Thanksgiving 2013

We had a very nice Thanksgiving Day and I hope y'all did too.  It has been a tradition for the last few years that Harry invites some school and neighborhood friends for a game of touch football on Thanksgiving morning.  We call it the Turkey Bowl.  We think this was the 4th annual (I just realized I never posted Thanksgiving from last year---gonna do that this week!)

We bring donuts, kolaches and water and another Mom brought delicious hot chocolate and whipped cream!  We are lame in waiting til the last minute to let people know and we never know if anyone will show.  But it always ends up being a fun morning.

Kate and Will always come even though it is mostly Harry's friends.  This year, Kate had some friends show up which was nice for her....

this lil dog just met Kate but was giving her kisses!

The boys had fun playing touch football but I think everyone really likes the donuts, kolaches and hot cocoa the best;)

It was a good time...

After, the Turkey Bowl, we went home and relaxed and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Then, we went to Dave's brothers house for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.

While the turkey was cooking, the kids hung out in the hot tub...





I was SO excited to catch up with my nephew, Jamie who recently graduated form college and my niece, Olivia who will graduate from college in May.  I adore them and had not seen them in a long time.  The peanuts LOVE their cousins so much too.  In fact, all the boys went out on Uncle Joe's boat fishing the day after Thanksgiving:)

It was one of the best Thanksgivings we have had in a long time.  It was so relaxing.  I hope y'all had a good one too.

And today (tomorrow) December 2nd is our 18th wedding anniversary.  I am so blessed to be married to Dave.  Yes, we get on each other's nerves from time to time.  Yes, we have had ups and downs.  But we are a team.  We are best friends.  We choose to love one another each and every day (even when it is hard).  Thank you for a fabulous 18 years, Dave.  You mean the absolute world to me. Thank you for this beautiful life.

then and now....

16 years

Today is our 16th wedding anniversary.  As I have learned from being married and from being a marriage counselor/coach, there is no such thing as a perfect marriage.  But I can say that Dave is truly the perfect match for me.  Yes, we argue sometimes and yes, we get on each other's nerves sometimes but there is no one else in the world I would rather walk through life with.  Dave is an incredible husband.  We have this great system of teamwork.  We both know what the other is good at and we don't seem to jockey for power.

Love is work.  I have blogged about that before.  Love is not just a feeling.  It is an action. Too many people give up when the feelings go away and that makes me so sad. Dave and I decide to love each other every day.  Some days we decide better than other days but we keep on going. We keep on trying. And I can honestly say that although life has thrown us some tough curve balls, it has been pretty easy to decide to love this man everyday. I hope it always is. He is as good as it gets.

Dave often teases me that I see things through rose colored glasses and maybe I do.  But I also think that focusing on the good in your marriage and the good in your life and being truly grateful really helps too. I am SO grateful for my life and my family.  In fact, sometimes I feel overwhelmed with gratitude.

Happy Anniversary Dave.  You make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!!!!

To see photos of our wedding day click here.

My 911 call!

Yesterday, I was on my way to the bank and I saw my young neighbor out hanging his Christmas lights. Kate and I went to the bank and about 10 minutes later upon arriving home...I saw a fallen ladder, sneakers and jeans entangled in the lights hanging from the roof. There was a big bush so I could not see his upper body but I panicked. I was actually on the phone with Shana and I freaked out. I was truly terrified to go see if he was alive as I had Kate with me...so I called 911 and summoned to a jogger man to go help the neighbor while I called 911. I just could not bear the thought of anther young parent in my neighborhood dying. He and his wife have a 2 year old daughter. Literally, my heart was pounding out of my chest.

The jogger quickly alerted me to hang up with 911 that there was no body. I told 911 that I did not need them anymore. At this point my neighbor walked out and said, "Maybe I should take that down. It is a joke." He was really grateful that I cared enough to call 911. I felt like an idiot but I have never seen a joke like that for Christmas (maybe Halloween). AND I had just seen him hanging lights as I drove by a few minutes earlier. What would y'all have done?

Thank you for all of the anniversary wishes. They were warm and sweet. Dave sent me these beautiful flowers and we are getting something for the house we really want for our anniversary gift to one another.

Harry made us this card...

He is so funny. He was telling me not to stress out because I was hosting a formal dinner party that night (and while I adore entertaining sometimes it does stress me out). Then he proceeded to tell Dave to chill out too.

I hosted my bunko Christmas dinner last night. We never play bunko anymore so it is more like a supper club but I have been in this group since Will was a newborn ( about 11 years minus the 4 in VA). We had a fabulous time!!! Most of the women are 10-25 years older than me. One is actually my Mom's age and has grandkids older than my kids. They offer me so much wisdom, perspective and fun in our friendship.

I know I look really tired....it has been an emotional week. Trayce's visitation and funeral were the most beautiful and heart breaking services I have ever attended. Her faith and devotion has really inspired me. I learned so many lessons from her life and her death. Even with 3 small children and cancer, she volunteered tirelessly. I used to volunteer a lot before Kate came home and I heard God tapping me on the shoulder this week to find my way back to volunteering in my community. I have not decided what I will do but I will share it with you when I do. I thank Tracye for giving me that nudge too.

14 wonderful years

I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be married to you.

Happy Anniversary, Dave!

P.S. Thank you for hanging fresh garlands with me in the cold, pouring rain last night. A lot of husbands would not do that the night before their wife's dinner party:) YOU are the best!!

Love, actually....

Over the years, Dave and I have been speakers and coaches for couples who are preparing for marriage in our church. One of the topics we have spoken about is "choosing to love." I will never forget hearing my husband tell young couples that love is an action. I remember him explaining that in marriage you decide to love one another day after day after day. It is not a feeling. It does not just keep happening. I knew that to be true (I even studied it in grad school). But my husband truly lives these words. He chose to love me when I was diagnosed with MS (incorrectly) and I could not walk up the stairs. He has loved me when the medicine made me so ill I was either at the hospital or in bed for days. He nursed me and took care of our children while I recovered. He chooses to love me when I am being type A and "particular." Trust me, that alone is challenging. He takes care of me. Today, we have been married for 13 years. My husband still makes me laugh and we choose every day to be best friends and to love one another. For me, it is an easy choice.

Then...

December 2, 1995

Now...

Kind of...this was about a year ago. Since I am always taking the pictures, I don't have any of the two of us.

Happy Anniversary Dave (I hope he actually reads this one)!

Happy Anniversay

On December 2, 1995-- I married my best friend. Now, 12 years later, he is still my best friend. Life sure has thrown us some curves and we have handled each of them together. We danced our first dance as husband and wife to "Stand by Me." Thank you Dave for standing by me for 12 years.

I love you with all my heart.