Twelve Years on the 22nd

An anniversary gift to my hubby....we're celebrating twelve years on the 22nd of June.

Here's a closer look at the pictures we took at the park on Saturday.

This man so wonderfully completes me. I can't imagine life without him. We've both grown sooo much in the past twelve years...especially me.

What amazes me, is how God places two people together that are so opposite of each other and uses the strengths in each to make them whole. I am not the person I was before meeting this man. I have become a better person indeed!

Kevin's favorite part of the photo shoot!

When we arrived at the park, there was a wedding taking place in this area (notice the chairs set up in the background and a few remaining members of the wedding party). I was worried we wouldn't get to take pictures in this area, but we hung around long enough to be able to thankfully. Such a perfect spot for a wedding! Why didn't we have ours here?

Happy Anniversary, Baby! What an amazing memory this day is...I love you! Looking forward to our little get away in a couple weeks!

Daddy's Home Again...for a few days anyway

Kevin was out of town again last Thursday & Friday in Iowa for a business trip. His flight to Iowa was delayed several times because of weather and I have to admit, I was praying that it would cancel and he'd have to come home. It didn't take me long to fill up his day on Friday if he wasn't able to go to Iowa. A family trip to the zoo or the pool sounded really good to me, but that didn't happen since it didn't cancel.

I invited my parents over for supper on Thursday night to pass the time and asked my dad to bring along his mower and mow our grass. Our mower hasn't been working since Memorial Day weekend and the grass was starting to flower. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Kevin when he got home. My mom helped weed my flower beds too. What a blessing and great way to pass the time. Here are some pictures of the kids falling asleep in front of the TV(Caedmon hadn't taken a nap that day and so it didn't take long for him that afternoon)...pitiful isn't it? I feel like a guilty parent even posting these. Yes that is what I resorted to for a short time while Kevin was gone. I don't let them watch much TV at all, but I needed some quiet time..!! My mom convinced us to spend the night and the kids were very excited about sleeping at Grandmas. Kevin's flight was supposed to come in on Friday evening at 6:15...more delays because of weather. I was so disappointed and bummed because he was still in Iowa when I talked to him at 9:00 pm and there was a chance he would not make it home until the morning. We had a very full day planned on Saturday and this would have really messed up the day. God did answer my prayers and at 3 am on Saturday morning he finally crawled into bed with me...very tired to say the least.

When he woke up on Saturday morning he talked about how he really needed to mow and I agreed saying that it's really getting tall...chuckling to myself all along. He was pretty surprised and very thankful when he saw the freshly mowed grass. Thanks again, Dad!

Caedmon had his final soccer game on Saturday morning with an awards ceremony and picnic.

After lunch we went home for naps and when the kids woke up they were dropped off at Grandma & Grandpas. AHHHHHHH! We were in desperate need of a date and what an AWESOME time we had! The past week has been a bit stressful with Kevin being gone and all the study time he has needed for his CLU course. His test is next Monday (the final one of eight...YEAH!), so another difficult week lies ahead and on top of that another business trip to Chicago this time on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday...like I said we were in desperate need of a date.

We went to a beautiful park with a rose garden and took pictures for our anniversary coming up. So much fun! Here is a sample. There are a lot more to come! There was a wedding at the park that day and it was so fun to get a peek. We had dinner downtown at Tuscani's Pizza then went to Jefferson Pointe Mall and saw another wedding party taking pictures in the courtyard. I found a formal dress at Old Navy for $2.99. Lovin' that price! We also used a discount coupon for ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery. We watched Narnia after that which was free with a gift certificate we had. Loved the movie! There are so many parallels to the Bible and I was really encouraged and inspired after watching it.

And on Sunday we attended a first birthday party for our sweet little nephew, Lincoln. So hard to believe that the little man is one already. He was the little guy I requested prayer for several months ago about a cyst growing on the back of his head. He had surgery to remove it and is doing great.I don't think I've ever seen a one-year-old dig into a cake as much as he did. And as you can see our son was helping too.

There are usually moments of crying at a one-year-olds birthday party. So much going on with presents, cake and aunts wanting to hold...but the memories are priceless! Notice my sons hand again getting a big scoop of frosting.
It was nice to be at the park for the party...a hot day, but the river helped everyone cool off a bit.

My lovely sister-in-laws...Sarah & Krista (who just found out she is having a BOY at the end of October!).

The Legacy

This picture was taken at my Grandfather's funeral a week and a half ago. This is the whole family except for four people...I think. There are twenty-four grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren. The Grandchildren

Siblings

Everything went well with the funeral. Many members of the family participated in the majority of the funeral which made it seem very personal. My cousin Wes had the message and I really appreciated all he had to share. His overall theme was a challenge as to how we use our days while we are here. Grandpa lived a lot of days and thankfully loved the Lord for all his days. I was also reminded today as my sister shared in our ABF class at church about something else that Wes shared...what really matters in our lives is how we live out the dash...referring to our tombstone where there are two numbers and a dash in between. When it's all been said and done, what will God have to say about my dash. Did I live a life pleasing to Him?...that's my desire.August 20, 1916 - May 18, 2008

On Wednesday before the funeral, Kevin and I took the kids to the house where my grandparents lived. It was such a special time to be there by ourselves...so peaceful and full of wonderful memories. It was certainly a different feeling driving up the hill this time. but as I walked around the property shooting pictures of the kids, all the memories came flooding back.I have played many hours on this swing set as a little girl. I have ran, skipped, rolled down, mowed, picked raspberries, eaten watermelon, laid in the sun, played kickball and caught lightning bugs on this beautiful grassy hill.I have driven up this driveway many times with extreme excitement after a long trip in the car. Stepping inside the house was probably the hardest part. I washed and dried lots of dishes in this sink right next to my grandma. She taught me to wash the glasses first.

Caedmon wearing Great-Grandpa's hat and thinking to himself "You been farmin' long?" One last picture before going to Grandpa's funeral.

We were so very lucky to get to stay with my cousin Dan, his wife Ashley and their sweet little boy Sam while we were there. They have another son waiting for them in Guatemala while his adoption is being completed...baby Joe is a cutie. Ashley and I are blog sisters and I love keeping up with what's going on with their family. They just bought a new home and it was such a treat to finally see it in person.

Kaiya and Sam with a prompting from their mommies :)

The kids enjoyed playing with Sam and we loved catching up with Ashley and Dan. Thanks again for such an awesome time and wonderful hospitality! It's your turn to come see us now. :)