I Still Do

You need never search far to see my face, for my commitment and love for you will bind me always to your side.

When your steadfast ship begins to toss and turn in life's storms, I will be there holding your hand.

When your sails become heavy with rain, I will be there, offering you strength in companionship.

And when the seas are calm and you are sailing smoothly, I will be there to celebrate with you the beauty of our life together.

On this most cherished of days, I give to you my heart, full of love for only you.

I give to you my name and my past, as I am joined today by God to a new family and a new future.

I give to you my solemn promise to forever honor and treasure you, the man God has given to me for life.

                                                                                             -----my wedding vows made twelve years ago today to the love of my life.

I still do.

Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Project 365: Week 32 "major leaguers and major accomplishments"

(This is "Week Three" without a camera. Good thing we have cellphones!)

Saturday, July 30, 2011 (continued from here)

Well, you'll be happy to know we didn't just climb the walls (literally--really, follow the link) at home all day. After spending most of the day trying to decide what to do, we finally headed out to Conway to go swimming at Poppy's house late, late that afternoon.

Flashback Friday: Lego Birthday Party

Nine years ago on April 11th, the most beautiful baby boy was placed into my arms. And I officially began living on 'Cloud 9.' Well, except when I was cross-eyed and delirious with exhaustion. But even then, it was bliss to be cuddling with my brand-new baby. I had waited so long for him!

How nine years (and almost four months) have passed so quickly, I'll never, ever understand.

But they've been exciting ones. That's for sure.

Full of ups and downs, bumps and bruises (literally), highs and lows.

Well, this particular day was definitely a high, as we celebrated nine years of a blessed life by playing for two hours with friends.

Here's how it went down:

Invitations were emailed. I've started doing that lately. Remember the Christmas card?

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: CUR-RIC-CU-LUUUUMMMM

I LOVE the stuff. Can't help it. Maybe it's the love of books. Don't know, but the shelves of Mardel make me drool. And you'd be shocked to see how I act in those teacher stores that are actually 100% dedicated to selling educational supplies. It's scary how I behave!

Counting to One Thousand

There's this book. Perhaps you've heard of it. After all, it's a NY Times Best Seller. But maybe you don't keep up with the "NYTBS" list. (Who has the time?) Maybe, instead, you've heard of it because someone you know mentioned it. Well, if you haven't heard of it yet, you will. And soon. (Even if you weren't reading this post.) Because its content is causing a sort of holy wildfire among believers.

Especially women. And I think it's because...we women? We are generally the naggers and complainers of the population at large. We are usually the ones sad and despondent and wishing we were somewhere else other than where we are. (Or maybe that's just me.) Not that this book is written FOR women. It's not. It's written FOR perspective. In case that's what you need. And if I were a bettin' girl, I'd bet you do.

'Cause we all do.

MTM: Who Needs a Muffin Tin?

Our muffin tin meal was tin-less this time. Because we were showing our house later, and I was trying to do without any kind of dishes whatsoever. So the muffin cups went directly onto paper plates. And it worked out just fine. They even matched!

Today's fare was a dill pickle, sliced in half lengthwise, kiwi, strawberries, a chunk of apple with peanut butter, granola bar, and horrible extruded cheddar bunny crackers the kids' always-thoughtful Daddy got for them (albeit, horrible organic extruded cheddar bunny crackers the kids' always-thoughtful Daddy got for them). I was happy to empty the box during this fun lunch, while...simultaneously scoring some (homemade, soaked) brownie points with my youngsters.  ;)

See other muffin tin meals at Muffin Tin Monday.

Project 365: Week 31 "frustrations, friends, & fun"

It's the first full week of life without a decent camera. And it stinks. Truly. I'm. so. frustrated. :(

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Paul has trained all his children to walk on his back. It's a typical Sunday afternoon activity. Even Atticus knows how.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Y'all. You won't believe it, but the folks who called to cancel their appointment to see our house last weekend had rescheduled to finally see it today...and this time they just didn't show up!
I was infuriated!

Gabriel's First

For Flashback Friday, I thought I'd reminisce a little about Gabriel's first birthday party. By the time he was ready to turn one, Noah had already had five birthdays and Saylor three, so you might think that by this point I would be an old hat at planning birthday parties. But the truth is I wasn't an old hat. I was just old. Old and pregnant. Yep. It was a first for me--being pregnant AT my child's FIRST birthday party. And not just barely pregnant either! I was already past the morning sickness and knew I was having another boy!! But back to the party...

Party Theme: Nautical Memorial Day Celebration

Gabriel's birthday fell exactly on Memorial Day his first year. So I found this adorable sailor suit on Ebay and used it as inspiration for a party theme.

Project 356: Week 30 "ballgames, bible clubs, and beach bums"

Sunday, July 17, 2011

We have a group leaving for Costa Rica from our church. They put on a lunch for donations following the service today. It was an authentic Costa Rican meal. Yum!

Then the fam convinced me to make homemade ice cream tonight for dessert. We do love our ice cream around here. I think Gabe liked it a little bit. ;)

Project 365: Week 29 "swimmin', paintin', & movie-watchin'"

Sunday, July 10, 2011

One of Noah's friends down the road invited him to come along with his family to the neighborhood pool. He was so excited!