Another Place & Another Time

today i've been "organizing" and trying to get rid of some junk we've been hauling around with us for years. some of the junk is sentimental & i have a hard time tossing it, other stuff is junk plain and simple! so today i've been working on simplifying and creating room for our new family member that arrives in december. while merging and purging i came across a very old scrapbook of sorts. i enjoyed flipping through the pages and remembering the significance of each picture and scrap of paper.

for those of you that know us well, you'll get a kick out of this post. for those of you who don't know us very well, or who have never met us at all, trevor and i have an interesting history. a story that leaves people saying "what?!! you're kididng me!!" way back in 1989, when trevor was a young marine stationed at quantico, va., and i was a taco bell worker (hehehe) just out of high school, we met and started dating. the story leading up to our first date is pretty good, but not for this post. anyway, we dated for 2 years and eloped when we found out trevor was going to be shipped out and stationed in the persian gulf. this was during the FIRST war over there - with the other gwbush. we were married for several months, me in the states and trevor in the gulf, and through a series of events we ended up filing for a divorce - again, another story for another time. it was sad and tragic and i hate to even think about it, but without our history we wouldn't be where we are today.

so - today as i'm going through my scrapbook i actually found a picture of me and trevor together as a newlywed couple the first go round (circa 1991). we look so young! What do you think? in this picture i was 21 and trev had just turned 23.

i remember when this picture was taken. we were at my aunt and uncle's house in roanoke, va., and trevor had to leave that day to go back to north carolina, where he was stationed. i hated it and still remember the feeling of having to say good bye. i've never liked good byes. looking back at this picture i wonder what we would have thought had we known about the events that would transpire over the next few years. our divorce, his sister marrying my cousin, and our subsequent meeting again 8 years later and getting remarried. i know that this whole thing was by God's design - but looking back i can't help but feel a little sad for this happy, naive, young couple just starting out. they had no idea what they were in for!

fast forward 14 years after this picture and this couple is now happily married to each other for the 2nd time, they've given their hearts and their lives to christ. they've been married 4 years and counting, have their first child on the way, and life is looking up again. in life i guess even the bad can lead to some very good stuff!

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now, this photo below is another funny one. just a candid family shot from 1990 of me and my brother and sister. trevor's leg is visible, but the funny thing is that this picture perfectly describes the relationship i shared with my siblings. mark looked dorky in his hot pink hat and trying to grow his hair out long. he wanted to look like some country singer or something. he's picking at the big ugly bow in my sister's hair - i think he wanted one for himself! Janet, my sister, was looking sexy with her cleavage (and do i see even MORE than a little cleavage - growl!?!) hanging out and i was just kicked back enjoying the show. the event was my cousin's wedding in northern va. hard to believe they've been married 17 years! so much has changed during that time. children born, grandparents & other family members have died, families moved away and back again, marriages and more births, and 17 years of family beach trips in between! i love that i found this picture. i love that i have the memories that this picture brings back to me.














anyway, just wanted to share a little nostalgia with you. hope you have a wonderful weekend. i'm cleaning and organizing for the rest of the day - who knows what great treasures i'll find?!

Blessings~
H