Just Married!

Well, yesterday was the big day for Althea and I...and it was absolutely perfect. Anyone who knows us well at all knows there have been some bumpy patches in the wedding planning and over the course of our engagement. That said, we have always loved each other no matter what, and we would not want to walk through this life with anyone else.

The day turned out so well I could scarcely believe it. The food was very good, and everyone had plenty to eat. The DJ played great music and kept the reception and party going until after dark. He said he has been a DJ at hundreds of weddings, and he has never seen a pair of families that partied as much we did and seemed as happy as our families did today. Our husband/wife photographer team were outstanding, taking plenty of pictures to preserve our memories of this awesome day. Our hosts were gracious, wonderful people who worked extremely hard opening their home to us and preparing it for our wedding, and Jim (the husband) was our minister. Thank you so much Sandy and Jim for allowing us to be married at your gorgeous home.

Most importantly though, everyone I loved most and who loved me the most in this world was there, and the same was true for Althea. Althea's dad, brother, and grandmother came up from Trinidad, and several other of her close family members came in from all around the U.S. On my end, in an extraordinary miracle and move of God, both my parents came to the wedding and it was peaceful. Even my rascal of a little brother flew in from California, and he looked absolutely smashing in his suit, God bless his little ruffian soul. I even had some co-workers I now consider friends (Ginger, Keya, Wendy, and Bruce) as guests and groomsmen (thanks Charles and Chris M.!).

Finally, my best friends, what else can I say about them? Nathaniel, who wasn't able to be with us due to extreme illness...get well soon brother, we missed you and know you were there in spirit. Terrance, we have known each other since the first day we were both young bucks in the law...your insight, wisdom, and judgment are second to none, and it has been and will continue to be my privilege to know you until we are both old, grizzled, legal warhorses.

Mike, my brother and my crazy friend, we've been homeboys since we were both snot-nosed, 18 year old punks at college without a pair of nickels to rub together between us...but look at us now. I'm a successful, married lawyer, and you are as multi-talented as anyone I know, and you can do absolutely anything to which you set your brilliant mind. Whether it is writing, acting, modeling, martial arts, dance, some combination of or none of the above, you will excel beyond my wildest hopes and even your own wildest dreams, and I can't wait to celebrate it with you. If you look up a picture of two men having each other's back in the dictionary, there's a picture of our similing faces. I love you man, you're the best.

Last but not least, I have to pause to remember my grandparents on my Dad's side, Claude Whittaker and Claudine Whittaker. Both of them are in heaven right now, but I know they were there smiling down on us today. They would both love Althea very much, and I wish they could have met her here on Earth. My grandfather taught me more about being a man and seeking the things of God than anyone I know, and I was lucky to have such a shining example of a Godly man in my life. Granny and Grandpa, I miss you so much, and I will see you again (and Althea will meet you for the first time)...but not today. :)

For now, it's off to the Caribbean for Althea and I, then we come back and start building our lives together one day at a time with God always at the center...and I can't wait.