Tina Pinson – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 1

Historical Fiction author, Tina Pinson shares her wedding story & a romantic excerpt from her latest release, To Carry Her Cross. Comment on any post dated 7 – 11 to get your name in the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Jan 19th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Tina:


The Third Time is a Charm… my wedding story by Tina Pinson. 
I met my husband while we were both in High School. Previously, on this blog, I’ve shared how I met my husband and how he proposed. 
Our wedding was rather interesting as well. I had hoped to be a June Bride, my aunt made me a country style white, eyelet-dress, and my bridesmaids dresses were made of blue eyelet, but my hubby to be, Danny, who served in the Navy at the time, ended up going out on a cruise during that time. Which was okay, sort of. 
The Navy timetable said his cruise would be over come November 1979. I decided a December wedding would be beautiful. I had it all planned out in my mind. I’d wear a white cape and a muff over my summer dress with boots. My bridesmaids would wear silver capes over their dresses with silver muffs draped with flowers and of course boots. It would be outdoors in Colorado in Winter.
Yep. Outdoors. My parents had a big back yard. I envisioned it with garland and bells. We would set up trees and lights. If we could have the ceremony toward evening with a fire in the pit it would be awesome. My new wedding dream. We might all get frostbite, but it would be a wedding we’d never forget. 
But I’ll never know. 
Come November, hubby to be called from Philippines and let me know he was on his way stateside. I was so happy. No ecstatic. I was dancing around the house. Then I watched the news. His ship made the headlines of the day. It got orders to turn around and go back to sea again. They steamed back to the Indian Ocean as a show of force because of the hostages that were taken in Iran. 
Danny called to talk to me before they pulled out. And well, we spent a bit of time crying. 
Much to the pleasure of some of my wedding guests to be who were most happy to see my December wedding melt away, my wedding was, once again, delayed. Thankfully, I didn’t buy invitations with dates printed in them, so I could switch out a card with the new times on it. But who knew when the real time would be. 
I went ahead putting together our wedding, hoping it would come to pass some time in the near future. This time I planned for March 1^st 1980 and prayed a lot and kept my fingers crossed. 
Needless to say, I watched the news, lived and breathed it almost, just see what was going on with Danny’s ship. 
About two almost three weeks before our March 1^st date, I was finally able to send out the invitations. And my husband to be actually made it home. After nearly ten months, I met Danny at the airport.
There are no words for how wonderful it was to see him. To feel his arms about me again. 
We were married on March 1^st as planned the third time. This time we had a spring theme. We put together everything that was in the making before. I wore the white eyelet dress with a white summer hat. My brides maids wore their blue eyelet dresses with the gray capes and muffs. 
I started down the aisle with my father. 
My father slowed his steps. “Should I trip?” 
“No. Why?” I half laughed and gasped. 
He winked. “You look like you’re ready to faint and I wanted to calm you down.
I hugged my father’s arm and we picked up our pace down the aisle once more. I was scared. Spitless. And yet, I was amazed, I was actually getting married.
Danny stood up at the front, dressed in his Navy blues (Johnny Cashes). He looked at me, like I was the only one in the room. I felt beautiful. I felt my heart beating through my body, a slow steady thrum. But the most wonderful thing, the truly most awesome thing, was to look into Danny’s eyes and find myself there, and take his hand in mine and pledge my love.
After several misses, we finally said our “I dos.” 
Have the years always been kind to our love. No, but with God and a commitment to one another we stood the test of time and will celebrate 33 years together this March. 
Thank you for letting me share my story.
About Tina: Tina Pinson resides in Mesa, Arizona with her husband of thirty plus years, Danny. They are blessed to have three sons, and five grandchildren.
Tina started her writing in elementary school. Her love of writing has caused her to seek creative outlets be it writing poetry, songs, or stories. Her WWII story Trail of the Sandpiper won third place in the Genesis in 2003.  In the Manor of the Ghost and Touched By Mercy and When Shadows Fall Book 1 in the Shadows Series are available through Desert Breeze Publishers.
Shadowed Dreams, and To Catch a Shadow the next two installments of the Shadow Series about the civil war and the Oregon Trail, will be available, November 2012 and June 2013. To Carry her Cross will be available January 2013 and Then There was Grace a Sept 9/11 type story will be available Sept. 2013. Learn more: http://www.tinapinson.com/, Twitter:@Tina_Pinson, Facebook– http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=754617103.
About the book – To Carry Her Cross: We all have our Crosses to Bear.
Willow Creek, Colorado is a town built on the dreams of gold and secrets. Whose life will change forever if their secret Cross is ever revealed?
Dr. Harrison Caldwell — who hopes the mountains will shelter him enough his past won’t find him?
Mitchell Grover — who hopes to win the mountain for the Lord, and might, if the townspeople would let him down his past?
Esther Warren — who wants to be a doctor but can’t forget the blood on her hands?
Crazy Joe — a solitary figure who goes about his business and helping others like a finely tuned clock, only now someone is interested in the secret the old man of the mountains is hiding?
Cordelia Mason — the town madam who knows many secrets, but her dream just might put her out of business?
Purchase books at: Desert Breeze Bookstore: When Shadows Fall http://tinyurl.com/d93p77a, Touched By Mercy – http://ning.it/9OJZ5r, In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/we4ul.
Come back Jan 9th for Raquel Byrnes!