Whew! I’ve finally found some time to get the wedding pics up and write about the wedding. Wedding pics can be viewed here. This is the condensed version. I will be creating a web site of the wedding for a more detailed account, including our mishaps and the entire written ceremony.

Ok, the rundown. We left town Sunday morning (the 18th). Got to my parents’ house that afternoon. Nothing was going on on Monday, so my mom and I baked the shortbread cookies (which were used in place of a cake) and the pumpkin and honey wheat breads. Tuesday Crystal, my matron of honor, got into town, and we went to KMart to do some last minute shopping.Wednesday was set-up day. We all headed out to Camp Augusta (where the wedding was being held) to set up the lodge (where the reception was to be held). We got done just as everyone in the wedding party was arriving for the rehearsal. Once everyone was there we did a quick run-through of the ceremony, then had a nice small luncheon inside the lodge with cold cuts and such brought by Jay’s mom.

Thursday, November 22…the wedding day. We spent the night at a local motel with the boys. We got up early and Crystal showed up a little later to start getting my hair and make-up done. Jay went out to the camp ground. After applying make-up, braiding the sides of my hair and curling the rest, we were ready to head out.
We were running a bit behind and spent the next hour and a half getting everyone dressed, including me, and finishing any last minute set-up. We got a few pictures done before the ceremony, but family pictures had to be done later.

The time of the start of the wedding (2:00) came and went…my parents were running late. We literally couldn’t start the wedding without them as my dad was the one who was marrying us. Once they got there, we all headed down to the amphitheater, the outside area where the ceremony was held. Crystal organized the kids and the rest of the wedding party. With everyone ready, the ceremony began!

The kids, dressed as faeries and elves, walked down each side of the amphitheater throwing glitter to create sacred space. Then the bridesmaids walked down one side and the groomsmen the other, all holding candles. At the top of the hill, Jay and I got our candles lit by Elliott and Crystal, then they proceeded to walk down. Then it was our turn. We walked down each side of the amphitheater.
Once we were on the small wood ”stage”, my dad started reading. The points of it included a unity candle, the vows, the rings, and a handfasting cord.

After the ceremony, everyone went up to the lodge for the reception. Jay and I hung out for a few pictures of just us.
When we got up to the lodge, Elliott announced us. We took our seats and soon after, the toasts began. First the Loving Cup ceremony, hosted by Elliott. Then the personal toasts. Then it was time to eat! We had a big Thanksgiving-esque feast.
After the feast and the family pictures, it was time for the dances. Jay and I had our dance first. Our little niece came up and started dancing with us…it was so cute! Then it was time for the father/daughter dance. My dad whirled me around the floor and had me laughing. Then Jay danced with his mom.

Clean-up began shortly after that…though we thought everyone would stay a bit longer. My mom and I had just put out the shortbread and I had been running around the whole time and didn’t get much of a chance to visit with anyone. I was hoping that everyone would listen to music, relax, and hang out with us longer.
After we got everything cleaned up, Jay and I went back to the motel. We opened the gifts, then realizing how early it still was, went out for a dessert and to see a movie (we saw Beowulf…which we both liked).

So, in a nutshell…the day zoomed by and now it’s a week later. After 13 years, marriage feels no different than before…except for the ring that I still haven’t gotten used to.

Come this time of year you are bound to hear the phrases “true meaning of Christmas” and “put Christ back in Christmas”. But just how true are these statements? What is the true meaning of Christmas? Does Jesus really have anything to do with the date of December 25th?
The answer to the latter, at least, is no. If Jesus was indeed a real person, he wasn’t born in the middle of winter. Shepards and their flocks would have been a might bit cold on a night at the end of December. Scholars have put Jesus’ birth at either the springtime or the fall. So why do we celebrate December 25th as the day he was born?

The ancient pagans celebrated the end of December as a time of re-birth. The winter solstice, what is called Yule in some traditions, falls on or around December 21st. This is the time of year where the day is shortest and the night longest. After this time, the days slowly become longer. Thus, the ancient pagans viewed this as the return…or rebirth…of the sun. There was much celebration…great feasts, dancing, singing, exchanging of gifts…general merry-making in all of the northern hemisphere.
A few cultures even believed one of their gods was born on December 25th. Take the Romans, for example. Their god Saturnalia, the unconquered sun god, is said to have been born on this celebrated day.
Keep in mind, all of these winter celebrations existed long before Jesus was a twinkling in his God’s eye. When Christianity rose up, the orthodox Christians wanted a way to convert pagans to their new religion. What better way than to overlay the pagan winter celebrations with a Christian one. And thus, the nativity story was born…even if it’s star character was not.

When we look at all of this, it makes one wonder why Christians like to exclaim “put Christ back in Christmas”. Jesus really had nothing what-so-ever to do with December the 25th. Many ancient cultures have a claim to that day or the surounding days. We can all celebrate in our own way…the Pagans with their beliefs and the Christians with theirs. One religion need not lay claim to a day that has much meaning for all.

And speaking of meaning…what is the true meaning of Christmas? In one simple word…love. Not one religion needs to lay claim to the meaning, either. This is a dark and cold time of year for all in the northern hemisphere. Spending time with friends and family and exchanging gifts of love goes beyond one religion or culture. It’s a universal celebration of warmth in this cold time of the year.
Let’s all celebrate and all share the true meaning. Happy Holidays to everyone of all faiths!

The boys and I just got home earlier this evening from spending a few fun-filled days visiting wth family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We had left Tuesday afternoon for my sis-in-law’s house and spent the night there. Then early Wednesday afternoon we headed down to GV to visit our families. ‘J’ is still in the academy (he’s been there since late September), so he couldn’t go with us. We got to my parents house later that afternoon. The boys pretty much attacked their aunt and uncle…lol. I visited with them (my bro and sis) and my mom. Later that evening I took a quick trip with my dad to KMart, giving me a chance to visit with him some.
Later, my bro and I stayed up til 3:30am visiting and playing on the computer…that was interesting, and yet fun…lol.

And now turkey day. Got up earlier than is normal for me…lol…but I knew there were goodies to be eaten. My mom always makes a bunch of stuff for the holidays. For breakfast was caramelized pull-apart bread and chocolate-chip bespeckled cinnamon rolls…mmmm. Then lunch was crackers, dips, and many other little hors-de-vours. My other bro and my future sis-in-law showed up around lunchtime. We hung out and visited and had a good time. My other brother and my sis-in-law and her neice showed up right before dinner…with my car. Well, not my car, but the one I want…a Jeep Liberty. She showed it to me…and ahh, I want one so bad. And my last bro and his girlfriend and little girl showed up a few minutes later. We then dug into a feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, greenbean cassarole, and many other dishes.

We all had a great time visiting before everyone started getting tired and went home. But not before a buffet of desserts was laid out for the picking…cookies, candies, pies…the works. Yummy! And I got a huge platter I brought home with me.

My sis-in-law picked the boys and I up today and we headed for home. We all had a great time and the boys loved seeing their grandparents and aunts and uncles. And we get to do it all again in a few weeks when Christmas rolls along….yay!

Ok, so I’m a bit late, but we had a great Samhain. I baked a few goodies (jalapino popper fingers…mmmm, banana bread and chocolate frosted brownies) and when my sis-in-law Crystal and our friend Kristine got here with their boys we all got dressed up and went out trick-or-treating. We had a ren/medieval theme going…with the exception of my youngest, who was Stitch from Lilo And Stitch.  As soon as I get pics developed (yeah, I don’t have one of those nifty digital cameras yet), I’ll post them. It was cold, so two blocks pretty much did us in…and by that time the boys were ready to go home and divulge in their mass of candy.

Later on, after the gals and their kiddos left, I sat down to watch a couple scary movies. I found Halloween on tv, so watched the last half of it (with my 10 year old saying it’s not scary and me saying it’s a classic) and then turned off all the lights, hunkered down and put on Stephen King’s Storm Of The Century. I had forgotten how long that movie was…so about 4:30 in the morning I finally got to bed.

Since the 31st was pretty much the boys time, I lit a candle and incense and honored the gods, spirits, and ancestors the next evening.

Ok, it’s a few days past the fourth…but bear with me, I’ve been down with a summer cold.

So…our fourth was prettty good. We went up to Chester for their annual parade (which my sis-in-law and I missed …long story, though) and their craft fair. The boys got some sno cones while us adults got the tri tip lunch. For a little country thing, you expect to pay more and get less, right? Well, not there! For $9 you get about 4 big slices of tri tip, half a plate of beans, a big helping of salad and a slice of french bread…and the lady even gave me extra bread for the boys! My 4 year old was happy to be able to share such a big meal with me.
We walked around the craft fair for a bit after eating, then headed back down to my sis-in-law’s (ok, so it wasn’t as easy as that). It was more like my hubby called at exactly the right moment (he was sleeping late from working late the night before) and the boys and I got a ride to our house with him and then got a ride into town when he went to work a couple hours later. We were picked up by my sis-in-law’s hubby and taken to her house.
Anyway, we hung out at their for a bit, then around 7ish headed back into town to watch the fireworks at the fairgrounds….and my sis-in-law’s hubby set off their own. It was awesome and the boys loved it.

That night I tossed and turned (I hadn’t been feeling very good, but not too bad, either, for most of the day) and woke up with one hell of a head cold. I’m just now starting to get rid of it. It hasn’t been a very fun past 3 days.

Happy Summer Solstice!…well, yesterday….lol. My sis-in-law had come up to visit and we went walking on an old railway trail through the woods with the kids. It was nice to get out and go walking in nature….a great way to show our appreciation for the beauty of all that surrounds us. And on our way back to the car, we got to see a train come in on the tracks that follow the trail. We all waved and the conductor tooted the horn! The boys loved it!

When we got back home, we had a BBQ…hamburgers and cheesy fries…mmmm!

Oh my goodness, I haven’t posted in so long! Time just gets away from you with a house full of kids and animals to take care of! And when I am on the computer, I’m engaging in one of my addictions…message boards! Then I’m either playing in Poser or playing Everquest to relax.

So, just popped on to say Happy Easter/Ostara (yes it was last month, I know)! The boys and I are at my sister-in-law’s and we’ll be getting up rather early, most likely, to watch the boys dig through their baskets of goodies. Then on to the egg hunt and then Easter dinner (which we will be baking all day). It’s sure to be a hectic, but fun, day!

Well, we made it to another new year. To ring in 2006, we had a bit of a party last night. (”We” being my sis-in-law, my brother-in-law, their little boy, their neighbor, her little boy, her husband and his brother, and the boys and I.) Amid chips, crackers and cheese, and cookies, we had the life of the party…alchohol! Strawberry marguritas, pina coladas, Baily’s Irish creme and coffee….mmmm! I had a few drinks (the coffee being my fav) and snacked all night. We danced (the kids dancing was hilarious ) and had a great time. A minute before midnight came and we counted down. Then we let the poppers fly and the sparkling apple cider flow as midnight came and went. My sis-in-law’s neighbor and her husband took their little boy home. The rest of us partied until about 2am. I didn’t drink so much this year that I got sick or was hung-over this morning…yay!

Hope everyone has a great 2006!! Happy New Year!!!

Well, Christmas is almost over (it comes and goes so fast, doesn’t it) and the boys are happily playing with their toys (Furbies, scooters, Magnetix, ect). I’m a bit tired…having stayed up til 4am backing a coffee cake and watching A Christmas Story. ‘J’ got me up at 9:00 this morning…’G’ was already up, and we woke ‘K’ up. The boys then tore through their gifts and about 12:30, we left for my parents house. We snacked and ate dinner and of course visited (with my parents and my sibs), but before we could have dessert we had to leave. The creek that runs across their driveway was flooding from the rain that had been coming down all day…and if we didn’t leave when we did, we wouldn’t have been able to. So we packed a couple plates full of goodies and said our good-byes. Got home and the boys went straight for their Furbies…lol. Now Robots is on (a gift to ‘G’ from his grandma) and the boys are settling down.
Oh, and ‘J’ and I got our gift on Friday…Poser 6 for the computer. Woohoo! We’ve been wanting that program for a while. Now it’s just figuring it out…it’s a rather complicated program.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday…whatever it is you celebrate.

Oh my goodness…I almost forgot to post this! Since today is Yule (Winter Solstice), here is a bit about it.

Origins of solstice celebration
The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth’s axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, it points in a fixed direction continuously — towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime and low in the sky during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. This is called the summer solstice, and is typically on JUN-21 in the Northern Hempisphere — the first day of summer. “Solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” meaning sun, and “sistere,” to cause to stand still. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice — the first day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum.

In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern latitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would be troubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They feared that it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold. After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw the sun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained before spring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. The concept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the winter solstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect the solstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun’s path within a few days after the solstice — perhaps by DEC-25. Celebrations were often timed for about the 25th.

December celebrations in many faiths and locations - ancient and modern
(Since I’m studying Celtic paganism, I thought I’d just include this one. For more, click here.)
Druidism: Druids and Druidesses formed the professional class in ancient Celtic society. They performed the functions of modern day priests, teachers, ambassadors, astronomers, genealogists, philosophers, musicians, theologians, scientists, poets and judges. Druids led all public rituals, which were normally held within fenced groves of sacred trees. The solstice is the time of the death of the old sun and the birth of the dark-half of the year. It was called “Alban Arthuan by the ancient Druids. It is the end of month of the Elder Tree and the start of the month of the Birch. The three days before Yule is a magical time. This is the time of the Serpent Days or transformation…The Elder and Birch stand at the entrance to Annwn or Celtic underworld where all life was formed. Like several other myths they guard the entrance to the underworld. This is the time the Sun God journey’s thru the underworld to learn the secrets of death and life. And bring out those souls to be reincarnated.”

Winter Solstice Celebrations:
a.k.a. Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, the Long Night, etc.