Monday, January 19, 2009

I'm Married to a 40 Year Old!

I'm not sure exactly how that happened. Well, I mean, I know how it happened... but the time has gone so fast. When I met Danny he was 25. A gorgeous, tanned, muscular, salt-water-sprinkled 25. And really... it was love at first sight. He was unlike anyone I had ever dated. He and I had so much fun together. We have come so far!! He has come so far!!

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a blessed life. Dan is the perfect partner for me. My other half. He really does complete me. He always has the strength to step in where I leave off. To go the extra mile when I am weak. He never ceases to surprise me. Not a birthday, anniversary, or holiday goes by where he doesn't have something up his sleeve. He truly amazes me.

The gorgeous man that I met 15 years ago was not half the man that I have in my life now. Why is this? Because Dan now has Jesus at the helm in our family. Dan's obvious love for our Lord far surpasses any attraction that took my breath away 15 years ago. Dan is God's gift to me, and to anyone who has the joy of calling him "friend".

Happy Birthday Baby!! All my love.


Danny at Lake Powell, about two weeks into dating me.

Danny in his element - Carlsbad 11/2007

Ojai waterfall

Just one of His loves... riding

Did you know Dan pole vaulted in high school?

Yes, he was always cool.

Danny at 6 month, yes, and he was always cute!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

I keep seeing this done on other blogs, and it always warms my soul... so here I go:


1. The memory of this afternoon at my parents house when I sat for awhile with my Nana with the warm afternoon sun shining in the window. She hand hemmed a pair of pants in record time while I knit. I know, next time I need a picture of us together...but this is the memory.


2. An even stronger understanding of what the best gift of Christmas is. The story of Christ's birth was never as real to me as it was after reading Intimate Moments with the Savior - Learning to Love by Ken Gire. Awesome!!!


3. Knowing that I can try to make Toffee again, even if it's not Christmas. I made 4, yes 4 batches in December and not one of them turn out right. I finally figured out the culprit...my candy thermometer is broken. Man, that's a lot of burnt butter in the garbage!!


4. Sorry to any vegetarians out there, but come on...this is perfection. Prime rib made by my dad for a family dinner.


5. Do you see how cute these leg warmers are on Ms. Emma!! They were originally wrist warmers for me from a free pattern found here. But a cold rainy day at dance class, and they are now hers. I just bought more yarn yesterday to make me a new pair.


6. The lavender I put in my knitting bag. Every time I pull something out of there...ummm. And the fact that when my kids smell it they know it's lavender : ).


7. All the Christmas "stuff" is finally in boxes ready for Dan to put in the attic tomorrow. And I even remembered the Christmas books so we are not reading Rudolf in August!!


8. This picture of me and my mom. Her and dad came up to visit us while we were camping last week. I just don't have enough photos of mom and me. (see blog dated October 22, 2008)


9. I love this photo of Dan relaxing while we are camping, mostly because it's so rare. I don't believe he got to sit for more than 10 minutes the whole time. Those kids keep him busy.


10. That my boy has been hounding me to teach him to embroider for months (yes, I said embroider). He did a great job, and he loved it!!

So that's what I'm loving right now... How about you?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a beautiful New Year. We celebrated up at Silent Valley. We celebrated EST New Year, that's Eastern Standard Time. We were in bed by 9:00 : ). Dan had the week off between Christmas and New Year so we headed up for an extended camping trip. It was cold, but we had beautiful days. My parents came up and spent an afternoon with us, and we spent another day further up the mountain playing in the snow. It's so nice to have such a fun family camp ground so close to our home. Dan's parents have been members there since 1988, and we really appreciate being able to get in on their membership.

Here's Hairy the Snowman (iceman is more like it)

We lucked out and found a piece of plastic that made a great sled.

Zachary is turning out to be quite the photographer.

We had a wonderful week together as a family (doggies too). A little relaxing, a little reading, a little knitting (I finished two hats, my first ones), a lot of watching the kids on their bikes. We really were not ready to leave, even after 5 nights in the trailer, but life does go on. This week brought back work, school, dance classes, BMX, Bible study... Yes, the new 2009 calendar is already filling up.