Anyway, for the two of you who read my blog, check us out at http://kingwinkelmann.wordpress.com – where I’ve been documenting some of the “highlights” in my married life.

You may notice there are some of the same posts on this site because I imported a few over, but there are some different ones too! I still have some catch up posts to publish at some point…right now they are just chilling as drafts.

I’ve decided since it’s been ages since my last post, I should give a brief recap of the last few months. 

November
The wedding planning process stalled out – I had the venue, caterer, florist, photographer, and pretty much all the other big details handled, so it was nice to take a break and enjoy the holidays with my family.  Thanksgiving was really mellow, with Ryan and I spending the day separately, each with our own family.  My Thanksgiving traditionally starts off with Laura and I frantically racing each other to tear bread for the stuffing – we never actually know who wins, its more about who can beat the other in tearing the final piece of dried bread.  That makes up my stint in the kitchen – then it’s off to the basement to play pool or foosball and watch some football with my dad.  The football watching doesn’t last too long, as I tend to get bored (I prefer the real game of football, you know…soccer). 

December
One word: SNOW! Lots and lots of snow.  Felt like I was confined to the house for months!

Okay, technically December started with tree hunting – our family tradition.  It was freezing and pouring.  Sadly, Laura & I didn’t find our tree as fast as we have in the past, but we finally settled on this beauty:

Laura wanted this tree with the top that resembles Carrot Top’s hair, but we chose a much smaller, less invasive tree isntead.

 Next came decorating…both at home and our parents:

Then I had my first wedding shower, hosted by Ruth and Debi – they did an amazing job!

And then…came the snow.  It started off being exciting, but quickly became old to us Seattlelites.  The snow actually began the day of my shower.  Fortunately it held off untit everyone was making their way home for the night.  I was stranded at my parents, so I made good use of my camera: 

Then came Christmas to finish December off!

By this point, our cars were buried by the snow and we had to dig them out:

I was able to move my car (blue honda civic) just seconds before the snow on the roof (pictured above) came crashing down on it.  I literally backed it up just enough to be missed and as I put my car in park and opened the driver’s door, that snow slipped violently to the ground.  It was like something straight out of a movie – but without the car actually getting crushed.  And so ended December.

January
We were getting nearer and nearer to “D-day”, so this month was filled with dress fittings, final plannings/meetings, filling of candy jars, printing of programs, and any other various wedding tasks that arose.  Oh, did I mention there was massive flooding going on in Snohomish and surrounding cities?  Yeah, turns out all the snowfall decided it would melt and turn our valleys into lakes.  And did I mention that my wedding venue was in Snohomish? Yeah, this was a definite concern!!

February
Five months of peparations came down to this:

  It was an amazing night that went way too fast; filled with family, friends, good food, delicious cake, and lots of dancing.  Does it get better than that?? 

Family/Neighborhood Apple Press.  Also, my flower girl – isn’t she cute!?

Beehive on my parent’s property

But I finally have a few of the pictures, although Ryan’s sister does have the collection of better night shots. 

Hopefully this will do until I get those from her – she’s currently away at school, so it’s a little difficult!

She also has an upclose shot of the ring – but I can take one & put it on too.

I got engaged!!!

Pretty crazy, exciting, and surreal.  I’ve been hoping for this day for awhile now, but always thought his time line was a little different then mine.  Turns out he’d been planning this since last Christmas – got the ring in April.   But he was waiting for our 2 year anniversary from our first date (August 25), so he held off.

But, August 25 came and went very uneventfully.  Typical of Seattle, the weather was not in agreement with his plans.  So Ry waited.  He had no intention of changing his proposal, so it took another 2 weeks before it happened. 

On September 5th, he had me meet him at Madrona Park on Lake Washington – where we had our first date.  The first date was pretty incredible – 3 hours of just hanging out, talking, laughing, and eating Ben & Jerry’s.  So he had Ben & Jerry’s with him on this night and we sat on the same bulkhead that we visited 2 years before.  Ryan also had with him a stack of papers and a box – the size of a pencil box – wrapped in newspaper for me to open later.  After about 15 minutes of awkward chatter, he allowed me to look at the first page of paper.  It was a comic book he had made – drawn in stick figures (my friend in high school and I drew a ton of stick figure comics sophomore year).  The first comic depicted our first date and was so sweet and thoughtful and hilarious.  After that, I was allowed to read one comic every 15 minutes.  Eventually, Ryan got impatient and just let me finish them all of at once.

The final comic depicted Stick Ryan with his arm behind his back holding a question mark.  Stick Me is standing next to him thinking “presents? I love presents!”  This was the part where I was allowed to open my gift.  I unwrapped it, curious as to what was inside…

And it was…

Drum-roll please!

A LAMP!

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  What girl doesn’t want a clip-on bedside lamp for her anniversary, right?
Not this girl.  I looked at the box.  Then at Ryan.  Then back at the box.  A look of utter disbelief on my face. 

Me: “Seriously? You got me a lamp?”
Ry: “You don’t like it?”
Me: “Umm…no.  It’s a lamp.”
Ry: “But it clips on and everything!”
Me: “…<mutters>…you’re just like my dad…”
***note*** my dad has given my mom a traffic cone, steering wheel, and 3 hubcaps in the past.
Ry: “It’s a lamp because you light up my life!”

Okay, but still…a lamp???  Then Ryan shines his cellphone light onto the corner of his comic page depicting the lamp and in very fine print I see the words “but wait, there’s more”.  And then I get it.  I need to pull the lamp out of the box!  Inside the lamp, where the light bulb typically resides, is a ring box.  Ryan takes the box, drops to one knee, opens it and asks me the question I’ve been waiting months for.

Of course I said yes!

There was lots of smiling, hugging, and yes, even some kissing.

Then Ryan tells me that his sister and friend have been hiding out in one of the shelters taking our photos all night, so we walk over to them and get congratulated, etc.

About 10 minutes pass and out of the shadows come running 4 high school boys (Ryan has been mentoring them for about 3 years now).  With a bucket of water.  Aimed straight at Ryan.  I sidestep just in time, but receive a few drops on my arm and pant leg while Ryan gets doused.  On our first date, we were sitting on the bulkhead with our legs dangling over the side, when a giant wake from one of the passing boats washed over the ledge, soaking Ryan and sprinkling a few drops on me. So Ryan made sure this night ended the same way it did then.

I couldn’t be happier with the results.

***when I get photos from the night, I’ll post them***

The photos below are a few Ryan & I took while goofing off in the park.  My favorite is the one of us laughing on the beach – we had set the camera up to take a timed photo & decided to sit on a log that was stretching across 2 other logs.  Apparently it wasn’t as sturdy as we initially thought because it snapped the moment we both sat on it…and of course that is when the camera decided to capture it’s photo.

Today is D-day.  She goes in to get new x-rays and receive either news that will crush or brighten her day.  It’s all in the doctor’s hands…although technically it’s all in God’s hands, the doctor’s just get control of the “yay” or “nay”.  Hopefully her pelvis is healing properly and she can have the bars and pins removed today, but she’s not so confident.  So please pray that all goes well and that she keeps a positive outlook, no matter what the verdict is. 

We’re all hoping for the best, but her complete healing is the most important thing, so if her pelvis hasn’t knitted itself back together quite right, then I am all for the bars staying in longer.  However, I can understand her desire to be rid of the contraption.  I mean, it’s like having a coat hanger resting across your stomach.  A coat hanger attached to your bone with bolts and nuts the size of quarters.  Once it’s off, her mobility will greatly increase and she’ll regain some of the freedoms she has sacrificed.  But I’m also concerned she’ll push herself too soon.  I just want her to recover completely.  Or at least 90%.

And so, I give my concerns over to God.  He is way better at handling it all then I am anyway.
But I do pray that the best decision for Laura’s recovery will be made and that she will be able to accept it if it isn’t the one she is hoping for.

Anyway, a co-worker of my dad and sister, wrote a blog about Laura that I just felt had to be shared. He cares for her a lot and they have always had a special bond. Probably all started when Laura, in second grade, told him to quit smoking. And he did.

His words touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

——————————————————————-
Written by Rich

Where to begin………

A week ago, I witnessed one of those life changing experiences, which happened in a big way, to a very dear friend of mine.

I work at a fairly small sign and graphics company, we are a tight knit group, and most of us have worked together for years.
In my case, I have been working off and on with Martin (the owner) for the last 23 years, which is incredible.

The company is definitely a family affair.
Martin is the president and owner of the company, his wife works part time doing books and office work, and his daughter Laura has been working there for the last few years in the graphics department.

She runs a couple of the vinyl and large format print machines, and whenever I go out on an install, I take her along, she is an exceptional installer!

I have known Laura “for ever”, and since she was just a little babe, she has always been glued to me. Though there are many years between us, we are the best of friends, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Plus, we make a good team. I have the years of experience, and she has that wide eyed youthful exuberance which I find to be a wonderful change, especially since the rest of us are old and jaded.

Ok, I am wandering.

On Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend, Laura was involved in an accident which could easily have ended her life. She was on the back of a ridiculously souped up 4 wheeler, riding with her boyfriend, when he got sloppy at the controls and flipped the ATV.

Laura was wearing a helmet, and was thrown from the vehicle landing some distance away where she sustained damage to her pelvis in at least 2 areas.

She crushed the left Anterior Inferior Iliac Spine (that large part of the pelvis/hip just under the skin that looks like an ear made of bone on a skeleton), and also suffered a break at the Sacroiliac Joint.

It could have been far worse. Her boyfriend, an ex Marine and a few others who were involved in the accident panicked and actually moved her instead of leaving her with a person and getting help.
One of them left, found someone with a small car up the road, loaded her into the back seat, and drove her to a hospital in Shelton Wa., on the Olympic peninsula.

Unbelievable.

Who moves a person after they have been in a serious accident???

After she arrived at the hospital in Shelton, it was determined that they needed to medevac her to Harborview hospital in Seattle.

Laura at the hospital, a day or so after the surgery she underwent to stabilize her pelvis.
The surgeons drilled into both sides of her pelvis, inserted metal rods which are now screwed and bolted to an external rod which runs across her lower belly to keep both halves of the pelvis aligned so they heal correctly. She was in a great deal of pain, and very dizzy when I took this shot.

So it goes without saying, when Laura gets injured, we not only lose Laura, we lose Martin and his wife, all three of them, which has been the case for a week now. A nightmare situation for the rest of us, but all I really care about is getting my friend healed, and well again.

The doctors state it will be 6-8 weeks before the rods are removed, then there will be extended physical therapy for another month or two.

Hard to be mindful and patient, I want her well NOW!

Memorial Day Weekend brings to mind images of trips to the lake, camping, hiking, playing croquet on a nice velvet green lawn while waiting for the BBQ to heat up, toasting marshmallows over an open fire, laughing deep into the night, and spending time with family and friends. It’s the welcoming of warmer weather, the celebration of the beginning of summer. At least, it is for some people.

This Memorial Weekend, I took work off early on Friday and headed down to Portland to play in a soccer tournament all weekend long. We had games scheduled for Saturday thru Monday. Nobody goes home early in this tournament. The drive down was fairly uneventful. There was traffic, of course, but nothing too depressing. We made pretty good time and checked into our hotel around 5:30pm. Not too bad for a 2pm departure. After settling into our room, Carrie, Kara, and I headed out to get some dinner. We wandered across an abandoned parking lot/hotel, passed under I-5, and crawled through hole in the fence to make our way safely to the shopping area. Sound creepy? It was. I’m pretty sure drug deals happen in the shadows here late at night.

Saturday morning came and we played two games, losing 2-0 both times. I actually played sweeper both games…can’t believe that one, as I’ve always been outside mid or forward. Surprisingly, I enjoyed myself and would even play back there again. After our games were done for the day, we headed to Downtown Portland to watch the Portland Timbers take on the Vancouver soccer team (honestly don’t know their team name).

Broken pelvis? No big deal for my sis!

I’m sad that she’s hurt.

Mom decided her hair needed attention.

She has to wear these air-casts on her calves to keep circulation in her legs.

She’s doing well, but is getting frustrated with waiting for so long. Originally, her surgery was supposed to happen Sunday morning, but she keeps getting bumped since she’s not considered critical (i.e. doesn’t have a tube down her throat). Plus, she’s an ortho case, so they figure they can always re-break her bone if they need to in order to perform her surgery. Sad day!

Definitely not the way I wanted to spend the 3-day weekend. I know it’s not what she had in mind.

Of course, in my family, the drama doesn’t end with just one sibling. I had driven home Sunday morning from my weekend of soccer to be there for my baby sis in the hospital. So that night, I decided to spend the evening at my parent’s home in Snohomish. My mom and I enjoyed a nice long respite in the hot tub and then settled into the basement with some coconut cream pie and a Billy Crystal movie. We were about halfway done with our pies, when the phone rang. Assuming it was Laura, my mom got up and answered it while my dad and I continued watching the movie. There was no one on the other line, so my mom hung up. Seconds later the phone rang again and still no one was on the receiving end. The phone rang a third time and finally someone was there. And it wasn’t Laura like we all thought. Nope. This time it was D. And she was hysterical.

She had decided to cook hash browns at 10:30 at night. Don’t ask me why, this is just D’s way. She left the pan of oil on the burner and walked into her bedroom to change & check her e-mail. A few minutes passed and she started hearing a popping sound. She exited her bedroom to investigate and saw flames curling out from under the lid of her pan and licking the top of her stove. She attempted to pour salt on the increasing blaze, but to no avail. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of lifting the lid on the pan. The flames leaped out of the pan of burnt oil and climbed their way up her microwave & cabinets. She called for help and a nearby neighbor rushed to her aid with a fire extinguisher, but it was too late. The sprinklers came on and began flooding her kitchen and the tenants below her. In the end, 3 fire trucks arrived, a fire & rescue truck, and she displaced the people living below her on the 2nd and 1st floor.

The remains of her kitchen.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse. It just needs a little TLC and she’ll be back in there whipping up cookies to thank her neighbors for being so understanding.