For our ceremony Mick and I had a small reading done by my older brother Lynton, and then the vows themselves...

The reading:

Mick, please hold Claire's hands, palm up so that you may see the gift they are to you

o These are the hands of your best friend, smooth and young, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she promises to love you today, tomorrow, and forever.

o These are the hands that will work hard for you and your family, and hold them together as one.

o They are the hands that will love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

o These are the hands that will hold you in joy and excitement and hope as she tells you that you are to have another child, that together you have created a new life.

o These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it and hold you when you struggle through difficult times.

o These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are sad.

o These are the hands that will support and encourage you to chase your dreams.

o And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.



Claire, please hold Mick’s hands, palm up, so you may see the gift that they are to you.

o These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong that are holding your hands on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.

o These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future.

o These are the hands that will hold you as you laugh and cry, as you share your secrets and dreams.

o These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within you.

o These are the hands that will love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

o These are the hands that will wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

o . These are the hands that will comfort you during illness and hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

o And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.


And the vows:

I Michael promise you Claire to love you with all my heart, mind and strength.
I promise to be your lover, companion and friend.
I promise to be your ally in conflict,
your greatest fan and your toughest adversary.
I will be your partner in adventure and your accomplice in mischief.
I promise to be your consolation in disappointment, your strength when you need me, and to turn to you first in my own needs.
It is my vow to encourage you in all your endeavours,
and to walk with you to help you fulfil your goals.
I will never leave you. I am here to stay,
and I will be proud to be your husband.

I Claire promise you Michael to love you with all my heart, mind and strength.
I promise to be your lover, companion and friend.
I promise to be your ally in conflict,
your greatest fan and your toughest adversary.
I will be your partner in adventure and your accomplice in mischief.
I promise to be your consolation in disappointment, your strength when you need me, and to turn to you first in my own needs.
It is my vow to encourage you in all your endeavours,
and to walk with you to help you fulfil your goals.
I will never leave you. I am here to stay,
and I will be proud to be your wife.

People told me that things wouldn't really change that much once we were married - after all, we'd been living together for over 2 years. But to me there is one significant change, a sense of contentment and security that this is real. This is going to last.

I still wake up crazy with excitement to see him. And hope I always do.

1) Explaining to an almost 8 year old why there are 3 Santas in the main picnic area of the Zoo is an exercise in creative deception.

2) The look on said child's face when one of the Santas loses his trousers due to an ill fitting suit is even funnier.

3) Christmas trees with Mick will include Star Wars figurines.

4) Finn the Wonder-blonde Cat managed to surprise us by NOT bothering the dangling sparkly things on the tree. No idea why.

5) Christmas shopping on the Saturday before Christmas should be banned by the Geneva Convention

6) The numbers of bored looking men guarding tables in the food court probably agree with me.

7) It's all well and good marrying the evil uncle that provides noisy electronic toys to his relatives and godchildren, but Karma is a bitch.

8) We have other plans is a legitimate excuse for avoiding family you don't like.

9) Secret Santas are an annoying tradition designed to mess with your head and should be avoided where-ever possible.

10) By the end of the silly season, everyone is usually glad it only happens once a year.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

That is all :)

One of the local magpies has become Finn's nemesis. He's worked out that Finn is locked inside and can only watch from the windowsill. Finn is somewhat less than impressed at said cheeky little magpie sitting on the front porch right below his favourite windowsill and carolling to get his attention - it really is quite hilarious to watch.

I'm getting old. I knows it - I have the hangover from hell.

**insert pathetic whining here**

You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have -
[01] one weapon.
[02] one song blasting on the speakers.
[03] one famous person to fight alongside you.

***

1) Chainsaw scrubcutter
2) WW3 - KMFDM
3) Keanu Reeves - no because he'd be any help, but maybe I could feed him to the zombies and he'd stop making bad movies.

Turn my mike up louder I got to say something
Light weights step to the side when we come in

Feel it in your chest the syllables get pumping
People on the street they panic and start running

Words on loose leaf sheet complete coming
I jump in my mind and summon the rhyme, I'm dumping

Healing the blind I promise to let the sun in
Sick of the dark ways we march to the drum and

Jump when they tell us that they wanna see jumping
Fuck that I wanna see some fists pumping

Risk something, take back what's yours
Say something that you know they might attack you for

Cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before
Like it's stupid standing for what I'm standing for

Like this war's really just a different brand of war
Like it doesn't cater the rich and abandon poor

Like they understand you in the back of the jet
When you can't put gas in your tank

These fuckers are laughing their way to the bank and cashing the check
Asking you to have compassion and have some respect

For a leader so nervous in an obvious way
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay

And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
In their living room laughing like "what did he say?"

[Chorus]
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
[End Chorus]

In my living room watching but I am not laughing
Cause when it gets tense I know what might happen

World is cold the bold men take action
Have to react or get blown into fractions

Ten years old it's something to see
Another kid my age drug under a jeep

Taken and bound and found later under a tree
I wonder if he had thought the next one could be me

Do you see the soldiers they're out today
They brush the dust with bullet proof vests away

It's ironic at times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday

There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads
Inside your market, your shops, your clothes

My dad he's got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that show

My brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spine

On the back, he hand-wrote a quote inside
When the rich wage war it's the poor who die

Meanwhile, the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay

And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
both scared and angry like "what did he say?"

[Chorus]
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

1. Flute
2. Has an amazing range of notes, sounds awesome and means if I'm playing it, I can't sing :)
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. Arabic - sooo many people speak it here now.
5. Kind of predictable here - abuse (in any capacity) of children. Children are innocent and defenceless, they should be cherished and not abused.

1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, or your favorite kind of sandwich, maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.

2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.

3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.

4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.

5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions.