Have I Mentioned?

 Have I mentioned the very cold and snowy winter we've been having here in Rangely?

The truth is I LOVE these kinds of winters.  We have had snow on the ground since Thanksgiving, with no signs of it melting any time soon.

In Rifle, the snow would come, and then melt.  Come and then melt -- which basically meant the ground was very muddy for months.

This. Is. An. AWESOME. Winter.

And, these icicles are crazy!

He Knew

 I have a stressful week ahead … so I dished myself up a generous bowl on ice cream. 

Then I got into bed and saw this post from a friend… and suddenly I see my stressful week and bowl of ice cream from a totally new perceptive. 

Happy Birthday Grammie!

 Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the world.

She's my best friend, my confidant, my cheerleader, my prayer warrior, my workout buddy, my advisor, my safety net, my listening ear, my baby-sitter, and so much more.

He's Alive!

 He's Alive!

Message For Now

 My sister-in-law gave us a light-up message board sign for Christmas to hang on our wall.

I change the message on it every other month or so.

Coming into this Spring, this is our message for now:

To The Top

 Around our home, when we are saying goodbye, or good night, or just because, it is very common for one of the kiddos to say something like, "I love you all the way up to the moon and back."

I always respond with, "That is a really long way."

This is usually said by Howard -- pretty much every day Howard says something like this.  Some times Caroline will chime in with a long distance that her love spans.

Yesterday, I overheard the sweetest conversation imaginable.

Caroline looked at Lee Lee and said, "Lee Lee, I love you a lot."

Lee Lee looked back at Caroline and said, "Caroline, I love you all the way up to that really tall shelf where we keep all the games."

I took a picture of Lee Lee in front of the shelf that she is talking about... that's about as high as her sweet little 4-year-old shelf could imagine, and that is how far she loves her older sister.

Good Reminders

 Good Reminders

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

 

7th Anniversary

Happy 7th Anniversary to my wonderful Husband.

He and I met almost nine years ago at new-teacher induction in August 2009.  We started dating eight-and-a-half years ago (December 2009) and things were rocky at first... rocky, then casual... then fun.

For me, we got serious and I seriously fell in love with Hubby in August of 2010 when Hubby moved to Greeley for a new job, and I stayed in Eagle (3 hours away from each other).  I had done long-distance with a previous boyfriend and I had very little faith in us moving forward.  Hubby said he would see me all the time and I wouldn't even notice he was gone, but I had learned talk was cheap and I didn't really think we would last.

I saw him every weekend for the entire school year and most of the travel back and forth was Hubby coming to see me.

Cal Thomas said, "Love talked about is easily ignored, but love demonstrated is irresistible," and I learned from Hubby over the fall of 2010 how true that is.  I fell in love with my husband because he demonstrated such love for me and it was irresistible.  That fall, he chose me every day -- and he has chosen me every day since then... and today marks seven years of our marriage of his still choosing me every single day.  That is so irresistible.

My hubby loves me so well and he loves our children and our family in a way that inspires me to love better and love deeper every day.

I am truly the luckiest woman in the world to be his wife and I am so thankful for every day and every year that God gives us together.

 

The Rest of Our Life

I was really excited to watch the video for this song but I'll admit, the video isn't for me.  I do, however, love this song ... so maybe close your eyes while the video is playing and just enjoy the lyrics and music.

When I hear this song, I think about being married to my husband for 6-and-a-half years and still feeling like the same couple who walked down the aisle together on our wedding day.  Our lives have changed so much since then as we've built a life together, but I look at him, and he is still the man I married those years ago.  We are still that couple that could take on the world together.

Our responsibilities have changed, our bodies have changed, our hair has changed... many many things have changed, but not only is he still the man I married -- my husband, my protector, defender, other half, steadfast, handsome, adventurous man I pledged my life to... but he still makes me feel like his bride.  So many things about me have changed since our wedding day, but when I'm with him, I still feel like his bride, his side-kick, the one who takes care of him, the one who makes his house a home.  When he looks at me, I feel like he still seems me as his bride who walked down the aisle to him and he notices none of the ways time has changed me.  He seems to see none of the changes I notice over the past few years.  To him, I am still his young, beautiful, bride -- at least that's how he makes me feel.

I hear this song, and I look back at our marriage, and I think ahead of our future, and I understand that we'll stay young for the rest of our life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Nose Dive

Yesterday morning was a day I worked outside of the house... so I was dressed nicely, with my hair curled, and makeup done.

Tracey:  Mama, Eee pretty.

Me:  You think Mama looks pretty?

Tracey:  No.  Tracey pretty.

Yes, my sweet Tracey is very pretty... but in three seconds I went from flying high on such a sweet compliment from my two year old... to a fast nose dive. 

I love that girl!

 

Five Years

5 - Years

4 - Jobs

3 - Healthy, Happy Children

2 - Terrific Pets

1 - Home Purchased

...along with countless amounts of teamwork, romance, disagreements, adventures, travel, chaos, joy, hand-holding, cuddles, challenges, encouragement, loyalty, and support.

Happy Anniversary to my amazing Hubby whom I love more today than the day you married me.  Five years feels like the blink of an eye and yet, these have been the best years of my life because of you and the way you love and care for me and our family.  You have made my dreams come true and I thank God every day that you are my husband.  I love you and am so excited for all that lies ahead with you.

...

And Happy 5th Birthday to our wonderful Lloydey!

 

My Love...

Questions about my Love:
 

1. Where did you meet your other half?  
At a professional development workshop at Battle Mountain High School is where we both remember meeting each other -- although, I remember meeting Hubby a few months earlier at a meeting at the school district office.
 

2. How long have you been with your significant other?  
We've been together over six years and married 4.5 years.
 

3. If you're married, when did you say "I do"?  
June 25, 2011

4. What song did you walk down the aisle to?  
Here Comes the Bride -- the Wedding March
 
5. Do you have any children yet? 
Yes 3 children -- two girls and a boy (a two-year-old daughter, and twin newborns son and daughter)

6. What's your favorite thing about your other half? 
 I love so many things... but especially his easy going nature and good he is for me and my serious nature.  I also love how committed he is to me and our marriage, and how much he loves our children.

7. Were you and your other half high school sweethearts?
No 

8. Where was your first date?
A community theater play Barefoot In the Park in Eagle CO 

9. How long were you dating before you said "I love you"?
Good question -- several months 

10. How long were you dating your other half before he/she proposed? 
Exactly one year after our first date

11. Where is your favorite place you have traveled with your other half? 
Our honeymoon -- a Mediterranean Cruise

12. How do you and your other half usually spend Valentine's Day? 
We usually stay home, but we do something sweet and special at home.

1000 Words

1000 Words

Full Arms... Full Heart

While we were expecting the twins, I kept reminding myself that I would have to repeat this phrase to myself many times int he coming years:

If you think my arms are full... you should see my heart.

I think I will probably post pictures from time to time showing me with full arms... and reminding myself (and you) that really, I have a very full heart.

Here is the first:

If you think my arms are full...

You should see my heart. 

(In case you don't know what you're looking at... I'm nursing Caroline, Tracey Ann is cuddling at my feet, and Lexie has decided she wants to be loved on too.

My Husband...

My Husband is so many things... and most of them are so perfect for me.

God put so many specific little traits in my husband that I never knew I needed in a mate, and, frankly, I was never looking for in a mate... but God knew how to perfectly design him for me and me for him.

 

Today my hubby is 35 years old... so young and so handsome and so perfectly suited for me.

He's been on earth for 35 years, but I have only been blessed to know him for a little less than five years.  But in those less than five years, he has made so many of my dreams come true.

Since the time I was a little girl, I have wanted to fall in love with a man who was like no one I had ever met.  I wanted for that man to make me his wife and to love and serve him every day in a way he had never been loved or served before.  I wanted that man to make me a mother and to watch him be the best father in the world to our children.

It blows my mind that this one man, my wonderful husband, could make so many of my dreams come true in such sort time -- that I am so lucky to be married to this amazing man.

I love you, Hubby.

Happy Birthday, Babe!  You have made so many of my dreams come true in this short time you've been in my life and been my husband.  I hope I can make half as many of your dreams come true as you have made mine.

New Adventures

I love it when my husband and I can experience new adventures together.  Now, yes, it's great when we can go zip-lining or whitewater rafting, but I just mean life adventures.

I can't go into details, but the last 36 hours have included a new adventure in life and marriage for us.

We are in the process of doing something we have never done before, and it has given us a new marital adventure together.  In the past 36 hours we have:

• stayed up late making Pro/Con lists
• stayed up late writing out financial options and implications
• both been awake again at 4:00am to further discuss our options
• attended meetings together
• presented proposals together
• and, come to some decisions together

We have done a few of those bullet points before in our marriage when we were weighing options for a big life decision, but never all of them in such a short period.  This has been another new adventure for us to experience together as a husband and wife team and we feel so blessed to be able to do tackle it together.

Please stay tuned and keep us in your prayers.

Manly Man

My Hubby is a manly man.  He eats fire for breakfast and kills a bear for dinner.

When I asked my manly man to take care of a wasps' nest inside the side view mirror of my work vehicle (the car had sat dormant all summer), I should have known that his manly encounter with wasps would not stop at my side view mirror.

After eradicating the next in my car, he circled the house to see if any other nests had deigned to be built on our property.  Low and behold, he saw one at the cornice of our roof and immediately decided to attack.

In his shorts and flip-flops, he climbed a ladder up to our roof, walked on the lower level up to the cornice, aimed his wasp spray and let 'er rip.

The wasp spray did its job... but as you can imagine, fumigated wasps began flying, flopping, and falling everywhere.  And, as you can imagine, Hubby began dancing and prancing -- on our roof -- in his flip-flops trying to avoid them.

Well, my manly-man eradicated the wasps without a single sting (I never doubted him), but did leave us discussing possible safer ways to handle wasps nests in the future.

I love my manly Hubby.