{aPaD} In Which We Hike To The Top of Our Wedding Hill

After another storm moved through overnight, in which we lost power, had freezing rain, and a follow-up of another 4 or 5 inches of snow, we decided to hike through the woods to the top of our "wedding" hill. This summer will mark fourteen years that we have been married. I made all of our clothes out of linen and cotton and we made a circle with round stones collected from the Great Lakes. In the middle of the circle we placed a bird bath and filled it with semi-precious stones. I sewed linen bags and passed them out to everyone (it was a very small group) so they could collect 'memories' from our ceremony. Joe marked out the cardinal directions and we smudged the circle and (everyone who entered) with sage grass before we asked Mother Earth and Father Sky to bless our union. Seems really hippy, now that I describe it. But it suited us at the time.

Eight years after that ceremony, we finally finished the house we built on our piece of land and moved in. The rest, as they say, is history.

Every so often we hike though the woods to the top of the hill.





Since we got married, we've had a few additions to the family... here's one of them:


And here's another...


Almost there, now. That big tree is the tree we stood under. There are fewer branches than there used to be...


It's a tradition every Thanksgiving to take that hike with my entire family. Last Thanksgiving was very special, because my niece's boyfriend proposed to her once we made it there, in the almost-dark, wearing Thorpes, getting rained on until we were soaked! Here they are, proposal in action:

And here we all are, beaming with the romance and excitement of it all...


Every time we make the trek, I relive that day, even if it is cold and snowy. And today was no exception.

Once you get up there, the view is spectacular!


And even though we've had our challenges, and our share of ups and downs... I'd do it all over again today. After all, how could I possibly resist this specimen of a hunky man?


And how could he possibly resist me?


Well, if you stuck with me while I waxed sentimental, thanks for allowing my trip down memory lane. Guess it was more than one picture, eh? Until tomorrow, then...