Our Start- How we met (again)

It started with Middle School Girls Basketball. True Story.

It was hard to decide where to start with this story; I really have to go back to my high school and early college days, when my sisters were in middle school and playing with my dads traveling basketball team -The Starz (I have to find a picture soon to post b/c they will both die but they were so little and cute!). This basketball team did a lot of playing at the Boys & Girls club, and my dad & family did some volunteering there as well. Unknown to me my future husband was working and interning with the Boy's and Girl's club through college and friends with our family.

Now, I did not have as much contact with Barry as my family did, but I remember him always being around the Boy's & Girls club. He recalls always seeing our family, and when I say family I am including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins (some that played on the team as well! Lauren and Jess!)and everyone else watching games. When I say I come from the big-fat Greek Weddings of Catholic families I honestly mean it! (that is also for another post ;) I adore my huge ridiculous family). Barry also called at times to check on my dad throughout the time he was suffering from kidney failure prior to his transplant in May of 2003. My dad even had Mary Beth (my sister) volunteering @ the B&G's club running clock, Barry tried to pay her - to which my dad promptly responded that she was doing it as as a favor to and not to pay her, so Barry asked to take her to McDonald's as payment for working the tournament. If you know my family at all you know that, 1. My dad trusts very few with his girls and 2. At that age the quickest way to Bethie's heart was with McDonald's. Barry and Beth have a friendship today that rivals any other ;). So from the start Barry knew the importance of my family and had already begun to love each of them before even starting to love me.

Fast-forward about 6-7 years until after college, I had moved back to Missouri from Oklahoma for a job with a pharmaceutical company after graduation. Now this next bit I hate to admit but it involves myspace. I know. I die, and not in a good way. Barry saw a picture of a very grown-up set of the 3 Bourne girls through of post of a friend of a friend on myspace, while he was on the end of his first deployment in Iraq. One day I received a much surprised comment on this picture saying "Are these the famous Bourne Girls!?".  He thought it looked like us but couldn't be sure with as grown up as the girls were so many years after the Boys & Girls club years.

After this began a string of emails and eventually texts when he cam home from Iraq, and finally phone calls about 6 months after that initial picture.

Our relationship began as a friendship, thinking back now its strange that we started by talking about our individual relationships and breakups with other people and working through so many changes in our lives. At this point the pharmaceutical company had just downsized and I found myself on the job search again 2 years after graduation, Barry just back from his first deployment from Iraq and making decisions on what to do next.

What I did next would change both our lives forever and. I was ready to make a change, to move away from home and really spread my wings, really for the first time. So I made the decision to move to Texas for a job and live with a friend whose husband was deploying for the 2nd time- everything seemed to be aligning. Funny thing is, at this point I hadn't even realized that Killeen and Fort Hood Texas were the same place (I knew nothing of the Army then)! As soon as I announced my decision to move to Texas to Barry and told him and I bet we'd be living close enough to get together sometime, he informed me that I was in fact moving to exactly where he was living. Killeen is the military town surround Fort Hood , I was obviously militarily inept.

After moving to Texas, Barry and I started to spend more and more time together and very quickly he became my best friend. I wish I could say a romance budded immediately but I fought it every step of the way. I knew I wanted to kiss him early on, I also knew if I did kiss him it would change everything and I couldn't risk losing my best friend at that point. I also knew he was re-deploying soon, and not only was I petrified at giving up my best friend for an entire year, I also knew we had to be totally in to make it through a deployment to make it as a couple.

But Barry, in his very patient way continued to wait and work for that  first kiss because he was certain of what he wanted. We talked everyday, he showed me around and we continued to spend a lot of time together. He was even grilling steaks for my roommate and I - every Sunday we would sit and have dinner like a family. He was working so hard for that first kiss he was even mowing my roommates lawn every other week. This went on for quite some time, a couple months actually, which he will never let me forget.

I knew once I gave in and kissed him nothing would be the same.

The moment did not disappoint. I can only describe it as fire works follow by weak knees. You know the scene in Princess Diaries (yes Princess Diaries, stick with me) where she has her first kiss and she had no 'foot pop' and she's so disappointed? Then she kisses the right boy and she gets it? I got my 'foot pop' ;)

 It was bigger than me and I knew from that very moment, the moment of our first kiss that he was the last man I would ever kiss.

Our very first ever trip together to San Antonio

Love him!

I told him from the beginning I was a lot of work and required a lot of attention, but that I was more than worth it. I am so glad he continued to wait and work to earn my trust, he is such a good man and is going to make the most amazing husband and father.

I know it sounds like a cliche to say it but he is truly my very best friend and I cannot wait to marry him in 5 short months.

Deployment & Homecoming- from Barry's side

(Lindsey): I'd like to start this blog off by saying that I never imagined I would actually be able to coerce Barry into writing this. All I have to say is - this is what love does ;)
Ooh I love this man!

(Barry):

So I am being forced to type a short summary of this past deployment for all of you great people by my loving and understanding fiance.  I'm not exactly sure where to start?  If any of you had ever experienced the Military life, you may know what I mean.  The deployment is broken into 3 different parts.  The pre-deployment which is crazy quick, you have a count down of about a month.  You try to accomplish all the meaning moments you with your love ones, while not trying to think too much about the upcoming departure. 

Very last kiss for a long time.

Second,  you have the deployment. And first comes deployment day,  which is a killer. You wake up the morning your leaving and try to think of it as any other normal day.  But it's not, it's the last day you will experience the love and warm smile of the one you love, and the Army doesn't make it easy on you.  They try they're best to separate your family slowly and painfully.  You spend about 6 hours just out of arms reach on post. Then you load on to the infamous white buses not knowing when you will be in the comfort of you family again.  As for us, we were well prepared.  We spent plenty of time leading up to the deployment together and with family.  And I know Lindsey was just wanting it to began so we could start the "Count Down", she loves her countdowns. 


As for the actual deployment there wasn't too many days that I wasn't able to make some kind of contact with Lou (that's me), so in that aspect it was nice.  I have experienced other deployments when you may have only been able to make call or email once a month, fortunately this time it wasn't the case.  For us Soldier's the deployment tend to go pretty fast.  It was once explained to be as being "one long day" and that's a very good way of trying to explain it.  You just work until you receive R & R and once you receive your estimated date of departure, all you can think of is all the many things you want to do.  Lindsey and I had plans and changed plans several times, and even had the actual R & R pushed back by over a week before I finally made it home. Fortunately we spent most of our time on the road seeing family and friends and making a couple of Royals games. It was a great time but definitely too short, and the day comes again when you have to go back.

R & R in San Antonio

The 3rd and finale stage is trying to get home.  Which you may know with the Army can be VERY painful. Once you get everything packed up and turned in, all you have is time to get excited only to hurry up and wait.  Our departure dates moved up about a week.  Then they moved back about a week.  Only to be moved up again to some where in the middle.  ha ha.  I tried my best not to inform Lou of any specifics just to save her the stress of Army transition and travel.  But thanks to the 1st Cav and the FRG the stress and confusion was uncontrollable, everyday there was a change with them.  They we're all expecting us to be home about 2 weeks sooner.   It was a extremely stressful for her not knowing when to expect me (and she is not one that likes her plans changed) but I knew that the day was coming.  I also knew that the ceremony of our home coming would make her forget all the stresses and confusion.

After the long delay in Kuwait it was finally time to head back home.  All I could remember was telling myself that in just 18 hours this was all going to be over.  In less than a day I was finally going to reunited with my girl.  All I actually remember from the flight was the amount of food that the airline generously gives.  Being woke up ever 5 hours or so to set in a terminal in some foreign country, to wait in line to give Lou a phone call to that cost 20 dollars to inform her I was in Ireland, German and finally in Maine.  Each place was one step closer to being home.
 Finally when the plane touched down in Killeen, TX.  I took a deep breath.  The deployment was finally over and now my next step was to find a way to propose to Lou.  I had a year to think of an original way, and at this point I had already spoke with Lindsey's father and had picked out an engagement.  I actually had purchased the ring and had it sent to Lindsey's family.  (There will be more to follow concerning the actual proposal on a later post.  So I'm told.) Once we loaded up onto the infamous white bus for thelong ride to the parade field .

 When we arrived I remember seeing ALOT of people standing around and I thought to myself there's no way I will find Lou.  Then I remember that Lou had strategically planned a location to meet up, so surely it wouldn't be difficult to find her.  After we unloaded the buses and did the final march onto the field,  the General gave his speech and set the families free to locate their Soldiers.  That's when Lindsey's best friend showed up before her.  His name is Murphy, if you don't know him you've surely heard of him, Murphy's Law, tends to follow her around from time to time.  As I walked to the planned meeting place I was looking through the crowd of people trying to spot Lindsey, but no luck. I thought for sure there would be no way she would be late to the one day she had been waiting for the entire year.  Once I arrived at the point I stood there looking and spinning around look for her.  Then came the embarrassing part, some nice woman walked up to me and could tell I was distressed, so she offered to let me use her phone to call someone to pick me.  It was official Lindsey was late to my homecoming from Iraq.  The one moment we'd been waiting for.  That's when there was a break in the crowd and I spotted her,

 standing and looking just as confused as I.  She was standing somewhere in between where we had planned.  But it was at that moment that I got my breath back, my smile back and finally the love of my life back. 
In that moment, seeing her smile again, I fell in love all over.                                                        

We had just finally finished the deployment, but it was only the start of our life together.

Coming Soon!

Look for it tonight or tomorrow - Barry makes a guest appearance on the blog! Yep I was as pleasantly surprised as you all, we'll get his Deployment/Homecoming

Dress

No this is not my dress but how fabulous is it! I would wear it down the isle in a heartbeat! I adore all things vintage and Hepburn.
I also loved here are her delicate ballerina shoulders, alas I would never look like her with my linebacker limbs. Helped with pole vaulting...not so much in pulling off a Hepburn look.

Vada!

I am feeling like a horrible mother at the moment because I set up and told the story of how our little family ended up in Kentucky but left out the biggest (tiny) addition that came to us from Kentucky!

Little Vada - (seen the movie My Girl - if not watch it! also how our girl got her name) was not exactly a planned addition to the family but adding a playmate for George Brett had been discussed. We were running errands on a Saturday and drove past a parking lot where they were selling puppies - we're suckers- and I just thought it would be fun to stop by. We came back by later in the day and they weren't there, which was okay but got us talking about getting a puppy #2. Much to my surprise Barry said ' Do you really want another one? We could do it'. So when we got home from running errands and eating dinner that evening I started searching shelters online (we had agreed after George that we would stick to only rescue and shelter dogs), just looking while Barry was on the Play Station (lol) and I can across the picture of the tiniest little runt of a mutt at a shelter with the cutest little polar bear face and huge brown eyes! I turned the computer around and said to Barry - 'look at that little face!'. Again a picture won him over, so in a very Barry fashion, and much to my surprise, he picked up his phone and said whats the number? lets just call and check it out and if she's even there anymore.' in this one phone call in speaking with Barb (her shelter), she offered to come let us meet her and her liter (she was part of a liter but I had my heart sold to the tinest runt). So at almost 8 that evening we loaded up George bought a new pink collar and went to meet our girl. She did not disappoint. I sat on the floor with the liter and she just walked up, put her tiny paws on my chest and licked my nose - in her very Vada way- as to say 'hi mom, lets go'. lol- she also had Barry wrapped around her little finger from the word go. So we became a family of 4 on a whim - which is sometimes chaotic, but I wouldn't change it!

She is really too adorable for words, which also gets her out of a whole world of trouble

Little Back Ground - Long Post

Ok, thought I would take the time this morning to back track as to how exactly we ended up in the booming metropolis of Elizabethtown - for the record we actually adore this little town.


Now I won't yet be telling the stories of how we met (again) or how we fell in love because we're going to do a separate day on that - one in which I will be able to coerce the love of my life into writing his side of the story for that and we'll post one from both of us!

So I need to back track to Big Texas for a minute to tell you how we got to Kentucky. Barry and I started dating after I moved to Texas, he was stationed at Fort Hood back from his first deployment to Iraq but preparing for a 2nd quicker than either of us where ready for. Right after Christmas Barry left for Iraq on a day that I can only describe as one that I dreaded more than anything I have ever dreaded in my life and that day did not let me down in expectations.

Though this day was hard it would actually prove harder to send him back to Iraq after his 2 week R & R, because this time I would know what to expect. Realize you have found your soul-mate only to have him taken away from you will forever be one of the hardest things we have ever been through, but it made us so much closer and our relationship so much stronger.

R & R in San Antonio

As hard as the deployment was and as much as I missed him I knew he had a job to do, a job that I was proud to stay back and support him doing. I have never been more proud of anyone or anything in my entire life - patriotism and pride took on a whole new meaning. I can now no longer hear the National Anthem without  tearing up, knowing the sacrifices our soldiers and their families have made and continue to make will never cease to move me.

Barry returned from Iraq barely short of a one year deployment on the 3rd of December, one day before his birthday and the very best day of my life (at that point anyway ). Homecomings are a tricky and actually stressful couple weeks leading up to the actual day, and that day changes a multitude of times just to keep things interesting.

During this last month before Barry came home I also adopted a new puppy for Barry as a welcome home present! Our little man George was rescued running the street in freezing rain in Joplin by a friend of our Ashley Hailey- a wonderful girl with a soft spot for rescuing puppies. After seeing her post about a tiny little mutt on FB needing a home I melted and knew he was going to be ours, and all it took to talk Barry into it was to show him that very first picture.

And who wouldn't melt with that little face!

Thus George Brett Green (named after Barry's favorite baseball player) was born into our little family, and after a good friend of Barry's, Miss Lauren Gilbreth (also in our wedding) brought him with her on a trip to Dallas. I made a late night trip to Dallas and finally picked up our little Georgie and he waited out that last excruciating week with me.

Then came the day of the Homecoming - finally! It was moved about 3 different times leading up to that actual day but I can say that the moment I saw the white buses pull up and saw the love of my life with his smiling eyes it was all worth it - I remembered nothing else but how it felt to hold him again for the very first time.

Waiting on the buses and trying to stay warm!

A Homecoming is truly an electric day, there is a crazy energy with such a build up to one day that we had all been waiting a year to make it to with our sanity intact. I was of course running late this day and got stuck in traffic at the gate, I am habitually late everywhere (it's called Williams time). And this was the only ceremony I had ever heard of that was actually on time, what are the odds!

I made it there just in time to wait for about 15mins before the announcement was made for families to line up on the white line on the parade field because the buses were on their way. That is the moment everyone waits for, they are actually there and on the way to you - just got chills again. Now the big white buses are a stomach-dropping, nauseating sight the day they deploy because the buses are what take them away; but on the day of the Homecoming ceremony it is the most wonderful sight to see coming down the street behind police escort from the airport because those same buses bring them back.

This turned out to be an absolutely amazing picture with the little girl next to me holding her flag to welcome her daddy home. I can't take credit for these though, I took none.

I was too busy bursting into tears about now.

Ok, with this particular ceremony for 1st Cavalry the buses pull up and our soldiers unload on the other side of it, then when the buses pull away all that is left is your soldier in a sea of ACU's. Chills and tears begin right after this moment....I'm actually tearing up thinking about it all over again.

And there they were - and no I had no idea which one he was lol

When the buses move they march onto the field in formation, but you can't run to them yet - which is a practice in self-restraint. Once they get onto the field the commander comes up, says a few words and a prayer (which gets everyone crying) and then they say' families go find your soldiers!'. If you envision mass pandemonium at this point it is, you are ready to run but have no idea where to go! Now in my infinite wisdom we had decided weeks before of a meeting point, but the day of I happened to be with one of Barry's good buddies gf's  (Khan and Tiara) and Tiara had brought a pink umbrella and that was how he was going to find her. I thought I wonder if he's gonna think I'm with her! So I basically stand between two points trying to second guess where he will think I am (he has no cell phone at this point), with George in my arms freezing our butts off and I am becoming more upset by the second that families are reuniting all around me and I can't find Barry! He re-tells the story and some lady offered him her cell phone to call me b/c he looked lost (he was of course at the meeting point I decided on lol).

Just at the moment I become the most panicky there is a break in the crowd, and there he was with his tanned face and smiling eyes and the biggest smile spread across my face and there was the moment I had been waiting a year for. It was finally over and Barry was home safe and sound right where he belongs, with me.

Its like the feeling you had a five on Christmas morning - only better

Happy little family

December 3rd 2009 marked the end of Barry's second deployment with 1st Cavalry, and one of the very best days of our life. It marked a beginning in more ways than one. While Barry was in Iraq he also re-enlisted for 4 more years with the Army to go to Fort Knox Kentucky to be a part of a training unit there. So the end of March the Army packed up all Barry's things (mostly my things lol) and we relocated to Kentucky. Though we don't know how long the Army will keep us here, we are making the most of every adventure by taking it one day at a time and doing it together. Our life with the Army is a forever changing saga and when we know more be certian on the changes to come there will be a full post on that as well!

Sorry for the long post early this Friday morning but it gives you a mini-story of Barry's deploymentand Homecoming ceremony and how we ended up in Kentucky!

Look for the stories from us both in a soon to come post about how we met (again) and how we fell in love ;)

Things I've learned this week about starting a blog

1. The fine art of proofing and editing
2. The need to find better pictures
3. I should have started in some kind of order...but thats not how my little mind works so it'll just have to be fun enough to jump around with me to whatever comes into my mind that day!

So bear with me guys I'm learning as I go!

Reception

http://www.theramsey.com/


I actually thought it was going to be really excrutiating to find a place to hold our reception, Joplin doesn't have alot of options for a bigger wedding and I just couldn't invision us celebrating our wedding with our families and friends at any of the places that came to mind. That was until my mother mentioned the Ramasey builing in downtown Joplin, and I was immediately hooked. It is a renovated builing on Main street with huge floor to ceiling windows on 2 full walls and  an exposed brick wall. I love the idea of renovating downtown and the view of historic downtown from the Ramsey is awesome. Even seeing it from the outside all lit at night before even going inside and I was sold. I loved the idea of a loft for the reception and it really seemed to suit Barry and I's personalities so much better than anything else, and he was as much in love as soon as he saw it too. 
I recently attended the wedding of a wonderful friend of mine Calry Collins-Ringstaff and seeing how amazing her wedding turned out in the same venue made me so incredibly excited and ready for our own. You can check out all of Carly and Joe's amazing wedding on Dale Benfield's blog that is in my followed blog links! So happy for them- it was an amazingly beautiful day and I was honored to be there to celebrate with them!

How amazing do Carly and Joe look! And this great little staircase is also in The Ramsey building. Also in love with - Carly's amazing sense of style, I adore her dress and jacket!

Congrats Ringstaff's!

Though there were some draw backs with the amenities themselves we are working with it and I cannot wait to have pictures of that day from the outside looking in on all the family, friends and love that we will have the privlege to celebrate our wedding with in less than 6 short months.

I wish I had better pictures of the venue itself but hopefully soon!

Our Ceremony

The Church.

I can never remember a time that I imagined walking down the isle at my wedding with my dad that I did not imagine this taking place at in St. Peter's church. It feels like home, and where I want to bring our children back to be baptized and raised in. My sisters received their first Communion here and all 3 of the Bourne girls were confirmed here, there is no other place I could imagine exchanging vows with my best friend.

And the killer isle and gorgeous stained glass windows are just the icing on the cake.

The Ceremony

I had to think a little on whether or not we would have the full Catholic Mass for our wedding as my beloved is not a Catholic. I was born and raised in heavy Catholic faith, tradition and culture - yes culture, if your a Catholic you know what I mean- so in the end I knew I wanted our wedding to celebrate all of that as well. So we're are celebrating our wedding with a full mass, so know you have been warned my friends to not come with the expectation of a 20 min ceremony - cause we're doing it 'Catholic-style' and that's not how we roll.

Now I have to throw in here that when Barry and I were discussing this - which because he is the wonderful man that he is he constantly tells me 'whatever you want' - his only objection outside of refusing to wear his dress uniform (that is another argument for anther post ha!), was his concern that he would have to kneel for the majority of the wedding. Love this guy

So no, though there will be kneeling it won't be the whole time, I just informed him don't lock your knees when your standing and lets keep the 'celebratin' to a minimum until after the ceremony ;)

So after much deliberation and some anxiety that I'd make a fool of myself starting a blog - I decided against probably better judgement to go ahead and start one anyway. I've become an addict of blogs, especially wedding blogs with our impending nuptials around the corner. So I've been inspired through various wedding blogs and another bride-to-be that happens to be marrying one of my life-long best friends - Zac & Kristen! So whether or not anyone reads this we will have a little timeline to laugh back about of the planning of our wedding and maybe beyond to the planning of our little family someday!

I am thinking over the next week to introduce some background on my lovie and I and our little family and some ins & outs of what we have planned for our wedding celebration so far!