14 years!!!!

Marriage is the greatest thing that I have ever embarked on.  We have had many wonderful times over the years.   

We have moved to our first home (and soon our 2nd), we have had two wonderful healthy boys, we have witnessed many friends getting married and having kids, developed relationships that are priceless. 

 We have also had our lows: 3 miscarriages, Dan in ICU and recovery from bacterial meningitis, and many more...............

But it all started at a little party in Nacogdoches, TX.  (Ax Em')

I meet this cute boy June 3,1997. 

He was playing volleyball (in green guess shorts). We then started small talk, had a few dates. It was not long before I knew this boy was something special. 


I will be the first to say that he is not the guy that I had in my head that I would fall in love with. 
In High School:
I liked: band, theater, church camps, church choir, mission trips, loved 'alternative music ,' and hung out at Deep Ellem on the weekends....He liked: soccer, sports, hunting, fishing, soccer, sports, hunting and fishing...Yet, when we met as 'almost adults' we clicked. We have always had a natural chemistry.  If fact after our first date I wrote in my journal, "I found the man I want to marry....not sure I am ready for this...." (6/03/1997)

like the acid washed jeans?

1990's selfie....

We still click. BUT----Now 14 years of marriage and 17 years together we have to work harder at clicking. I am not saying that I don't like him as much as I did when we first started dating, in fact, I love him more. 

But, I can easily not pay as much attention to him. I find myself focusing on our kids, my friends, the TV, school, work, my phone....and less time gazing in his eyes. This is the man that can calm me down faster than any other person. He can also drive me crazy faster than another person in the world. 

Why? Because he is my husband. He is always with me. He always has his feet firmly planted on the ground, when my head is typical up in the clouds. This works. It keeps us thinking of the future and dreaming, while reality is still a  part of the vision.
I am so grateful that we keep working to click. 

Mr. I love you so! Happy 14th anniversary!!

P.S. Despite the pictures below...we were not 12 years old when we said YES!

Take me out to the Ball Game!

Baseball is teaching me some life lessons!

So, it is not a secret that I grew up in a family of all girls (poor Dad).  We played piano, were in musicals, in band, in theater, and did swim team……

I married a man that is one of four boys.   They played sports, ran in the woods, played sports, played, sports, etc.

So, the life that I have now is VERY different!  

We are a baseball family!  Slick plays 2^nd base, and Mr. D is a catcher.

Lessons I am learning from baseball:

·       The leaders are important!  I am talking about the coaches and the kids!

·       Playing catch is as not easy as it looks.  

·       Practice does matter.

·       Game days you wear a uniform, not an outfit.

·       The Umpire (not the referee) can also be called “Blue”

·       There are about 1,000 terms that people use that I may never understand (“pitch to hit”, “down the line”, “2 up/2 down”, “2 away”)   But, I am trying and learning.

·       Every person on the team counts.   Baseball is as much as a team sport as an individual sport.  

·       What you say in the stands matters.   We need to remember it is a game.

·       It is good to win and lose.  It teaches lesson that cannot be learned any other way.

Even if you have showered and fixed your hair, you will leave games with orange dirt in your hair, teeth, ears, (players and fans) and if you are playing in your underwear. 

Time to laugh!

So, I am ashamed to admit that having fun is not always on the top of my "to-do" list.

My list is full of work stuff, house stuff, family stuff, not anything fun.  I don't say....make sure and laugh today.

This hit me when my youngest said, "Let's play hide and seek."  My first thought was.....I just sat down.....

Then I looked at his sad eyes as I hesitated and I  said yes.  THEN I got one of my favorite smiles.....

Then next 20-30 minutes were us finding each other in the same spots we always hide in (we really need to become more creative!)

Then it ending when some cuddle time reading one of his favorite books.

You know what I missed out on when I said Yes to a game of hide and seek?

folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, and just sitting on the couch.

When I put that in perspective it should be really easy to say Yes to that.   Fun is one thing that keeps a family together.  It is in the laughter and the games that you build relationships with each other.

Watch this video with someone you love....and have fun laughing.....

I have not blogged for a long time….but this time of my life I see so much stress in people lives (AKA my own life).....

My heart says, "Enjoy each moment….they vanish like a blink of an eye."  But, I am tired......

THEN- I sat at lunch last Sunday with a family of young kids, a retired man, and my oldest son. The retired man looked at us and said, "You are living life now.  Enjoy it. You are working, you are tired, you are overwhelmed.  This is the life."

WHAT?

Then he said, "I am retired, I have to think of things to do each day.  I am not ‘needed' at games, at school, etc.  I have done that.  I miss it so much.  Please enjoy this time you are in now.  It is overwhelming, you are tired, but you know you are loved and needed."

*PAUSE GAME*

I realize that as life happens we tend to ignore it.  We just do it.  We take our kids here and there and are annoyed about how busy our days are……but what else are our days supposed to be?  

I have a busy life with a busy family.  It annoys me.  I'll be honest.

This man let me look at it by a different perspective.

This is my life and I would not want it any other way.  I love my husband more that words can say.  I miss a night with him without anything to do……

but…..I also love the life that we have created.  I love the nights at the baseball fields, the night of homework, the stress of where are my baseball cleats, the mornings that I wake up thinking…"Can I take a nap today?"……

But, this is my life.  I really would not want it any other way.  I do what I can to make it suitable.  We have crock pot meals, random what is in the pantry meals, cereal night, and drive through night……that is just ok.  It does not need to look like  http://www.pinterest.com…..it just needs to look like my family.

May is crazy.  A family life in May is NUTS.  I also was on a work conference and we are taking an anniversary trip that I planned thought this would be a great time before summer (WHAT?!?!?)…….Don't' even think about finals, teacher appreciation week, Mother's Day, Promotion Sunday is around the corner….then VBS!!!!!

I hope my life stays crazy.  I am thankful that a family needs me, that my calling needs me, that my husband needs me.  I will take a nap when I am 70-- right before I remind people my current age/life stage that this time is crazy busy so very special.  Don't miss out.....

Time is flying by….or slowing down…..what is it?

Time is such an odd trick on us.   In one moment you feel like times is slowly ticking by and then you blink and a year has gone by.

I can apply this to all aspects of my life family, work, friends, and school.

Family:

Mr. and I have been married over 13 years.   How did that happen?  I was under 21 when we started dating….hahah.   Then the life that we have built is going by so fast.  We have been in our home over 10 years, we have 2 kids who are gaining independence and our family life seems like it is just going by at lightning speed. I will not even begin to describe how fast my children's lives are going by....

Work:

I have been at my new church for over 6 months.   Some days it feels like I have been there for years and some days I feel like it is my first week.  But in the overview of life….I have been working at churches for over 6 years…..how is that?   My years as a teacher do not seem that far away, yet the group I taught when we moved here ….they will be Seniors this year…..and I taught them in 1^st grade.   So, time is passing by!

Friends:

My college friends that I text/talk with on a daily basis now….have been my friends for over  19 years.   HOW IS THAT?

My “new” group of friends that we found when we moved to the burbs in 2002….have been a part of our lives for over 10 years.

School:

This is where I feel like time is just a ticking by.   I am going part time so I have seen several groups of friends graduate, and many are away at their internships, and I am still chugging along taking classes.   I  know my timing is right for my calling, my family, and all of the people involved in my life.

The point:

My first night in United Methodist History there are about 30 people sitting in a room.   The common thread is Perkins School of Theology and a required class for ordination.   As the class introductions went on it was oh, do you know…YES…..and again, and again, and again.   The moments in our lives are very connected and the people in our lives are a

part of our story.  It became comical towards the end of class of how connected our lives really are!

Perspective:   Enjoy your time.  Love the people who are around you.  If you don’t love them at least be civil, they will most likely be a part of your life again.