6 years and still madly in love!

Saturday June 6th Richard and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! (It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was writing this post.) I have known Richard for almost 1/2 of my life and am proud to be his wife and call him my husband.  He is my best friend and probably knows me better than myself at times.

We are opposites, but perfect for each other in every way.  It has been fun discovering little things about each other every year that we didn't know before.  (Or maybe thought we knew, but really didn't.)  I truly believe God picked us for each other and brought us together.  I am overwhelmed at times thinking about how amazing it is that God cares that much about each of us! I am also amazed that my love for Richard continues to grow each year more abundantly than I could ever imagine. 

Yes, we are both human and yes, we both make mistakes.  However, we are able to sharpen each other and challenge each other to become who God desires us to be.  Is it always easy? Nope.  We sure have fun trying though and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I pray that we are able to have many more years together.

We spent the day of our actual anniversary with the boys playing games in the morning and while I painted the bathroom in the afternoon, Richard did some landscaping in the front yard.  Then we were able to spend a nice evening with some great friends (The Fialas) after the kiddos were in bed. 

We finally celebrated our anniversary last night and had a fabulous time.  My parents graciously took the boys for the night and we painted the town.  We had a wonderfully relaxing meal at L'bistro (a delicious cute italian place in town) and they still had their "seasonal" sangria. Yummm!  We had some great conversation, great food, and laughs.  Richard even hid his embarrassment well when I wanted a picture of us together.  I got my wish when a sweet hostess witnessed our attempts at individual portraits since our waiter was busy, and offered to take one of us together!

 Then we picked up some Cold Stone ice cream and a bottle of pink champagne and headed to our hotel room for the night.  What a treat!  I felt like a queen in our room with a king size bed, jacuzzi and fireplace suite! The boys even came over this morning and joined us for a nice swim in the pool before checking out. 

I know it is especially hard for Richard to spend money on a night in a hotel room when we have a perfectly nice home, but such a special treat and we were reminded how important time for just the two of us is.  Hopefully we can make this an annual event!  

Camping in the great outdoors

I came home from work Thursday morning and this is what I saw... 

 

My boys camped out in the backyard!  Richard and I have been talking about camping lately and I have been campaigning for a larger tent.  Richard thinks this is silly since we have a perfectly good tent already.  I reminded him of how small it was with the three of us in it (Jonah, Richard and I), but he told me I was crazy.  Jonah overheard us and was asking if we could go camping.  He has only been camping one other time and the last time Elijah was camping he was womb bound.  

Jonah had his first real camping trip at Kent Park in Iowa, just west of Iowa City.  I get a little teary eyed just thinking of how great that Park was and how many wonderful memories we have there!  

We went camping with our great friends Clint and Katy for Father's Day.  It was a wonderful time and such a fond memory.  Jonah had a blast and did exceptionally well for being 18 months old.  I was 8 months pregnant with Elijah and did actually enjoy camping because I was able to convince Richard that I needed an air mattress to support my extra weight.  (Normally we just "rough it" with maybe a camping mat, but certainly not an air mattress!) Although, I might need to start thinking of reasons why I would need to use one again since I can't use pregnancy as an excuse!

Richard said the backyard camping trip went very well!  They had a campfire via our well-loved-used-all-the-time-fire-pit compliments of our closest friends in Iowa City!  The had s'mores of course, crawled into their sleeping bags and slept under the stars.  I was a little worried the boys wouldn't be warm enough, but Richard reassured me they were fine in their fuzzy zip-up pjs and sleeping bags.  

I am looking forward to camping more with them this summer and hoping this is the beginning of many fond camping memories for them.

It's finally summer!

After a cool spring and missing good old Iowa weather (warm and sunny), we finally enjoyed a beautiful day up north yesterday!  I am not sure how warm it got (high 70s) but it was hot enough for the boys to run through the sprinkler and just enjoy the beautiful day.  Richard and I reflected on how great it was to be a kid in the summer.  We also informed the boys that this was as good as it gets: running through the freezing sprinkler, shivering on your beach towel in the freshly mowed grass, and giggling at just about everything.  

Jonah jumping over the sprinkler

Elijah jumping through the sprinkler

Just a couple of bathing beauties!

Here are a few more fun pics...

Toddler + sidewalk paint = quite a mess!

Good thing HE and his clothes are washable!

"Arrrren't they cute pirates?"

(more updates to come soon, but for now I must head to bed!)

Meet "Phyllis"

Dear fellow blog readers,

     I have decided that it is time to introduce you to a member of our family whom I have not spoke of until now.  She has been around as long as Richard can remember and was a gift to his parents when he was younger.  We adopted her when Jonah was a baby.  However, due to the logistics of having a baby and living in a one bedroom apartment, my parents graciously took "Phyllis" in for us until we had room for her again.  

When we moved back to Grand Forks Richard was so excited to bring her home!  Once we got into our home and after our 2 week renovations we were all able to move in.  We lived with my parents for almost a whole month and then we all moved into our new home. This included Phyllis.  She spent the first few weeks in our living room.  However, due to her size I told Richard Phyllis might have to stay some where else.  Richard was heart broken of course and I came up with a compromise.  She could stay, but she had to be moved to our bedroom (which is much more spacious than we need).  So she did and has stayed there since.

Meet "Phyllis"...

That's right...Phyllis is a plant!  A split leaf Philodendron to be exact.  The above picture is monumental for her.  Richard repotted her and gave her a little bath and let her enjoy a little fresh air.  More on this in a moment.

Since I am all about being honest on this blog I am not going to lie. Phyllis and I are not real close, in fact I am a little jealous of the attention she receives from my hubby at times!  Like the fact that Richard insists on opening the shades immediately when he wakes up so "Phyllis" can have her much needed sunlight.  Or how she is loud when I am trying to sleep during the day after a night shift. I turn a box fan on high while I am sleeping so that the boys can be boys and not walk around the house trying to be quiet while I sleep.  It works well, however a box fan is quite powerful on high.  This causes Phyllis to flap her leaves on against the ground making lots of noise.  If I move her over a little she isn't as loud, but I still notice her.  I have warned Richard that she might have to move out someday when we have another kiddo because there just might not be room for her and a baby in our bedroom.  He is adamant that she will stay.

In fact, after a recent conversation with my wonderful sister-in-law Jaime, who laughed while I shared my frustrations with Phyllis, but offered a great suggestion to her large size.  Give her a haircut.  While I wished I could have done this and surprised Richard, I knew that I could not stoop so low.  Richard did however give her a small one and she is considerably smaller and taking up less space.

He also gave her a bigger pot as she was outgrowing her old one.  She seemed to enjoy this: fresh air, more room to grow, a little shower, and some fresh dirt.

Here is Richard standing next to his precious "Phyllis" so you can get a better idea of just how big she is.  

Sorry this is so long, but I just have to add one more thing.  So if you haven't caught on yet, Richard and I joke about Phyllis and she is growing on me (don't tell Richard). Phyllis had spent a few days outside after her "upgrade" mostly because she is BIG and HEAVY! Today when I got up Phyllis was inside again and looked a little droopy and sad (if you can attach emotions to a plant).  I laughed when Richard shared with me information he found on the this friendly blog explaining this depressed appearance. 

"The Split Leaf Philodendron prefers medium lighting, so it is best to keep this plant located within 5 to 8 feet of a window.  However, be careful when choosing the location for this house plant because once you have placed it somewhere it does not like to be moved.  This plant has an attitude of its own, because if you then move it to another location it may drop its leaves in revolt to your moving it." 

Hilarious!  I think Phyllis just moved up in my book.  A sensitive plant with an attitude. I guess since I am the only female in this house maybe we can stand together.   She just might fit in better than I imagined in our family!

More Graduation fun!

I have lots of blogging to catch up on...but for now just a few quick updates so I don't get too far behind!

Over Memorial Day weekend my baby sister graduated from high school!  I can hardly believe it still!  I am 7 years older than Laura and I vividly remember overhearing my mom tell her sister on the phone she was pregnant and being so excited. My mom told me not to tell a soul and I of course kept that promise for a whole 20 minutes until I ran across the street and told my best friend Michael.  I did tell him not to tell anyone at least!  I remember feeling her kick inside my mom's tummy and the moment I finally got to hold her in the hospital.  I remember feeling so proud and wondering if this beautiful, perfect little baby was really MY baby sister!  

I have always been close to Laura which may be due to our age gap, or perhaps that she just might be my clone.  God has blessed me with amazing little sisters!  Laura, even though so much younger than myself, has always encouraged me with her faith and heart for the Lord.  She is mature beyond her years and I look forward to becoming closer over the years.  She will be at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN in the fall studying graphic design and spanish.  I am glad she will only be an hour away!  It was wonderful to be here for her senior year and catch a glimpse of this beautiful young woman who has replaced the tiny baby sister I held almost 19 years ago!

Congrats Laura! I am so proud of you and can hardly wait to watch the Lord use you for His kingdom.  Don't let anyone change who you are and keep your eyes on his plan. 

(I will post more pics later of the weekend fun)

My love is like a red, red rose.

Today I received a gift that melted my heart and warmed my soul.  My husband gave me one of the most precious gifts he has ever given.  A dozen roses and a box of chocolate.  

I know many people find chocolate and flowers lame or generic.  To me it means the world.  In previous posts I have eluded to the fact that my wonderful husband does not like giving fresh cut flowers as gifts.  One because they are expensive, and two because they will die soon.  He is also not a frequent materialistic gift giver.  He prefers to demonstrate his love by serving and sharing his time.  This I love about him.  He is also what I like to call a "frugal realist"...one who very carefully decides what to spend his money on and this rarely includes frivolous purchases such as flowers.  This I love about him also. 

However, my love language is gifts.  I LOVE giving them and I love receiving them!  Due to the above mentioned facts, I appreciate any gifts from my husband so much more.

So, when I saw a delivery van pull up to my house and a large bouquet of beautiful roses and a bag leave the van I did experience a little bit of jealousy as I assumed they were for a neighbor.  Then the lady walked towards my house and I was in shock. As soon as she left I had tears running down my face as I read the message attached.  

They are beautiful and smell magnificent!  The chocolates are delicious also. Funny how I managed to select the most delicious one on my first pick (dark chocolate with dark chocolate filling).  

I am going to enjoy every second of this beautiful gift.  I am going to be smiling every time I pass by them.  I am going to thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful man who can see right into my soul and loves me unconditionally. 

Love is like a rose.  

So tender and beautiful needing to be cared for so it can grow.

Only then will it blossom and share it's beauty for all to see. 

Sisters

These are my beautiful sisters. I love them. So glad to be close to them both.

I pray we will only become closer over the years.

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, somone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorny, your personal press agent, even your shrink. She is your sister"

-adapted from a quote by Barbara Alpert