16 Years Ago Today...

I married my best friend. Sixteen years ago today!

It just doesn't seem possible. A lot has happened in these sixteen years. Some good, some bad, some awesome, some ugly...but I wouldn't change any of it. Why you ask? Because everything that has happened has had a Master author behind it writing our story and I have been fortunate to have my best friend by my side during it all.

Jay and I both moved here to the County from Toronto in '94 after Jay became ill and couldn't stay in the city anymore. We both left our families, careers and everything familiar to us to find a new life in the town my father had moved to many years previously. We've never looked back.

What did we find here you may ask and what did 16 years of marriage see? Even if you aren't asking, I'm gonna tell you.

We found God. First and foremost we found the peace and security we'd always been looking for but never really understood we were looking for. We have peace now in knowing that our lives are not accidents and that we have a purpose here.

I've gotten to know my dad. After growing up without my father if has been wonderful these last 14 years getting to know him, and learning to love and respect him for WHO he is and not just for who he is.

On the same note, I've been able to get to know my sister, who moved out when I was young and I never really remembered too well. My sister is also my best friend. We spend so much time together and there is an honest love and respect in our relationship that I feel extends further than just a family tie.

We gave birth to two awesome children who constantly inspire us, amaze us, challenge us, and drive us nuts all at the same time.

We started a business that helped us to buy our first house. We folded said business and have been searching ever since for that 'perfect' job opportunity.

We found a church family that we love.

My incredible sister-in-law became a Christian and I've had the honour of watching her grow in her walk with our Lord and become an incredibly generous and loving woman. At the same time, I've also been able to watch her children grow up into lovely people. Actually, just between you and me (?), her daughter is one of my favourite people :)

We have made good friends here with the type of people whom we didn't fully understand existed. Good people. Loving and giving people. Funny people. Generous people. People we count ourselves blessed to be considered their friends.

We've made friends with people and we've experienced the pain of watching some of them die. Two of them young, one unnecessarily and one to disease, called home to Glory early. One friend recently just returned to Glory. This man was what Jay and I called our 'spiritual father' when he and his wife lived here. They took us under their wings as baby Christians and helped to feed us the spiritual milk needed at the time and gave us our first spiritual meat. We miss these people, all of them, but thank God for knowing them.

We've seen the birth of nieces and nephews and watched three of them struggle to survive after being born prematurely. We've watched them grow up (with the exception of the newest addition of course) into wonderful young people.

A lot has happened in the 16 years we've been married. So much that I obviously can't write it all here. These are just some of the highlights and lowlights.

I look forward to the next 16 years and seeing what Jay, God and the kids are going to bring to this marriage.

To end this post I leave you with what else, pics of our lives.

My girlfriend took this pic just before I left for dinner with Jay, the night he proposed.



This is us at my dad's in Picton the weekend we told him about our engagement.



What else? Our wedding day.



Our first "apt" after moving from the city. We stayed in my dad and stepmom's basement.



Newborn Amy in our Hill St. apt. For those of you who know whom I'm talking about, this apt. was right next door to the old manse, when Pastor Carl and Sue lived there.




Amy then...




Amy now...





Simon as a newborn...




Simon then....



Simon now...





Amy and Simon then..



The old 'Jay Rutherford Cartage' truck...



Good friends past...



(another friend to be posted once I get a picture scanned)


Good friends present...



Nieces and nephews (an old but good pic)



our newest niece...a little beauty



(two more nieces to be included shortly once I get the pics scanned)


And a pic for all those who wouldn't believe it unless they saw it...Jay the day after we got engaged! Look how skinny the dude was!



Our crazy little family today...




Jay and I happily married today.... Happy Anniversary honey!!!

Home Again

Well another year of family camps is over and I am feeling a little sad and a whole lot relieved :)

We came home on Sunday and emptied the trailer into our kitchen. Oooh la la the mess!! You could hardly see any floor or counters. Jay ended up taking us to Belleville for dinner 'cause I couldn't prepare anything in the kitchen much less find any food.

We grocery shopped yesterday and the cupboards are somewhat stocked again.

You should have seen the laundry mountain we had in our kitchen, clothes were the least of it. There were perhaps every single towel we own in there, plus 2 sleeping bags, comforters, pillows and cases, sheets, blankets etc etc etc. I have conquered the looming mountain and our kitchen is once again navigable.

Jay was with us at camp this time and it was awesome. While he was at work during the days, he did manage come home early enough to enjoy bonfires with us.





oooh pretty fire...



really neat shot of Simon and myself

Amy had a wonderful time again, or in her words "the best week I've ever had". She made lots of new friends and renewed a friendship she'd made a number of years ago with a girl named Kasi. We hardly ever saw her except at mealtimes and her 11pm curfew. She did really well keeping curfew and spent most of her time with the Youth programs in Harbour Ridge.

The only time she didn't make curfew was Friday night, so Jay and I went hunting :) Didn't have to look far, she was at the DMC where the Youth were having a Talent Night and things just sort of ran a little late (hehe). No worries. That night we also hosted a sleepover in Amy's tent with two of her friends, the hilariously irrepressible Kasi and the very gassy Kathleen. Gassy in that the girl drank 3 bottles of Coke in order to produce a mega burp for her talent. Um, yes I know and agree that a talent like that should probably be left behind doors, but kids will be kids. Poor girl had to get up 4 times in the night to make a run for the washrooms...I could have told her that too much to drink before bed would do that :-) I can't even drink 1 tea before bed anymore.

Here's a pic of the girls the morning after only 4 hours of sleep. We couldn't get Amy out of her pj's lol. Would you believe these girls are all the same age? Amy is usually taller than most of her friends, but this past week she was the smallest.


getting ready for the sleepover

We also had some very interesting weather. Sudden very violent thunderstorms! They'd come up practically from nowhere and just blast through the camp. One day the four of us, Jay, Amy, Simon and myself sat under our trailer awning and watched the light show. So beautiful and awesome to behold.

Si took some pics of the clouds one day. Oops, can't find the pics, very strange.

There were a couple of lightning/thunder claps that hit very close to home. Especially the one that hit a friends trailer and blew out his tv. Poor guy was in the trailer at the time and was sure he was going to Glory at that moment!

Simon has a blast and met up with some buddies, Bryce and Quentin, that he plays with at every 2nd family camp. They went to the Sandbanks and fishing. Here's a pic of Si with his catch...


The laughing woman in the background is the very brave and lovely Michelle (mom of Bryce and Quentin) who is willing to touch fish and worms and pull hooks out of fish...totally gross!




BTW, notice something different about Si? Yes, he got his hair cut. Family camp 1 was so traumatic for him. All the being called a girl and being mistaken in stores etc for a girl finally got to him. When Jay got home and needed to get his hair cut, my INCREDIBLY TALENTED stylist made room for both of them in her very busy salon.

NOTE: Here's my plug for Jen's place. Indulgence Spa and Salon in beautiful Wellington, Ontario. This place is soooo beautiful and peaceful and has a gorgeous view of the water. Should you ever go, tell her Vic sent you :)

Anyways I digress, here are some pics of Jen at work on Si.




and the finished product. He looks so much taller and older now. While I like his new cut very much, I am finding I miss the long hair a bit *sigh*



Shame on me, but I hardly took any pictures this summer at camp. Wish I had more but my memories will have to do.

Here are some other pics in case you're interested.

Pic of Amy taking some time to relax and draw.



just a nice pic of Simon

Amy and Simon setting up their tent


View of the barn from tent (and no that is not our satellite dish!)


Simon being helpful cleaning the trailer


Our campsite


On a different note:

This is a pic of Amy's friend Kasi, who does she look like to you?



I find the resemblance in this photo remarkable. For those of you who don't know, this is Ally Sheedy as she was in The Breakfast Club (one of my fave teen flicks).