The Beast

Last year we said goodbye to our dog. Buck was the sweetest dog. In fact, he even managed to win over a few self-proclaimed dog haters. Well, maybe "win them over" is a stretch, but they did both tolerate and trust him.

Saying goodbye to him was hard. I mean hard. As much as I missed him, my husband and oldest daughter missed him more. Eventually, we stopped expecting to see him when we looked at his favorite spots on the floor, and I grew used to actually having to use a broom under the table.

Yet, even though we missed our dog, we remained firm about not getting a new dog for at least two years. We didn't even last a year.

One day my husband sent me an email about two Boxer-mix dogs who needed a home. The pics were cute, but no way were we getting two dogs!

A couple of weeks later, he sent the email again. The dogs still needed a home. My attitude had changed. I said I thought maybe we were supposed to take them. He said he didn't want two dogs.

While we were visiting my mom in Colorado, Tony got a call from the dogs' owners saying they were willing to split the two dogs up to different homes. That's when Tony got serious about considering a dog.

A few days later he went to "meet" Bear. I think we both knew that by "meet" he meant "go take one look and declare him mine." And that's what happened.

After the kids were in bed, he brought Bear home for me to meet. Despite the fact that he peed on me, I agreed to make him ours. We made arrangements for him to stay with Tony's friend who took the other dog. Tony would pick Bear up on Christmas Eve after the kids were in bed.

We planned for the kids to meet him Christmas morning. Of course, we expected the sun to be up. The sun is definitely not up at 2:30 in the morning, but that's when the girls met their new dog. Ann, 7, sat up with a goofy grin on her face. I wish I had a picture, but who thinks to grab a camera after being awoken at 2:30 a.m? Not me. Chris had the decency to wait until 5:30 Christmas morning to be coherent enough to realize there was a dog in the house. That's when I finally got video of the kids and their new dog!

Bear has adjusted quite well. He continues to prove my theory that our house is just happier with a dog in it. Dirtier, but much happier. I'd say the dirt and the dog hair is a small price to pay for the memories. (Well, most days anyways.)

So, I guess 2011 was the year of the dog for us. A sweet, sad and surprising year of dogs.

If my daughter had her way, 2012 would be the year of another dog or cat. Just today she told me to put a small live dog on the shopping list. I looked at her and told her that children who own both a dog and a cat do NOT get to request more pets. I don't yet know what 2012 will bring, but I'm certain it will not be our year of the dog, cat, hamster, guinea pig or anything other living thing!

If They Twist my Arm, I'll Post a Picture

Alright, alright. I'll do it!

They've hinted and hinted some more. They've called, emailed and sent me texts. So, to my two biggest blog readers, this is for you!

I took this Christmas morning. It wasn't the first time the children had been downstairs. Oh no, they had first ventured down for a peak at 2 a.m. We didn't cave until 5:30 when we finally decided we might as well join them (and brew a big pot of coffee)!

Of course, you probably notice something new in that picture. Bear (formerly known as Bull) was our big Christmas surprise for the kids. Sure, we said we wouldn't get a dog for a couple more years, but it's been nine months since we had to put Buck down and we were ready for the fun a dog brings to a house. And let's face it, there's never a good time for the messes, shedding and smell that a dog brings. If I was going to wait until I was ready for that, well we'd never have a dog!

Mom and Little Brother, you're welcome. Wait, this wasn't enough? Well, I suppose it was just a bit of a tease. I'll post more soon.

Happy New Year!

If You Plan to Post More and Then Go on Vacation...

You Plan to Fail!

At least, I failed when it came to getting back to regularly posting! However, I did not fail at vacation! It was amazing.

Late this past summer, Tony and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. Ten years! For a long time, we said we'd do something big to celebrate and we did! Thanks to Tony's mom coming to stay with the kids, we spent five glorious nights in Mexico. We were actually away for six nights, but I don't count the hotel by the airport before we caught our early morning flight. Something about the fire alarm going off when we pulled in that kinda made it seem very not glorious.

Ten years ago, the closest we came to a honeymoon was a trip out east to sail with my uncle and spend a day in NYC. In fact,we were on a plane almost a week to the minute before 9/11 happened. I still remember looking at the old New York skyline as our plane headed back to Kansas. (And now I'm not really sure how to transition to the rest of my story without seeming as though I brush on past such a tragedy...)

Though our time New York was wonderful, we'd always kind of regretted that we hadn't taken a fancier trip. Well, we no longer regret that. In fact, we think that taking the trip now made us appreciate it all the more. As newlyweds, our only responsibilities were each other, our jobs, and our dog. We appreciated the vacation so much more now that we've added three kids to the mix.

Before we left, I worried that I would never truly be able to relax because I'd be worried about the kids. That wasn't a problem. In fact, at one point I asked Tony, "Am I a bad mom if I don't miss them a lot?" His response was a laugh and a quick, "No." I'm guessing he felt the same way.

Now, before anyone reading this thinks I'm a heartless mother, let me reassure you that I did catch myself frequently saying things like, "Oh, Ann would love this!" Or, "We've got to get a picture of this for Chris!" And, "Can't you see Jane doing that?" So really, they were never far from our thoughts, but we were far from homesick!

As our trip wrapped up and Tony asked me what my favorite part was, I had to think. After all, I liked everything. Truly, everything. Well, the white wine was awful, but other than that, everything was great! Yet, my favorite part was not planning anything. Our biggest decision was whether to hit the pool or the beach first. There was no stressful part of the day trying to get everyone out of the door or plan to get dinner on the table. I loved the break from that!

I also loved that I was able to take off my mom hat for a bit. There is nowhere I'd rather be in life right now than home with my husband and kids, yet it was so good to just be me for a while. It was just as good being just "us" for a few days. I never fully appreciated our three years of marriage before we had kids. It's just impossible to understand how things change once you add to your family. But I most certainly appreciated my five days with my husband! Getting to spend so much uninterrupted time together was such a gift!

And yet, like it so often is, coming home was still one of the best parts. It didn't hurt that the kids were literally jumping up and down because they were so excited to see us. In fact, they were so excited that they didn't even get teary-eyed when grandma left. That never happens!

Yet, I can't help but wonder if coming home would have been sweeter if we'd stayed seven nights instead of just five. Do you think we need to wait until our 15th anniversary to find out? I've always thought 11 a fine number! Oh, I'm kidding, unless of course one of the grandparents is reading this and wants to volunteer to watch the kids for a week next fall. In that case, I'm totally serious!

I hope you've had a vacation either recently or one you're looking forward to that's happening soon!

Perhaps I'll Just Start Posting About Holidays

Happy Mother's Day!

I started the weekend with a date with my husband. I sure hope our church has Parents' Night Out more often. Now THAT is a fundraising idea I can get behind!

Saturday morning started with a coffee date with a friend that I rarely get to visit with. I followed that up with some shopping including a bit of grocery shopping so that I didn't feel super unproductive about my morning.

I came home to a very special Mother's Day surprise. Tony had taken the kids to Home Depot and bought wood to make a raised garden bed for me! I now have an 8 x 10 garden bed to fill with dirt and then plant to my heart's content! I was thrilled and very impressed that he did that with three children ages 6, 5 and 3, in tow. He even let the kids do the children's workshop so that I now have a cute wooden flower pot holder. So fun!

The afternoon was spent watching my two oldest play their last soccer games of the season. Ann has continued to improve and that girl is fast! I think she scored in 5 of her 6 games. Of course, we stressed that it isn't just about winning or scoring goals, but I think we can all admit it's a bit more fun when we do score a goal!

Our little man made us so proud. His determination was impressive. He listened to his coach and was a team player. He came so close to scoring a goal that he literally had me on my feet cheering for him. I had such fun watching their games and hope they want to play in the fall.

The rest of Saturday was spent eating dinner and enjoying the warm weather. Our church added a Saturday night service, so Tony was away playing keyboard for the service for a bit of the evening.

Sunday morning we took it easy and didn't go to church until the last service. Well, the kids and I took it easy. Tony played the keyboard all morning.

After church, I chose to grab burgers for lunch. I have one place I like to eat hamburgers and that's because they are super thin patties with NO pink. That's my kind of burger! The place was packed, so apparently I'm not the only mama who likes her burgers that way.

I spent the afternoon avoiding everything I normally do. Tony and the kids were great helpers. We kept dinner simple and Tony put the kids to bed.

I'm sitting here smiling as I think about my sweet family. I'm also now sporting a cute seashell necklace given to me by my little man. On my counter is a ceramic bowl of spaghetti and meatballs made by my favorite kindergartner. I'd say life is pretty good!

An Easter Memory

I made a turkey for Easter. Well, I cooked it anyways. I'll credit God with the making of it.

You see, a week or so ago, I noticed a turkey in my freezer. I bought the turkey sometime around Thanksgiving or Christmas. Clearly it was time to take it out of the freezer. That's when I decided that we'd be skipping ham this year in favor of turkey.

While that turkey defrosted in my fridge, I used the top of my refrigerator to hold all sorts of holiday items I didn't want the kids to get into quite yet. One of those items was a set of Resurrection Eggs. These plastic eggs are filled with items to help children learn the story of Easter.

Now, I should have known better than to think that simply placing something on the top of the fridge would actually keep my children away from it. They noticed it right away and despite being told not to get into it, one child, who shall not remain nameless, did just that. As I came down the stairs and found Chris standing on the counter reaching for the eggs. I quickly became exasperated. I sent him to sit down and lectured him about obeying, etc., etc.

A while later, I paused and asked if he was ready to look at the eggs. We had just a bit of time to look at them before he headed to school. So, we went through the dozen eggs and talked about Jesus' sacrifice for us. Then, we rushed to school.

A couple of days later, we had made Easter cookies, dyed Easter eggs, been to two egg hunts, cheered at one soccer game, and worshiped at Saturday night church. We'd been busy and it wasn't even truly Easter yet! Needless to say, we were all a bit tired.

Despite being tired, I wanted to take some more time to talk about Jesus. I had a feeling that the kids might pay better attention before they started their sugar highs the next morning. (I was right.) So, I grabbed the Resurrection Eggs.

I was absolutely delighted when my little man remembered what each egg was a symbol for in the Easter Story. At first I thought it was because he'd heard it so many times at church. However, when his older sister couldn't answer everything, I knew he'd simply remembered from our time two days earlier.

I was cranky and overwhelmed. He was being defiant. Our time together should have been a disaster, but instead, my little man learned a bit about life changing Truth. Thank You, Lord for letting me share Your story with a sweet little boy! In the end, that's what mattered. No one really cares that we had turkey and no sides for Easter dinner!

Happy Easter!

We'll Miss You, Buck, Old Buddy!

This picture is a perfect example of how wonderful Buck was with our children.
Here he is with our Kindergartner who wasn't quite one at the time of the picture.

Ten and half years ago, my boyfriend (now my husband) and I had just returned from Montana where we had both worked for the summer. I had it in my head that I wanted a dog. So, before even unloading our stuff, I looked in the paper and found a yellow lab. Perfect!

Tony drove me to the home where the dog lived. We walked up and saw some kids playing and asked if they were selling their dog. The kids looked at us like we were crazy. Apparently, the parents hadn't told them they were selling the dog. Oops!

After talking to the owner and reassuring him that I could give him a good home, he seemed content to let me have him. I paid $100 for him. To this day, Tony and I still argue about who bought him. He lived with me and my roommates so surely, I bought him, right? Right, Tony?

Before we took him away, the owner told us that the main reason he was getting rid of the dog was because he ran away a lot. I figured I'd just have to keep an eye on him. No big deal. So, we loaded him into to Tony's car on top of all our summer stuff.

The dog was named Buck and I took him home to the house I rented with some other girls for my last year of college. It ended up that I wasn't the only one who wanted a dog. That year, four girls and three dogs lived in one house!

Buck was a great dog and I can remember sitting in one of my classes the day after I bought him thinking that it must be some kind of dream that I now owned a dog. I'd always wanted one, but only got to have one for about three months while I was growing up.

I attempted to take Buck for runs, but quickly learned that labs are more into fetching than they are into long distance running, so I took him for walks and threw plenty of tennis balls. Tony also spent a lot of time with him and liked him quite a bit!

It's a good thing that Tony liked Buck, because almost a year later Tony and I were married.

Tony moved to another state before we were married. Obviously, I eventually joined him. Of course, Buck came with me. In order to join him, we had to drive across the state of Kansas in an old Toyota Celica with NO air conditioning. Buck rode beside me panting the entire way. It was so hot that the only thing I stopped to eat was an ice cream cone!

Tony was waiting for us and said he knew when we were coming because he heard Buck's collar jingling!

Wherever we were, there Buck was. He took several road trips with us and I have many memories of him looking out from the back of a Ford Focus hatchback. ( We weren't too nice about letting him ride in our mini van because of the dog hair he constantly shed.) He even visited the arch in St. Louis with us.

He probably thought he was in heaven when we moved to Arkansas and lived across from a field. Tony would take him over to the field to play fetch with him. After three years in Arkansas, his age was showing. Fetch was starting to be a thing of the past, though he would still eagerly chase flashlight beams.

While we were in Arkansas, our first two children were born. We couldn't of asked for a sweeter dog. We have pictures of all the children on top of him. He didn't mind one bit. I do suppose he was a little relieved when we stopped bringing babies home every year and a half once we had our third and final baby.

By the time our third little one was born, we had moved back to the same state we started married life in and Buck was beginning to slow down quite a bit.

Aside from all the shedding and one rather expensive tooth extraction, he was the best dog. He even managed to almost win over a friend who is terrified of dogs. I don't know that she ever really liked him, but she at least wasn't scared of him!

As we got busy with the kids, we tended to give him less attention leading to some guilt on our parts. Still, he had it made. Three young children mean you get lots and lots of table scraps. In fact, he got so many that he could be choosy about what they offered him. As he got older, we got more and more lenient on what he could have. Lucky dog!

He continued to slow down and started losing a lot of weight. It was the beginning of the end.

On Sunday, we made the tough decision to have Buck put to sleep. Something had changed and we couldn't let him suffer.

Tonight, Tony took him to the vet and held him as Buck left for good.

You know, I never really understood how people could grieve a pet so much. After all, it isn't a person, right? True, but Buck was part of our family and he was part of what made our home, home.

We'll miss him. Thanks Old Buddy for a fun ten and half years!

Christmas in January

As I was looking through pictures, I stumbled across this one from Christmas morning. (Forgive the red eye...)

I love the looks on their faces as they humor me by pausing to let me snap a picture. They really wanted to run down the stairs as fast as they could and tear into their presents! I love those crazy kids. They certainly make my Monday!

Be sure to stop by Cheryl's for other entertaining starts to the week.

Yellow Flowers

A few months ago, my son announced that he was going to get me flowers for my birthday. I didn't think much of it at the time.



A month or so later, I was on an errand with just my little man. Once again he told me that he was going to get me flowers for my birthday. That time I asked him if he knew my favorite color of flowers. "Yellow," my three-year-old said. He was right! My heart melted at the thought of my crazy little guy knowing his mama so well.



Last night, Tony took my oldest daughter on a quick run to Target. I knew they were probably picking up a few things for my birthday today. My son was a bit disappointed not to be included in the shopping trip, but it was late and he was tired.



So, you can imagine my surprise as I was preparing breakfast (okay, I was just toasting some bread) and my little man came walking into the kitchen with yellow flowers! He was so proud as he wished me a happy birthday.



I felt so blessed to not only have a son who wanted to give me my favorite flowers, but also a husband who remembered his son's wishes.


Apparently, they not only look alike...they also think alike! I love them both so much! Thanks Tony. Thank you Little Man!

A White Christmas

As we finished up playing Santa and Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve, my husband commented that he thought it was cute that I was so excited. I assumed that he was talking about how excited I was about giving the kids their new presents. It turns out he thought it was cute that I was so excited about all the snow. Well, he was right.

Two days before Christmas we were getting rain. Sure, it was rather warm, but still, rain! On Christmas! Of course, Tony and I started singing "I'm dreaming of a rainy Christmas." It just doesn't work!

Fortunately, on Christmas Eve it started to snow. Now two days later, it hasn't really stopped! I guess that's why they say "be careful what you wish for." By the time we made our way home from church on Christmas Eve, the roads were getting quite slick and the ground was covered with snow.

I honestly don't remember a time in my life where the ground was bare and then it started snowing on Christmas Eve. Sure, I've had my share of white Christmases, but never quite like this one!

We managed to get our kiddos to bed at a reasonable hour. Then, we began bringing the presents up from the basement. We stuffed the stockings and put the Santa gifts just under their stockings. I even remembered to take a bite out of one of the cookies we left out for Santa. Oh the sacrifices parents have to make!

Amazingly, the children slept until nearly seven on Christmas morning. I couldn't believe it!

I made them all wait to come down together so that I could snap a few pictures. They were so excited.

The big surprise we had for them was a play kitchen. Two days earlier, we'd made a last run to Sam's to get some things for our holiday meals. While we were there I noticed the kitchen back in the markdown corner. We made the last minute decision to buy it for the kids. They were quite surprised to find out that Tony went back to pick it up after I bought it right under their noses.

Anyways, little Jane was absolutely delighted with the kitchen. She stood and played with it the entire time we opened gifts. Chris and Ann helped open her gifts because all of her attention was on the new kitchen.

Before we opened the gifts, we added Baby Jesus to our nativity scene. Fortunately I remembered where I'd hidden him for the past month!

At our house, our children get three gifts from us for Christmas and one from Santa. Though I grew up with amazing Christmases and piles of gifts, we thought it would be important to limit what our children get in order to keep the focus on the real meaning of the season. It is surprisingly hard to decide on just three (well, I guess technically four) gifts to buy for my little ones. In fact, I cheated a bit this year by giving them the kitchen as a joint gift. I also put a few nicer little things in their stockings. I couldn't help it. Sometimes it's just fun to spoil them!

Since we knew it would take Ann and Chris all of three seconds to open their gifts if left to their own devices, we decided to slow things down a bit. We opened gifts one person at a time. That included Tony and me.

Tony opened a large collection of piano classic CDs that he'd been eyeing at the bookstore. He also opened some new workout/lounge pants and an electric fondue pot. (We're guessing we'll soon learn why dinner at The Melting Pot costs so much!)

I opened a wonderful Lisa Leonard necklace. I had suggested it to Tony and I love, love, love it! I've got it on right now. I also got a small hand vac and a larger corded hand vac. Yes, I actually wanted these, and yes, I realize I'm quite lame. He also got me a Jillian Michaels workout DVD since he knows I've been enjoying The 30-Day Shred so much. My stocking was stuffed with a Starbucks gift card and some gum. (If only it would stop snowing, I could go get a yummy coffee drink!)

Ann, who was quite possibly the most excited about the whole present thing, opened some new Little Pet Shop toys, a slumber party set for her 18-inch doll and a little cooking set. Her Santa gift was a the Klutz Tea Party book. Santa was even thoughtful to include extra tea sets so she could have parties with her friends and their dolls. (She is already planning her first party.)

Chris was beyond delighted to open a nerf-like bow and arrow from my dad and stepmom. We gave him a new View Master with some slides, Trio Blocks, and a new plastic piggy (technically a robot) bank. We learned the hard way that his piggy band should not be breakable! His Santa gift was the Klutz Superhero book. It came with a wonderful red superhero cape and the book has masks and wrist guards to punch out and use.

As I mentioned, little Jane was delighted with the kitchen. However, she also opened some new board books, a Little People set, and a new stainless steel water bottle with her name on it. Her Santa gift was a little baby doll that came with a binky, bottle, tiny bear, and a toy rattle. She is sleeping with it as I type.

After we opened gifts, we enjoyed cinnamon bagels from Panera. That is the kids favorite breakfast treat right now, so I figured why not. We spent the rest of the day enjoying our new gifts, watching movies and playing in the snow. We made cookies to celebrate Jesus' birthday.

It was a wonderful Christmas.

I remember as I grew upI was a bit sad that Christmas would never have the same magic as it did when I was young. It turns out it only gets better when you see it through the eyes of your children.

Merry Late Christmas!

It Wasn't a Cavity!

I just pulled pumpkin seeds out of the oven. I think they are a little browner than they should be, but hopefully they are still edible. After all, I did too much work washing pumpkin guts off of the seeds to throw them away now!

That is all very much unrelated to what I sat down to write. Rather, I sat down to write about what happened a little earlier in my evening.

I was sitting on Ann's bedroom floor with Chris. We were getting ready to read a few stories before bedtime. Suddenly, Ann came in the room announcing, "I have a cavity." What?

She'd been complaining on and off of a sore tooth. The girl can be a tad dramatic so I hadn't paid too much attention.

So, tonight, in a non-sympathetic way, I asked her to show me her tooth. Then I poked my finger in her mouth and discovered that MY FIRSTBORN'S TOOTH IS LOOSE!

I won't lie. My stomach actually did a little flip flop when I realized that she is fast approaching the mile stone of loosing her first tooth. Rather than tear up, I put my game face on and told her how exciting it was that she would soon get an adult tooth.

She wasn't buying it. It obviously made her very nervous to think about losing a tooth. As I tried to continue reading stories, she turned and hugged me while saying, "I"m afraid." Needless to say, I stopped what I was doing.

I asked if she'd like to talk to her friend who'd lost a tooth. She did and we did. We also prayed. Finally, I did have to ask her to stop thinking about it. I told her she'd be just fine.

After I got everyone tucked in, I wandered downstairs to finally do the day's dishes. As I did, I reflected on my oldest's tooth. I wondered if I'd be there when it finally came out or if she'd be with daddy or at preschool. Then, I remembered something from my loose-teeth days. I recalled a book my mom read to me, appropriately titled Lizzie and the Tooth Fairy. I stopped doing the dishes and rushed to the computer where I found and bought it at Half.com.

Shortly thereafter it dawned on me that we're soon going to need a tooth pillow to keep that first lost tooth safe before the tooth fairy is able make a little exchange. Again, I went to the computer and found a cute little polka-dot tooth pillow on Etsy.

Fourteen dollars later I had to chuckle. It was a bit reminiscent of five years ago right before my daughter was born. I was trying to make sure we had everything we needed. Of course we did and even some things we didn't need.

I felt a little bit like that new mom tonight as I purchased the appropriate first loose tooth accessories. I guess I'm learning that every new stage or milestone has the possibility to bring out that wide-eyed feeling of wonder at the wonder of life. It's a special thing even if it does make me a bit tearful with nostalgia.

If you'd like to read more about what others are learning, please stop by Jo-Lynne's.

A Father and Daughter Weekend

The other day, Tony commented to me that, "it may sound cheesy, but ever since Ann and I went on that trip our relationship has been better."

I didn't think it sounded cheesy at all. After all, he was speaking the truth.

In mid-July, Tony took Ann on a road trip to go to a wedding in Kentucky. They stopped for a couple of hours in St. Louis both on the way out and the way back.

I somehow managed to part with the camera so that they could capture their weekend. I'm so glad I did. Look what I would have missed out on if I had kept it with Chris, Jane, and me.

Apparently the theme of the weekend was to stick out your tongue! There are about a dozen more photos of this same pose in a variety of locations. Nice, huh?

In all seriousness, look at this great shot.

Then, there is this one that I think is so cute. Right now, Ann seems so big because she is our oldest. Yet, I know it won't be long until I look back at pictures like these and wonder how she was ever so small.

I often take for granted what a wonderful father Tony is to our three children. Seeing pictures like these remind me that my children are incredibly blessed to have such a loving daddy. I hope they soon realize that when it comes to daddies, they got the best!

Elite Eight

Monday marked eight years of marriage for Tony and me. I couldn't resist the title of "Elite Eight" because I'm not sure Tony has ever been prouder of me than he was when I finally stopped calling the final eight teams in the NCAA tournament the "Great Eight" and began using the proper term.

Oh, I kid. He may have been more proud when I could accurately say on which MLB teams Derek Jeter and Derek Lee play.

We celebrated our eighth anniversary tonight by going out to eat at Ted's Montana Grill. Our celebration had to be delayed a couple of days because Tony had to go out of town for business on Monday night.

I was telling a friend this on Monday morning and she said she was sorry. I was almost a bit confused, but then assured her it was a really no big deal. After all, did she know how we celebrated our first anniversary?

We didn't celebrate our first anniversary by eating the top of our wedding cake. I suppose we would have had to save it to do that! In fact, we weren't even together on our first anniversary.

I was busily preparing for my first day of teaching school and Tony went to a college football game with his dad. Now, in all fairness, Tony did ask me if this was okay and I assured him that it was just fine. That is, I said it would be okay if I could rub his nose in the fact that he chose football over his beautiful bride on our first anniversary. And, you can believe I did just that. I almost cringe as I write that because I think of how petty it is to do that!

You see, if you measured our marriage by the way we celebrate our anniversaries, you'd have reason to think our marriage stinks. Sure, we've celebrated a time or two on the day of our anniversary, but mostly life just goes on, but it goes on well and I'd marry him again in a heartbeat.

Special days are fun to create traditions, break up the routine of life, and are a great excuse to eat some dessert, but they are just days. One day of wonderful celebration doesn't make up for the other 364 days in a year.

I'll take the mostly wonderful year I get any day over celebrating on our specific anniversary or birthday or whatever the case may be.

You see, I know if push came to shove, Tony would choose me over the Chicago Cubs any day!

Happy Belated Anniversary, Tony! I love you!

How We Celebrated the Holiday that Isn't About the Candy

Wow, it has been more than two weeks since I last wrote a post. Where does the time go?

We had a fantastic Easter traveling to see family in Iowa. We did the egg thing, the basket thing, the eating thing, and all the other fun things that have become Easter traditions. However, the best thing was the fact that this year Ann is starting to grasp why we celebrate Easter. She has proved this by playing a little game with me.

"Mom," she begins. "Do you know the point of Easter?"

"The candy," I tease.

"No, you're kidding," she says. "It's because Jesus AROSE!" she says while jumping up and throwing her arms in the air.

Yes indeed, my sweet one, yes indeed.

Coming in a very distant second best thing about this Easter was dressing my kids up in their coordinating outfits courtesy of one of the grandmas.

Here is our little photo shoot. Little Jane made it quite an adventure. To say she was ready for a nap is an understatement.

Here are the rather compliant "big" kids.

We plopped Jane down hoping for a good shot of the three of them.

At least they are all still on the couch, right?

The week before Easter, Tony dressed up as the Easter Bunny for an event hosted by the company where he works. Fortunately, our kids didn't let the other kids in the secret.

Happy Belated Easter! It's certainly one holiday that can never be celebrated enough!

Adding to Mimi's Photo Album

Earlier today I received an email from my mom. In it, she referred to herself in the third person and wrote, "Mimi is waiting very patiently for pictures of Halloween."

Oh, really?

Thanks for your patience, Mimi. Here you go.

This is our fairy princess. Ann's costume was quite basic. However, it made her happy and that is all that mattered. We managed to talk her into wearing the headband for a quick picture, but that was it. That is probably just as well since I don't think fairy princesses usually have antennae.

In case you missed it, here is a closer shot of her choice of footwear. She bypassed her dress-up princess shoes and actual dress-up shoes in order to wear these. Do we have a budding fashionista on our hands?

Our little guy decided to be a fireman instead of a frog. The picture doesn't show how the coat reached down to his ankles. If you ask this mama, it only added to the charm.

As I looked at the above photo, I realized we must have had a theme going with mismatched head wear. He quickly ditched his hat as well.

Now, I never tire of looking and Jane in her little pumpkin suit. All three of our babies have worn this. I do believe I will have a hard time parting with in. Perhaps I could talk my children into having their children wear it?

Here is the family shot. Please note that 4 out of 5 of us are LOOKING IN THE SAME DIRECTION! If I had known this would happen, we would have all been wearing coordinating outfits and I would have have my Christmas card ready to go. Oh well.

Now, I saved the best for last. This is what I saw as I peered into Ann's bag of candy. Can you guess what I took for myself?

I'll give you a hint by telling you that the 3Musketeers is a full-size candy bar.

Strange, I'm suddenly craving a little chocolate.

Mission Accomplished, or Ann Sat on Her Pumpkin

In an effort to excite Ann about our trip to the pumpkin patch, I had begun reading From Seed to Pumpkin. We both enjoyed learning a bit about how a pumpkin grows. However, what captivated Ann more than anything was the illustration of children sitting on top of large pumpkins in the middle of a pumpkin patch.

She became a bit obsessed. Any time I mentioned the pumpkin patch, she mentioned sitting on a pumpkin. I told her that would, of course, be just fine.

At the time, I didn't know we were going to have a hard time navigating road construction which would cause us to be late to the farm. That would then lead us to miss the hayride which was supposed to transport us to the actual pumpkin patch where we were to harvest a pumpkin or two.

By the time we arrived at the farm, our group had already left on the hayride.

Fortunately, by the time Ann and Chris had played for a bit, our friends were back. Then, we all enjoyed seeing baby animals, playing on playground equipment, and getting lost in various mazes.

Before we left, Ann, Chris, and I visited the display of pumpkins for sale. We had been told that we could take a couple to replace the ones we missed picking. Ann was more concerned about plopping her cute little bum down on one. She hadn't forgotten her mission.

It may not have been as quaint and picture-perfect as the book's illustrations portrayed. (Is anything ever like the book?) Still, all was not lost, except of course for me on the way to the farm.

Maybe next time I'll let him drive.

Two Words

It has been...

7 years,

5 moves,

1 apartment,

1 town home,

3 houses,

Countless road trips,

1 dog,

3 amazing children,

A few trials,

Plus too many blessings to list,

And, I still say "I do."

Happy Anniversary, Tony. I'm so glad I said those words seven years ago today.

If It's Possible...

I think my heart may have smiled when I first saw this picture.

Almost five months later, this is our first picture as a family of five. I couldn't stop looking at it. Oh, it isn't a perfect picture, but it does make me feel so very blessed.

Happy Belated Easter

We had a pretty quiet Easter around here. A simple egg hunt on Saturday, church on Sunday, and dinner at my husband's aunt's on Sunday night sum up our activities.


Here are my two favorite pictures from the weekend.

This is before they ingested massive amounts of candy. Scary, I mean cute, huh?

I have no doubt this will be a favorite of mine for years to come. I pray my girls will look back and see that they were friends from the time they met.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We are so blessed. It humbles me.

Still, the best part of the weekend is that Big Sister is starting to understand the story of Easter more and more. I believe it can't completely be understood by the human mind, but I pray that she and her siblings will one day accept it by faith.

Happy Belated Easter! (It is something we should celebrate daily anyways.)

Remembering

It's funny what we remember.

I remember things like sitting in a shoe store holding a little toy while my sister tried on shoes. I must have been no older than four or five.

I also remember jumping on my bed in yellow pajamas while my sister and I sang “tractor, tractor.”

Don't ask, because I have no idea.

I remember the seventh grade spelling bee. Fun times.

Of course, I also remember the monumental things in my life, but it is always humorous to me to realize those other, everyday moments I remember.

In fact, I remember that exactly eleven years ago, I was fretting about what to wear. You see, I was getting ready for my first date with a guy I'd gotten to know over spring break.

It was my freshman year of college and this was going to be my first real date since starting college.

We went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Afterwards, we went to see a play. Dinner was good, but the play was awful.

We ended the night by going for a walk.

Eleven years, five moves, and three children later, we still go for walks.

I suppose it isn't funny that I remember that day eleven years ago. Rather, it would be sad if I forgot.

All Dressed Up With Someplace to Go

Holiday Party 2008

For whatever reason, the company my husband works for has its holiday party after the holidays. Normally, this is fun and adds something to look forward to in January. However, being eight and a half months pregnant and dressing up don't usually go hand in hand in my world.

Still, I'm glad we decided to go, swollen ankles and all. We had a good time and even spent a few minutes on the dance floor. And, yes, I did get a few questioning looks as I waddled out to dance. Hubs and I joked about how funny it would be if my water broke while we were dancing. Of course, that didn't happen.

Instead, what happened was we got to spend an evening together visiting with friends we hadn't seen since we'd moved back to the Midwest from the South. And, I might add that I had a pretty hot date.