me." was my shocked reply.

He rolled his eyes and asked again, "Laura, I am serious. Now, will you be my bride?"

To which I answered with a choked laugh and a hand to my throat, "Yes. Yes, of course."

Just moments after he popped the quesiton.

After a kiss and hug, we grinned at each other. Then the questions and comments came rolling out of me. "So this is why you were acting so strange all day?? Did you ask my dad? I kind of knew that you were going to ask sometime because Mom kind of let the cat out of the bag. I have got to call my family. No wait, I can't. They are sleeping." And on and on I went. He sweetly answered my questions.

He had planned to act standoffish all day and take me for a walk on a private beach. Then he was going to pretend to see something on the ground, get on one knee and ask. Unbeknowst to me, I kept messing up his plans so he had to improvise.

Of course, he asked my dad. He told me how nervous he was and how the conversation went.

Finally, we went up to the Cheesecake Factory and had a celebration of sorts.

My birthday, Halloween and now, our engagement.

The next day.

My joy is surprises.

Home Sweet Home

On December 16th, I arrived in Oahu, Hawaii. I moved into my apartment that night. Here are many pictures of my humble 16' by 18' home:

I am standing in the door way looking in.

Carolyn is standing in the doorway... 

The next four pictures provides a 180 degree view of the place.

The door on the left side of the picture is the bathroom.

The center is the small bathroom.

The left is the pantry closet.

From right to left:

 bathroom

pantry closet

kitchen

There is a small wall that ensure some privacy for my bedroom

 and it separates the kitchen from the place where I lay my head.

I have two sweet ceiling fans...  

along with the great windows, my place is very open and breezy. 

 I love it.

Obviously, I am sitting on my queen size bed. 

In the mirror's reflection, you can see my kitchen.

From the bedroom,

 looking out into my 

dining room/living room/entry way/kitchen.

Mom got this rug in Peru.

Look closely, you can see the palm branches outside of my door.

The second ceiling fan.

I love the high ceiling in this place.

In the bottom left corner, you can see my stove tops.  

To my dismay, this place does not have an oven.

My refrigerator is outside.

Here is a close up of my bathroom.

The bathroom has walls, but no ceiling.  

You can hear everyone doing their business in this bathroom.

I thought this was a cool photo. 

Even though this place is small, I simply love it.  It will do for me and James' first home together. 

My joy is feeling and smelling the warm fragrance breeze blowing gently through my home sweet home.

A taste of what is to come...

Here are a few pictures...

My joy is the sound of laughter on the beach.

Dating is an adventure.

Dating is an adventure by itself. It has the wonderful, glorious, magical moments as well as the lousy, awful, down right rotten points. Like every adventure, it is the journey, not the destination that makes it all worth while. I mean, the destination (engagement and marriage) is fabulous, but I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the period of when we were still just learning about each other as a boyfriend and girlfriend can.

Here are some high points in our dating adventure:

• Love letters- I have mentioned before that James and I mainly had to communicate through letters in the first part of our dating. Those letters are dew drops that drip reminders of how he loves me.
• Simple and meaningful conversations- These conversation were nothing big, but it meant every thing to me. They would be about anything from what we ate that day to what our dreams were of the future.
• Long instant message chats- Because James was in the Marines and I was in school, we had to do a long distance relationship. Also, because I am deaf, I couldn't simply pick up the phone. It was just done over the computer through instant messaging. Later, Skype became the main way we communicated.
• Spur of the moment trips to see each other- When James was doing more training in NC at Camp Lejune, his parents would call me up and invite me to ride down to visit him. When I moved back home for the summer, he flew up for a short 36 hours. I loved those times because they were few and far in between.
• Flowers- One time, he went on the Internet and search for all kinds of flowers on different sites and just copy and paste the pictures and sent them to me saying "I am giving you all the flowers in the world." For my birthday, he sent me a beautiful bouquet of mini sunflowers and purple Irises.
• Thoughtful gifts- For the one year anniversary, he got creative and sent me a real 'message in a bottle.' He found a site that makes the 'message in a bottle.' The message was a sweet poem that he thought defined our relationship. It was a wonderful kind of surprise.
• Holding hands-I am a hand person. His hands are big, strong and just perfect. I feel loved when he holds my hands.
• Sweet kisses- 'Nuff said. :)

Here are some not-so-great points:

• Long distance relationship- Out of the entire year and half, I believe we only 'saw' each other for about 3 months.
• Learning each other's flaws- It drives me nuts when he cracks his knuckles or bends his fingers in strange ways. I am sure I don't have any flaws. *Chortles* He finds me perfect in every way. *Guffaws* Okay... Okay... I have so many flaws, it is ridiculous (like be really obnoxiously annoying on purpose, turn off my implant and shut my eyes when I don't want to listen and push buttons until he snaps at me). The cool thing is, he loves me anyways.
• Uncertainty of whether we are meant to be together or not- When James was deployed to Iraq, he was gone for seven months. The first months plain and simply sucked. The middle months were fine and good. However, the last few months were awful. Our communications (especially mine) was poor. I was just doubting whether we were suppose to be together or if I needed to take a step back. James and I made a promise that we would be honest to each other and stick through it no matter what. I plainly told him the blunt truth-"I don't know if I want to date you anymore." Instead of getting upset or angry, my words just added fuel to his fire. He turned it up several notches and pursued me until all doubts were erased from my mind and heart.
• Goodbyes- Because of the long distance, there were wonderful hellos and dreadful sad goodbyes. Sometimes we weren't sure when the next time would be. I cannot wait till the day where I don't have to say goodbyes as much.

He is really some kind of wonderful. James is a compassionate and loyal friend. He is a lover of children and a hater of veggies. He is sweet and he is tough. He makes me feel small and protected. He makes me laugh and makes me cry. He is stubborn and he is a good listener. He can stew over a heated argument for days but he can love deeply...

Yeah, he really is my kind of wonderful.

My joy is relating with my aunt, Sonja, and twin sister, Erin, through the joyful triumphs and harsh trials of being hearing impaired.

First comes love...

After writing letters for four months, James was finally graduating from boot camp. Erin, Anthony, James Michael Sanders (a friend from college), and I drove down from Montreat College to Paris Island, SC to celebrate with his family and friends from home.

Waiting for the ceremony to start

Erin and Anthony

We arrived late to the big rental house that everyone was staying in. The next day, we headed to the big field where the ceremony was going to take place. The ceremony was nice. In a sense, I think each and everyone of us felt very patroit when the Marine marching band played the National Athem. Each and everyone of us swelled with pride when James and his platoon marched by. Finally, the ceremony was over and the soliders were released, the field became a sea of color as families, friends and the men rushed to find each other. We stayed fixed in one place as we waiting for James to find us. As he came towards us, he found Anthony first. The reunion was sweet to watch.

It was an emotional moment for us all.
Then it was my turn... I was finally about to hug the guy that I had fallen for through letters for the first time.

It was a bone-crushing-I-can't-breathe-choke-the-air-outta-me hug. Like what most tall people do, James grabbed my neck and squeezed the heck out of it. Later, I had to teach him how to hug me. To this day, he is one of my favorite huggers.

Anyways, besides almost passing out, I really enjoyed being near James, just hanging out with him and the rest of the gang. It was nothing like I thought and dreamed of. It wasn't fireworks, or even teeny tiny sparks. Instead, it was a glimmer of a growing glow and it started deep in my soul.

The Montreatiers that came down to see James' graduation.James and James MichaelJames and Anthony

That night after returning to the rental house, I told James that I had a card for him in the car. Everyone else got the clue and went inside. I gave him his graduation card and told him how proud I was of him. With a bashful smile, he quietly said thank you and asked for a walk down the street.

The streetlamps were dim and the South Carolina spanish moss hung low from the trees. The air was chilly but I didn't even care. After bumping shoulders and talking quietly, we found ourselves back in the driveway. James looked at me and asked somewhere along the lines of "Where are we going with our relationship? We both like each other so do we want to go beyond the "I think I sorta kinda like you?"

I just remember looking up into his face and simply having peace of standing near him. We both finally agreed that we would like to start dating, to offically be "boyfriend and girlfriend." After a hug, we went into the house. We were grinning from ear to ear but didn't say a word. Instead, James sat down on the couch and I curled up next to him. Everyone looked and simply just smiled.

My joy is warm hugs from loved ones.