15 years

15 years ago today, I stood before God, my family (that wasn’t at the opening day of gun deer season), and my friends (that weren’t at the Arkansas/Tennessee game) and said, “I do” to a very special man.

15 years hasn’t been all fun and games – some times have been easier (and more fun) than others. But he’s stuck with me anyway. We’ve grown together…and grown up together. We’ve had a lot of different addresses over the years, but home has always been wherever we were together.

He surprised me with a fabulous gift – he always does. A book. One that he wrote himself.

(Front)

(Back)

It’s a series of letters, written to me, about when he knew he loved me, some of our favorite things, how we’ve always been friends and not just spouses, lessons he’s learned, our kids, and promises for the future.

He even had the kids “sign” their chapters in the book.

It’s the most awesome gift I’ve ever received. Because it’s from his heart. For me. It’s not something new, really – him giving me something from his heart. He’s really good at that. But he continues to amaze and surprise me. My love for him grows, as does his love for me.

Best 15 years ever.

Camping & Girls’ Weekend

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Three-Generation Campout for the guys, and Girls’ Weekend for Honor and me.

The guys left on Friday to head to the campground. They got set up and ready for a weekend of fun.

(All of the camping photos were taken by Husband. Thanks, Babe!)

Meanwhile, Honor and I picked up Taco Bell and went to have tires put on Husband’s car. Yay! Honor got to stay up past her bedtime and entertain other customers in the waiting area. She had a blast. After we got home and Honor finally got to bed, I ate ice cream in bed and watched a movie.

Saturday, the guys woke up super early and went fishing, where Caedmon caught this whopper.

They also went canoeing. Caedmon was a little unsure about that adventure, but he actually enjoyed himself, though he was a bit uptight about it.

Honor and I watched cartoons together and had a little bit of a lazy morning. Then, we went out to the campsite to drop off supplies, have lunch, and hang out with the guys.

We tried swimming in the lake, but Honor was having none of it. She kept asking to go to the pool to swim, poor girl. So we went back to the campsite and played some more.

Caedmon rode his bike while Poppy and Honor walked along behind.

Honor and I left the guys at the campground and went home to the air conditioning. We hung out and watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins, which are her current favorites. After she went to bed, I read a big ol’ chunk of my book club’s monthly book. I haven’t stayed up late reading just for fun in a long time!

The guys ended up going to the movies to see Monsters University. Some camping trip! It was perfect though, since we’re gearing up for Disney in the fall. Except that I wanted to take Caedmon to see it. Because I want to see it, too.

My motives are pure, y’all.

That’s ok, I’ll take him to a different movie. One that I really he wants to see.

Sunday morning, Honor and I were just getting up and around when I called to see when Husband thought they’d be home. They were 15 minutes away. They’d gotten up early and gone fishing one last time before they loaded up to come home.

So, they got home, we unloaded and put stuff away, I started the laundry, and sent the guys to the showers. We spent the rest of the day being as lazy as possible. It was great.

We had a fun, busy weekend. And I’m looking forward to another one!

Photo Catch-Up

I’ve been such a blogging slacker lately. Mainly because I have been so overwhelmed with everything. And I’ve hardly picked up the (real) camera in the past month.

Here are a few things we did:

Honor figured out how to eat an apple (whole).

Caedmon helped me make football cupcakes for our own little Super Bowl watch party.

That may or may not be chocolate at the corner of his mouth. We will never really know.

Our Valentine’s surprises included some special items Daddy picked out just for the kids. Caedmon got a Darth Vader book…

…and Honor got a Prayer Purse book. That she promptly tore the pages out of and carries as a purse. The pages are waiting for me to re-attach, but I might wait a bit longer until she decides it can be a purse and a book.

During that week was the time we were preparing to move – the kids and I were spending our days at the house cleaning, hanging blinds, etc. So it’s no surprise that after we got our things moved, their “spot” ended up staying for a little while.

And since we were so busy during Valentine’s, we made Valentine cookies the week after.

Mom came to help us unpack and get things in order. But we had to pause for some fun. It was Caedmon’s first time to play Jenga and I think he enjoyed it.

Except for when he thought the tower might topple. Then, he prepared himself for the noise.

We even managed a (rare) photo of Mom and me together!

Basketball is about to wrap up. But we’ve had fun, that’s for sure. Here was a little pre-game gaming/cartoons.

Honor loved her little spirit shirt I made for her to wear to the games. She’d put it on and start shouting, “Defense!” Not that she knows what that means, but at least she was yelling for the team.

Caedmon so did not want to put the game down to pose for a picture. This is certain to be blackmail material one day. He looks like he’s in pain, doesn’t he?

Here’s my guy, guarding his player. That boy loves action away from the ball.

But don’t think he won’t go after it.  I think his favorite thing to do is tie it up, causing the refs to call a jump ball. Our last game was pretty rough. It was more like a rugby match than basketball game. But he played hard and the coaches awarded everyone on the team with the “Christ-like” star because of how they handled themselves in an unfair situation. I don’t even know if they realized that the other team wasn’t quite playing fair and the refs were letting it go. The parents and coaches sure knew. It was a great test of everyone’s character. And I’d like to say that everyone did well. At least, I think they did. I know it could’ve been much, much worse.

This week is our last game. Then we’ll be sport-less for a little while, until baseball season comes around. His age plays later in the year, here. So we’ll get to sit out in the heat in June and July for practices and games. But since baseball is outside, I’m not complaining. I’d rather sweat than freeze. Unless it’s for football. Then freezing is worth it.

A Little Bit {or a lot} of Christmas 2012

I know I’m a bit behind, but I can’t skip Christmas! We had a great Christmas. And the days leading up to it were fun, too!

We decorated cookies.

Well, Caedmon and I decorated cookies. Honor pretty much just free based sprinkles. And dropped them on the floor for Oz. We were all on a sugar high by the time we finished.

One of Caedmon’s masterpieces.

Nana and Poppy came to visit for Christmas. It’s been a whole year since Honor saw Poppy, but she made herself right at home in his lap.

Oz even got a little special Christmas treatment –he got to lay on the couch and watch TV with Husband.

We opened presents from family members on Christmas Eve. These two were excited. Well, Caedmon was. Honor had no idea what was coming.

We were beyond blessed by the generosity of our family. The kids were ecstatic about their gifts, and we all had a great time.

Later, while Husband and Nana read to Honor,

Caedmon and Poppy played Connect 4.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, where Caedmon got to hold a real candle. A lit one. With real fire. That drips wax. I’ll let you go ahead and picture that in your head and understand why I don’t have any pictures, as I was on fire patrol.

We had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t originally planned that way, but a storm was going to cut Nana and Poppy’s visit short, and we didn’t want to miss all the eating!

After the kids went to bed and we were sure Caedmon was asleep, the Christmas gift assembly began.

We divided it up. Husband put together the trucks, I put together the buildings. I really did enjoy the assembly of the fire station. Brought back memories of when I got a LEGO police station for Christmas and spent the evening putting it together in Mimi’s bathroom. (She had a big bathroom. And the little kids could be locked out.)

Two hours later, it was all ready to go under the tree, complete with a book about the fire station.

And yes, I’m fully aware that we probably committed a huge faux pas by putting Caedmon’s LEGOS together for him. However, he’s not quite ready to put together something on that scale yet. And in order to get to, you know, play with it, it has to be put together. Who wants to get a gift under the tree that it will be 5 hours before you can play with it? Because though it took Husband and me 2 hours to put together, it would’ve taken at least 5 to put it together with “extra help”.

I put one of Honor’s babies in the stroller we got for her. She didn’t care, I promise. She loves that baby (Thanks, Jill & Brandon!).

Oz had some curiosity issues with all the stuff. He was a teensy bit obsessed with photo bombs during the Christmas holiday. It became comical at some point. But seriously Oz, move!

Christmas morning finally came, and Husband kept the kids upstairs while I positioned myself with the camera. I thought I had my shutter speed fast enough. Apparently, I did not.

Because the boy? He was excited.

Oh, and Honor? She saw that stroller and she was off!

She had no interest in other gifts. None. Caedmon ended up “helping” her open things, and if she could carry it, she took it and sat in the stroller with it.

We had to say goodbye to Nana and Poppy so they could get home before the snow storm hit (their house). We were glad to get to spend time with them, and sad they had to leave early.

At lunch, Husband read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and we had some Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

Still in our pajamas, of course.

I’m glad Jesus likes to share. These kiddos devoured that cake.

We spent the rest of the day playing with toys, enjoying each other’s company, and taking Christmas naps. There’s something special about holiday naps, you know?

The day after Christmas, it was time for the real tree to go. It was getting a little crispy. But it couldn’t go before Caedmon said his goodbyes. Yes, he hugged the tree.

Honor helped put things away. She loves to close things.

By the end of the day, all that was left were “hooks and some wire”.

But? We had snow. Real snow. That was the best day-after-Christmas present ever.

It didn’t accumulate, but it was nice to just watch it fall. After a winter with no real cold weather, much less snow, last year, I loved it.

We had a great Christmas. And now it’s 2013 and time to get back to our normal…whatever that is.