What did that say?

OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe it!

I just checked weather.com and it said there is a chance we'll get S-N-O-W tonight! WHAT!?!?!?! We're still in October, Mother Nature! Wait a minute....hold the phone! This is crazy!

I then looked out the window and noticed the sky looked as if snow could very well be approaching. It looked gray and the clouds looked heavy. Ooooooooh....it is pretty darn chilly out there!

Admission? I get a little giddy when the first few snows of the year happen. There's something magical about that little white stuff as it floats down from the sky. I know, I know, most of the people out there are hating the thought of winter coming but I love it. I love how gorgeous everything looks and look forward to the upcoming holidays bringing gatherings of family and friends. It makes me reallllly happy when it snows around Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve.

When I saw the weather report, I ran out to the garage where Chad was organizing and cleaning things up and said, "Guesssssss what?" He barely looked up until I mentioned the possibility of snow to which he replied, "Are you kidding me?" Then came my reply which got quite a chuckle. "If it snows, can we put up the Christmas tree?"

He laughed heartily at that one and even though I was kidding, I have to admit I can't wait to put up my Christmas tree. It's one of my favorite things! However, since we have Thanksgiving at our house, Chad is adament that we WAIT until the guests have gone and the Thanksgiving meal is cleaned up before we start dragging boxes of decorations down from the attic.

Oh well...a girl can hope. As for the snow...even though it's only October 27....BRING IT ON! I'm ready!

My friend, Kurt

Oh, how I love my friend, Kurt!

Kurt and I got tickets to see comedian, Jeff Dunham on Saturday at Emens. It was great to be able to catch up and then have some fun seeing the show together. When Kurt and I get together, we laugh A LOT and last night was no exception.

I love that we are close and that I have gotten the opportunity to watch him grow up. It's so fun to see him grow and learn and make decisions about his life as an adult. It's awesome to see his parents' great parenting skills at work!

Thank you, Kurt for taking time out of your busy schedule to spend time with us! I sure had a blast hanging out with you! Let's do it again SOON!

Oh...to add a little P.S.....I only let you win at Mario Party 8 because you were the GUEST! Next time there will be NO MERCY!

My Fall Babies

There aren't enough words in the English language to express how much I love these three monkeys of ours. They are pretty darn incredible and we are truly blessed!

My BIG goober

Elijah is our more serious child. He's very tender, very kind, and loves his family without abandon. He spends a lot of time in quiet reflection, he reads a lot, he's just so smart and every now and again we do or say something that will make him laugh so hard he gasps for air.

A couple weeks ago, Chad's dad and stepmom came over for lunch. We were sitting at the table talking and all of the sudden, Elijah pulls this thing (don't know what it's called but it's like a spikey bathing cap...don't ask...my mom bought it for Noah while on vacation) on over his head and just goes on listening to the conversation....no big deal.

I just happen to look over and could not contain my laughter. It just caught me so off-guard! I had to take a picture. Thought I would post this for you to enjoy too.

I just love my little goobers...even Elijah, who's not so little anymore!

Twins

I love this picture of Noah. He's just so silly and says the funniest things...sometimes without even thinking about it or meaning to. Right before I took this picture he said, "Look Mom! We're twins!" I'm not exactly sure what he was talking about. Maybe he meant because they both smell funny or maybe it's because they both need their distemper shots...it can't be because they both shed...hmmmmm, something to think about futher, I think!

School Days

I took this picture today during the after school group I work with on Mondays and Wednesdays.

This is Sydney with her two closest friends. Brittany (dark hair) has been Sydney's bestest friend since Kindergarten. They are two peas in a pod and they have the best time together.

Megan and Sydney became good friends last year. We love Megan because she is very silly and loud and isn't afraid to share her opinion. She pushes Sydney to be goofy and act crazy and laugh a lot.

These girls are very different from each other but both girls bring out fun and brillant qualities in Sydney.

This picture was just too cute to pass up sharing.

Thank goodness for great girlfriends. They make life so darn fun!

I love this time of year!

Aaaaaah, Fall!

This is one of my favorite times of year. I just love the smell of the decaying leaves, the crispness of the air, the frosty mornings, and the frequency of rainstorms. I also love raking leaves and then playing in them with my kids. I love taking walks and hearing the leaves crunch under my shoes. I love the mums and pumpkins and gourds that decorate porches and yards and I love handing out candy to neighboring trick-or-treaters. So much fun!

This weekend was gorgeous. We spent most of the late morning and afternoon in our yard picking up walnuts, mowing, trimming down bushes and cutting down plants. Chad got a new toy (leaf blower) that he spent a lot of time blowing the leaves with. Sydney spent over an hour playing in the leaves and once she was done she had leaves tangled thickly in her curly, blonde hair.

We took a walk in the afternoon and walked out to the old cemetary and down to the old bridge. It was absolutely beautiful. Seeing the reds, golds, oranges, and greens all mingled together while the river gurgled over rocks and the smells of farmers bringing in their corn and beans. It was glorious.

Sydney and Noah rescued a little turtle that was in the middle of the road. He was covered with mud and didn't look real good. They washed him off and released him to the edge of the river where Sydney exclaimed, "He was the best turtle I've ever known." She gets so attached to things!

I think in these couple of pictures you can see how much we enjoyed our Saturday. At least it's evident seeing Sydney and Elijah's smiles.

My recent lapse in blogging...

Once again, there has been a slight lapse in my blogging. Are you ready for my excuse for not being online among the world of blog readers and blog enthusiasts?

Last week was just plain hetic. Work was insane. Our secretary was out for most of the week and I help cover the office when she is out. Normally this is all well and good until the tornado that rips apart my world (otherwise known as Book Fair) comes to town. Set up is crazy busy and then the kids come, and then there's Family Night, and then there's Grandparents Day and everything becomes a blur of activity! Every afternoon I would get home and just be utterly wiped out from the day's events. I craved sleep and just time to sit down and do something besides run, run, run.

Thankfully, today was my "official" last day of Book Fair. My financials have been tallied and reported, book fair has been packed up, and our secretary (oh how I've missed her) is back. Life has returned to normal and I love that.

While I am thankful that it is over, I am very pleased with how well we did. We raised more money than had in the past (which, frankly I was surprised at considering the state of our economy!) and I am thrilled with that because I am going to be able to purchase some great things for our library that I've had my eye on for quite some time. I can't wait! The students are going to love the tricks I have up my sleeve!!!!

More about that soon!

Mercy

Elijah took this picture when we went on vacation to North Carolina.

When I look at this picture and see the gorgeous colors with the sun just coming up and making the sky a myriad of pinks, reds, and oranges, I am reminded that His mercies are new every morning.

Thank goodness for that, huh? I could use some new mercy right now in my life!

I'm a bad, bad, bad aunt!

Did you ever have one of those weeks where it doesn't matter what you do you cannot keep on top of things...let alone your schedule...let alone your life???? That's how I feel this week. I had an overwhelmingly busy day at work today. It was frustrating because I didn't get anything I wanted to done and my mountain of work just keeps piling up!

Here are a few insights that I have come up with this week:

Helping the kids with their homework makes my brain hurt...(I hate Math and Science makes my stomach hurt!)

It doesn't matter how many times I look in the refrigerator....the same stuff is always in there and none of it looks good enough to fix for dinner for the family!

My daughter leaves for an overnight field trip which I'm feeling a little bit nauseous about.

I have so much laundry to do I could bury myself alive in it and I wouldn't be found for several days. Added point: I am sick of my kids throwing clean clothes into the laundry because they are too lazy to put them away! ARRRRG!

Is it Friday yet?

OH...and to top it all off...it's 10:30 PM and I just remembered that my nephew's Sectional tennis match was tonight and WE MISSED IT!!! Man! I put it on the calendar, I put a sticky note on my computer at work so I wouldn't forget....I completely suck! (I know suck is a strong word but I honestly can't think of a better word to convey my absolute horror at this point!) I'll just briefly mention that we missed senior night, we missed his last tournament, and now the sectional!!!

Note to Tabey: We love you so much! Words are not enough to let you know how much you mean to us (even though it's hard to see that since we missed another one of your matches, again!!!) Don't hold it against us. It is so NOT intentional.

I will work sincerely hard to clean up my act and tattoo your graduation and open house date on my forehead so I don't forget....SHEESH!

P.S. Caleb is such an incredible young man. He is amazing and talented and genuine and loving. I know this picture of Caleb is old...but I love his expression here and his hair is awesome!!!!!

VIB- Very Important Blog

Sixteen years ago today, Chad kissed me for the first time.

I know for most people this is not a huge deal. For us, it is. For most people, their wedding anniversary is what they get excited about. We do love our wedding anniversary and it is important to us but there is something about October 1 that is very special. For us, that was the day that our life started together.

To back up...

Many of you already know that I have known Chad since I was a little girl. I was about five when I was first introduced to him. I have loved him since then.

My family has loved Chad for many, many years and he has been a part of our family for as long as I can remember knowing him. He and Todd were very close growing up so Chad was at our house a great deal. It was Chad's skateboarding skills which then inspired Todd to build a skateboard ramp on our sidewalk and then LIGHT IT ON FIRE! Needless to say, it didn't end well. Todd broke his leg and was in a cast for eight weeks.

Chad went on vacation with us to Dale Hollow when I was twelve. Chad was the first to congratulate me with a hug when I found out I had made Selectones as a freshman. We went to the same church, the same school, our families were close....and although I'm sure he thought I was his sister's annoying friend, I always thought Chad was totally awesome!

Chad and I started dating by accident. Well...at the time I thought it was an accident. Now I know that this was God's plan unfolding for me. We ran into each other after not having seen each other or each other's family for six or seven years. We decided to get together to catch up. I had no expectations. After all, I had just gotten out of a not so good, very serious 4-year relationship and the last thing I wanted was to get involve with anyone. Besides...this was Chad May. He had always thought I was his sister's annoying friend.

Our get together turned into another get together. That get together turned into me being invited to his house for pizza. That evening, October 1, 1992, Chad May kissed me. It threw me off guard but in that very moment, I knew he was THE ONE. I cried all the way home. Those tears were full of fear and excitement. Chad May? Really? The California boy who I had loved since I was five? The boy who my family has loved and thought of as one of their own? This is CRAZY!

Shortly after we started dating, I was telling Chad how much I had adored him when I had first met him. I told him that in fall of 1978 I wrote him a letter (I would have been seven and Chad would have been about 11.) I told him I remembered writing him but he never wrote me back. He laughed and said he kind of remembered that.

A few days later after we had gone to dinner one evening, Chad grabs my hand and says, "Here." He hands me an envelope that is old and yellow with age. I turn it over and see my childish handwriting on the front. Inside is the letter that I wrote to Chad in 1978. He had kept it. All these years. Why? It was just a childish note. There was nothing in it that mattered. I was just a little girl. My spelling was terrible, my handwriting horrible...but he had kept it. That evening, I fell even more in love with Chad May.

I never thought in a million years I would end up with Chad. I never thought after I moved away and graduated from Delta High School that our paths would ever really cross again. I never thought that the boy I had grown up adoring would be my husband and someone I could adore out loud every day for the rest of my life.

Last night, Chad and I were laying in the darkness of our bedroom and talking about our day and how in about six minutes it would be October 1. We started laughing and reminiscing about the days when we first started dating. At that moment it was like God switched on a light bulb in my head. He immediately reminded me of promise he made to us in Psalms.

Psalms 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately became silent so I could digest this. Silent tears ran from my eyes because I knew God had given me the desire of my heart. He had given me Chad.

I believe from the time I was a little girl, Chad May became the desire of my heart, even though I wasn't old enough to understand what that means. Even when I was a teenager and then an adult, I had no idea that Chad May would ever cross my path again but God did. I know that God had my steps planned out. I know that God planted that little seed in Chad's heart for me and in my heart for him. I know that what happened between us when it happened between us was in God's perfect timing.

Chad once told me, "I'm so glad that God saw fit to slightly blind you long enough to fall in love with me." I'm just glad God saw fit to allow us to find each other. So unexpected but so wonderful all at the same time.

I know I'm not the best steward. I make LOTS of mistakes. I sometimes do and say things that do not glorify my Heavenly Father but I am so grateful that He loves me and gave me the desires of my heart.

Happy Anniversary, Chad. You are the desire of my heart and I love you!