Eleven years ago.......

As You Marry On this your wedding day

May angels smile upon you

For a single heart now beats

Where once there had been two

The Lord has brought you to this day

Through all of life's confusions

To come full circle all the way

To bless your wedded union

May your days be filled with laughter

And your nights be filled with peace

As you grow old together

Sharing happiness and ease

For a man shall be a woman's heart

And a woman be a man's

Til the oceans cease to flow

And deserts lose their sands

"This is my beloved, and this is my friend."

Song of Solomon 5:16

Eleven years ago, I met this very boyish looking, nervous, handsome young man at the alter.....

Eleven years ago, I pledged vows of marriage to the most amazing man in the world in a beautiful valley of fall aspens in a little chapel my father built. We were surrounded by 400+ of our special family and friends from our sweet little village atop a mountain. Even our beloved four legged friends attended. Here, Poncho is seen begging Doug to hang on to their brotherhood of bachelorism...it was quite funny how he charged to the alter just as the preacher was talking about anyone wanted to interject on the marriage. He desperately jumped up on Doug and whined in sadness....for the record, my dog slept peacefully throughout the whole affair. I think Poncho came around to loving me......

Eleven years ago, we celebrated our marriage with a reception honoring our family and loved ones. Doug's father passed away suddenly just a few weeks before our big day, so we payed homage to him in our own special ways. We also had charms baked into our cake for all our wedding party to ceremoniously pull and remove. In keeping with tradition, I smeared a big hunk of cake all over my groom's face.....classic. And speaking of that cake....one of us must have really loved sunflowers during that period.....

Eleven years ago, two young and eager, struggling college students decided the time had FINALLY come, and took the plunge.

Eleven years ago, two became one.....a lifetime of memories began, and my life forever was blessed. I married my best friend and gained the most amazing partner to walk me through life's peaks and valleys.

"Only through Christ will we find true oneness in marriage, the kind He created for us from the beginning." 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)

Kids...don't try this at home.

Lots of construction going on in my hood....they are building a new elementary school across the street. I've kind of grown accustom to the orange barrels and cones, and I have routed my running around all the work. However, the other morning I came across a stretch of sidewalk that, for some reason unclear to me, there were these blockades set up about every 100 yards or so. To the untrained eye, it looked something like this:

However....to a former track and field girl like myself, this is what I saw.....

And in a delusional state, this is what I saw me doing.....

Sadly, this is what I see now:

It is swollen and bluish, yellowish, blackish. This isn't the worst part, though. Sadly, there was a witness to my medal worthy hurdle attempt....just as my body propelled forward and planted itself on the concrete, a car just happened to drive by and get front row seats to the "Skin Meets Asphalt Show". The poor lady stopped her car in the middle of the road and jumped out, cell phone ready to speed dial 9-1-1, only to reach me in a hysterical laugh lying in the fetal position on the sidewalk. She asked me repeatedly if I was okay, but all I could do was giggle and attempt to answer. I am pretty sure she called a nearby mental hospital to report an escapee as soon as she returned to her car. Luckily, I was able to scoop myself up off the ground and finish running home before they came for me.

First Day of Preschool

I think you know the drill by now....things happen in our lives, and it takes me weeks to get it posted on the blog. So, keeping with the flow, here are some pictures from Kaelan's first day of preschool. She is currently the youngest kiddo in the program, but the decision was made to move her into the preschool program early because she was blowing them away in the 2 year old program....in other words she is gifted and will start college next fall. (No, I am not partial to my girl.)

The night before her first day, we read one of my favorite books, The Kissing Hand.

If you haven't ever read the story, basically it is about a little raccoon who is very worried about leaving mom and going to his first day of school. His mother calms his nerves by kissing the inside of his hand and telling him to hold it close to his face whenever he misses home.....the little kiss is like a heart full of love he can carry around anywhere and know his mom is with him and loves him.....so sweet.
I used to read this in my classroom on the first day of school for all those kids who were a little sad and scared on the first day. Then, I would read it again on the last day to send them off with my love and support. In keeping with the theme of the story, I made her little cheese and ham hearts in her lunch with a note of my traced hand reminding her I loved and missed her. I think the cookie I packed meant more to her, but it was the thought that counts, right?

Here she is, all ready to go........

A little backpack on her shoulders......

She is loving school thus far, and the few hours a week away from mom is good for her....and mom. Don't get me wrong, I love her to bits, but it feels like heaven when I hit the HEB without a toddler! I am so proud of my little preschooler!

SuperMan

No cape, no tights....but yet, he is a superhero. My Super D has been working so very hard all week to make sure that those hit hardest by that terrible Ike would be taken care of. Meeting after meeting with FEMA and the Red Cross and those nasty villian caterers.....all in days work for my Super Man. We saw him for only a few moments on this his Saturday....his day of rest. Duty called, and he was off to save the world once again....one emergency meal at a time.



I love you my sweet crusader of kindness!

For my brother

There is nothing my brother Ty digs more than cruising around in my car listening to They Might Be Giants Flood album (we are old school). His most favoritist song of all is "Particle Man". Yep, that's how we roll..........

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Pajama Drama

Kaelan has been begging us to let her wear a nightgown to bed for a quite a while now, but due to paranoid parents with a weird fear that she might somehow entangle herself in the gown, wrap it around the end of the bed, be unable to undo the button in the back and suffocate....oh, and spontaneously combust in the ultra flammable material, we told her she needed to wait until she was a big girl to wear such special pajamas. Well.....we figure the fact that she barely fits on her toddler bed constituted being a "big girl", and we allowed her to go shopping and pick out her first night gown.

After her bath, she was so happy to put on her "smooth and slickery (silky, I think?)" gown.

She sashayed around the house like a true bell of the ball as she made her way to bed.

After tucking her in, she thanked me for her beautiful gown, and she drifted off to dreamland with a smile on her face.....

A few hours later I heard some muffled grunts and groans coming through on the monitor...unsure if it was Kaelan or a lost boar, I cautiously made my way through the darkness to her room. I turned on the light and saw this:

Apparently, my little princess DID get a little tangled in her gown. When I asked her what happened, she told me, "Well, it was a little itchy, so I tried to fix it to the part that wasn't itchy, and my arm got stuck....can I just take it off and wear it during the day tomorrow?" Poor little Princess Nightgown had to give up on wearing her rather uncomfortable attire to bed....she conceded and ended up sleeping in her underwear. She hasn't asked to wear her gown again since that night......I am raising an anti Victoria Secret girl, I guess!