Mustang Memories

May 19, 1990. What wasn't to like?: tall, dark hair, slender build, beautiful eyes, a great smile, and a cool car. Nineteen years ago today I met my husband, set up on a blind date by some friends of ours. We were two kids meeting for the first time, not knowing where God would take us. This journey and life with T has been wonderful, but not always blissful. We have had our share of heart-aches, head-aches, sorrows and fights, but we have had so much more of laughter, love, joy, and excitement. It's amazing to think that God knew on that very first night that we would be embarking on a road together that would take us this far, and that he even had 3 little people in mind that we were to bring into this world together.

I am so happy that God had plans for us and a future together. We are much different people than we were back then, but the memories aren't far away....2 teenagers with the top down, wind in the hair, good music, on a country road with a whole lot of time on our hands. Those were good times then and great memories, but life is even sweeter now. I love you T!

Wrestler or Banker??

I have been suffering from a little writer's block lately. I think most of that is to do with the fact that every day seems just like the one before...alarms, getting kids ready for school, running my taxi to both schools twice a day, naps for J, files to process, dinner to cook...blah, blah, blah. Nothing really has seemed worthy enough to document. I really haven't had any great thoughts or moments that I could manage to put into words for this blog. Just call it a slump, if you will.

But since I am feeling guilty today for not writing much lately on my blog, I thought I would throw my husband "under the bus" for this post. (Sorry, babe..please do show up at home tonight despite the fact that I used you for a little laugh on the world wide web)

My daughter M got a brand new pair of roller skates for her birthday. White with purple stripes and purple laces. Almost as cute as the white ones with big green furry balls on them that I had at her age.

My husband picked up one of the new skates the other night and was checking them out, but you could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he looked at them intently. Like me being reminded of my 1980 pair of skates, he was also reminded of his own pair. He said, "I will never forget trying like heck to get the wheels off of my skates."

"Why would you want to do that?" I inquired.

"Because I knew if I could get all the wheels off of them, I would have a real nice pair of wrestling boots!" he said with a giggle.

I bet if he would've been successful in doing so, he might have put the moves on somebody like this:

Although, I guess he would have had to further his attire to truly look professional:

Such lofty dreams for a young boy! All the way from "professional wrestler" to conservative banker. My how things change over time. I'm truly happy that God had a different plan for that little boy.

Sibling Rivalry

M and K are always antagonizing each other. It truly is sibling rivalry at it's best around my house. K is finally learning to stand up to her big sister and although, maybe not right, sometimes T and I sit back and watch arguments and fights between them unfold just to see what little K will do in defense. I must admit, she has gotten rather good these days at defending herself and it's funny to watch.

Last night after getting the two girls out of the bathtub, an argument arose between the 2 of them. Most of it was really just "funning" around with the other, but as always it usually ends up with someone hurt, or feelings hurt at the least, and this was no different.

After "fighting", "arguing", "funning (for lack of a better word) around" with each other, I finally put an end to it. I then told M to apologize and tell her sister that she loved her. She apologized and that was it. So I encouraged her to let her sister know that she loved her. She then responded, "Love. I hate love! That stuff is just for Mommys and Daddys!"

Well, at the very least, we must really show the kids how very much we love each other as husband and wife.

Baptism

Yesterday was such a special day for my little family. T and J were baptized together at church yesterday morning and it was such a sweet experience. I thought it was especially sweet that our pastor spoke directly to my two girls and told them of their responsibility as well, and the expressions on their faces as they listened carefully to what he said, just tugged at my heartstrings. I am proud of my men today. So proud.


"I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Mark 1:8 (New International)

"As he preached he said, 'The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism-a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit-will change you from the inside out.'"
Mark 1:8 (The Message)

My Knees Still Shake

Over 18 years ago, I was set up on a blind date with a young and handsome boy. He had jet black hair, green eyes and long eyelashes, 6 foot 3 inches tall....nothing not to like. Oh, such a pretty boy! We attended the Taco Bell on our first date, not exactly the most desirable eating establishment, but I didn't care because I couldn't keep from thinking how cute this boy was. Well, this very cute boy kissed me on our first date (sorry mom) and I just remember my knees were shaking.

About two years later we both went to college together at GSU and the next few years would be very troubling for the both of us. He broke my heart on several occasions throughout the years in college, but we always seemed to find our way back together. I distinctly remember, on many nights, calling my mother from my apartment and requesting her prayers for me and T. She would tell me, "Well, I will pray for you and that the best thing would happen...and the right boy to come along." And my answer always was, "Well, mom...please specifically pray that it IS T and that -THAT is the best thing for me ."...I just wanted it to be him.....SO VERY BADLY. I couldn't see it any other way.

He eventually broke my heart and I ended up dropping my spring quarter classes, packed up all my belongings and drove home. I was devastated.

About 2 months later, that cute boy with those pretty eyes, came running back to me. The love of my life....We dated for a few months after that, when finally, he proposed to me on top of a well known landmark, in the town that we live in. I couldn't have been more happy.

Less than a year later, we wed on July 12th, 1997. It was a great day, one that I will never forget. (Especially the fact that it was 100 degrees and I was in a wedding dress!) He was the most handsome man/groom I have ever seen. Man, those eyes! He definitely lived up to all of my dreams that I had growing up as a young girl. I could have never dreamt it to be any better.

Eleven years later, it is even better. I love my man with all my heart, think he is the most handsome guy there is, love the "Daddy" that he is and the friend he is to me.

Thank you T for choosing me...loving me....taking care of me...making me your wife...making me a mommy...making my knees still shake.

We have been through a lot.... A lot that makes me love you even more. You are my most prized possession. Without YOU, nothing makes sense to me. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN I CAN EVER SAY....FOREVER. Happy Anniversary.

Father's Day

Today, as we celebrate and honor fathers, I am especially thankful for the "Dads" in my life. My husband is a great man and wonderful "Daddy" and my own father is a man I love and admire.

T is generally a quiet guy, but around his family he really makes us all laugh and smile a lot. I think some of the best times are when I see him pick up one of the girls, twirl them around, and tickle them, all the while the other is waiting saying, "my turn Daddy, my turn." On nice nights, he takes the girls around the block on their bikes. They love this time with their Daddy.

T is a man that loves to be at home with is family more than anywhere and we all know it. He is a wonderful provider, who is smart and wise with money, a disciplinarian when needed, and he has a loving and tender heart. My children and I are so very lucky he's the man of our house.

My Dad is a man who I have always looked up to. He is a man to be respected, who has achieved so much, but to him his greatest acheivment would probably be his family. He is an extremely generous and tender hearted man, one that would give you his last dollar or shirt off his back, and one that would be willing to sacrifice something for himself in order to give to another.

I have two distinctive memories of my Dad as a child. The first being the time that I disappointed him by being disrespectful to my Grandmother. I had rolled my eyes at her in disrespect, and he popped me and disciplined me. He did a lot of talking, words I can't remember, but I certainly will never forget the feeling I had... that bad feeling for disppointing him so much. The second memory is on a lighter note. My Dad took my shopping several times growing up. I loved to go with him, because he was more likely to get me things I wanted, not just the practical items that I needed. When I was around 7 years old we were on one of those shopping adventures when I saw the prettiest rabbit fur coat I had ever seen. It was expensive (probably like $35 ...but Expensive to me THEN). I asked for it and we got it! I couldn't believe it. I might have had bad fashion sense, but I definitely had my Dad wrapped around my finger. I'll never forget that!

Happy Father's Day to both of the Dads in my life. I love you.

Happy Birthday to My Man

My Man is 34 today. He's a great dad, husband, and my best friend. I am so lucky that he is mine!

Here are some great pictures of him as a young boy. Check out his fine duds!




Here is a picture of us when we first started dating. Check out my tacky fake fingernails!

And here he is the day he stole my heart and made me his wife.

Happy Birthday T! I love you.

Such A Clever Guy!

The other night we went out to dinner with T's parents after spending the day at their house swimming and having fun. As I was enjoying my meal, T said something funny to me and I laughed. Then, all of a sudden, I was choking. I've had several experiences where I have "had something go down the wrong way" and had a little coughing spell, but this was bad...I was having trouble breathing. I could barely inhale any air at all. T looked at me, put his hand on my shoulder, and gave me that "are you ok?" look and this is when I made a big mistake: I looked at him and shook my head "no". After several seconds of not breathing but a tiny bit of air, I finally started coughing, but it took a while before I was able to talk. When I could finally talk, I explained to everyone that I was really choking. T looked at me and said, "Then why did you shake your head 'no'?" Apparently he thought I was saying to him, "No, I don't need help. Don't get up." I explained to him that I was actually saying to him, "NO, I AM NOT OK." It is then that he made me feel really stupid...

He put his hands on his throat and said, "THIS is the universal sign for choking."

"Oh yeah," was my response.
I'm pretty sure I won't forget that next time. We also used that as an opportunity to tell our kids about it at the same time.

I sure am glad that God decided not to take me while eating a salad at a mexican restaurant and choking on lettuce! I can think of more glamourous ways to exit this world...choking isn't one of them.

There's No Place Like Home

This past weekend my mom, my kids and I took a road trip to Boone, NC to see my oldest niece graduate from high school. It was a very sweet and special graduation, one I had never seen, a home school graduation. It was very moving to see parents of their own children speak encouraging words and praise their child for their accomplishments and then give them their diploma. Very, very sweet. I think I teared up the entire time. With that being said, it was nice to go up there and be there for this special occasion and for my girls to be around their 5 cousins (all girls). They had a ball. On the other hand, nothing seemed to go right all weekend for me. Here are a few of the scenarios:

-It takes us nine hours to get there..what should have been a six hour trip. This was due to an hour delay in a town only 20 minutes from home because we had to wait on flowers to take up to the graduation. Then, 20 minutes from my brother's house, we take a wrong turn and head about 30 minutes in the opposite direction which, of course, took us an hour to get back to where we made the wrong turn. The other hour was spent in potty breaks and lunch where we had to feed J, etc. Just crazy.

-We arrived and spent a couple of hours at my brother's house enjoying seeing family. We then had to load everybody up in the car to go to the hotel room, which was 25 minutes away because ASU had the same graduation weekend and we couldn't find a room in Boone. So, I wake J up, put him gently in the car, along with my mom and the girls and I go to crank up my minivan....no keys. The next 45 minutes would be spent frantically looking for my car keys with a flashlight, in the pitch dark on top of a windy and cold mountain. I can't tell you the level of my frustration. After looking everywhere, in every bag, every crevice of my car and their house, we find my keys in some other person's pocketbook. Ugghhh.

-Two nights of getting back to the hotel room late and J was beside himself crying. Still don't really know what was up with him, but I know my nerves were shot!

-J spit up on my too many times to count. I think those windy mountain roads turned his stomach over and he couldn't keep anything down. As a matter of fact, one evening I was holding J in my brother's den and talking with my Dad, Stepmother, and 2 of my nieces when he decided to spit up the contents of his stomach all down the front of me and even down my crotch area (and I was wearing black pants!) I proceeded to stand up and wipe myself off, including my crotch area, not really thinking anything about it...then I look up and one of my brother's friends(and members of his church congregation) was in the room saying "Good Bye" and he looked at me (and what I was doing). My niece caught on, seeing the scenario, and said very loud, "AWKWARD!" The guy just turned and left. Oops. I told my brother about it later. I bet his friends think that I have no class (truth is, I guess I really don't if I was doing that in the first place...just didn't think before I did it).

Seriously, I just couldn't wait to get home. I loved being there, but nothing was going right. I was being put to some sort of test and was failing miserably. My brother even said at one point, "Well, you wonder why things like this happen.....Well, I guess it's blog material." Yes, he was right...that's really grasping for the silver lining!

Once we arrived home, I was at ease. Peace. J stopped his fussing. He went straight to bed without even a whimper. The spit ups stopped. My stress level reduced to nothing. I got to be with my man and tell him about my crazy weekend. And while I was talking to him, I realized something...I think partly my weekend was the way it was because he was not with us. I told him, "things just don't go right when you aren't around" and it's true. He couldn't have kept me keys from going in some other person's purse, or stopped J from spitting up, but he could have been there for me and therefore my nerves wouldn't have been the way they were. He is good for me. He calms me. At the end of a bad day, he can talk me through it or just give me a hug to make it better. He is vital to me and our family. Without him, it doesn't work, it doesn't feel right. God intended it to be that way. I am so thankful to have my man, the "glue" that holds us altogether.

Next time, we're taking him with us!