You Have To Start Some Where

After being married for a couple of weeks, Burl and I attended a large gospel concert. One of the groups was made up of mainly 30 year olds and had a married couple in it. The woman made the comment that she and her husband had been married 7 years. I was sitting beside an older woman who I did not know, but I found myself a little startled by her comment. She basically said that they were just babies and didn't know anything yet.

I understand her point, but at the same time I took a little offense to it. You see, you have to start some where. You can't just be married 50 years. You have to be married a week, 1 month, 1 year, 10 years, etc. There is a starting point, and it is "I do".

By no means do I know everything. I don't even pretend to...In the last 4 weeks and 5 days, I have learned more than I ever dreamed. On September 10th I knew nothing about being a wife. I still don't know a lot, but I know more than I did then.

Burl and I have the advantage of being from families that greatly value marriage. Between our two sets of parents there are over 80 years of marriage. As far as I know, divorce is nonexistent in our immediate families.

Instead of looking down on young married couples, I think we need to encourage them. It is true, they probably don't know what they are doing (I know I don't), but they have taken the first step. They have committed and they are striving to figure this whole marriage thing out. I love my husband and I have no doubt that he is the man God has lead me to, but it can still be hard. We have so much to learn about each other and about our God-given roles, but we have started our journey.

For Sale

The Springfield house is officially on the market.

Bridal Portraits

Here are a few of the bridal portraits that were taken the day of the wedding.

Wedding Pictures Preview

I thought I would finally share our sneek peek of the wedding pictures.

The bride and groom

My bridal bouquet

Abbey, my matron of honor and Jane

Burl and Jane

The Rings

The Handsome Groom

The Bride

Stayed tuned for more pictures. We do have a few more of just Jane and are anxiously awaiting to see the rest from our photographer.

Busy Weekend

We had an incredibly busy weekend.

Friday night we celebrated Burl's birthday by going out to dinner at the Fog Light Foodhouse. It is a local restaurant right on the river and very close to the church where we were married. For an establishment literally in the middle of no where, it has amazing food. A little upscale, it still manages to have the feel of a small town restaurant. I think we will definitely be going back.

Saturday was filled with church activities. Each year the different associations have their annual meetings. This past weekend was the East Union Associations meeting in Crossville. Burl travels and preaches in a few of those churches so we attended Saturday morning and afternoon. That evening was our church's business meeting so we darted home for a few minutes and continued to travel.

Sunday was actually rather relaxing. Burl had an appointment to preach at Jefferson Church in Smithville for both the morning and evening services. Our friends, Jared and Karen, invited us to come over the their house so we didn't have to drive back to our house which is an hour away. We all just sat and talked and it was really relaxing not having to dart to and fro.

And guess what? We get to do it all over again next weekend as it is the Union Association's meeting. Our church is part of that association, so we will be there all weekend. It will be good to run into lots of people we haven't seen since last year.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!!! I hope you have a blessed year to come. I have this feeling that this year is going to be quite exciting. Know that I am excited and blessed to walk by your side through it all. I love you!!!

More Honeymoon Pictures

While on our honeymoon, we decided to take a day trip to Asheville, NC. We had two main goals in mind while there...eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown and visit Biltmore. I had been to Biltmore as a kid, and Burl had been there a few years ago, but it is always fun to experience things together.

Biltmore

There was a very specific tour that Burl was adamant we take while visiting, the Rooftop Tour. When we were doing our research for the trip, we found out it was called the Architect's Tour. It was an extra $17, and well worth as we got to go on the roof and several of the balconies that are not on the regular admission tour. (By the way, with the help of a friend, I found a 25% of our general admission ticket at www.visitsevierville.com and was able to print it off.)

Close up of one of the windows

Enjoying the view

All the green on the roof is actually copper. The roof is actually slate tiles that are wired onto the roof. We got to see a section of the wiring, but were not able to take a picture due to their restrictions on pictures in certain areas.

Stopping for a quick picture

And we found someone to take a picture together

A close-up of the cooper roof which had a variety of imprints...either George Vanderbilt's initials or the family crest.

We had a wonderful day of exploring the property and learning about the history of the Vanderbilt family.

Mrs. Rice

It is official (and legal). My name is Martha Jane Rice.

Honeymoon Pictures

For those of you who do not know, we went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge for our honeymoon. We both wanted to stay off the beaten path in a cabin and well we definitely succeeded.

The Pine Knot outside of the community of Pittman Center.

The inside was pretty rustic feeling, but it worked.

A view of the Smokies from the Space Needle in Gatlinburg

Our first full day as husband and wife

The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. There were some really cute shops and a wonderful restaurant.

Cade's Cove National Park. We rode our bikes through here as it is a bicycle friendly park. I only rode the medium sized loop which was 8 miles, but Burl did the full loop which was 11 miles.

The tunnel on the way to Cade's Cove.

I will try to post a few more later, but I do have some laundry and unpacking to do. I am still working to find a home for all our wedding presents and getting things organized.

Welcome

So, I have been thinking about trying my hand at blogging again. Not sure if it will amount to much, but I think I need a creative outlet. There also seems to be some people that want to know what is going on in mine and Burl's world.