Saturday, February 14, 2009

A Little Story ...

Six years ago today hubby (then fiance) and I boarded a plane from AZ to the frozen North otherwise known as Michigan. I cannot tell you the nerves that were coursing through my body. See, the purpose of our little jaunt was to meet his family ... his ENTIRE (very LARGE) family!


I was a wreck!


Not only was I meeting them for the first time, but I had to travel across the stinkin' country - on a red eye, no less - to do it! Oh yeah, have I mentioned how lovely I look when I first wake up?


Well, I did meet them - ALL OF THEM!!! - and it went well. IF you do not take into consideration the fact that Hubbs forgot to mention my food allergies (Oh, I have ISSUES!!!) to his mom and she had to make an entirely separate meal just for me. Plus the fact that dessert was a substance that I am also allergic to. So allergic, in fact, that being in the same room with it gives me HIVES!



Hello, nice to meet you ... please excuse my skin condition.



Anyhoo, we survived the trip. And now we LIVE here ... where the temps regularly dip below the freezing mark between the months of Nov and April. And I LOVE it!



Just like I love HIM!



BUT, have I ever told ya the story about how we fell in love? No? Well, let me just say that it was NOT love at first sight! In fact Hubbs (and my sweet, lovely, big mouthed Paula) had a LOT of convincing to do.



I spent quite a while denying the fact that there was anything at all to what everyone else had decided was a sure thing. I played the denial thing for way too long and then one day suddenly woke up and realized that this was the man I was gonna marry!


Yeah, it was an immediate turn around.



Kinda like this:






However, once I did say I was in love - out loud, it was a one way, full speed ahead, all out RUSH to the altar!


I figured it out in (late) November ... we had our first date in mid December ... we were engaged by Christmas ... we were married in June.


It is kinda like what Billy Crystal said in When Harry Met Sally:


"When you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you just want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible!"


And then Meg Ryan says "ya see ... you say things like that and it makes it impossible for me to hate you Harry! And I do hate you Harry .... I really hate you ..." Then she cries like a blubbering idiot and kisses him square on the mouth!


(I like that movie, can you tell?)



I also felt a little like Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail. When she figures out that it was Tom Hanks that she was falling in love with all along and she tells him "I wanted it to be you ... I wanted it to be you so badly." And then she cries like a blubbering idiot and kisses him square on the mouth.


(yeah, I like that one too! In fact, that one is my FAVORITE!!!)



So, the point I am trying to make is this ...


I REALLY love my husband.



'Nuff said?




Happy Valentine's Baby!!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

My Wonderful Mr.

So, over at We Are That Family, there is a fun little carnival in honor of Valentine's Day. There are some amazing prizes being offered - and who am I to pass up a prize? All ya have to do is post a little tribute to your hubby.

Oh, I can soooooo do that!

'Cause if there is one thing I love to do, it's lovin up my hubby! And I like the way he kinda gets all bashful and blushy when I do it in public ... How do you write a tribute to the person who changed your life? I could tell you he is my very best friend, but that doesn't say nearly enough. I could tell that I love him more every single day, but I have probably said all of that before. So, what do I say to let you know just what he means to me ...?



I know! I will tell you all about HIM and then you can see WHY I love him the way that I do!

The first thing you must know about this man of mine is that he HATES being the center of attention! He doesn't like it when I take his picture (but that doesn't stop me!!).

See what I mean? Silly man!

He REALLY doesn't like when I point him out in public to tell everyone in earshot how stinkin' cute he is! Yeah, he hates that!
But the best example of just HOW shy he is is that almost 6 years ago, when we were planning our wedding, this guy asked to do the wedding from the sound booth ... in the very back of the room. He did not want to be the center of attention! Needless to say, I made him come up front with me. I wanted him CLOSE when it came time for the kissin!!!

The next thing you need to know about the most wonderful man in the universe is that he loves to have fun! He likes people and he is good with them, but he is BEST when it comes to the people he loves most in the world ... his family!
He LOVES his children with complete abandon. He would move heaven and earth to protect his little girls AND his big boys! He is the best daddy I have ever seen! I love to watch him just love on them and share their world for a while. Like this ...
He also loves the out doors, he likes hunting and camping and walking and riding four wheelers and hiking and just the pure simplicity of enjoying nature! He also loves to share that love with his children!

He is extremely patriotic! He served in the US Army and has a slight obsession with airplanes, especially MILITARY airplanes. Another love that he enjoys sharing with the ones he loves!
(I promise, Hattie was having fun with her daddy! She just HATES having her picture taken!)

He is one of those FUN kinda dads and that makes life with him all the more interesting and enjoyable. I love to see him just MAKING fun with his children, but I really love it when I get to get involved too!
So, here is a rundown of who he is - the Reader's Digest version, if you will!


He is HANDSOME. (DUH!! That is a given!)


He is LOVING - I honestly do not go a day without him showing me in some way that I am the one he loves and he is genuinely happy to share his life with me! I am so very Blessed in this area!


He is FUN! He can make two little girls laugh with all they have at a moment's notice!


He is a GREAT dad! - His boys want to be just like him and his girls just want to be with him.


He is a FABULOUS hubby - I cannot say enough in this area!


He is KIND - he would give the shirt off of is back for is fellow man. He truly cares about people!


He is GOOD - he has the best heart of anyone I have ever known.


He is EASY TO LOVE - honestly, I don't know anyone that knows him who doesn't love him!


He is MANLY - he can fix, do, make or run anything!!!


He is CARING - I watched him love on Paula the night before she went to Heaven, Nuff said!


He is my HERO - he has rescued me in more ways than one - too many to count!


He is my LOVE - and lets me know every single moment that I am his!


He is my FRIEND - there is nothing that I cannot share with this man!


So, he loves his family ...

... and he loves his wife ...
(lucky me!!!)

... but more than anything else, and the one reason I know I will love him FOREVER is this:

He loves God with his entire being.

Everything else in his life and in his world is centered around, based on and made possible by this one certainty. He is a GODLY man. Jesus is His center and the rest of it is based on that love. I had no problem at all using the word "obey" in my vows, because I knew I could trust and follow a man who TRULY follows after God.
He makes me a better woman.

He makes me a better person.

Because He makes me love and thirst after God all the more.

I simply love this man!

Monday, February 9, 2009

I <3 Silly Faces

Well, here we are again... time for another picture for the I Heart Faces Photography contest. This week's theme is "Silly" - which works for us, because "silly" is one of Sophie's favorite pastimes!

Recently, when a camera appears, she runs toward it screaming "CHEESE" and then she will give this silly little smile for the photo! Afterwards, she wants to look at the picture of herself so she can say "hi Baby" and giggle!

But, seriously, who could resist this sweet, silly, lovable smile?

MAN, I love this kid!!!!

Don't forget to check out I Heart Faces blog for more silly photos and maybe even enter one yourself!!!




Sunday, February 8, 2009

Project 365 - Week 6

Project 365

Can you believe that we are already 6 weeks into 2009? WOW! Just this week I was looking at my girls and marveling (or, ya know, CRYING!!) over how fast they are growing up!!! Craziness!

So, here is a glimpse into our week:

Feb. 1 - I totally intended to introduce you to my sweet Katy Todd. She had a layover here in town on her way to Africa - yes, I said Africa! That girl is a born missionary! I had the joy of getting to meet her at the airport and spend a couple of hours with her. However, I forgot to take a picture! STINK!!!!

Instead, you get a pic of me. Sorry :( Because the other item up for Sunday was a haircut. It has already grown past the "short" picture length and we are just about to the "middle" picture length!!! It is growing pretty fast and I am both excited and distressed - because I have had to break out the hairdryer!!! What's next ... the CURLING IRON!?!?!?!?! Oh, say it aint so!

Feb. 2 - This is our friend and neighbor Rocky. Rocky, you may have noticed, is a squirrel. The girls LOVE to sit and watch Rocky through the window, and on this day he gave Miss Sophie quite a show (H was at school!!) with all of his tree climbing acrobatics!

Feb. 3 - This is my sweet natured little Sophie ... who has recently been showing signs of the *GASP* approaching "terrible two's". Here she is throwing a major "Nelly Olsen" style fit over the fact that I would not let her pull the chair - the one she had just pulled over onto herself - around the room! Mean 'ol mom!

Feb. 4 - AKA terrible two day 2 ... After three unsuccessful attempts to feed her breakfast, it became clear that she did not want the pancake, graham crackers or Cap'n Crunch. Oh no, my girl wanted Mini Wheat's ... just plain 'ol wheat squares. They were her favorite food for at least two days!!!

Feb. 5 - I forgot to take a pic until about 9PM ... this is a pic of my mic and music stand at Praise Team practice!

Feb. 6 - Meet my new best friend. This cute little bee fingernail clipper has won my heart! Why, you ask? Because Hattie, who normally throws monumental fits over nail clipping time, let me clip all 10 fingernails AND 10 toenails without so much as a peep!

This MUST be what Heaven feels like!!!


Feb. 7 - Not only is this the day that my sis had a sweet baby boy 20 years ago (Love ya Moe!!!), but it is also the day that temps here in the frozen North hit high enough to step outside for more that 3.2 seconds without fear of losing appendages to frostbite!!!

So, what is a family to do but play outside!? Hattie's favorite activity of the day was being tossed by her Daddy into the snowdrifts that were up to her waist! She flew threw the air and straight down into said drifts like a little nail. And then Mommy or Daddy would have to go dig her out! It was a stinkin' blast

Now, if you would like to get a glimpse into other people's lives, head on over to our Project 365 host Sara's site for more fun!!!

Well, that was our week ... how was yours?