Father's Day

I am so blessed to have a wonderful Father on Earth and a Heavenly Father.  I wouldn't trade my dad for anything and have come to appreciate him even more as I learn and grow as a parent. Thanks Dad!  I love you!  I have enjoyed watching you as "bampa" also and can hardly wait to watch your relationship with the boys grow!

Richard, you are such a wonderful Father also and I have been blessed over the past 3 1/2 years watching you grow and become the Father God desires you to be.  You are an amazing father to our boys and I love watching you with them. They adore you and want to be just like you and I pray they will grow to be wonderful men in the Lord as you are.  If I could attempt to bottle up a few memories for our boys about your relationship with them, these are just a few I would hope to save...

• The endless hours spent building cool train tracks, garages with blocks, forts with the furniture, and reading books together
  
• The countless trips to the park for the morning/day via bike where I am sure you were always safe and never did anything that would make me nervous
• The "boys only" nights you spent together when I was working watching a movie, eating popcorn, or going for an adventure down to the creek to throw rocks and check out the beaver's dam.
• The love you have modeled through discipline and firm boundaries
• The patience you have modeled and encouraged me to work on!
• The way you are able to step back and allow them to just be boys climbing, exploring, jumping, and wrestling
• The way you are able to answer every question they have so precisely and accurately that I am left speechless when you are done
• The way you love and respect me
• How you would do anything and lay your life down for them if you had to

Jonah and Elijah are truly blessed to have you as  Father and we hope you know how special you are to us!  Happy Father's Day Richard ;0)

All Grown Up

Hmmm...interesting title I know...,but this is how I feel. All grown up. Richard and I are homeowners! We spent a week in Grand Forks, with a wonderful realtor, Chris Horn, who patiently showed us a ton of homes and allowed us to hmm and haw over them. We fell in love with one, made an offer and it wasn't accepted. We were disappointed, but trusted the Lord had a plan for us. Then our realtor called about a house going on the market the day before we headed back to Iowa. We were able to sneak in the night before it listed, loved it, made an offer, and found out the next day it was accepted. We had it inspected, met with the bank, and headed back to Iowa for another 6 weeks. We are excited to make the home our own! It definitely gives us new motivation to pack, throw, and give away things we don't need. I'll post pictures soon! The address is 502 27th Ave S in Grand Forks, ND and we are about 10 minutes from my parents. Thanks to those who prayed with us as we made this major decision and thanks to the Lord for blessing us so abundantly!

I still "I do"

Richard and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary today! It is hard to believe it has already been 5 years. We have been through so much in such a short amount of time and when I reflect upon the past 5 years and God's continual blessing for us and our family, I am humbled to say the least. We are both healthy, have two beautiful boys, jobs we love, and wonderful friends and family! These are just a few things too! We certainly have had our fair share of ups and downs the past 5 years, but we feel our love and friendship have grown so much more than we could ever have imagined. Thanks to all your support, encouragement, prayer, and love over the years! (Here is a picture from our wedding day)

Richard, although I am not sure if you ever read this, I love you and am glad I am able to spend the rest of my time here with my best friend. You are everything and more that I could hope for in a husband! I still "I do."