Whe I was 7 months along, The baby would turn over and put pressure on the nerves in my legs.. My legs would go numb. If I didn't sit down I'd fall down  I spent more time sitting on curbs, Safeway's shelves, and anything else I could find to sit on. My mother came out to be with us. We had a ball playing Tahzee. Mom cooked dinner and as soon as the dishes were cleared out came Mike with the Yactzee game. Wendy was due on Saint Patrick's Day. We thought it wasgreat having her on a holiday with our name! She had other plans. As the weeks passed we got impatient for her to come. I told the that I didn't think she would come until it snowed! March turned into April. On the way to the hospital on April 4th, there were the most big and beautiful snowflakes I have every see! Wendy came into the world and our lives at 1:33 PM on April 5th. She weighed 6 pounds and 12 0unces, 19 inches long, and had daggers for finger nails! 

As we waited for the baby to come we were delighted. The thought of knowing what  he or she was never crossed our minds. When asked we told the doctor no. That's the special thing about having a baby - you don't know until rhey arrive! I thought  that to keep Mike preoccupied until the baby arrived we would choose names. Mike would pick the girl's name and me the boy's. For the life of me I couldn't think of a boy's name. Mike said Wendy Anne right away and as you can tell he never waived from it. The only thing that dampened our spirits was 8 months of morning sickness. I couldn't eat or drink anything. Poor Mike had to cook his own meals. The doctor told me to stay away from the kitchen. As if I could do that in our small house. Mike and I never complained. We just accepted it and moved on. When I was 8 1/2 months along I was starving one night. Mike had cooked hotdogs with chili and onions. I decided it was worth getting sick and ate 3 of them. I never felt better in my life lol, 

My brother Howard and his wife Cathy camw out and visited us. We took them places and went to Royal/Oriole ball games. We might have sat with Kansas City fans but we wore our Oriole shirts proudly! They went back to Baltimore. We then went on vacation with his  parents, Aunt Margarite, Uncle Joe and their son Larry and his wife Linda. We went to the Great Smokie Mountains. It was there that I started noticing changes in my body. My bras didn't fit anymore and I hurt so much. I became very nauseated while riding in the car. We came home and I went to the doctor. Our first child was on the way! 

The first two years were learning times. We learned things about each other that surprised us, We continued to live in my apartment in La Monte for about a month. Mike drove back and forth from Kansas City to work every day. The one thing we hadn't thought of before we were married was finding a place to live near his work. Then on Saturdays we drove up together hunting for a place to live. We finally found a small house on Harvard in Independence. Living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and two small bedrooms. Small but we decorated it beautifully. We had a great landlord. He paid for everything we did to the house. Life was beautiful and we were so much in love.  

Mike and I went  to Branson for our honeymoon. We did the usual tourist things and went swimming. The highliight of the week was when we went into the cave at Silver Dollar City. They lined us up and took a group picture. Then we went into the cave. It was fine until we came out of the tunnel. The cave fell open before us. All 2000 plus feet of it! I lost it!!!!! I was and still am terrified of heights. I paniced, turned around and went back the way we came. Poor Mike didn't know what was going on until he calmed me down after we got out of that place. I never saw him laugh so hard. Needless to say we never got the group picture. Our honeymoon ended much too soon and we had to go back to the real world.

I don't think anyone has had a reception like mine. I worked as a cocktail waitress at Maxines. She insisted we have it there so we did. When we walked in, Randy, the cook told me he had to talk to us. He apologied to us over our cake. We had planned a beautiful cake in pastel flowers and ribbons to match our brides maids dresses.. He came in early that day to do it. Maxine decided she was going to do it before he got there. She had put so much icing on it the tier collums would not support the layers. So we wound up with a stacked cake. Randy did a great job off repairing the damage and it turned out quite beautiful. Almost everyone got drunk including Mike. They put crab shells in our air condition vent. Fireworks were set off. When we finally left at 10:30 PM the party was still going strong.

We were married on a hot 4th of July. I was a nervous wreck. My trousseau had been stolen the day before and I was still upset about it. I'm sure Mike wasn't the least bit nervous. We arrived at the church at the same time. They took me for a ride so that Mike could go in first. The church was so hot and Rev. Jones apologied to us for the air conditioning breaking down. And I thought it was just me!   The whole wedding party were drenched. Bob Tucker was best man and my sister Anne was maid of honor. My brides maids wore dresses in pastels with a foral inset at the top.The grooms men wore pastel shirts that matched the brides maids dresses. The ones that got pink and yellow never complained. My bother Howard gave me away. My mother June and my kid brother Joey was there also. My sister Connie and her husband John were unable to come because he had back surgery. I think my father Howard was there in spirit. I walked down the aisle into my new life. At 2:20 PM I became Mike's wife. 

Mike and I were dating about 6 months when he nonchalantly said to me, "Do you want to get married? Pick a date and I'll be there." He was never outwardly romantic but I knew I loved him and he loved me. I set July 5th and we started planning. We Iater had to change it to the 4th. I worked 3 jobs to have my dream wedding. He pitched in where he could. He bought me a beautiful trousseau that was stolen the day before we were married. We planned and worked together to have the perfect wedding. 

We first met when my mother and I came out to Missouri for my baby nephew's funeral. I didn't pay much attention to him. He was with his girlfriend and I was engaged to a cop in Baltimore. I came back later that year on vacation to visit my sister. Anne wanted to fix me up with him but I told her no. I was out here also to decide if I wanted to remain engaged to my fiance. So what does Anne do? We were at a nightclub and while I was in the bathroom she up and leaves me with Mike waiting to take me to meet them. They didn't meet us so it was Mike and I for breakfast. We talked and I told him about what was going on in my life. He asked me to go out with him the next day and we saw each other the rest of my week here. The highlight of the week was Woodstock 2 that was taking place in Sedalia at the time. The night before I left to go home he asked me to stay. I told him I couldn't  because I had to deal with my problem at home. I went home but Mike had me call him every night. We talked for almost a week until my friend who worked 3 to 11 had a day off. The moment I saw him I knew it was over. When I told Mike, he told me to come back to Missouri. I told him I couldn't come right back. Vacation had depleted my resources, I had my apartment to give notice at and several other things to take care of. He told me that a plane ticket would be in the mail the next day. It arrived 3 days later. I subletted my apartment and packed my bags and came back. I haven't regretted it since.