Surprise from Hubby

I sent the following text to my husband yesterday along with this picture:

Text:  The look on my face when a man from city market instacart just delivered a bouquet of city market flowers.  

First I tried to send him away saying that I was coming to pick up my grocery order at 3:00 and it was not supposed to be home delivery.  He insisted that this was an instacart home delivery from city market flowers.  

I made him tell me the name that paced the order before I would take them.  When he told me the order was placed by someone named Chris, I admitted that that was my husband's name, and so I accepted the flowers. 

I can't tell you how surprised and touched I was to receive a bouquet of flowers yesterday from my loving Hubby and aren't these the most beautiful Autumn flowers you've ever seen?  What a stunning arrangement of gorgeous Autumn color.

We have just been running like mad the past few weeks.

Some of the running has been fun, fall activities with the kids... and some has been not so fun, and some has caused Hubby and me to relate more like teammates running a relay race instead of married and loving spouses.

The flowers were such a surprise and made me feel so appreciated for everything I do to keep all the trains moving.  It also made me want to have a happier attitude in this crazy beautiful life we lead as well.

Plus... bonus -- City Market flowers with home delivery was a much less expensive flower option than any home delivery arrangement he could have purchased from a flower shop... so I can actually enjoy the flowers much more knowing that they didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Flowers from Hubby and City Market Home Delivery for the win!  

And a huge surprise for me!

I'm very glad the delivery man didn't leave when I tried to send him away.

 

1000 Words

1000 Words

Respect and Thoughtfulness

Families work because of respect and thoughtfulness... love manifested through respect and thoughtfulness.

Chris' parents have been here this week helping us take care of Tracey Ann while Hubby and I are at work.  They are here on the heels of my parents having been here for the past three weeks.

As one can imagine, it is an adjustment to have my mother-in-law (and father-in-law) here, helping out, taking care of Tracey Ann, helping with cleaning, laundry, and meals after having had my mother here doing the same thing.  Both of these mothers are wonderful women... and both of these women are wonderful mothers, but one of them is MY MOM -- the one who taught me how to cook, and clean, and launder, and run a home, and care for a child... and the other is the woman who raised my husband... but not the woman who taught me how to cook, and clean, and launder, and run a home, and care for a child.

My mom and I can finish each other's TO-DO lists, household chores, and sentences.  My mother-in-law and I do not share this innate similarity.  Simply put, we do things differently.

All of that being said, families work because of respect and thoughtfulness, and my mother-in-law is really good at being a part of a family, and specifically, really good at being a mother-in-law.  I can tell, every day, that she is trying so hard to not only take care of my daughter, but to do things my way in my home.  She has repeatedly learned my way/method of diapering, feeding, napping, laundering, and dish-washing and made a pointed effort to remember all the little specifics of how I run my home.  It makes me feel so respected that she has taken time and effort this week and learn how I run my home, and try to follow suit.

... And yet, she is still herself in my home, bringing her own personality, humor, thoughtfulness and joy to my household.  We were chatting a few nights ago about Spring, and somehow the subject turned toward gardening and flowers.  Without thinking I mentioned two things.  1) Someday I hope to have an herb garden outside because herbs seem to be so simple to grow yourself, but I can't have them inside because Lexie will eat them.  2) My mom plants flowers every spring, and one pot is always full of purple pansies.  She thinks of this pot as honoring both her mother and my dad's mother (my grandmothers) because her mother loved pansies, and my dad's mother loved purple.

Yesterday, I knew my mother-in-law had been working in our yard, but I didn't know that I would come home to a surprise -- a flower box and flower pot full of purple pansies and herbs.  I now have an herb garden... and my own spring time tribute to my grandmothers.

I did not grow up with a lot of extended family around me, and so growing into Chris' family has not come naturally to me.  Thankfully, I have such a thoughtful mother-in-law who demonstrates her love for me through her respect and thoughtfulness.

Gratitude: Day 13

Today, I am so grateful for the loving arms of my husband.  And, what is more... his loving arms that reach across thousands of miles to brighten my day, support me, and make me feel loved.

Tuesday, and especially Wednesday, I had TOUGH, TOUGH days.  I was missing Chris like crazy, and picking fights with him over the phone because it was easier to be angry with him than miss him.  All of Wednesday I felt like I could burst into tears at any moment.

Finally Wednesday night, I just feel apart in my husband's arms -- his digital arms, I guess.  I just poured my heart out to my hubby and told him all the things on my mind, and everything that was bothering me, and told him how exhausted I am, and I just cried, and cried, and cried.  And my husband is so wonderful -- his strong, loving arms reached from St. Louis to Tucson, and he let me know that it was okay to cry about everything, but that it was all going to be fine.

Well, its amazing what a good 'ole sob-fest can do, because Thursday I felt back to myself -- and because I had felt SO lousy Tuesday, and Wednesday, by comparison, Thursday I felt GREAT!!!!

And then my day got even better!!!

Even though my hubby had already fixed my problems, and let me cry it out... he sealed the cheering up by sending me flowers during the day on Thursday.  I feel so loved, and I get to look at these beautiful flowers until he comes to see me himself ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!

By the time these flowers wilt, I will be seeing my hubby in person, and I will be wrapped within his real arms.

12 days down -- 8 days to go!

Apple Blossoms

Hubby and I are in Grand Junction for part of this weekend for a gun, shooting and protection class and we're having a lot of fun.  I took a class earlier this year for basic pistol training, but this is the first shooting class we're taking together.

Grand Junction's flowers are starting to bloom more than Rifle or Vail, and it was so nice to see signs of Spring.

I love apple blossoms, and we were excited to see and smell some beautiful flowering trees...

How was your weekend?

Capturing the Simple ~ March

Amy at Filled With Praise has started a monthly blog post where you choose 9 pictures from your month post about them.

I thought it was going to be hard to choose only 9 pictures, but the truth is, 9 pictures covers the month pretty well... and now that I look at the collage, somehow I ended up with 10 pictures.  I'm not sure how that happened when I chose the 9 picture collage... oh well.

  Our pup, Lloyd got left out of this month, but I'm sure he will make an appearance in the April pictures.

Here is my March collage and below are the picture descriptions:

Starting top left and working left-to-right:

• Amazing view from Blue Sky Basin while skiing
• Church basement transformation for a baby shower I hosted
• A little relaxation during a VERY busy month!
• Lexie helping me choose a ski run for the day (she's looking at the grooming report)
• Date night with hubby at Micky's new restaurant
• Ski picture with Hubby -- the first of our little family
• Ski picture with my cousin, Elizabeth, we had a blast skiing together
• Ski picture with my brother
• Baby shower flowers -- white roses, mums and mini roses in mason jars with lemon slices -- I was really proud of these flowers and I loved having all the vases around my house for the next week
• It was great seeing my cousin for a few days

That's a fun way to re-cap the month... but I just remembered I forgot the Easter sunrise service on the top of Vail mountain... I'm sure I'll get better at this in months to come.

 Happy April!

Ode To Joy

A song I've known so long that I do not ever remember learning is Ode To Joy.

I'm sure you know Ode To Joy, if not by name then by sound.

Ode To Joy is also known as the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony,
"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!"

I am sure you would recognize it.

I have always loved this song but it wasn't until a few years ago that I really thought about some of the lines of text.  Specifically,
"Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above."

Wow!  I cannot get over that line.  I love flowers.  I think flowers are absolutely breathtaking, and the image of a tiny, precious flower opening in the sunlight is one of my favorite images... that is what the human heart does when in the presence of God.

That is such a powerful image and truth.

I was pondering that concept yesterday as Lloyd and I took a long walk around Vail and I snapped some pictures of the beautiful flowers we saw, unfolding like hearts.

Here is the rest of the lyrics to Ode to Joy if you're like me and want to spend the day singing it to yourself and thinking about the rest of the lyrics:

"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, God of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to their sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise:
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flowering meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain,
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, --
All who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the Joy Divine.

Mortals join the mighty chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music lifts us sunward
In the triumph song of life." 
 Written by Henry van Dyke 1907

Dream Wedding: Through the Tunnel of Roses

After we greeted all our guests after our wonderful wedding ceremony, we prepared to run through a tunnel of rose petals.

Our faces are starting to hurt from all the smiling at this point... but we still just cannot stop smiling!  :-D

As our guests exited the church, we had two good friends handing out handfuls of rose petals (and directions to our reception venue).  It was a beautiful day for our guests to stand outside waiting for us.

Here we go!

What a fun run!

Given the amount of rose petals caught in my veil, I'm glad we went with rose petals over birdseed.

Safely in our limo at the end of the tunnel of roses

Dream Wedding: The Flowers

Chris and my wedding really was a dream wedding... the most beautiful, perfect wedding that has ever been -- every bride is allowed to think that, right?

I wanted our wedding to be elegant, beautiful, classic, timeless.

For the colors, I wanted black, silver/grey, and purple with a dark red and light pink accents.

Also, I saw bouquets like these in a magazine before the wedding, and I loved the idea of the contrast between the bride's bouquet and the bridesmaids' bouquets.

Here are some fun pictures involving the flowers:

 These Bride and Groom flower people stood outside the doors of our reception to welcome the guests

 

I really have no idea how to get my photos to go where I want them to go in the order I want them since blogger changed its way of uploading.  It makes blogging a lot more frustrating and less enjoyable.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed a peek at our flowers.