Babies, Blessings, Weddings & Work…

I’ve not written any blogs yet this season due to my workload that continues to get more and more hectic. On Christmas Day alone I had 17 inquiries regarding inmate weddings. Between juggling work and family, there hasn’t been a day off for me since May 2020 when TDCJ reinstated wedding ceremonies. Federal reinstated in October 2020.

There are a handful of Units continuing to “hold out” with Lindsey being one of them. After going round and round regarding clients loved ones who have chained to Lindsey, I finally involved Access To Courts to get around this “hold up.” Lindsey is a private MTC facility but operates under TDCJ which therefore puts them under the umbrella of TDCJ policies and protocol. Hopefully moving forward Units continuing to “stall” will stop stalling.

Just last week I was finally on site at TDCJ Hobby after months of setbacks. I’m still trying to get a client from San Francisco scheduled. I had met James whom I married at Hobby in Weatherford and taken him to breakfast at IHOP prior to accompanying him to the clerks office which isn’t unusual since most of my clients are nervous regarding buying the license alone.

Tomorrow I’m at TDCJ Lyncher then Tuesday at TDCJ Hughes then Wednesday at TDCJ Choice Moore then onto Whitney to marry clients that had setback after setback at TDCJ Clements. I’m guessing these delays were because the couple are LBGT. The inmate is now out on parole and will be marrying in the “free world.” The couple have decided to incorporate jumping the broom and hand fasting into their ceremony. I found a broom suitable on Amazon as I don’t have time to shop for one. Thursday I’m at Prairieland Detention Center then Friday at TDCJ Robertson before heading to Taylor County Jail then flying out to traditional bookings in other states as well as County facilities.

Christmas was a bit stressful as I was working and expecting the birth of my second grandson who was born this morning at 9:38AM. Baby Luca is a big boy weighing 8lbs and 9 ounces. I can’t wait to finally see him but I’m all over the state for the next several days.

My niece Leigh Ann is returning from CA the first week of January and my other niece Stephaney is still doing well at the job I found her when scouting locations for her bridal photos in downtown Fort Worth then taking her and her friend to lunch at Ole South Pancake House where I saw a help wanted sign and went to grab my niece to have her apply. She’s been working the midnight shift about 4 months now.

I’ve decided to start another business and put my son in control of it since 1. My husband is a builder and developer and 2. Power washing is required on all new home construction and 3. My son can accomplish this task in 2-3 hours pretty much any time of the day or night and 4. The job pays well. With a toddler and a newborn baby, getting my son financially independent is important to me.

My husbands office has closed for the week so thankfully he can get some rest this week and will be running some errands and I don’t know what I would’ve done without his assistance cooking this year while I haphazardly tried to wrap gifts at 2AM and ran out of tape. My gift wrapping skills are zero. I want to hug whoever created gift bags.

I’ve got all my gifts packed for brides and grooms and have set out my suits for the week so I’m off to bed to get up early for Houston tomorrow and thankful that baby Luca is healthy and my daughter in law is doing well as well as blessed that Stephanie’s mom is pitching in to watch Oliver while I travel.

I will be bringing Cindy with me Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because I will have Oliver with me to give Brenda a break from babysitting. I also ordered groceries for my son and daughter in law along with Omaha Steaks so they don’t have to worry about groceries. I’m OCD. I try to think of everything ahead of time. It’s the planner in me.

I’ve been addressing media inquiries as I can but frankly media is in my rear view mirror as my schedule has been and continues to be so jam packed that the only time I have to clean my own house or pre prepare meals is in the wee hours of the morning.

My husband has “once again” suggested a maid but frankly this house is a lot to take care of and again I’m OCD. It’s highly improbable that finding anyone to clean it the way I want it cleaned would be possible and I’m never home and would be uncomfortable having someone in my home without me there.

I was thankful to finally see Elena again after meeting her in Houston nearly exactly 2 years ago. I know her movie is going to enlighten people judgmental about anyone who loves an inmate and thrilled that we are on the same page. Yolanda is an amazing lady and we had a wonderful time. I look forward to Elena and Yolanda returning to the states in January.

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with joyous memories and looking forward to finally meeting all of my clients in person. One client from 2019 contacted me today to let me know that her loved one had chained from TDCJ Luther to TDCJ Jester 3. It will be January or February before I can get them scheduled but I will finally get my last 2019 client married which is exciting for me after all of this time..