the rose of kiev

So we made it.  We made it the beach.  And from now until the 12th I pledge to write about every day here, to show you our beautiful little family. Dave and I left at three in the morning to pick up Brandon for the 11-hour drive.  What a good man Dave is - the only break he got was a 90-minute window in Virginia before I quickly wussed out and became too tired to drive.  We passed several cars along the way that we could tell were headed to The Beach, even if we didn't know who they were.  After all, there are at least a dozen other Xenos homechurches each of 30 or more people going the same way to the same place, so we're bound to encounter a few.  Through the dark farms in Ohio and tumbling into the Appalachian hills of West Virginia, getting lost in Virginia clouds and then emerging upon the pines and sandy knolls of North Carolina.  Passing through Wilmington, passing the Food Lion, passing the gift shops, to get to the bridge.  That bridge is our one way onto our beach; it...

Six months ago I put on a white dress and a ridiculously high pair of heels.  I walked down the aisle with my father wearing my mother's veil.  I met Dave at the altar, and we read the vows we had written to each other in front of nearly 300 of our friends and family.  I walked back out of the auditorium with Dave as "First Kiss" from The Last of Mohicans played over the sound of clapping.  We got out to the hallway and hugged each other until our attendants followed, shrieking with happiness for us.  I remember looking down at my new ring through the happy tears and spluttering, "Oh my God, it really happened!"  There was joy, such an awesome amount of joy, in those first five minutes. But there was no magic. Let me explain. I was raised in the church by Christian parents and graduated from a Christian high school.  At every moment in my young life, the wonder of marriage was on a sacred pedestal.  Living together with someone "in sin" was the unthin...