The Fisher Swearingen Family

So at church on Sunday I wasn't expecting anyone to know that Richard and I had said the

"I dos" but everyone knew and many people kept asking me what my new last name was. Yikes, I was really not prepared for it. Madison bless her heart kept letting everyone know that it was Swearingen, if anyone called me Sister Fisher she would gladly correct them and introduce everyone to my new title, Sister Swearingen. So all the while Richard walked around with a smirk smile on his face, he seemed to act as if it was Christmas day, he obviously wasn't expecting to her me be refered to in that manner.) Not only was I having a bit of a reality shock but everyone pronounced it wrong so by the time I got home even I was pronouncing the my last name wrong.

I find myself still signing Fisher and blushing when a classmate teasingly calls me Mrs. S. or Mrs Swearingen. I debated the idea of hyphenating the name for a while however I think for me that could be an outward sign of clinging to the past. What I need to do is cherish the past and move forward with the wonderful foundation it has given me. However, the kids need to know I am not moving on without them and that I still love their daddy very much, so I decided the best compromise for that would be to remove my middle name and replace it with Fisher and embrace tradition as I take Richard's name into this next phase of life.

So I am chalking up the name change to another unforseen alteration in my lifetime.

Ta Ta for Now

Nichole Fisher Swearingen

PS

did you know that it takes over 5 seconds to sign that

Colleen from Shutterbug sent

Not really into the PDA but I think Colleen (the photographer) did some fun things with photoshop on the pictures. I love my red tulips, and I think the Bridge of the Gods in the backgroud looks pretty awesome. So here is a smooshy picture for the ladies.

The Tabernacle of Men

Has been desecrated by pink. I thought that a few women related to Richard might get a kick out of seeing pink in Richard's truck. A pink CARSEAT none the less. The sanctity that he finds in his "guy" temple wont ever be the same.

We still like each other

So it has been a WHOLE week and we still like each other, actually love each other. It has been an unique week, the kids didn't even realize that Richard was living with us because we have had late classes all week and arrive home at tucking in time. Richard also wakes and leaves for work in the early morning so the kids didn't even notice a different routine until I called and told them we were stopping at his house to pack a few things to bring over to our place for him. Too funny. Madison has already got him trained to hold her colored pencils so they don't get lost during snuggle time on Saturday morning. We have woken up to 3 bed bugs in the morning the past week (Chester the dog, Audrey and Nicholas) and 4 this morning Madison brought in her coloring and joined the group. Richard is a good sport and actually sports a smile. He did mention we needed a bigger bed, I told him we already own it, shooty darn, we will all just have to snuggle closer. :-)

Smith Rock

Richard nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw the sign directing traffic to Smith Rock State Park, he had been wanting to explore the park for quite some time and didn't know that we would be so close. We made reservations for the weekend in Sunriver, OR without realizing all the wonderful activities in the area. So on Saturday we went for a hike. I felt like it was more of a climb. Richard drives me crazy with his camera. Don't get the wrong impression I am a scrapbooker and I am now a blogger so I love photographs but I am the one who has always been behind the camera Richard is obsessed with photography...and since he is now obsessed with me I have become an uncomfortable subject in many of the photographs. :-) Although I have been known to tell him to knock it off and to stop taking pictures I was very, very grateful for the insecesent clicking because of the verticle climb and my lack of cardiovascular excercise I needed to catch my breath frequently. I was able to do so without embarassing myself too much when Richard would stop and take a pic of this rock or that bird....

The hike was a lot of fun and the view was very majestic. We could see all of the mountain peaks. from the top of the climb. We then descended on the back side of the trail by the rock refered to as the monkey face and followed the trail that hugs the river out.

4.5 of us + 1 math freak = Family

After a few family dates with Richard I started to get worried about what in the world I was doing, I was already so very fond of him and the kids loved being with him. What can I say Richard made us all happy. However I realized that the dating game had changed quite a bit in the last 14 years, and since Greg and I married when I was only 18. Honestly how much dating experience could I have in the first place??? NONE, that is how much. My friend Katie, gave been a basic 101 crash course in dating and I was pretty sure I wasn't ready for the casual approach that most people my age go into the dating experience. Although I had told him I don't do "casual" I hadn't thought through the reprocusions dating someone could have on the children. I knew before I said yes to the first date with Richard he was someone I could have a wonderful marriage with (really with 3 kids and a loving marriage previously, why date anyone that did not have that type of potential) . Although I knew this about him for myself I was CERTAIN no man could feel that way about me and my 3 wonderful, but tiring children. So I was going to "Just Friends him" Jumping ahead I think he had the intuition that something was amiss and in the course of our instant messaging conversation he reasured me that he was 99% sure that he wanted to grow old with me. Now this was the most unique proposal I have ever heard of and although I loved him and felt a connection to him I did not think possible my sister and I agreed that an IM proposal doesn't count and told him so. So the next day he used his man ways, (not to be confused with stalking) and found me at my sister's house in Stevenson, Washington. He asked me to marry him as soon as he got out of the car....I said Yes.

We were going to wait until summer, then spring break, then the end of Febuary to be married on leap year, then on the 10th of Febuary, we decided we were sure, why wait. My mom once told me that I don't ever do anything part way, I didn't understand what she meant until my sister explained to me that it is like when i clean the closet, I do not just tidy up the closet, I pull everything out, I reorgainize it and detail the floor. Once I start something it is all or nothing. Now I did have a few reservations, especially about the kids and Richard's ability to love them. Until I read a reply that richard posted to my sister's blog about Adoption and children's right and need to have an earthly father. After that I had no doubts anymore and wanted to combine our family as soon as possible. So we decided to elope on the 15th with the kids. Until we decided we had better tell our parents because we didn't need to be sneaky. So instead of an elopement we ended up having a small wedding with Madison and Nicholas's my best friends The Grillones come, mom and dad(Stecker), Megan and Jessica and our other dear friends Marlene and Lauren Jensen. We did have a photographer come and take pictures but we don't have them back yet. So here are a few of the good shots that were grabbed

Audrey was so excited she started tossing the flowers early

Nicholas and Madison carried the rings for us and

signed as the witnesses for the marriage license.

Audrey walking both Richard and I down the isle to Bishop Wyatt.

"Dance with me"

While Madison and Nicholas rushed off without us Audrey requested a Dance from Richard. Richard happily obliged and dipped Audrey in a dip and a twirl. Nicholas and Madison had a great time wasting a few quaters on arcade games while we waited to be seated at Red Robin. We had a fun family date.