Bashful Dan

Christine and I have been blessed with a miracle named Alexander. We call him Tigerboy and the Governor of Idaho calls him French Fries. Last year Alex and I were driving to Cda having quite a conversation about what it takes to make an official family and he said, “…. ‘cept God already made us a family.”

I’ve thought about that a lot when Christine and I teach Sunday School in Sandpoint to the K-4th Grade. God really has made us a family. We are deeply connected through this Tigerboy and we have magical moments daily.

On December 5, 2007 at the Governor’s Ball in the Cda Resort we became an official family. Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter married us by the fireplace. Sandpoint Mayor Ray Miller and his wonderful wife Betsy stood up for us. The Broadswords, Faudes, Protsmans, Balistreris, Lockwoods, Douglas’s, Rasmussen, along with Christine’s Dad, Chris and her sister Karen were present.

I asked Alex if he knew what it meant to be married and he said: “Sure, you and Mom stand up and I stand in between you and you say stuff and Mom says stuff and you marry me and you marry Mom and I marry you and I marry Mom and Mom marries you and Mom marries me and then we all get rings and kiss and then we are a family all twogedder.

so that’s what we did…Butch turned to Alex and said: “Your Mom and Dad have taken each other as Husband and Wife. Will you take them as Mommy and Daddy - will you love them, comfort them, laugh with them, dance with them, and be their handsome man? If so, promise by saying I Do.”

Alex said “I Do” and Butch said: “Place the ring on Alexander’s hand and repeat after me: Alex with God as our witness, we take you to be our son, forever and ever after. Twogedder (that’s how Alex says together).

Then we all kissed.

We shared a meal with close friends & family, we danced in the ballroom (and the Governor sang with the Kelly Hughes Band), and we toasted Fairytales and Happy Endings. and we did it twogedder.