It all started here.  

Sept. 18, 1999

Well, not exactly...but it is where it really started.  Inside that church we said things like honor, obey, cherish, love.  Till death.

Then this...

March 7, 2003

and this...

February 22, 2006

and this...

February 5, 2010

And the love is there all along.  Only it's buried under thoughts like, "could you not have worn a nicer shirt to the birth of our daughter?  I mean, really..."

This September we will have been married for 13 years.  The past 9 years we've had company.
I find myself thinking about this more and more.  Let's be honest...marriage is hard to begin with, but take a marriage and add a child {or two or three} and it becomes a challenge.  {gasp!}  Yes, I said a challenge.

Now, I refuse to believe that we are any different than most couples.  We fight {verbally}, we hurt each other {emotionally}, we say things we don't mean, we harbor grudges, we're petty.  Maybe I'm wrong, maybe we just have a bad marriage...but, I don't think so.

Our journies require a personal responsibility;  to ourselves, to each other, and to our children.  Our partners become a mirror of sorts, and sometimes what we see in the mirror isn't very pretty.

Our lives our busy.  We run constantly.  Our kids aren't perfect and neither are we.  We try and do the best we can.  Or do we?  I know I'm guilty of treating my friends and co-workers with more kindness and repect than I do my own family.  I speak more gently with strangers than I do to my own husband and children.  I'm quicker to forgive, slower to anger.  And, I know, this is not right.  I also know that I'm not alone, but that doesn't make it ok either...

It's not hard to remember the day I married Chris.  In fact, I can recall it quite well.  We had faith in our marriage.  We had hope for our marriage.  And, we had love.  Sometimes it's hard to keep the faith.  Sometimes the hope fades.  But the love is there...always there.


       "Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the grestest of these is love."
                                                                                                       1 Corinthians 13:13

summer busyness, a puppy, and some really good books

Not necessarily in that order, but 3 big reasons that blogging has taken a back seat for a good month {almost 2!}.

We've been busy.  Baseball finally ended.  I forget that I hate baseball until we're in the midst of baseball,...every year.  I don't mean I hate baseball.  I like to watch baseball.  I love to watch Colin play and, this year,  pitch.  But,  I do hate Little League with a passion!  Baseball brings out the crazies.  Plus, there are two games EVERY WEEK!  It's too much.  And, this year we had the added joy of Chris being head coach.  It was a miserable season, and I'm glad it's behind us!  I wish I could go into further detail, but honestly I just want to forget it all.  Just remember, two games a week and crazy parents...enough said!

We have a new member of the family.  I'm kind of embarrassed that I haven't formally introduced her yet, but it's still kind of in that love/hate phase.  A new puppy is, without a doubt, worse than a newborn.  I promise to fill you all in, with pictures...soon...I promise.

I finally just finished reading East of Eden.  What, you thought I was going to say the Shades of Grey series?  Well, I read those too.  Yes, I did.  They were dirty.  And I liked them.  And no, I'm not into S&M now by any means!  It was pure fluff...not that well written, but entertaining!  So, I decided to counter the literary smut with a classic I'd never read.  It's all about balance, people...
And, WOW.  Great book.  Fantastic.  Thought provoking and so well written.  It took forever.  I lost many hours of good sleep trying to get through it and just not being able to put it down. And now, the problem I'm always faced with after finishing a good book, what do I read next?  Any suggestions?  I do have a pile of books purchased and never read...I guess I'll start there...


I do miss my blog.  It has always offered me an opportunity to sit and write, a hobby that I love and that I don't really do except when blogging.  It allows me to clear my head a little and to record things so that I don't forget.  I have been feeling so bogged down lately trying to remember what I must not forget.   The guilt of possibly forgetting to record something precious...a story about one of the kids, an amazing thought....whatever.

I promise to return soon.  I have to introduce our puppy.  And, I have some Eden-isms that are cute and that I need to write about so that I don't forget.  If you find them entertaining that's just an added bonus... :)

TTFN