Summer Update

Hey friends. :) We are fixing to head to Myrtle Beach soon for Jason's dad's wedding (a second Enos wedding!). I (Arlene) am starting to write music lyrics during my free time so that Jason can create songs with what I write. A "musical collaboration" is what Jason calls it and it has a nice ring to it, huh? :) Thankfully, our new home is actually starting to look like one now that we've found places to put our wedding gifts (thanks to all!) and Jay seems to enjoy his new game station quite a bit. :) The hardest thing for us is getting pictures mailed out to various family members....it's a long task! lol You would think that one would be enough, but family can be quite persistent in getting more than one wedding pose from their kids. :) We'd like to go visit family in New York some time, but we're not sure if this summer will be the season. Shanna and Matt came over last weekend which was fun! They're great company and we're excited about their wedding this December. Overall, summer keeps going well. We tried out the pool here and it's quite refreshing on these hot days that we're having. Give us a holla if you need us! God bless, friends. :)

Hopes for summer

Hey friends. :) I'm guessing that this summer, we hope to find a local church home. We keep church-hopping trying to figure out where God wants us to go. To be quite honest, it's hard to find a good church these days. If you are a college graduate, you still may end up in a college & career sunday school class with tons of high school seniors or early college freshmen who absolutely have no clue about the real world quite yet. lol Then, if you're married, you might end up in a class where you feel like you're in a walking funeral parlor because the people are celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary! lol Then, of course you have those mondo-huge churches that have about a million members and finding yourself in the church directory is like locating the smallest needle possible in a haystack. What are you to do?! :) And finally, you have those churches where you "used to go to regularly" but either the church created some sort of chaotic drama or it just simply wasn't making you feel like God was there. Our hope for summer is to find a church that has people around our age that we can relate to and that we can make tons of jokes with about those "other churches" that condemn you to Satan's abode due to not bringing a covered, casserole dish! haha lol :)

Our Wedding Party

I'm giving credit where it is truly due because our wedding party was AMAZING!

Matron of Honor: Lisa McClain
Maid of Honor: Christina Ramos (my sister)
Bridesmaids: Shanna Chambers, Mandy Ferguson, Kayla Frazier (these girls looked beautiful and have been the best friends any Bride could ask for!)

Best Man: Brian Russo
Groomsmen: Mike Barrieau, Seth Anderson, Raymond Alton Burgess, Jr., Zac Buser, Gregory Suits, Daniel Verdin

Flower Girl: Destiny Lopez (my niece)
Ring Bearer: Luis Solis (my cousin)

Musicians: Rebecca Bonas, Kolby Matson
Singers: Ashley Thibodeau, Anna Steele

THANK YOU so much to our wedding party!! You were all amazing and made our wedding day so awesome, fun, terrific....just simply OUTSTANDING! We love you all and when we get our home settled, we'll have another great time hanging out and eating! lol :)

Reedy River Family & Friends

I (Arlene) would personally like to thank those people from my old church home that attended our wedding and remained true to our wedding date. As some of you may not know, another wedding was planned AFTER our wedding was set, on the same day at another location in SC. Jay & I were engaged earlier than that couple; however, a similar wedding date came into play which saddened my heart.

Thank you: Mandy Ferguson, Steve & Debbie Ferguson, Marion Owens, Kayla Frazier for attending our wedding. You mean so much to us and your presence at our wedding was deeply appreciated and loved.

It's hard for a Bride to share a wedding date with whom someone she knows and shares mutual friends with. Friends and family are torn between which wedding to attend. I didn't want that. However, I thank everyone who was present at our wedding because my heart was full of joy and happiness to break down the wall of sadness on our wedding day. (Plus, looking into Jay's eyes as we were saying our vows to one another and his very own song being sung to us by Ashley and Anna definitely raised my spirits and made me thankful to God for everyone second that day). :)

Married! :)

Hey friends, we're finally married! :) After being engaged in September of 2007, Jay and I were married on May 24th, 2008. It was a great wedding and reception. The wedding was at LifeSpring Church in Simpsonville and the reception was held at the Greenville Shrine Club Ballroom. What made it great was our friends and family. We couldn't have done it without every single person that was there. Thank you so much! I was sad to know that some close friends and family couldn't make it, but I know they probably had other things to do that required more attention. I must admit: I was quite upset when I discovered another wedding during the same day as ours. I don't know if it was intentional or not by that couple. However, I hope this couple's wedding went smoothly and good. I didn't like the fact that some that were aware of our wedding first, dropped it like a hot potato to go to theirs. But, life must go on and so does ours.

I was so proud of Jay for making my real-flower bouquet on the morning of the wedding simply by looking at a picture that I liked. I can't wait to show y'all the photographer's pictures. Right now, I'm just using pics that people have tagged me in. I'll develop the table cameras soon, too. Thank you once again to everyone that was able to make it and for all the wonderful gifts! We appreciate them all! We're overwhelmed on where to put everything. lol We love y'all. God bless!