What We Said - One Year Ago

 "Marriage is not something that just happened. It was God who created man and woman in His own image. And it was God who determined that it was not good for the man to be alone.  So, God made him a helper who was fit for him.  The man was incomplete without the woman. She joined him in being the ultimate earthly expression of the glory of God.  So, as you pledge your vows to each other, you do well to again remember the source of marriage is not just a feeling in your heart--it lies with God and His design for you.  You also do well to remember the purpose of marriage.  It is about you certainly, but it is about much more -- it is about God and Christ and the mystery of God's love for sinners.  What God joins together, let no man forsake as unimportant or insignificant.  Marriage is not a phase of your life, it is to be your life.  Protect it and cultivate it as if your life depends on it...because it does."

"I, David Gilliam, take you Claire Nettles, to be my wife as we enter into the covenant of marriage.  To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in laughter and in sorrow, for as long as we both shall live.  I vow to protect you, to provide for you, and to care for you.  I promise to honor you as the Lord instructed and to cherish you as Christ showed us, even unto death.  I pledge to join you in prayer and lead you as we begin our walk with God."

"I, Claire Nettles, take you David Gilliam, to be my husband as we enter into the covenant of marriage.  To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in laughter and in sorrow, for as long as we both shall live.  I promise to seek God first and to pray for you, as the leader of our home.  I will strive to respect and honor you in my words and actions, to be full of grace, and gentle in spirit.  I will encourage you and commit to stand by you for as long as we live."

"I take you...and with this ring I pledge my life to you. Where you go, I will go.  Where you live, I will live.  Your family shall be my family and your God shall be my God."

One year ago, I said "I do" to my sweet husband as we began this journey called marriage.  Has this past year been easy?  Sometimes.  Other times, not so much!  Have we had to work at times? Yep!  Has it been fun?  You bet!  Do we have lots to learn?  Of course.  But I am so glad to spend these years with David and our little family.  I am so thankful for his kindness and service toward me.  He has sought God's leadership so much over this past year and I am grateful for that and what it means for David's leadership of our family.  He has demonstrated patience to me and gentleness too many times to count.  I pray that God continues to grant us grace and grow us in Him and with each other!

The Wedding Music

I cannot believe that it's been two months since I did a wedding post.  I need to hurry or I won't have it done before we've been married a year!  Wow!  Time is flying.  In the last post I talked about how flowers were not the most important thing to me.  However, music is a totally different story!  My family is VERY musical!  My grandmother was a piano teacher, my uncle sings (he was the lead role in The Music Man in college), my mom was a music major in college and taught preschool music, and my dad plays bass guitar and trombone.  I was in concert choir, honor choir, ensembles, and band (took oboe) in high school and took piano.  I still sing in church choir and participate in the praise team many Sunday's.  See...music...important!  So, I was very picky when choosing the music for the wedding.

Since high school, I've wanted The Prayer sung at my wedding; but that was the ONLY thing I had a preference about....well, that might not be completely true!  I did NOT want Pachabel's Canon, Jesu Child of Man's desiring, or "Here Comes the Bride."  I KNEW that!  So, I started searching online for wedding music.  I found a lot of typical things.  Then I found this AWESOME arrangement of "For the Beauty of the Earth."  I WANTED that at my wedding.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get the arranger to reply to any contact and weren't able to get the music.  Thankfully, my organist is fantastic and was able to suggest something else.

Before the wedding, my precious pianist and the aforementioned fantastic organist did some organ and piano duets because they are just that good!  Then the wedding began.  Our families were seated to Vivaldi's "Winter" from Four Seasons.  This was only on organ but was so majestic.  After that, the attendants came in to "Prelude in Classic Style" by Gordon Young.  This is where I wanted "For the Beauty," but I thought this ended up being perfect.  I really wanted something bright and cheery, not a slow song.  I mean, getting married is a happy thing!

Then came time for the bridal processional.  My choice - "Wedding Processional" from The Sound of Music.  Oddly enough, I had so many people say they had never thought of using that song or had never seen it used.  It is such a GREAT song and just makes sense to me!  LOVED it!  On top of that, this is my mom's favorite movie, so I'm sure it was fun for her to have this included in my wedding ceremony.

When my dad and I got to the front of the church we had a congregational hymn.  I wanted to sing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing."

It is such a great hymn as God is truly the source of all our blessings. He continues to give us blessings even when we wander from Him and desires for us to be bound to Him!  David and I pray that we continue to seek God FIRST and seek his guidance in everything.  We truly pray that He will COME in our marriage daily!

The only other song we had within the ceremony was The Prayer.  The male vocalist was a friend from high school.  Let me tell you, Jordan can sing!  And he has such a sweet heart to match.  The female vocalist was a girl (now friend!) who I babysat when she was in fifth grade and I was a senior.  At that point, she didn't really like singing in front of people but would sing for me!  Now, she is a high school music teacher and has a gorgeous voice.  I was SO thankful that Jordan (yep...two Jordans!) could sing as well.

This was just after the vows and, obviously, used as a prayer...but I kept my eyes open and watched.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  I have to say...I think it was better than Josh Groban and Charlotte Church!  I wish I could hear it again!  Just made the ceremony.  I get chills thinking about it!

We're almost done!  The recessional was a piece that I randomly found in my internet search.  When I heard this song I knew I HAD to have it played at my wedding...as the recessional.  The name...ready for it?!  "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba!"  HA!  "Arrival" for my recessional.  I would have been SO disappointed if Mrs. Carol hadn't had it.  Thankfully, she did...and it was wonderful!  As the postlude, she played "We Thank Thee, God" by Bach.  A beautiful musical service!

I know it is a lot, but I really do hope that you enjoy some of this music!  I heard rumors that our pastor actually commented on the music during the church service the next day!  Ha!

Flowers and Other "Stuff"

When we started planning our wedding, I wanted pretty flowers but didn't really mind if it wasn't extravagant.  Talk about sticker shock...when you combine flowers, reception, food, flowers...YIKES!  However, we found a GREAT caterer/florist who will do everything if you want her to.  To add to it all, Wendy has such a confidence about what she plans that you just can't help but trust her. 

In our first meeting, I showed her some of my "pinned" ideas.  She would point to some, "Oh...love! Love!"  Then would say "I mean, you can do whatever you want, but we will not be doing that.  Never!"  Which I absolutely LOVED!  I had no clue what I was doing and needed guidance.  When I went in to that first meeting, I knew I wanted tulips for my bouquet but that was about it.

I thought I wanted white flowers for the bridesmaids, but as you will see, that is SO not what we did.  And I am SO glad!

I found this hot pink anemone that I loved and Wendy pulled everything around that flower to make some AWESOME floral arrangements. 

We'll talk about the food later...but this is a sampling along with one of the floral arrangements at the reception! 

She also did K's pomander and flower crown. :-)

The other thing we had to do was programs.  I pinned several things I liked and my mom showed them to one of her friends who is a graphic designer.  Hannah then gave us several options and we picked what we liked.  They were GREAT! 

I had just what I wanted for invitations, programs, and thank you notes.  So, now we have everyone invited and ready for a wedding.....

My "Somethings"

Every wedding, brides try to come up with a list of "somethings:" something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. 

I'm not superstitious but coming up with these four different components was a little fun.  First, something new....my dress!  What girl doesn't dream about her wedding dress and even browse some before there is an official engagement?  I did!  I had been looking online at dresses for months before David asked me to marry him.

 I picked out the dress that I loved...I mean, loved!  However, I was worried that it wouldn't look right on me.  I mean, I'm not exactly long and lean like wedding dress models are.  So, a week after we got engaged my mom came down and we went dress shopping.  Three dresses in I tried on my dream dress....after that, no other dress even came close!  It was perfect.  Everything about it.  I loved the illusion neckline, the empire waist (which I'm partial to anyway), the way the train gathered at the back.  I felt so elegant and classic!

Next, my something old.  When my Granny died, I found several pendants of hers and kept a couple.  Not because I had plans for them, but just because they were neat.  Well, one of them was perfect for placing on my bouquet.  It added a little something special.  Another something old was my veil.  I originally wanted to use my mom's veil but it was edged in a thick lace that took away from my dress, which I wanted to showcase.  However, her veil was two layers...so, we trimmed the underlayer into a short veil which my sister-in-law's mom, attached to a hair comb.  Perfect!

My something borrowed was Mama's pearl bracelet.

And my something blue...a couple of things.  Toes!  And garter, which Mama made. 

And though all of this was fun, none of it has anything to do with our marriage being successful.  All of that is based on the foundation of our marriage, what it centers on...and that is Jesus Christ!  David and I will never have a perfect marriage and that is why we must trust God to guide us.  Why we make a point to daily pray together.  Why we pray for each other. 

The Guys

Now, obviously, I didn't pick out the groomsmen...David did...but I know them all!  What a great bunch of groomsmen to stand by and support us as we start our life together.  (Such a cool picture!)

My dad tried to join in but I think he's just crashing the party!  ;-)  Just kidding!

First up is Michael...

Interestingly enough, Michael and I grew up at church together, did debate together, were friends in med school.  We taught Sunday School together and were in a SS class together.  He went on his first missions trip with my dad...and now wants to do medical missions.  He and David are in the same training program at the med center, doing med-peds...David is a year ahead.  Michael was actually his M4 on his first wards team (along with another groomsman as the lead resident).  So, he has been a part of both mine and David's life.  So glad he was able to be a part of our day!

Next is Andrew.  Andrew is in David's same year in med-peds.  He was the first person that David remembered from orientation for residency.  David says that they just got along and commiserated about the difficulties of residency.  From my standpoint, he's just a fun, down to earth guy and will be staying to work here next year...and likely with David in the future.  He and his wife have been so helpful.  I'd love to do things with them...double dates, maybe?!

And now Kevin...what to say about Kevin?  Well, Kevin was David's first pediatric upper level (with Michael as the M4, remember?) and is also a med-peds guy.  David says that Kevin made him realize that the med-peds folks take things seriously and work hard...but have fun, too!  I mean....he is going to Montana to work so that he can hike and enjoy the view in his spare time. I worked with him several times in the PICU which made that overnight shift much better. 

The last of the med-peds guys is Zeb.  Zeb has been one of David's attendings during residency.  He and his wife, Anna, have been so helpful with K.  David would take her to their house when he had to be at the hospital before daycare opened or overnight.  Anna just took her on as one of their children.  K loves "Miss Anna" and "Mr. Dr. Zeb!"  And we love them, too!  I think Zeb and Anna were the first ones to realize something was going on between me and David.  They started praying for us before we were even "official."  What a blessing from God to have friends like they!

This is Philip, my little brother.  He's really grown up and become such a neat guy!  I love watching him working on cars, with Kenna, with K, and more.  Who would have thought my little brother would grow up and be so handsome, kind, smart, and fun!  He and Kenna just bought their first house...near the beach, too!  Hmmm...I smell a trip coming. 

And last but not least is David's dad, Jim...his best man!  Jim is not a man of many words but he is a quiet leader.  For that David and I are both thankful!  He has worked hard and now he is enjoying being a granddaddy to Kate.  Tinkerbell, tea parties, painted toe nails...he'll do it all!  I can't wait for him to have more grandchildren.  :-)

What a great group of guys!

Especially this one!  :-)

The Girls

When David asked me to marry him, I already knew who I'd ask to be my bridesmaids.  Right after college, I wondered who I would ask.  They say you leave college with your lifelong friends but most of my friends came from childhood.  In fact, half of my bridesmaids were childhood friends!

 Robby did a great job showcasing all of my girls' beauty as well as the gorgeous flowers by Wendy.  We ended up with a great day outside, so we took some pics in front of the church.

 Now, allow me to introduce you to my bridesmaids.

 Jennifer if one of my childhood friends.  We grew up in church and school together.  We were ballet friends - she took, I think, a year (or two) longer than I did but we both LOVED it!  Maybe K and E will both love ballet, too!  She was the first of my friends to get married and I was able to be a bridesmaid and sing in her wedding...I even caught her bouquet (the first of THREE mind you!).  So glad she could be a part of my wedding...with baby number TWO growing inside!  :-)

 This is Stephanie, David's sister.  We haven't gotten to spend that much time together just due to schedules and distance but I am so blessed to call her my sister-in-law.  She is a children's minister and you can tell that she loves what she does and is great at it!  She loves K and is always doing things to encourage her.  I hope that we will have more nieces and nephews to add to the mix so they can love Aunt Stephanie, too!

 And again, my sister-in-law (married my brother), Kenna!  She has worked so hard to be a great P.A. but has always maintained her sweet spirit.  She helped make some of the reception decorations and did my hair...all on short notice and without complaining.  Funny story - Kenna's brother was in my class at school.  We had study hall together, and he and this other guy called me "val" because they were sure that I'd be class valedictorian.  At that time, Philip and Kenna weren't even close to dating...no clue they would be!  :-)  I'm so thankful for God blessing Philip with such a kind, patient, and generous wife...and glad she is part of our family now!

 This is Sarah, my matron of honor.  She and I met in medical school and did our pediatric training together.  We sat on opposite sides of the room first year but both did a summer program in the peds clinic after that year...so we were FORCED to spend time together.  After that, we working in the Pediatric Interest Group together and were fast friends!  We tried to do as many rotations together as possible third year and Sarah worked hard to keep me at UMC for residency...promising we'd find me "a hot resident to marry."  Well...it worked!  I stayed...and found a hot resident to marry.  ;-)  We've been through a lot together in 8 years (really? wow!) and I am so thankful for her. 

 This is Sarah, my "oldest" friend.  We have been friends for as long as we can remember...forced together because our mothers were friends.  But how glad I am that we were.  Sarah is the kind of friend that I don't see much (she lives in CA) but whenever we DO get to see each other, it's like we haven't been apart; we pick up right where we left off.  She is a pediatric nurse and spend some time in Africa at an orphanage, which is where she actually met her husband!  It was such fun to be a part of their wedding...and to have her be a part of mine.  They are moving closer next year but not quite close enough.  Guess we'll have to take a road trip to visit.

And last but not least is Katie.  Katie and I haven't always exactly been friendly with each other.  We've known each other since Brownies...but we did NOT like each other.  In fact, in any scout picture, I'm on one end and she is on the other.  I thought she was loud and annoying (which was true) and she thought I was a goody-goody (which was true!).  Then came the day when she and Jennifer became good friends.  Being that Jenn and I were friends, Katie and I were basically FORCED to be friends...but it worked!  I was in her wedding and now she's been in mine!  She and her husband are such fun.  Thankfully, they live nearby, so we can hang out...if things would ever slow down!

I am so blessed to have each of these girls in my life and so thankful that they would honor me and David by supporting us on our wedding day. I am thankful to know that they will be the kind of friends to hold me and David accountable.  Can't wait to spend more time with them!

Family

David and I are so blessed to have great support from our families.  His family has been a big part in helping with K so that he could stay and finish his residency here.  We're excited to put our families together and make our own little family!  For some reason, K was not having it when we took these pics but she got better.

The whole Gilliam family!  We were sad that David's cousins couldn't make it but it was too far...hope we'll see them soon!

This is David's Grandma Carrier or Nana to K (I tend to say Nana, too).  K adores her "Nana banana" and we are so thankful for her sweet and giving spirit!

This is GG and GP, David's dad's parents.  I love watching them together.  So precious!  GG spent some time with us over Thanksgiving and GP was so sweet to encourage us to always make God first...the KEY to a successful marriage!

David's sister, Stephanie, is great!  She loves K so much and K loves her - sending her cards, getting her (traditionally) Twinkle-toes, writing down things they've done for K, making cupcakes, and having sleepovers at her apartment.  So blessed to have her as my sister-in-law!

This is us with our parents.  The joining of two great families!  We are both so blessed to have parents who have made the choice to stay true to the covenant of marriage that they made and to make God a prominent part of their relationship!  They have all been a great example to me and David and truly generous in their giving to us in all ways.

This is my side of the family.  My parents and Philip with Kenna, his wife.  We're a little family but we love each other and have fun together!

I was so excited that many of my family members were able to come.  None of my grandparents are living anymore but we still love getting together with my parents siblings and their families.  First up is my dad's family.  There are still several people missing but a nice big group.

Now Mama's family.  Again, several people missing but so thankful for those who could come (and those who couldn't).

This is Philip...my brother.  He's turned into quite the handsome, smart, hard-working, fun, kind, and giving young man.  I am so proud of him and can't wait to watch him and his own family.

We are both so thankful for all of our families and are looking forward to our own.  God chose to bless me by including K with David, and I am so excited to be her Mama and can't wait to add to our family.  But one thing I am so thankful for is David and his desire to lead our family in God's will. We pray that God will use us for His glory and continue to grow our family in Him.