not a pity party.

just a list of excuses for why I am behind two days. :/

merrill has a bad sinus infection, and by “bad” I mean horrendous. 

he started feeling it the end of last week, and by saturday, he was ready to go to the doctor. (!!!!!)  really.  this guy, asking to go to the doctor?  it MUST be bad.

too bad for him, the instacare had closed, he got to wait until the next morning.

two antibiotics, a prescription for loritab in hand, the kid was still struggling.

we have tried EVERYTHING.  by everything I mean EVERYTHING..  well, except for this one drink I found on pinterest.  we are not brave enough to try that.

(for the curious:  water, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, honey, and lemon.  in my experience, ingesting apple cider vinegar ends in vomit.)

we have tried just about every decongestant, steam, oils, reflexology, moist+heated washcloths, then graduated to a rice bag that we have been spritzing and heating.  the loritab didn’t help.  we have already gone through a bottle of advil.  neither of us have gotten a full night of sleep since…  thursday?

it’s awesome.

I really can’t stand to see him so sick.

but, I have accomplished a few things, and as time (and my new nursing schedule permit) I will post all of my accomplishments and fun finds.

for now, here’s two layouts brought to you by the goodness at AC Digitals.

first up is new product, “Dear Lizzy Spring”.

(you can get it on sale this week!)

other goodies on this page:

stitching- anna aspnes
frame- liv.edesigns
photo corner- splendid fiins
background paper- amy tangerine “ready set go”

 

this loveliness is from crate paper “fourteen”.

 

I had to laugh at myself while saving off this layout.  I have a lot (A LOT) of layouts titled “sisters”.

that’s what I get for having 3 girls.

also used on this page:

stitching- anna aspnes

buttons- crystal wilkerson

paint brush and brown paper for the letters- liv.edesigns

font- “burvetica thick nc”

meanwhile, at the pitcher house..

I have some pretty awesome intentions.  like, they are unfathomably incredible.

but, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

yup.

I had dreams of the many things I would accomplish when the girls were back in school.

all the time I would have.

all the blogging and recording and picture editing I would catch up on….

not so much.

here is a bit of what has been going on whilst I have been truant:

merrill turned 33.

he didn’t want cake, but “crunchies” (our version of no bake cookies) instead.

(and it was nice to not have a large, delicious cake, sitting around, tempting me to eat it all, for every snack and every meal for the next 3 days…)

the girls started school.

*sniff*

we went to the brigham city temple open house.

we have been reading…  a lot still.

and we went to lake powell…

we rather enjoyed that.

now soccer season is upon us, and two of the three girlies are enjoying it.

currently, I am depressed.

(seriously.)

merrill has left me for two weeks.

left me for alaska.

I love the guy just a bit and miss him terribly.

if he brings me home some halibut, it might not be so bad in the end.

meanwhile, being a single parent has it’s sucky moments.

but mostly, I just miss him.

add one more to the tally.

12.

it has been 12 years now that I have been married to this guy.

our 12th anniversary didn’t start out in any particularly exciting way.

it was a little before 6 in the am, I woke up because my neck hurt (again), and my hand was asleep (again).  my best 4 year old bed buddy was crowding me (again).

as I lay there, trying to get comfortable, and trying to find sleep, I heard the “vvvvvvvtt, vvvvvvvtt” of a phone vibrating.

I blamed it on merrill, he is the one who normally gets texts and phone calls at obscene hours of the day.  well, except for that one time, when I won a wal-mart gift card.  (scam.)

that time, and this time.

it was my phone.

and my dad.

he is new to the world of cell phones and texting and I think it is rather cute.

as was our conversation:

dad- happy anniversary!!  twelve years or thirteen?

me- twelve thank you!

dad- that is what I thought but at my age a memory can’t always be trusted.

dad- by the way, what are you doing up sooo early?

me- I don’t know.  I think my phone started making noises or something. no, really peyton came and climbed into bed with me.

dad- it could be a lot worse.  you could have a st. bernard dog that does the same thing!

me- would it suck it’s fingers noisly?

dad- depending on whether it is a male or a female dog, it might make a lot of noise licking other body parts.

dad- go back to sleep!!

me- I am trying.

at some point during our early morning text-a-thon, merrill asked from the other side of our dark bed, “is someone dead?..  is someone dying??”

to be honest, I was quite thankful to still have my dad and that my dad was so sweet, to be the first to wish me a happy anniversary.

at 6 am.

forget sleep!

the rest of the day we spent together as a family.

we took our darling girls to this is the place for the first day of baby animal season.

we naively thought that it would be a pretty quiet day there.

not.

those were the biggest crowds we have ever seen there.

lynn was the only child brave enough to cuddle the baby animals, I guess ashley and peyton have issues with strange people watching them hold baby animals?

they did run around and have a pretty good time.

peyton thought she was “word girl”.  the cape went everywhere with us.

since most of our favorite activities still being closed, it was a fairly short visit.

we did get our treats (small selection) at the zcmi store, and rode on the train.

we saw an amazing antique quilt display at the old deseret hospital, and that got me excited to finish a quilt that is still going, so I can start more.

we visited the new city creek center after.  that was amazing.  didn’t buy a thing!  but seriously, shopping for that kind of stuff is not on my mind lately.

I am dreaming about my bedroom…

we enjoyed a quiet dinner, just the two of us, and called it a night going home to torture merrill by taking a few pictures.

really, it wasn’t bad.  he didn’t complain and even manned the remote, taking pictures at the most awkward moments, like when I was right in front of the camera adjusting the tripod (snap boobs), and more than a few as I was walking back toward him (snap bum).

then we wasted an hour, more than an hour, watching “incredibly loud and extremely close”.  I wish I could get that time back.  it wasn’t as good as people said it was.  there were good parts, but those were few and too far between.

I love reflecting back on these last 12 years, so many good memories, and so many blessings!

sure, we are older, a little grayer (and now I am adding to that count…), but wiser, closer, and comfortable with our little life.

just have to say how much I love you merrill.  thanks for continually putting up with me and my shenanigans.

an update on the painfully obvious.

so I believe we have already established the fact that merrill does not like the obviously stated.

(remember?  he doesn’t like it.)

but I certainly cannot help myself.

I believe I smell a terrific april fool’s joke.

Rocky Mountain Oysters

Lynn has been asking more and more questions about babies, where they come from, and male & female relationships.

It is a time of life that I knew would inevitably come, but one that I hoped wouldn’t show up for a couple years more.

I answer these queries as they come, with little bits of information at a time, following her cues and prompts.  I haven’t broken down each part and how it functions, just some basics.

“Moms have eggs in their ovaries…  dads have sperm in their testicles…  they meet inside the moms body to form a baby.”

Now, I haven’t told her exactly how this all “gets together”..  just term it as “sex”.  She doesn’t need to know the “ins and outs” of it all. 

(No pun intended.)

(That was kinda a doosy.)

Anyway, Lynn knows some basics.  Just enough for right now.  As more questions come, I tackle them.

So a couple of weeks ago, we were watching “The Office”.  Michael was headed-off to Denver, Dwight was kinda ticked about it.  As a parting gift (of sorts) he gives Michael a plate of “Rocky Mountain Oysters”.  Now, if you know Michael, you’ll know that he dug right in.  He was chomping on those things.  I mean, he was really eating them up!  Right in the middle of his chewing, Dwight reveals that they are really bull testicles.  Get it..  Rocky Mountain Oysters….

Lynn turns to Merrill and asks:

“Dad, what are testicles?”

There was a little pause. 

I anxiously awaited his response.

He made his way through a decent explanation, one that was a bit, um, stumbled through?  He even told her about scrotums. 

(I have to admit that at this point, I was trying my hardest to not let my laughter out.) 

After he finished his explanation, Lynn gave a little, “Oh…” then I turned around and said, “Lynn, remember we talked about testicles?”

I re-iterated just a little bit about our past conversation and a little light went on in her eyes.

“Oh!  Yeah!!  I remember now.”

She skipped away totally satisfied.

Merrill just looked at me and said, “You couldn’t have jumped in sooner?”

(Insert sappy title here.)

Another year has rolled around in the timeline of the Merrill and Mindy Pitcher franchise.

We celebrated 11 years of marriage yesterday.

What I love about our relationship, like, love a lot, is that we don’t necessarily have to do anything really big for our anniversary.  I wouldn’t complain if we did, but I like that we just sit back and enjoy it.

Most years, Merrill has been too busy with work to really do anything anyway, but with the girls being bigger, we like to involve them now too.

Some of the highlights from our day yesterday:

- Papa John’s for dinner.

- Listening to music, playing and some dancing.

- Lots of reminiscing.

- Making treats.

- U-Gluing our rug to the floor.  (Nail-biting excitement I tell you.)

- Bribing Merrill to take a few pictures with me.  (For some reason he wasn’t as willing or happy about it as he was 11 years ago..)

- Getting the kids to bed a watching “Deadliest Catch”.

- Ending the day with some sparkling cider.

While it wasn’t anything terribly big or fancy, it was time together.  That is just what I love, being with him, no matter what we do…  and I loved every minute of it!

A Valentine-y Re-cap.

If you know Merrill, he isn’t a real romantic kind of a guy.

(Love you just the way you are!)

That being said, we don’t really do (and I don’t expect) much for this holiday.

We make it all about the kids.

This year, he made their day, and as a result, melted my heart.

I do special things for the whole family, making a fun dessert (chocolate covered strawberries and the like), and a fancy-ish dinner.  We always have a small gift for the girls too.

When he came home, the girls were outside playing.  As soon as he came in, he ran to the bedroom and came back with a single red rose for each of us.  I only wish I could have captured their faces when he gave each of them theirs.

He made them feel so special!

  

I made the girls these:

(You can see more about them here.)

They also got kids “Just Dance” (I am already tired of those songs!) and “Bedtime Stories”.  We all enjoy that movie.

 

He, yup, he melted my heart!

Hope you all had a fantastic Valentine’s day as well.

A lesson taken to heart.

I am not going to lie, last week was CRAZY!!  It seemed like we were hopping from one thing to another, add to that how emotional I was (over just about everything and anything, the smallest stuff would have me in tears), and the fact that we started the last month of the year (seriously, where did this year go?!), and it was nutso…

I finished off my month of gratitude with the intentions not to let that go, but at the end of the day, just about every day, I thought, “I will post that tomorrow.”  But when the tomorrows came, the craziness resumed.  Where was the time?

I do have to say what I am thankful for from the craziness of the last week.

-I am thankful for such a loving, supportive husband, who knows what I need better than I do most of the time.  He took care of the girls every night from Wednesday to Friday.  A lot of people would say, “Well, he is their dad, so…” but really, for me to have been gone or busy doing something (like having a meeting at our house), and to have him have fun with them, it was a huge relief to me.  I just wished I could have been having fun with them!  He took the day off Thursday and went to school with Ash, and from what I hear, they had a blast in class.  I was feeling bad for not spending much time with him, feeling like he was feeling neglected, add to that the “emotional” factor I was dealing with, and I was ready to call off a lunch/shopping date with a friend.  He told me, “No.  You better go.  I am taking the girls to McDonalds.  We are going to have fun, you better too.”  What a great guy!  I am glad that I went, I really needed it.  (LOVE YOU MER!)

-I was so thankful to be able to look back and reflect on each day at the end of it, and see all that had been accomplished.  Most days I had wished that I had had more time, but in the end, I was satisfied and able to sleep comfortably.  There’s nothing like the satisfaction of a full day.

-I am so thankful for our family traditions and activities this time of the year.  I am so happy that the girls remember and look forward to each and every one.  We went to the Festival of the Trees last week, and had so much fun!  I am thankful for these events that are fun, but remind us of the giving part of the season. 

-I recently made a goal to read the Book of Mormon (even though I was pretty far in it anyway) before the end of the month.  That is 18 pages a day!  It has been such a blessing to sit each day and read, mark, really study those 18 pages (sometimes more, I can’t stop sometimes!).  It helped me put life into perspective, and everyday, there were things in there that I needed to read.

-I am thankful for the kind phone calls, and messages from friends and family who know I have  been going through my own little “down”.  To know that they care, to hear their expressions of love and support are such a blessing!  I am thankful to know that I am surrounded by such great people.

I know that my week could have been even better (and maybe a little less emotional) had I kept up on my gratitudes, actually listing them at the end of every day.  I love how it helps me to readjust my focus at the end of the day, start the next one off even better.

November 22nd..

This week’s challenge at I {heart} faces is “paper”.
I had many ideas, this was just the one I was able to try out..

As usual, there are more awesome submissions there.
Go, see!

Day 18.

I am so thankful for a supportive husband. 

He took the day off today (he tries to every Thursday) and even though he had the day off, he really didn’t.  He supported me in something that I wanted to do, something that would help to develop my talents (which I am also thankful for), and sacrificed a day for us to just “be” together.

I am thankful for his unselfishness.

I am also thankful for a strong body that was able to carry me throughout this busy day, that even though I feel tired, I know I will get a good night’s rest because I gave today my all.

Day 13.

I am thankful for music.  It has the power to soothe, to enlighten, to uplift.

I am thankful for all the music (many different types) in our home, for Merrill’s addiction to it.  He always finds the best bands!  Music really means something to us…

I am thankful to be able to put a particular song on, and feel of his love for me.

I am thankful that our family has been sealed to each other.  I am thankful for the binding power of the Priesthood.

I am also thankful for awesome babysitters.  Great kids who we can leave our kiddos with, know that when we return home, all will be well, and our babies will be happy, and well cared for.

Day 6.

Might sound really lame, but I just realized that tomorrow, we gain an hour.

That is seriously what I am thankful for today.

You’d understand if you had the day that I did.

It started out with what was a half day volleyball tournament.

Then there were errands to run so Sunday would be a smooth day, sales to hit, then to come home, thinking I would have SO much to do in order to get ready for Sunday, only to find my sweet husband, who stayed at home with the kiddos all day, cleaning my kitchen!!

It was sweet…  (sigh)

I had projects to get done for the creative team, 4 of them to be exact…  and then family time.

We are trying to squeeze in as much time as possible before Merrill leaves us for his business trip.

I just took off my shoes, they have been on since 7:30 this morning.

I am also thankful for Scentsy room sprays right now!

Oh, and that hot bath that is waiting for me. :)

November 4th..

New class, new assignments that require someone who can follow direction, and that, my friends, is how I got him to pose for me!
(Thanks Mer!)

A goodbye.

We said our goodbyes as we walked around Merrill’s Junior High  one last time before they tear it down.

I have heard many stories from his days here, but more came tumbling out this day, and even though there was the women's broadcast, I didn’t want to leave…

We laughed as he tried to remember about where his old lockers were…  some were missing.  I think they can be found in my neighbor’s garage. ;)

We laughed even more as he showed us where all the “hot girls” lockered.  He told us about how if he timed his walk to certain classes just right, his path would cross with some of theirs.

He told us a story about a book that got placed here, but somehow went missing and never got back on the shelf, and he got to pay for it.

He stopped us in this hallway, right outside of his English class to tell us of how he narrowly escaped being “anchored” on his last day of ninth grade, and how his older friend helped track down the guys who chased him and then. well, we’ll just say that they “scared” them. ;)

Visited the old choir room..

We found some souvenirs.

Clint and Britney came and joined us.  We got to hear the story of when they met in seventh grade, even snapped a picture of them in that room.

It made me homesick.  Homesick for those times of life.  Homesick because I wished that I were able to be one of those girls who got to cross his path and flirt with him.  Homesick for just a slow dance at a stomp there with him..

It was a fun time, he said it had made his week.

In all the things we saw, rooms we stopped in, I think the most special was the room where his Grandpa had taught next to Mr. Goody’s room. 

It was fun hearing his stories, seeing the smile on his face as he reminisced, and giving all of this to our girls.

Happy happy…

Birthday!!!!

Today this guy celebrates.. okay, maybe “celebrate” isn’t the right word….  recognizes his birthday.  WE celebrate.

Today he happens to be 31.

(He’ll tell you he’s 30, since he didn’t celebrate that one last year.)

He didn’t want a big deal made out of his birthday.  So we are keeping it low-key.

(It’s a good thing I already Facebooked about it, Twittered it, and now, I am blogging it.)

Love you Merrill!!!  I think you are hot for over 30.

Vacation?

(Not complaining..)

 

One of the perks of being married to the GM of a new hotel is that time, especially time spent relaxing, is non-existent.

(Especially at hours when people should typically be sleeping.)

Vacations are an extinct species around these parts.

We so need one!

(Again, not complaining.)

Merrill has planned for time off, but it has never actually happened, yet.

(Crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes.)

He has been the lucky guy to fill in for midnight shifts (after working a whole day’s worth) for people who get sick, or who just don’t show up, only to turn around and work the following shift as well.

Glamorous, I know.

(Not whining.)

This last Friday, he planned to take off, ya know, so WE could have fun.  Guess what?  Yup.  He had to work it.

(Not grumpy about it.)

So he plotted  to take a couple of days off this week.

Sunday he got to work one of those fabulous midnight shifts because someone quit a half hour before their scheduled shift, and he enjoyed (?) sleeping most of the day away on Sunday.

(Church by myself wasn’t so bad..)

So we thought that nothing would get in the way of our day off on Monday.

But then something did.

And he had to (like REALLY had to) spend half the day Monday catching up on more sleep.

(I am really not complaining.  I promise.)

We still managed to have fun, while it was not the fun we planned, it was still fun.  We were together after all..

It would just be nice to actually have some real time off to really play and do what we planned to do this summer.

(Just sayin’…)

Her daddy’s finger.

Peyton has herself wrapped around it.

65% of the time, she isn’t very friendly to him.  When he greets her, it is usually met with a scowl, then turns her face into her shoulder.  It doesn’t boost his confidence in the fathering area.  So when she shows him affection, he eats it up, and she knows when she can continue to spoon feed him, and keep him doing whatever she wants.

The other night for example..

It was bedtime.  We have had some pretty fantastic bedtimes lately.  I have discovered that the key is consistency.  (Another DUH! moment.)  Well, that and being firm.  It took a couple of nights of taking little sweet P back to her bed and telling her it was bedtime.  No snuggling, no prolonged visiting or singing, just cutting to the chase.

It took those two nights of that routine until she would stay there and fall asleep.

All children in be by 8:30.

Hallelujah!!

That easy.  After family prayer, kisses, tuck-ins, bedtime tunes turned on oh, so quietly.  And she stayed there!!

Then there was the other night. 

Perhaps it was the long nap that got her going, perhaps she had figured out what to do to stay up just a little bit longer, either way, she wrapped her daddy around her finger just a bit tighter.

She came into our room, was immediately met by me, the bedtime police, with a, “Go back to bed Peyton.”. 

She responded by looking right at Merrill and said, “Tell you som-thin’ daddy?”  (Sideways glance at me.)

He began melting, a little too obviously.  “Suuure Pey!”

That was her invitation to climb up on the bed and snuggle in. 

(Going for the kill.)

“I a-wuv you daddy…”

(More melting.)

“Awwweee!!!  I love you too Pey!”

(Another glance that was more like a silent satisfied laugh from the wee one.)

She pulled his arm around her just a little bit tighter.

It went on like a TV show re-run, and I reminded him that we need to stay consistent with bedtime, especially with her.

“But I don’t get this that often!  I should take it while I can get it.”

She was winning.

All I could do was shake my head at the two of them.

She totally played him.

An attitude of gratitude.

I was beginning to worry that whatever Ashley has had was contagious.

I was starting to feels the blahs coming on, and was trying to pin down what was causing me to feel this way..

Could it be that I am trying to kick sugar?  (Just “kick it” in the “having it as a meal” form, not the occasional treat.)

Could it be that I am coming down with a cold?

Or maybe it is this crazy weather.  It is spring in Utah after all..  but another day of storminess, after gorgeous days of playing outside, were kind of a bummer.

I was feeling much like Ashley was.

I wasn’t in love with my hair, I was toying with the idea of cutting it, but then I knew I would miss it.  Especially when it comes to working out (trying to be more consistent with that one..) and being able to pull it back.  Then I would regret the choice.

I was feeling not so cute in my favorite jeans, so I opted for my favorite lounge pants instead.

I was still feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that I had to do, and all that I wanted to get accomplished..  I was feeling the blahs.

I wanted to “change-up” a lot of what I look at every day, make it more fun and exciting to me..  so blah-ish, all around me.

Then, two things happened that changed my focus:

1- Some close friends stopped by for a quick chat fest.

2- Merrill came home.

Being with people that I love, that love me too, that just know me, and I feel comfortable and happy with, gave me the perspective I needed.  I didn’t need to boo-hoo to them, just realize the blessing that they all are to me.

It would have been easy to lay it all out and cry to Merrill about every little thing that was weighing on me, but I couldn’t.  His happiness lifted my spirits.  He comes in the door everyday after his long day at work, and immediately greets me with affection.

I usually hear, “Hi gorgeous!”

(Even if I am sporting my favorite lounge pants and my hair is in a ponytail..)

There’s no doubt that the rest of our little family feels the same way about him.  As soon as the garage door is heard, all three girls are usually running to the door, waiting to greet him.  He shows all of us just how much he loves us.

Last night, after we had the kids in bed, we were together in our room.  The news was on, I was working on a project, then realized he was looking at me.  I looked at him to find him smiling at me.  Just that little thing pulled my mind away from the thoughts of all that I didn’t get accomplished that day, all those thoughts that would inevitably drag me down.

It was not a sweeping gallant act, just all of those little things.  I love him so much!

This morning, I wanted to start my day off much in the way it ended.  I was determined to not let the poor night’s sleep with far too many interruptions and feeling sick start me off badly.  I got children fed, bathed, and ready for the day, ate a good breakfast.  I set to getting small chores done, got in a good workout, and then relaxed in a hot (and much deserved) shower.  As I was reflecting on my day yesterday, pin-pointing the hormonal/overloaded/blah, and then thinking of the things that turned it around, I knew I had to post some of my gratitude.

I am blessed with incredible friends, both near and far.  To have a spur-of-the-moment chat (that also involved root-beer floats) was a blessing.  To be with them, for no reason, and enjoy each other’s company and the peace that comes with a friendship that is truly meant to be, was a needed blessing in my day.  I also found e-mails in my inbox later in the evening.  Kind notes, comments on one of many blog posts.  I receive thoughtful packages, treats, and cards, and I know that my life is blessed, very full of friends.

I am blessed with a great family!  I love my mom to pieces and to know that she is there, whenever I may need her is priceless.

Merrill is something that I feel I have said so much about, yet not enough.  He is my best friend.  He is always so supportive of my dreams and goals.  He encourages me daily.  He is honest with me.  He is there when no one else is.

I am blessed with so many things because of a loving Heavenly Father who knows me better than I know myself.  He has put these people in my life at the time when He knew I would need them the most.  I am right where I am, at this time in my life because I am supposed to me, because He put me here.

I also have to say, that it also helped, after I was lifted above the funk of the day, to reach out, beyond myself, to recognize what others need, what others would appreciate, that in serving others, we are made happier.  Our problems or “blahs” are put to the side because we aren’t thinking about ourselves.

Taking that extra time in the bedtime routine to snuggle with each of the girls and read them each a story, that helped to shift my focus as well.  To meet their needs, to show them an increase of love, helped me and rejuvenated me more than the “me time” I was dreaming of earlier that day could have.

(Not saying that “me” time is bad, I just knew that this was better this time.)

My day was full of blessings that I would be regretful if I didn’t document.

The root-beer floats also ranked pretty high up there on that list. ;)

Best thinking times.

I have times (and places) where I am enabled to think at my best.

1- In the shower.  I need to have some way to record all the epiphanies I have in there..

2- Cleaning, but while vacuuming especially.

3- Right as I am about to fall asleep.

So it should come as no surprise that ideas were flooding my little brain as I was scrubbing, totally delving into my “Spring” cleaning yesterday.

Yes, it was Monday, and I clean on Monday as we all know..  but I was really on one yesterday.  I tore apart our closet, bathroom, and bedroom and had at.

It was fun.

(I know, I am sick.)

I also had music on, (a must for just about any activity at our house) and right as my mind was going to solve all of the world’s problems, our song came on.

Now I have to explain, we have A LOT of songs.  Different songs for different points in our relationship.

- Head over heels hit us both at the same time on that drive home from the life-changing trip to Lake Powell, it was quite fitting as it all went so fast..  “Something happens and I’m head over heels..”

- Bread, because that was also during that life-changing trip to Powell, and the lyrics in that one song, fit so well.  (It also helped that Austin played it over and over and over again as Merrill and I talked on the sun deck.)

- Saved the Best for last is another one that kind of just fit, because of all the “bad timing”  moments we have had relationship –wise since we were 15, we managed to save the best for last (cheesy, I know).

But this one song that came on, means more to me than any other.

Merrill deemed it “our song”.

I will never forget the first time he played it for me, it was after he made me a DVD slideshow, a much better version of a “mix tape”.

I sat, listening to the lyrics of this song, watching as the pictures from our life together  flashed by faster than I would like it to, and crying.

Crying because I was so amazed that someone felt this way about me.

We had been married not quite five years, and I should have known of his feelings for me, but of that magnitude?  It simply blew me away.

I must also say, that every year gets better than the last, that the love I thought was so great, and so strong to begin with, only gets better and better.

So I sat, listening to the words, yet again, while I was scrubbing the tub, feeling even more gratitude for this man who loves me, for his thoughtfulness, for his kindness, for his unselfish ways, for the life we share, for how far we have come together.

“Oh, how blessed we are, to share in everything..  every time I see your face, I’m reminded, of what it means to be alive.”

Geez I love him!

A very happy anniversary.

Yesterday, Merrill and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.

It has been pretty awesome!

I know that neither of us are perfect, we have had our struggles and stresses, and we will have more.  We have learned, and continue to learn about one another and from one another, and we only grow stronger together.

I pray that we can be the example our girls need for what too look for in a mate, how to be a good wife, and that they know what love is.

I spent the day finishing his gift.

He spent it working, and waiting for me to get my gift.

We both looked forward to the end of the day, when we could just be together, and share the evening as a family.

Thank you Merrill for the life we have together..  I love you!