It Has BEGUN! (new system for kids!)

So after dealing with whining/ crying/ pouting/ eye rolling etc I have decided that my kids need to know just exactly what is expected of them daily.

Kids always want to play, watch t.v., play video games etc, but when it comes to chores,....even just the simple ones they seem to have a freakin' cow if I even mention them. Oy vey! They want to play play play but don't want to help around the house with the messes they create.
Umm Momma says enough of that my little gremlins. Summer time doesn't mean I get to stop doing the things that need to get done so you don't either!! And hey! If we get them done we can enjoy the day, do what we want and have muchos fun!!!

Thanks to Rachael I got the foundation for an idea regarding how to get them to do the chores expected without all the "issues" included. I am REALLY hoping it works!!

What are we doing? A poker chip/ banking system.

I give them a list of the chores expected of them such as : making bed, cleaning room, putting dirty clothes in laundry room and not on bedroom floor, putting away their clean laundry, unloading dishes from dishwasher, folding their laundry, straighening up their messes etc. Then they have to complete them to earn chips/ tokens. (we are using poker chips because we have an extra case)

Each of them get a mason jar that their earned chips go into. Then they can use the chips to pay for priveleges such as psp/ds/gameboy time. Xbox / gamecube/ ps3 time. TV time and control of the remote. etc. They can use their chips (worth a set amount) for the time to pay for priveleges, or they can cash them in to spend. However, they can NOT be changed back.

Also, their chores have to be done by a set time. If they are not than any of the kids can do the set chores for extra chips.

They can also fail to earn chips if they don't do the chore right, complain about their chores or argue and whine. Or if they lie about doing chores.

I have high hopes for this system. I've printed out expected chores for each child, what it cost to earn specific things, and the rules. All of these will go on the fridge so that they can readily see them.

I will most def let you know how it goes!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!

I can't see me lovin' nobody but him....

There are moments when I wonder just how exactly it is that The Man always know when I am about to wig out over something. He always seems to meet a need just as I feel like I'm about to stumble over the edge of some seemingly ginormous black hole. Thank goodness he cares enough to take my hand just before my foot leaves the ground and meets the air!

Of course, when you yell at your kids to make their beds on and really meant to say get your shoes on, I guess that's a huge clue that something is a little off that day. So maybe he's not ingenious or doesn't obtain some master mind reading power that tells him when it's one of those days, but he's still great at zeroing in on it and helping me to relax, re-think, or re-boot.

I am really blessed to have a man who so willingly accepts even the crazy days, loves my kids, and me even more for how much I love them, thinks (most days anyways) that even some of my neurotic tendencies are cute, and plans surprise moments for me to help take the edge off the not so great moments.

I really never thought I'd find someone who could put up with me like he does. Guess I'm a pretty lucky woman! Of course he's pretty darned lucky too. I mean he got a sensitive, sweet, hottie who likes cleaning, cooking, and cuddling, and doesn't mind that he can be a bit of a computer/ video game nerd.

Winners go US!

=)

They Call Her The Streak! (Butts, poop, and boogers-oh my!)

Poop. Butts. Yummy boogers, and all things aromatic and slimy. Yes, these are the topics of my blog today? Why you ask? I’m the mother of a toddler. Nuff said?

I got a tingle in the back of my throat just mentioning aromatic slime. Perhaps that’s because I have an aversion to all that includes bodily secretions. Whatever the raison d'être I feel a warning is needed at this point. So don’t say I didn’t. Mmmk?

WARNING- While this post might possibly make you grin, quietly giggle, or even belly laugh, it could also induce moments where your body feels the need to shudder, convulse, or where you get that moment of pure fear as your stomach lurches. If you begin to acquire a weird taste in your mouth, or at any point you might feel food inching its way up the back of your throat – step away from your computer and take a moment as to not ruin your keyboard or pc screen. That’s all.

Let’s begin.

My toddler has begun the wonderful explorations of all that is gross. Some of which I’m sure is encouraged by her older siblings, and of course her Daddy. Firstly, there is the whole discovery of snot, boogers, spit, etc. Basically anything that might come from her facial orifices. She has always enjoyed picking her nose. I have photos of her doing it since before she could walk. But now it seems she enjoys it tenfold, and has made the revelation that it gross’s Momma and others completely out. Being the amazingly intelligent and devious little thing that she is this entertains her and gives her great cause for joy.

Case in point. The Man and I were driving and happened to have my 18 yr old daughter in the backseat with us. Apparently the beautiful gremlin was still able to terrorize from her car seat simply by picking out a rather large, crunchy booger and then putting it in her mouth.

18yo- “Ewww, spit it out! Spit it out!”

Toddler- Giggles and head shaking.

Me- “What’s wrong?”

18yo- “She put a booger in her mouth and it’s stuck on her tooth!”

The Man- “Ohhh, Does it taste like green beans?”

18 yo- “Stop. Gross.” Gag.

Toddler- “Mmmm. Das Goood.”

The Man- “what do your boogers taste like?”

Toddler- “Taste like Booguz!” Then more giggling and pretend spitting in the 18 yo’s direction.

2nd Case in point- The toddler sitting in the corner with her runny nose. When I told her to hold still and I’d get her a tissue she proceeded to use her hand and fingers to scoop every last bit of snot from her face and then put it INTO her mouth. Then smile like she’d just eaten the most delicious piece of cheesecake. Tummy lurch, gag, gulp time for Momma.

Ok enough of the snot; I can’t continue on with that one, I’ve got cold chills. Bleck!! Let’s move onto a much easier one.

Butts. Have you ever noticed how kids can add the word Butts to almost anything and think that it’s the most hilarious thing? Chicken butt. Lazy butt. Silly butt. Ugly butt. Crazy butt. Butt sniffer. Butt licker….. Wha? No? Ok maybe it’s just my weird family that finds it amusing. Due to this bootay obsession, my toddler has begun to enjoy anything that has to do with butt humor.

She announces to everyone when she has passed gas by stating quite loudly. “I fawted!” And beware if you let out even the smallest of one around her because she WILL let anyone and everyone around you know in a not so quiet voice, “Mommy fawted! You fawted mommy. “ That’s the most fun in the grocery store, or the bank!

And the weirdest of her toddler ideas about butt’s? I’ll preface this one by saying I have no idea where she got this one from, we are not all quite THIS odd.

The Man and I were outside chatting on the deck. He happened to be leaning on a railing when the bootay gremlin came out. Her pull-up must have been riding up because she pulled it down. We both told her that we could see her crack, and she needed to pull them back up. After a few giggles and a flash of the top half of her very white moon she complied. Then for some odd reason she grabbed at the waist of The Man’s shorts and tried to pull them down. She managed just a peak of his equally white crack before he got a good yank and got them up.

The Man- “What are you doing?”

Toddler- “Where’s u milk?”

The Man- “Huh?”

Toddler- “Where’s u milk fwom youw butt?”

Me- “Stop that. Bottoms don’t have milk.”

The Man- “Umm ok that was just weird baby. Even for you. “

Toddler giggles then turns, squats and pretends to make a fart noise and then says,…. “Here go! Hagabooger. (aka hamburger)

Why she thinks milk or hamburgers come from your bootay? No idea. But the look on The Man’s face when she actually did something even he (the king of odd and silly tom foolery) thought was weird? Hil-freakin-larious!

Ok if you made it this far good for you! And I can hear you all (well the one person probably reading this) chanting. BRING ON THE POOP! BRING ON THE POOP! Your wish is my command.

Firstly, potty training has brought on many weird behaviors in my little one. The most annoying but least offensive of which is stripping down- sometimes just to her pull-up but often completely nekkid. Yep, she’s turned into a streaker- and that has many meanings currently in this house. (I’ll explain that one shortly.) Many a friend and family member have been the lucky recipients of walking in the house and seeing a bare bootied baby running through the house. Yep, that is my little princess y’all!

She has also become fascinated with her poop! Yay for me, and everyone else in the house, right? Awww, come on don’t be jealous. You know you want a poop obsessed toddler! For the low cost of babysitting you can have one for a couple hours. Just give me a shout and you too can experience the delights!

I’ll start easy and get to the brown stuff, I mean err good stuff!

Firstly- “The Birth of the Poop Turtle.” Upon arriving home from the honeymoon our little princess was thrilled to let us know she had pooped in the potty. (A task we had been struggling with her to achieve.) We had been forewarned by my sister that she was receiving a chocolate chip for her diligent work. We were prepared with a bag of Hershey semi sweet morsels. What we were not prepared for?

The big moment came and she sat on her potty chair. Much effort was made to earn that tiny morsel, let me tell you. Red face, scrunched nose, a few grunts, then success. She looks up at me with a drop of sweat on her brow and says, “AWETHOME! I made a poop turtle!”

A poop wha? I thought maybe she’d heard someone say turd. (a word which I really really hate.) But upon discussing it with my sister was told the real story. Apparently when she was potty training her children she told them to make a “poop fish”. So she tried the potty training mastery on my little one. “Make a poop fish!” How did my little, independent princess respond? “No. I make a poop turtle!” And thus the poop turtle was born. But hey for those who have potty trained. Whatever works! Bring on the poop turtles! As long as they're swimming in the toilet and not lying on my floor or in her hands. Curious? read on!

Secondly- Now that she is potty training the princess thinks that if she’s had an accident she should remove her pull-up and leave it lie wherever it lands, then continue on her streaking trend. This usually results in other forms of streaking, such as the streak still on her bum, or if we’re not careful and catch her in time, on a blanket that she might sit on following the strip down. The “streaks” are bad enough, but did you know that to a two year old a lump of poo resembles play dough?

Yeah me either, but apparently it does indeed. I must implore all parents to please educate your children about the use of poop. Chiefly: it is NOT play dough! Most kids will know this right off, but not my princess.

Last night, much to my un-pleasant surprise I got a hint of a poopy aroma in my house. At first I thought Starbucks (the cat) had done something completely indecent downstairs in his box. So I went down to inspect what horrors he might have laid. I would have gladly accepted the horrors because instead of finding anything significant in his box I found the princess standing in the back of the family room- nekkid, squishing brown goop aka poop between her fingers. Insert my gag reflex here as I realized what she was doing, and the smell assaulted my nostrils so severely that I’m pretty sure remnants of it linger even today.

I’d love to know how three of my kids were sitting just three feet away with their backs to her- watching tv, and playing video games- and did NOT notice the foulness of the air. Bleck and double bleck. Needless to say I couldn’t even brin g myself to touch her. A yelp peeled from my throat and The Man had to come down and rescue me by carrying her at arms length straight to the tub.

I honestly don’t remember so much yuckiness with any of my other 5 children. But I’m guessing maybe that’s just the Momma amnesia thing. You know the little gross things that kidlets do that we manage to block out so that we will continue to pro-create? Either way, the foul un-pleasantries have begun.

Go Team!

One of Momma's Worst Nightmares

You know those moments you have nightmares about? The event with one of your children that just the thought of brings bile jumping to your mouth and culminates with a lump the size of Texas lodging in your throat?

Well we had one of those moments Friday, much to my horror.

I hesitated to post this initially for fear of being thought of as "that mom", or fear someone would think I was just awful, but this is a blog, about moms, women raising children, the good stuff and the scary stuff. And maybe just maybe it will let some other mom know that we aren't perfect.

The day started out like any other day. Sunshine, playing, being silly etc. Then we headed off to The Man’s softball game at the park. My children quickly found 4 or 5 other children to befriend and they all started playing in the dust/ sand that accumulates in front of the bleachers. I’m not really sure what they were doing exactly, some sort of contest to see which “team” could get the most sand piled up. They were filling water bottles, bags and empty popcorn boxes with the sand.

My 2 yr old aka the gremlin and now possibly lightning rod - found another little toddler and they were sitting just to the right of where I was sitting on the bleachers. They had their own little pile going and were happily sifting the sand through their hands and letting it fall onto their legs etc. All was well, except the fact that I knew by the time it was time to go they would all have to brushed off and then take major baths at home.

I watched the game and the kids pretty much simultaneously as most moms’ do. Then The Man came off the field for a minute to run to the brightly painted port o pot. My two year old waved at him with a fist full of sand as he walked past. And I watched her build a castle of some sort with her new friend. When he came out he came over to me, told me he was getting a blister on his ankle, and gave me a peck on the cheek. I turned to look at the group of kids gathered in the dirt and couldn’t see my baby girl. I asked both her sisters and brother where she was. They look confused and assured me she had just been there. This I knew, as I had just been watching her as well.

A quick once over of the group of kids and I realized she was not in the group anywhere. The Man and I stood up and started looking around the bleachers, behind the bleachers, over to the other teams bleachers. Nothing. I grabbed all the kids and told them to start looking.

There we are two adults and a group of 7 kids calling her name. I was becoming panicked as I couldn’t see any sign of her. There was no response to each time we called her name. My heart thwacked so hard against my chest I thought it might just rip out of the skin and thump to the ground.

Had someone grabbed my child? She doesn’t know the meaning of a stranger. Someone would just have to offer to take her swinging at the park or give her some chocolate and she would happily go with even the gnarliest looking person.

We got further away from the field toward the road and as I looked across my heart just completely stopped. Directly across the road was a pond. A POND! I scanned the walkway around it and still saw nothing.

The Man must have had the same thoughts because he started running. A woman fishing at the end closest to us, stopped him and I couldn’t hear all she said but I heard “Looking for a baby?” and “Just fell in.”

What?! Oh God please let her be safe!

The Man took off sprinting to the other end of the pond and I could see a woman standing next to myy baby girl. She was covered in water and pond scum and looked like she was trying to fig out what had just happened.

I made it to where they were standing and the woman just smiled at me and told me she was ok.
“I saw her cross over the road so I followed her. She looked like she was headed to the park but then went toward the edge of the pond. I got to her just as she dove in. When I pulled her out I thought she would be crying but she just looked at me and said she wanted to slide.”

I really felt like I was in a tunnel of some sort. The Man was holding her, and checking her over. Everything sounded distant to me, and really far away. It was one of the oddest feelings I’ve experienced. Fear and horror washed away by finding her safe, but even more horror at what might have happened.

How she managed to get from the diamond to the walkway, let alone the pond in what was literally less than two minutes still confounds me. I’ve thought over and over of what could have happened, an believe me I have beat myself up one side and down the other. In the end I know it wasn’t any horrible thing I did or didn’t do. That child is smart, and curious, and FAST.
I am just so thankful that she was safe and that not only was God watching out for her, but so was this middle aged woman with her sunglasses, walking shoes, Hollister t-shirt and baseball cap. WHOM- I’m still not altogether convinced that wasn’t an angel.

My baby girl is alright. I got her out of her soaked clothes, hugged her, kissed her, checked her over, SEVERAL times. She definitely had no idea of the possible consequences of her little adventure. She has told us and anyone else who will listen that she “fell in the water.” But that’s the extent of her descriptions.

She might not remember the day she wandered off like she had no fear in the world, but as for me, I will never forget it. You often hear parents say, “I just blinked and they were gone. Vanished. I don’t know how it happened.” I can totally relate to the confusion of how it could have happened so quickly, in the blink of an eye. Definitely not something I ever wanted to be able to relate to.

But because of it, I couldn’t be more thankful that she and all my kids are safe and secure.

Zee HoneeMoon

We’ve officially been back from our honeymoon for 4 days. I have to say as much as I missed my kidlets while I was gone, I’m glad that we took a week to spend some time alone together.

The honeymoon was a nice adventure and our first real trip together. I was a little nervous about doing a road trip with someone I’ve never been in a car with for longer than 4 hours, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. We took turns driving on the way to Gatlinburg and then again on the way to Myrtle Beach, but The Man drove the entire way back home from SC. Can’t say that I was too upset about that, given the road construction and hellacious storms we drove through.

We’d originally intended on leaving late Sunday night or early Monday to make the trip to Gatlinburg, but after a harried call from The Man’s best friend, aka Best Man that he’d missed his flight scheduled for 4am Sunday by 1 minute and 26 seconds we decided to pack up early and meet him in Indy until he could get on his guaranteed flight for Monday at 2pm. God love the airlines hey kept trying to get him on a standby but had overbooked flights. Imagine that!
So after dinner in Indy and seeing him off we headed toward TN. We’d already driven through one thunderstorm that had us pulled off on the side of the road for twenty minutes. (thank goodness for game apps on our phone that kept us occupied)

We made it to Gatlinburg by 11:30 pm only to discover that our hotel room -booked through an internet travel site- was not all that had been advertised. I tried to be a happy honeymooner and suck it up but I nearly cried. It was just gross. The bed was seriously as hard as a rock, the room smelled like animal, and there were stains on the little sofa. Ok, it’s a honeymoon, we could not have a rock hard bed! We called the travel site and they said they could get us out of the second night reservation, but we would still have to pay for first night. So we could stay and check out at 10am or leave and then have two hotels to pay for, for one night. Not what this sleepy princess bride wanted to hear.

So down we went to the front desk of the resort to tell them with sad faces that we would spend the first night here out of necessity but we were very disappointed…this was our first night of honeymoon,…I think Bobby even told the clerk that I was going to kill him. I of course had tears in my eyes and was totally down hearted. (Of course we had discussed prior that we would make it obvious that we were not happy but rather than be nasty, we would just “show” our sadness. Ha

The clerk must have felt really bad because she offered to show us another room explaining that the travel site only books the lower end rooms but advertises the positives of the entire resort. We reluctantly looked at the other room and were pleased to see a much better room. Jacuzzi tub, King bed that did NOT feel like a plank of wood was the mattress, fireplace, patio overlooking the pool etc. Then to our surprise they offered us the room that was $200 more for the same price we had paid for the first room. SCORE!

The next morning we went down to ask what the difference would be if we wanted to stay the 2nd nt. That’s when we discovered the price of the room. We decided we couldn’t afford that and we would just move on. But to our surprise the clerk offered to let us have the 2nd night at the lower price again. Hmmm what to do? We stayed.

Gatlinburg was booming, Pigeon Forge was crazy busy. But there was soo much to do. We visited the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium, strolled the grand strand in between rain storms, shopped, ate yummy food, drove the motor trail half way up the mountain. Hiked just a little and The Man even jumped across the rocks and flowing waters of the Pigeon River to get some excellent pictures.

Wednesday afternoon we headed to Myrtle Beach. Another long drive through rain and mountains, but the views were beautiful. We made it to the hotel about 9:00 pm got all checked in (with no snags this time) and got settled in the room. View of the ocean from the balcony was gorgeous. We had planned a lunch picnic on the beach but it decided to storm. Heavy winds, lightning strikes that were so perfect you could see them from the sky to the water, even electricity flickering. Despite the ruined picnic I kind of had fun setting up a picnic on the bed and watching the sky open up and cut loose across the sand and water.

Luckily it didn’t storm the entire time we were there. We were able to go shopping at Broadway at the beach (an outdoor mall and fair type area). Spend time on the beach. We made some sand art and Bobby ventured out into the waves. A jelly fish apparently decided his ankle was perfect for stinging, but NO, I didn’t pee on it!

We found a huge putt-putt place with a Peter Pan/ Lost Boys/ Capt. Hook theme and played two games. Bobby conquered me the first time but the second time I believe I beat him by 2 or 3. It was odd to go putt-putt without the kids, but also kind of nice. No balls flying off into a creek, kids squabbling over whose turn it is, or trying to figure out where one of them had run off to only to discover they are standing smack dab in the middle of a green that someone else is trying to play on. Heh.

We did a little shopping and found a seafood place that offered a pound and a half of crab legs for $5.99. I have to say that they were THE most delicious crab legs I’ve ever tasted. Maybe they really were that good, or maybe it was just that they were so affordable, either way….YUMMY!
The evenings with the salty breeze and cooler weather were my favorites. It was just peaceful and inviting. And of course being able to lie down at any time of the day and take a nap or just snuggle watching tv wasn’t so bad either!

Heading back, we drove half way home then stopped to sleep because the construction and storms added so much more travel time. Some of the steep grades and mountains combined with rain covered windshields were a bit terrifying at times, but we made it safe and ound and with no vomit or pee stains to clean out of the car! On the last day we stopped at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, IN so that The Man could try his luck at a poker table. I played around at the slots with $15.00. Drug it out for about two hours while he played poker, but in the end didn’t win much. He didn’t win at poker, but gained experience and we had fun.

By the time we left there I was so ready to get home and see the baby and the other kidlets that I was getting antsy. We finally made it home close to midnight, and of course I had to go pick up our little gremlin right away. Luckily Rachael stayed up and waited for us. Bean squealed when she saw us and was going back and forth between us, hugging and squeezing. Even four days later one of us pretty much has to stay with her. I think she’s afraid we might disappear again for another week.

It was fun to spend some time alone and the intimacy of no kids to worry about for just a bit was much needed. It’s weird how when you are away from your kids you see everything that they would enjoy or like doing. “Oh the kids would love that!” “Look at that! We should do that with the kids.” The Man and I must’ve said that or something similar two dozen times. Maybe we’re the only weirdos who do that, but I kinda doubt it.

So now I know we can survive a road trip together, and have fun while doing it hehe. I guess the next test will be if ALL 7 of us can survive one together =) Bring it on!! And soon,…

Wife? Yep That's me!

Ok, so this blog post might end up a little sappy, but I happen to be feeling a little sappy, so deal with it!

There are moments in life that are a bit surreal. Let’s face it, there can be “bad” surreal or “good” surreal. You know it’s true. I’ve spent the last few months knee deep in planning a wedding -MY wedding to be precise. The days and weeks flew by, and as the big day grew closer I found myself getting a little nervous.

What thirty *cough* something woman who’s been married before wouldn’t, right?

Luckily, I had some pretty awesome friends, and a very understanding groom-to-be. They listened, offered advice and helped to convince me that I was normal as stripes on a zebra.

Today I blog as a wife. I never would have imagined after years of being a divorced mom of 6 that I would find someone who would make me feel comfortable ,once again, taking the risk of loving so completely that I would vow to spend my life with him.

Surreal.

The word doesn’t seem even close to sufficient, but it’s the only way I know how to describe it.

I am so amazingly blessed to have blindly stumbled upon love again. To have been given a second chance to get it “right”. And to have a man in my life who not only does his best to understand me, but who accepts all that I have to give, and wants to give as well. My kids are equally blessed to have him in their lives as well. Someone who will help to shape their lives, help me to grow them into adulthood, and to mentor and be a positive influence.

Committing to a life with someone after having done it before and failed can be a frightening proposal. Sort of in comparison to someone saying, “Hey! Look! It’s a huge mountain. Why don’t you jump off and see what happens? Wha? You did that before and spent two years in a body cast? Awww, no biggie! Let’s do it again!”
Uh yeah. Who in their right mind would say yes to that? But love does funny things to a person.

Thing is, I got married very young the first time. VERY young. We’re talking a month before I even turned 18. I was on top of the world though. Living in a la-la land that can’t even be described with correct grammatical accuracy. However, the rug was pulled out from under me with such fluid accuracy that it took me a bit to even realize it was gone. Then of course there was denial, and that innocent naiveté that made me believe that love could conquer all. What I wasn’t factoring in was that it would take more than one person loving and trying. More than one person respecting, and considering the other person.

Despite some very disturbing events I tried with all that was in me to make my marriage work. For almost 14 years I ignored, forgave, overlooked, started over (again and again) and believed that one day it would all magically right itself. It didn’t. Of course. And the loss was so real and so great that I thought I might die. I mean for real. All my dreams and hopes were shattered along with my heart. I remember telling my sister, Rachael that I didn’t think I could make it. Didn’t know if I could be a single Mom/ Divorcee. She of course assured me I could and would.

I had my moments of insanity. Went a little wild for a bit. Made some poor choices. Of course I had lost all that my life had been built on since my teens. I was wandering through a wilderness of unknowns confident that even with my greatest successes I would be fulfilling the rest of my life and raising my children alone.

Eventually I pulled it together. Trudged my way through the sludge. Began to get over losing friends, family, my church life and ministry that had been built as a couple. I focused on the future of myself and my kids and I began planning a new life. A new world. A better existence.

Nowhere in those plans did I picture myself meeting a man who would understand me, accept my jaded views, or be patient enough to deal with them, and the life of a mother that I had. However, God had other plans. =)

Sure we had bumps in the road. What single man with no kids wouldn’t question if he really could be all that we needed him to be? If he hadn’t I think I might’ve questioned his certainty. But we overcame the bumps, grew together in our relationship and realized “Hey, life just wouldn’t be all that it can be if we weren’t together. I kind of sort of love you a little- LOT”

I can honestly say that I feel pretty on track these days. I’m excited for the future- our future together as husband and wife, and as a family. My fears of repeating history are no longer an issue. My choices have been made with an adult perspective and come from understanding and knowledge that comes through experience, acceptance, and hope.

Thankfully my husband was amazing enough to be patient with me and give me time to wrap my mind around the reality that all men are NOT the same. That one man should not be held accountable for another’s deficiencies. And then to prove to me that I could trust his words through his actions. And of course (not to toot my own horn- ok maybe a little-) I think I eased some of his fears about women, love and commitment as well.

I’m totally looking forward to continuing the journey of life with him by my side. I’m ready now, to face love, life and all the challenges head on with the combined perspectives that we have accrued in our lives. I’m so thankful that we will both have the others point of view to glean from.

Loving someone deeply doesn't take away the trials, or make you not get annoyed with them. Love in and of itself isn't enough to make something last or even grow. Commitment to that person you love is a choice. Not one day, but everyday for the rest of your lives. And recognizing that, we're both ready for everyday, every sunset, sunrise, and even the storms.

Imperfections, challenges, differences, those WILL all come. But we’ve chosen to face them all together. No longer holding fairy tale expectations, and having lived through our own personal disappointments we are more prepared to support, comfort, and cherish each other, even when times are tough. And well of course we are looking forward to the “good” stuff even more so.

It feels amazing to let go and love completely again. And yeah, I’m kind of digging the married last name and being called wife. =D Heck I’m not even going to complain about the toilet seat being left up, the dirty socks scattered on the bedroom floor, or the random belch’s- farts- and hacking of loogies. Well not yet. Ha After all, one of the perks of being a wife is uttering "Eww," and "Gross," and "Really?" every now and then, right? (probably already sis that a lot anyway- hehe)