Step by Step, Little by Little

I contacted the man who was recommended to me to move the outbuilding that I purchased several months ago to store my belongings from the parsonage.  That was before Mark and I became a couple and they delivered the building to Ilene's right when Mark and I started dating.  I should have gone with my instincts and had them hold off on the delivery of the building.  Then I could have saved $275 on the move of the building today.  However, $275 was not a bad price to me.  I certainly thought it was going to be a LOT more!

He got back with me today and said he was behind because of the rain NC has had lately.  But he asked if I was available today.  Mark came home from work to check the yard to make sure it wasn't too soft and I gave the guy the go-ahead.  I told him I would meet him at Ilene's.

So, 20 minutes later, the workers pulled into Ilene's drive and began the process of putting the building onto the truck.  They followed me to our house and placed the building and set it up.  They used less bricks to level it out than was used at Ilene's, which means the ground here was more level.

Anyway, here's some pictures and videos of the move.

Going down the side of the yard to get in position for placing the building.

We wanted the building under the tree to the right in the picture.

At first, that branch hanging low was going to have to be cut to get the building under it.

But he backed it up to put it at a better angle to the house.

Then the only branch that had to go was one that was dead.  He had to take it down in 2 pieces.

 

The second piece finally came down when he tied the strap to the truck and pulled on it.

 

Lowering the building into place.

Working on laying the leveling bricks.

The red container you see to the left of the guy in the orange shirt is filled with water.  It is used as some sort of hydro leveler and has a hose attached to it.  I don't understand the concept!  But as long as they do, that's OK!  :D

Lowering the building the rest of the way down.

He used a jack to finish adding the brick to the front and there you have it!  Ready to begin filling up!  I am going to use it as my crafting room.

Here's some of the video I took of the process. Sorry, they are all on their side!

Jacking up the front to put the leveling bricks under.

Wrapping it up.

So glad to have that project done, except now begins the job of filling it and emptying the parsonage.  Step by step, little by little, we are getting settled in to our new lives together.  God is so good!

Death And Life

August 8, 2017
Tim, my first love, died.  And in the twinkling of an eye, he was more alive than he ever had been!  "
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21  He no longer has cancer or the pain that he bore for 5 years.  "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4  And now he is living his eternal day with the Lord!  "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8

A big part of me died with Tim.  I was 15 when Tim and I became an inseparable couple!  High School sweethearts.  We did practically everything together!  I took classes just because he did so that we could be in the same class!  He would come to the house so we could do homework together.  We were soul mates!  The Lord was so good to us!  We had a love that would not, could not die!  Even though Tim died, my love for him did not!  I wanted to die with him!  But God did not allow it.  I lost my identity when he died.  I didn't know what to do.  I was drowning in the loneliness of being without him!  I never wanted to love again.  I never wanted to marry again.  

And then it happened.  So unexpected.  So not wanted.  But, God changed my heart.  He opened my eyes to someone who had been in my life for 9+ years.  Who could guess that one of the men who traveled to WV in August 2008 to help move us to NC would one day bring new love and new life to my cold, dead heart!  Who could guess that God had ordained that painful event of death only to turn it around to a wonderful new life full of love once again!  I would not have written my story that way!  But, I'm so glad He did!  "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."  Psalm 30:5

Mark, you are that person!  The one who has brought new life to me!  A new desire to live life to the fullest, honoring the Lord in the journey!  So, on this day, August 8, 2018, even though I miss Tim terribly, I know God is with me because I am not alone!  I have you!  And I thank God for you!  I thank God for your faithfulness!  I thank God for being a willing servant.  I thank God He prepared my future to include you!  I thank God for who you are in Christ!  I thank God for who I am with you!

Thank You, Lord, for giving me another chance to love completely!  I thank You for what I am learning about Death AND Life!

Shower Time

I am so thankful for my girls, and that includes my girl who is mine by marriage to my oldest son!  Yes, I count her as a daughter!  Anyway, they have taken over the task of preparing for the bridal shower that happens this weekend.  And they have taken over the task of preparing for the wedding reception that will happen in the very near future.

I really messed things up by getting married so quickly!  The original date was December 22nd.  That got moved to September 1st.  And then Mark and I went ahead and got married at the courthouse on July 26th.  That means all of the planning for the bridal shower and reception took on a crash-course agenda!

Beautiful work on the invitations by both of my Jessicas.  One took the photos and one created the invitation.  Not sure which will be the final one she sends.

With the girls working on the shower and the reception, that frees me up to work on the house and get it to a place where I can move myself in!  Right now the piles are deep!  There are several boxes ready to drop off at Goodwill.  We have a bed being delivered next Tuesday, so our bedroom will have to be cleared out to make room for the bigger bed!  Progress is slow going!

Plus, I have a storage building that is on Ilene's property that needs to be moved here.

Plus, I have to clean out the parsonage (which is waiting on the storage building move)!

Plus, I have to clean out Ilene's (which is no really big hurry)!

Plus, I have to clean out the church office!

OY VEY!!!  Calgon!  Take me away!

Here are some pictures Jessica took while we visited with she and Michael and Kara in Alabama last weekend. Jessica took us to a little park a couple of miles away from the house. LOVE them!

And, I had some fun with selfies with Kara.  We took lots of selfies over the weekend, but I accidentally deleted them, which made me mad! GRRR!

And this silly one of me making a face at Kara!

I hate that I lost a bunch of the photos I took with my phone!  Anyone know of a way to retrieve them before its too late?

Until next time!

Wedding Bells

Well, last Wednesday, my girls.....yes, I'm going to blame this on them.....talked me into eloping!  We had given the idea some thought, anyway!  But, I wanted a church wedding!  But after talking to the girls about the possibilities (wearing my gown to the reception dinner) I sent Mark a text and told him I was going to call about getting married at the court house. 

We had a trip planned to the beach to meet Mark's son, so I contacted someone there about quoting the use of a minister.  $199 for the vows only!  But, it was only $20 at the court house!  It was a done deal!  The problem was the day time magistrate only performed weddings til 2:30 p.m.  Mark doesn't leave work til 3:30.  That's when we learned that the court house is open 24 hours for performing weddings!  Who knew?!  All we had to do was have two witnesses and $20 and we were good to go!  We had purchased the marriage license on the previous Monday.

Then I had to round up some witnesses.  So, I sent a text to Sharon and Joy to see if they and Calvin could be there to perform the duties of witnesses and pictures and moral support!  They had a prior engagement but said Calvin could pick them up at 8:00 and head to the court house.  And so the fun began!  Here are some pictures and a video!

July 26, 2018
Mark and Vicky become Mr. and Mrs. Mark Whittemore

The first order of business was to get a boutineer and bouquet, so I went to Beverly's Floral shop in Midway.  And, as instructed by Joy, I asked for Terry!  Here she is working on the boutineer and bouquet.  When she learned I needed it because I was getting married later she dropped what she was doing and worked up my bouquet and Mark's boutineer.  THANKS, Terry!

Dressed and ready to go!

Calvin, Sharon and Joy arrived before us. 

I was having a difficult time putting the boutineer on Mark without reaching my hand into his shirt to pin it.  Joy said, "You can't do that!  You're not married!  So, I'll have to do it!"

Joy and Sharon sang an impromptu song for us:

The magistrate was in the criminal justice portion of the court house.  Notice the barbed wire along the top of the fence to the right.

Here's the $20!

Billy Williams, the magistrate, explaining to Sharon where to sign.

Witness #1

Witness #2

Billy asked if someone was going to take pictures.  Sharon reminded him of this sign that said no cell phones or pictures were allowed.  He said, forget about that!  He said these two are dressed up too nicely not to take pictures!  And, I normally perform the ceremony right behind my glass, but we are going to find somewhere nice to do this!  He complimented us on how nice we looked.  I told him that I was told people wore anything and some even had an entire wedding party.  He said that was so for the daytime shift, but not the night time shift!

Thanking these 3 wonderful and dear friends for putting up with our last minute shenanigans!

I asked Joy and Sharon if I should throw the bouquet to them and at the exact same time they both responded, "Please don't!"  I have to get the video of that moment from Joy.  When I do, I will post it!

So, you can call me Vicky Whittemore (pronounced Whit-i-more) from now on. That is bittersweet to me.  I'm sure you understand what I mean!

There will still be a reception dinner on September 1st at the church.  I won't be walking down an aisle, but I will be wearing my wedding dress!

Thank You, Lord, for your blessings on me!

A New Love Story

My, how I have struggled with this! I have been so sure that I could NEVER, ever love anyone but Tim for my whole life! And furthermore, I had no desire to ever be married again. And I was totally content in my widowhood!

Many months ago during a conversation Ilene and I had, we were talking about not marrying again. And I said, "I don't see ever marrying again and have no desire to be" and that is when Mark's face came to mind. Then I added to my statement to Ilene...."unless he would be someone like Mark (a member at our church), who is so faithful to the Lord and has grown so much in the years Tim and I have been here. But, the Lord would have to smack me to make me realize He has someone for me."  And our conversation moved on to other things.

A couple of months later we went to meet the church folks for dinner at a restaurant near by. When we walked in, Mark had a couple of empty seats by him, so I sat down next to him.  No particular reason in mind, other than I thought I would enjoy conversing with him through the evening. I don't remember anything we may have talked about or commented about, but I felt very strange all evening sitting there. I was talking to myself and saying things like, "what were you thinking?" And "you had no right to sit next to him!"  "What must he be thinking of your actions?" (He has told me it warmed his heart when I sat there!)

Every time I saw Mark from that point on, something stirred within me.....and I felt guilty about it! A couple of months ago at the fellowship dinner at the restaurant, once again Mark had an empty seat beside him that I intended to fill....until Joy offered me the empty seat next to her. I sat with her thinking it was probably best this way so as to not make my stirred feelings known. After all, I had no idea if Mark even "knew I existed" at this point.

Well, little things began happening after that. A text here and there. Some light-hearted kidding around, etc. Then there was a Sunday where we had a visiting preacher and Ilene and I talked about taking them out for lunch. Ilene ended up being gone and no one else was available to so I invited them out for lunch.  For a reason that I don't remember, Ilene could not go. I was really dreading trying to make conversation with them all by myself. But, as "luck" would have it, Mark walked through the parking lot with me. So, figuring I had nothing to lose and the worst he could do was to say no, I invited Mark to join us for lunch and he could ride with me. He accepted, much to my delight! But I hated it when he ended up paying for everyone's meal! That certainly was not my intention!  Through the meal and conversation later, I really didn't get any vibes from Mark, so I began to think a new relationship just wasn't meant to be.  And, I was OK with that.  I really couldn't imagine loving anyone else besides Tim, especially enough to marry them.  And when I reiterated that to Mark, he said he felt the same way and that he had asked God that if it was meant for him to be single the rest of his life that He would help him be content with that.  Even though I hadn't felt a relational connection to Mark that day, I had felt a connection with him as we shared our hearts with one another.

Well, more friendly texting began with one another, teasing, goofy stuff. And then the mood changed and the texting conversation became more serious. Next thing I knew, I was asking Mark if I was detecting something more serious happening. His response was simply, "Yes! I've been trying to find a way to ask you out, but didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Guess we need to get together and talk, huh?" I said yes and we planned to go out to eat that Saturday, the day before Father's Day.

And again I began feeling guilty. I was fine with Mark, but in my own thoughts I was a mess. Was I dishonoring Tim? Was I cheating on him? What was everyone going to think? Is it too soon to have these feelings? What will the kids think? Will they hate me? What am I doing? Do I really want this? Lord, are You in this? I was making myself a basket case!

Date night....June 16th
It was an amazing evening! Lots of talking and finding out how much we had in common and finding out about the same things we enjoyed. After dinner out he came back to the house where we continued our conversation for a long time! We parted with a hug and a kiss to my cheek.

Father's Day in church, I sat by Mark. Don't you know the little groups of conversations were in full swing. Someone even wondered if Ilene and I were fighting, LOL! And I was feeling guilty!

The Lord got rid of that guilt and grief I was bearing that morning as we sang the song, "Faith of Our Fathers." The last words in each stanza are, "we will be true to thee till death." The Lord spoke to my heart after the 2nd verse, saying, "Vicky, you were true to Tim through the 41 years you were married to him! It is ok for you to move on now. I'm giving you a chance at love again! Be true to this new love I have given you!" And I cried! Sad, but mostly glad tears! A new chapter was beginning.

But, as much as I had wanted to tell the kids about my date with Mark, I felt the timing was all wrong since it was Father's Day. I texted them on Monday, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.  I was pleasantly surprised. However, I could tell by the response I got that one of them was not thrilled. And that's ok. That one will learn to love Mark eventually. How do I know? Because prayers are being lifted towards that end.

Mark and I have had 2 "official" dates. But we have spent many hours together and several meals at the house. And we know this relationship is all by God's design and plan. We have had so many confirmations from everyone who has prayed for us individually and together, which was an amazing revelation to us! They were praying for us to be a couple! WOW!

So, when I said earlier that the Lord would have to smack me to make me realize He has brought someone into my life, well, let me just say that Mark and I have both been gob-smacked! 😍

Sunday, July 15th
I have to say that in the years of loving and living with Tim, one thing I learned was what true love is and isn't.....I'm talking about the kind of love and commitment good marriages are made of.  Tim and I had that!  And I have quickly learned that Mark is committed to this new relationship!  And as we have prayed for God to lead and be honored in our relationship, He has answered those prayers in amazing ways.  The main one being that He is giving us a fast and hard love for one another.  I can't explain it!  I just know it is there!  Does this mean that I have forgotten Tim?  Absolutely not!  The love I had for Tim will always be there!  And, while I can't fully comprehend it, God has opened my heart to allow me to love Mark deeply, too!  It scares me to death sometimes!  And I feel overwhelmed sometimes, to the point of tears!  But, by the 3rd week of this new relationship, I knew I was able to commit myself to Mark for the rest of my life.  And we confirmed that on this day to our church family!  Mark and I had talked of getting married December 22nd as my children were gathered that weekend to celebrate Christmas.  However, after spending 10 days apart from one another the first of July, we have moved the date to September 1st!  WOW! 

We have been working on getting his house, the house he inherited, ready for me to move into after the wedding.  We got the marriage license today.  We are working on getting the storage building I ordered moved to his property.  With less than 6 weeks to go, we have LOTS to do!

I want to close by saying THANK YOU to all of you who have prayed for me over the last year since Tim's death on August 8, 2017.  And I know MANY, if not all of you have prayed for Tim and I for a long time!  You just don't know how much your love and prayers have meant to me! And I just know you are continuing to pray as Mark and I begin a new chapter in the book that God is writing of our lives!  Lives we had no idea that God was orchestrating to be joined at this point and time in His-story!......our story!  A new love story!