Saying Goodbye to 2 Under 2

Even before I took the test, I was scared. In fact, I didn’t want to take a pregnancy test the first week, because I knew it would be positive and I wasn’t ready to accept that yet. Dorothy was just turning 8 months old and I was pregnant again? She’d be 15, going on 16 months and I would be starting over? Would I survive??

As Jacob just turned 8 months, and is speed-crawling, climbing and wanting mom constantly, it’s not hard to see why, in my inexperience, I was terrified of taking on two. But here I am, on the brink of Dorothy’s 2nd birthday (Oct. 16) wondering where time is going. 2-under-2 is coming to a close. 

I knew in the end I wouldn’t be able to imagine it any other way, but it’s not just that I cannot imagine life without Jacob; I cannot imagine having kids further apart in age. I’m probably crazy and I’m not saying it’s easy by any means. I’m lucky to have 20 minutes on a given day where they are both in bed at the same time, but seeing the relationship form between these two already--so strong when Dorothy isn’t even 2--is a gift beyond measure. And as “crazy” as life is, is it actually crazy? Or are these the simplest days of my life aside from my own childhood in Clan Valley? 

Today was a perfect example of the “crazy simplicity” that is my life right now. It was just the three of us all day at Broch Tuarach. Jake woke early, but I lured him back to sleep for some extra slumber myself; however, an hour later, the cries Po-Dot woke not just me, but little brother as well. I’m not a morning person, but we muddle through. Jacob is perky. Dot is grumpy until she gets food. I am grateful husband has the coffee hot and ready for me.

Jacob takes a mid-morning snooze while Dorothy “helps” me fold laundry. When jabber comes over the monitor Lou says, “Jake’s awake!” and heads for the stairs yelling, “We’re coming Ja-ake!” Playtime upstairs while I try to do a few things and then we head back downstairs. 

After the morning nap things are always up in the air. Today’s memorable adventure was using suspenders, blue painters tape, construction paper and cardboard boxes to make a wearable dump truck. We ate a bit of lunch before Dorothy found her “silky” and paci and announced, “Want to take a rest." She acted tired, so I took her upstairs. I was hopeful but no luck. I heard lots of thumping and talking for the next hour. Finally, I checked in to find a smelly room because she’d (in her potty) gone poop. I wouldn’t want to sleep in that stink either! (She’d also pulled down her curtains for the 2nd day in a row.) I cleaned up, opened the window for fresh air and left her to “rest” again. At this point, Jacob was tired. Lucky for me, he went down easy. For about 10 minutes I thought I was clear and both were asleep… But Po’s jabber began again…eventually becoming loud. Not long and Jake was crying. I’d lost the nap battle.

So up again and we headed to the front porch to enjoy the perfect fall weather: swing time for Po and in the walker with Jake. Then we loaded up the Radio Flyer wagon for Jake’s first ride. We didn’t go far… To the Greystone coral barn and back with a few pit stops to play with HokaHey. However, by the time we were back to Lallybroch’s front porch, it was 4pm and the missed naps were rearing their ugly heads. 

I hadn’t let Jacob eat the rocks in the driveway and that’s really what set it off for him. Dorothy just wanted “a snack, a snack” even though she’d been eating the entire walk. She chilled out watching "Daniel Tiger", so I tried to begin supper, accomplishing bits at a time between Jacob outbursts. I had to hold him to get him to eat his supper—even then he decorated my hoodie with beet puree and cried to the point of nearly choking himself. 

With a snotty nose, a dirty dinner face and the outside play, I opted for a bath for Jacob (knowing Dorothy would insist on getting in as well). I thought this might bring some relief. They usually have a blast. But today Dorothy wanted all of the toys. I insisted she share. She cried. After about 90 seconds of crying, Jacob joined in. He didn’t stop. It was a short bath and I won’t attest to them being much cleaner afterward. 

I accepted the fact I had to either hold Jacob or be within his reach the rest of the night and that Dorothy would be fine if I was joining her play. I’d gotten dinner 60% of the way done and that felt like an accomplishment. I waited and  took Jacob to bed promptly when Jon got home, thinking this would keep Lou from screaming while putting him to sleep. It did not. I heard Jon bring her to her room for bed just before I laid sleeping Jake in his crib. She was exhausted. We read her stories. “Time to say prayer,” she said afterwards. We did. Said good night. Both kids out by 7:30.

Sure, sometimes I don’t get any time for myself (don’t ask how I manage to get CD done!) and sometimes two kids seem to constantly need Mama. But I can’t help but my find myself in awe of the fact these kids allow me to live so simply again. I get to pull a wagon around and purposefully seek out the sights, sounds and smells of nature. I get to rediscover the joys of a somersaults and sliding and ponder the mysteries of the moon and stars. Soon enough it will be school, practices and events keeping me from getting supper fixed and an entire day in the Valley will be rare.  

I know there is much to look forward to in their growing up, but I already get sad thinking about today's simple joys that I will one day all too soon miss. They are a treasure beyond words and the fact I am already experiencing it with not just one, but two kids is incredible; two little souls I am seeing form a lifelong bond before my very eyes. That love I witness in them is so pure and the true essence of God’s existence.

Moments Not Forgotten

It's the first month of two under two... Every moment is special. I'm so grateful for Jacob's laid back personality. (IE: He is not like Dorothy who cried LOTS and always needed walked around and bounced, didn't want to latch, destroyed my nipples, wouldn't take a pacifier, had a piercing cry...) and I cannot be prouder of my little girl, now a big sister. She is very patient with me and Jacob. Oftentimes when I am feeding him or rocking him, it's like she understands that he needs me. Not always (sometimes she is her standard 16-month old self), but many times this is when she will go off and play on her own, flip through book pages, push her shopping cart around, etc. and completely leave us be. 

• Be wary of what 'games' I teach Dorothy to play with Jacob at this point. I thought peek-a-boo would be fun when trying to occupy Dorothy while also rocking Jacob on my lap. I proceeded to cover his face with my hand, without touching his face, and then uncovering it saying "peek-a-boo!" Dorothy loved it... So much so, she thought she would do it herself...which resulted in her attempting to slap down on his face repeatedly... Oops....
• She loves helping change diapers. He hasn't been the biggest fan of diaper changes, and tends to cry... So now, whenever he begins to cry, she scurries to the spot in the living room where I lay him for changing downstairs and begins pulling out all of the changing stuff. (And by "all" I mean, she pulls out every diaper and item in the basket I have sitting there.
• She's wanted to hold him and there are not words for how adorable that is. Obviously I really hold him but she sits so still (you have no idea how abnormal that is for this child) and just looks down at him. Precious.

• She tries to offer him food... Anything from her water cup to green beans.
• She gets excited in the morning to come see him in the space pod (our name for the cradle-n-swing)... Almost as excited as she would get every morning during the Christmas season to run to that same spot and insist I turn the lights on. 

• She loved helping me bathe him. She gets a kick out of his little tub.... "Splish Splash" time is a favorite of hers anyway...
• She likes to mimic much of what I do with Jacob with her stuffed animals/dolls. She lays them out on the blanket I use on the floor to change Jacob... She puts them in the swing... She holds them against her chest to love on them when I'm carrying or burping Jacob. She just wants to be the best big sister!

• She loves Jacob's hats. Okay, so she loves hats and head gear in general--let's be honest. If she recognizes it as something to go on one's head, she wants to wear it. (And sometimes she wants to wear things as hats that are not hats at all...) She brings me Jacob's hats to put on his head...even when he is already wearing one. She also tries to wear them herself. (Her current favorite is actually one that was made for her last Christmas. It was crocheted and stretches so we make it work.) 

• She also likes to bring me bibs for Jacob or try to put them on him. Bibs are another thing she likes to wear herself--probably because she relates them to getting to eat (which she would do non-stop if we let her!) 
• Jacob watches her. I swear. I know his eyesight is still developing and not really clear yet, but I swear he knows her and is comforted by her presence. I think he knows her in a similar way that he knows me. He probably heard her crazy talk and noises throughout the time in the womb--she was always right there with me. And now that he is with us, he spends all day every day with both myself and Dorothy. 
• She gets upset when he gets upset. She doesn't like it when he cries. It's not like the crying noise bothers her specifically, but that she understands he is upset about something and she doesn't like that.
• Recently, Dorothy was playing near the "space pod" (swing) when Jacob was in it. In one moment all was fine, and the next I looked up and the thing was rocking at full speed side-to-side. Dot had him MOVIN'! Yikes! Although it didn't seem to phase the little guy one bit. 

They have a special connection already and I can just sense it. Maybe this is something every mother/parent feels of their children, but I see the way she has changed in the short weeks he's been here. I see how genuinely interested in him she is. I see his intrigue in her and when she is nearby. After finding out I was pregnant, I often prayed that at night their souls would meet; that in their sleep they would spend time together, coming to know one another, so that when they were here on this earth together, they'd already know each other and have a special bond. I still pray that their souls meet in times of slumber. 

Showered with Friends!

My final shower was held exactly one month prior to the big DUE DATE. I had some of the most dear friends in my life join me for some baby celebrating and prep. This also resulted in what Mingus referred to "baby bootcamp weekend," as we had babies coming and going all weekend! The shower was actually held in the Rumpus Room that is connected to our Loft. We considered having it in town at the church, but there were complications with that. Obviously having it where I live was SUPER convenient for me (No travel and no packing gifts home!), but I am especially grateful for all of those who made the trip to attend. I know I don't exactly live close to...well, anyone or anything!

I was fortunate to have two close friends visit for the entire weekend. Valto, her husband and two little boys (4 months and 2 years) as well as my friend Kara and her 8 month old came down Friday and stayed through Sunday. Valto, the busy, busy doctor lady that she is, had been hoping to make a family trip to the Valley sometime in September and it just happened to work out that the shower weekend was the best option. Kara, who'd generously volunteered to throw me a shower in Louisville, came down to help with these shower arrangements instead. She did a fabulous job decorating with fall decor--which we all know I love!

I had friends come that spanned all corners of my life--GSP and high school, church and Bellarmine, to friends I've made in more recent years... So many of them were people I do not get to see too often but mean so very much to me. I hate that it is only on these occasions that I see some of them, but better than never. It's fun to be joining my close friends who are already on the motherhood path. Luckily for those who are and brought their young ones, my cousin Ru came down with her kiddos and played babysitter for several hours. She is so great with the little ones--seeing her occupy them and keep them happy made me realize all the more how lucky I am going to be to have her right up the road from me when the Peangling arrives!

My sister Rachel made it to the shower despite getting in SUPER late the night before from a flight traveling back from Rhode Island after being there all week. And not only was she there...but she hosted our games! Seeing how accurately someone could estimate my belly circumference was much more entertaining than I'd anticipated! KelKel had it practically dead one (with Valto maybe an INCH too long) while Rebecca's string made it around me nearly three times!

I received so much great stuff that really and truly rounded out our supply of baby "stuff" we were still in need of and I cannot get over it. In the beginning, Mingus and I browsed Walmart and Babies 'R' Us and were overwhelmed realizing the things we would need--everything from the big stuff like a car seat, down to the little things like first aid supplies and crib sheets--but we have been so blessed by family, friends and loved ones in their support and generosity so that this baby prep has been that much easier.

Thanks to all of those who attended this shower and again thank you to those who attended previous showers or who have sent their love and support in the mail or simply via text or Facebook message or a hug along the way. We feel the love and prayers more than you know.  Here are a few of my favorite non-shower shots from our weekend of fun!

An impromptu maternity shoot...sort of...

I had a fun little unexpected experience this past weekend. I ended up doing a mini-maternity shoot right here in our very own Valley!

Katy Sweeney-Wilson is someone I feel like I've known my entire life. Although we have never been close personal friends, our families and paths have been intertwined for years. Katy was a good friend of my older brother's, as she was a little ahead of him in school. Her mother was my eighth grade English teacher and her father led the youth leadership charge during my pre-teen/early teen years. He has since been mayor of our lovely, little town of Liberty. (He was one of the early non-family members to make calling me by my nickname, "Peat", okay!) Katy has always been a phenomenal dancer and worked with my group of Kentucky Junior Miss contestants when I was a senior in high school. That's just a snapshot of our many meetings over the years... That's life in a small town and you've got to love it!

It just so happens that my cousin, Ru, and her cousin were also married several years ago and now she and my cousin are co-workers at one of the local elementary schools and have become even closer friends because of it. Ru, like myself, has always been a lover of pictures and photography. She did most of her three children's photos herself through their wee years, but Katy, having kiddos of her own, has also developed a knack and enjoyment of photography. She's currently pursuing a small side business in photography on the weekends. She was visiting our property last weekend in order to do a shoot for Ru's family and one of them (not sure who!) thought it could be a great opportunity to add some maternity shots to her portfolio. 

I'm not exactly model material and I warned them that my chances of getting Mingus to clean up and be nice looking for a photo op on a perfectly beautiful Saturday (when he hasn't been home on a Saturday in five weeks!) were slim to none, but I was happy to do it. I did not plan to do any maternity photos, as purchasing my Canon Rebel was my investment in future family photography, so it was a nice excuse to let someone else have the creative eye and see what they came up with. Mingus was a sport about it. While he did not "get pretty" or even clean up... he did take a break from digging potatoes in order to help Katy out. Luckily the outdoor shots made his look seem to fit well.

She was relaxed and easy to work with--especially for someone like me who definitely feels far from "natural" on camera. She was also speedy on the turnaround for having photos for preview. She has a good eye for lighting and camera scope. I love what she was able to do with a natural environment and to use the natural light and colors.

Thanks for choosing me to be your maternity "guinea pig", Katy! 

**All photos taken, edited and owned by Katy Sweeney-Wilson

Farewell to the Love Shack

It's officially over. Our five year affair of fun with the Love Shack in West Mansfield, Ohio is officially over. It's hard to say whether five years have passed quickly or slowly. In so many ways, the fun had on that exciting weekend in October 2008 seems only, oh, maybe a year ago. At the same time, the worlds we are all in are oh-so-different now.

October 2008: Our inaugural gathering at The Love Shack

August 2013: The final gathering at The Love Shack

The Beginning: October 2008
Our good friend Gress took a job in Columbus after finishing speed school at UofL in 2008. We sent him off with a ridiculous shindig in July (that also felt very much like a shindig saying farewell to my college career...). By October Gress had found a place to call home in Ohio and where his, then girl friend (now wife), Boo, would be moving in with him. I'm pretty sure it was the weekend after Gress first received the keys to his new home that about 12 of us made the road trip north to visit. The house, located on several acres of land on a lonely state highway with few and far between neighbors, was still completely empty. We all brought pillows and blankets and cozy clothes and (most importantly, then) lots of booze. Most of us being still in "college mode" to some degree at least, floor beds were welcome. Simply having a pillow and blanket to go with the floor was a luxury--that is if you could find both before simply opting for passing out wherever you fell. We had a ridiculously fun weekend that I know all of us will always remember (despite how much we never remembered to begin with). 

Gress Family Portrait in 2008 before they were officially a family!

Present: The last weekend of August 2013, we packed up all of that stuff that hadn't even made its way into the home in October 2008 and had a convoy to Kentucky as the Gresses made their move back to Louisville. 

What's happened between now and then?

• Boo & Gress got engaged and married.
• Nic and Michelle, newlyweds then, are expecting baby #1 now.
• Chad is engaged to a lovely lady none of us even had the pleasure of knowing in 2008.
• Benzo has written and composed an entire album of original music that he now performs with his own band
• Dani, no longer with her 2008 guy, is in a serious relationship with her current boyfriend and has completed her masters.
• Joshie is overseas with the National Guard traveling all over the middle east.
• Deutsch, not even 21 in 2008, is well through his Bellarmine career, working for a TV station while his serious girlfriend pursues her masters.
• Jaso couldn't even attend our final trip to Ohio, because it was only days before he left for bootcamp with the National Guard.
• Ben and Miche, who were merely friends on opposite sides of our circle of friends then, are now engaged--thanks to the sparks that flew in October 2008.
• Me, a recent college grad with Mingus nowhere on my radar then (who didn't even make his first Love Shack trip with us that October), is now happily married almost two years and is expecting baby #1. 

The Story Behind the Name: The Love Shack

The house was named the Love Shack for obvious reasons, starting with Miche and Ben. It was solidified after Mingus and I. I cannot recall that I ever recounted mine and Mingus's beginning, but the Love Shack most definitely had everything to do with it. The funny thing about both Ben & Miche and Mingus & I is that our beginnings are so similar. In both cases we knew each other for years prior to a relationship. We'd been at many of the same parties, events and outings because of being in the same circle of friends; thus the reason we would end up at the Love Shack together--visiting mutual friends. However, between coming in on opposite sides of that circle and the fact that one person in each of the duos (Miche and Mingus) were in serious relationships throughout these years of crossed paths, we never really even got to know each other for years. 

But then the Love Shack happened.

Ben & Miche: October 2008

Their story happened all on its own accord; however, several of us dreamed up what a perfect match they could be leading up to that first weekend. Myself and the three who traveled north with me for that weekend even plotted on our drive how this weekend could be an ideal time to push the two together. No plotting was necessary. Although coming in separate vehicles, they two of them were already at the Love Shack when we arrived and the sparks were clearly already flying. They did not leave in separate vehicles that weekend and they never looked back either.

August 2013: The original Love Shack Lovers,
now planning a wedding!

Peat & Mingus: January 2010
A year and a half later I made my second trip to the Love Shack. I had not planned to make the trip at all. Why Mingus asked me to ride to Ohio with him for a weekend, when we weren't really even close friends and we never talked or why I said "yes" when he asked me on a Tuesday and we left on a Friday, are both mysteries that can only be described as FATE. I almost always had weekend plans with friends then, or when I didn't, I usually welcomed the down time. FATE is the only answer I have for why I'd agree to a last minute road trip with someone who was practically a stranger. But instead it was the best decision either of us ever made. While our time spent at the Love Shack that weekend was a blast--other friends joined us up there--it was the hours on the road to and from that opened our eyes to each other in a new way. By the time we returned to Louisville, neither of us wanted to say goodbye. We had dinner that night and spent the next day, MLK Day, together as well...and we never looked back.

January 2010: The road trip weekend that started it all!

August 2013: Married & Expecting in less than 2 months!

We've all made various trips to West Mansfield over the years. Sometimes it was the giant crew of us again, other times it was only a couple of us. We've had our crazy shenanigans, we've planned weddings, talked babies, cooked together, baked together, played in the snow, had fun trips to Columbus and so much more. An annual favorite was always Chinese New Year, which is what we celebrated the first weekend Mingus and I made our trip together in 2010. (See 2012 here and 2013 here.) 

There were eight of us who joined Gress and Sara the last weekend of August to help them pack up the giant Uhaul and embark on the caravan of five vehicles to Louisville. While maybe Miche & Ben and Mingus & I have our individual love stories that inspired the name for the Love Shack, I think the real love that the 70's ranch home brought about was a love of a group of friends. I know every one of us who ever made the trip to the Love Shack felt it... It was a special intimacy we share as friends that was especially nurtured at the Love Shack. Any time we gathered here, far north from our homes and out of the city it was more like a family reunion than a friend reunion. While the first trip revolved around our crazy shenanigans that were quite common at that time in our lives, as time rolled on, the trips were more about time together and the chance to try new things together and make new memories. We've all gotten busier and settled into our individual lives, but somehow we've grown closer even with not maybe spending quite as much time together. 

We will miss out getaway house, the Love Shack, but we are stoked to have our wonderful friends back in Kentucky and close to home for the rest of us.

August 2013: Ready to unload the Uhaul at their new Louisville home!

A love note of sorts

It was well after dark on a Saturday night. Jon and I had just finished watching a Redbox movie. It was late, but not for a Saturday. We could have put on another movie, found something on TV, or, as we do many week nights, get our respective books and read for awhile. Instead, though, being that it was a rather warm January night, we decided to take a walk.

I refilled my wine glass and out we went. The Jackamo dog came along as usual and just after crossing the Grammo Bridge we heard a loud yowl. Jon flipped on the flashlight (walking with it off, he has taught me, is a much better way to enjoy a night walk), and the gray and white Randy cat was trotting up behind us asking us to wait for him. So we did.
It was a simple walk down Blue Bank Lane to Greystone and back. It was far too cloudy to see the stars--although a few were peeking through by the end of the walk. The rushing streams and creeks added a level of serenity to the night’s air. The dark of night has its own way of allowing you to see more--so much not visible by the light of day.

I sipped on my wine, holding my love’s hand, walking in the moonlight and talking of our Clan Valley dreams. 


I have a very special life. Most of what makes it so special is my husband.

I think it’s clear that I love my Mingus in the fact that I married him, but I have never spelled out many of the reasons that make him so dear to me..and why I have come to calling him “My Wonderful.”
 
Perhaps we do not have a dream house of our own (and even when we do build, it may not be ALL that we have dreamed up in our sketches), but right now we have a spacey, homey loft apartment--big enough to host friends and family to gather. Even better is that we are only a trip down the stairs to visit our dear Grammo. Not only does my Mingus go above and beyond to help Grammo with day-to-day needs (like filling her humidifier, emptying compost, burning trash, and putting her to bed), but there are some weekend mornings when he wakes before me and I find him downstairs. Not only does he help Grammo get rolling into her Saturday, but after sitting her down for breakfast, he stays and visits. I find the two of them down there laughing and carrying on. The same has happened on evenings when I get out of the shower and I find him having left the TV and wandered down for a Grammo visit instead. He does not just care for Grammo because “it’s the right thing to do,” but he thoroughly enjoys her and all her Grammo ways. 


Maybe a dream house of our own one day, but I’m so blessed to be living here now to not only get extra time for myself with Grammo, but that Jon is getting the chance to know Grammo in the special way I know and love her.

Perhaps I made my Mingus move away from his family so that I could be close to mine, but lucky for me he loves the life we are pursuing together. He loves Clan Valley as much as I do. He loves the countless possibilities it holds for him and our future together. From the care of bunnies, bees and the garden, to simply walking the game trails and knobs, he finds more and more to love about Clan Valley on a daily basis. (He also finds more and more potential in projects he would love to take on!) He loves each and every one of of my family members. If anything he wishes (like me) he could get more of them down to the Valley more often to enjoy this treasure God gave our family. He loves the open arms the Clan so readily gives to all and any, and the strength and importance of our faith. 

Perhaps we do not live very close to... well, anything... (friends, sporting events, bars, theaters, nice restaurants), but it leaves us to each other. Our schedules revolve highly around one another’s and we find pleasure in the simple ways we spend our time together. It leaves me with no doubt of his love for me when he is perfectly content to be here, stuck with me, re-watching the same movies together, tagging along to sporting events I’m covering for the paper, and cooking dinner together. 

Perhaps we could be living in Louisville, closer to lots of friends, with lots of things to do (and often) and have numerous options for career paths, but what I love most about My Wonderful is that we are both in love with the treasure trove of possibilities that Clan Valley holds for our secluded life and we are both okay with accepting the simplicity that must come with life here.
 
We finished our walk sitting in the beautiful, not nearly utilized enough, Blue Bank gazebo. Yes, perhaps things could be very different, but I count my blessings that they are not. I have no doubt God has curve balls ahead for the two of us, and I wouldn’t expect anything less, but in the quiet, still, peace that winter brings, I thank God I am exactly where I am: surrounded by love. 

My prayer is that we, and all of our family and friends, can continue pursuing God’s plan for us--not the plan for ourselves--so that I can always be this happy.

1 down, Oh-So-Many To Go!

Incredible how quickly a year passes these days. I can only imagine how quickly they will move in another 50 years.

And just like that I've been married to my wonderful Mingus for a year.

This was a snippet of the year-end video I made for my family last Christmas about the wedding (thus being primarily photos of my immediate family, but I still wanted to share). I'm unsure of whether or not YouTube let's the music play, so please tell me if is silent!

It fell on a Monday, since it was a leap year, which is less than ideal for any anniversary, let alone your very first one! But it was magnificent nonetheless.

After spending the entire week prior reminiscing of the flurry of last minute prep the week leading up to the wedding, we began our anniversary weekend with a trip to Indiana for another family member's wedding. They picked the BEST weekend...if I do say so myself!

Andrew & Jessica

We took our time driving home Sunday, taking in all of the beautiful fall colors on our drive. We stopped by Huber's Winery--always a festive, fun place this time of year--as well as a trip to Target to... wait for it.... Use wedding gift cards! Yes, we have some still unused! Being that we live so far out, we don't make regular trips to a lot of places--such as Target. While I could have used them on one of my work trips to Louisville, I didn't want to spend them without his input (or I may have come home with hots and onesies...). Lucky for us, their gift cards don't expire! We're now fully prepared to still eat hot cooked meals during winter power outages with our Coleman stove!

Last day as "newly weds" in our first year of marriage.

Monday began less than perfect with both of us feeling rather under the weather. (I'll spare you details...) He rested most of the day and I worked from home... then I had to cover volleyball district games (working from 9-9 on your anniversary isn't what anyone wants), but Mingus came with me just to have the extra time together.

We ended the night breaking into our wedding cake topper. We let it sit out all day to thaw from its year in the freezer and I have to say, after a year, it was still quite delicious! We ate it on plates of our fancy pants china we have yet to really use and also opened a bottle of Greystone Cellars wine from the wedding. We looked through our wedding album and laughed a lot.

I discovered the face-detect feature on my camera for the first time
which resulted in a mini-photo shoot during our cake part!

I love my Wonderful with all of my heart and have loved the simplicity we have shared in this past year. He always puts me first and I am continuously amazed at how life-giving he is to me yet still acts like he does so little. Life far and away in the middle of Kentucky's knobs with just the two of us playing outside, getting dirty and taking on life's daily adventures is my kind of heaven.

To all the single ladies and fairytale dreamers....

Despite being married now, I still find myself  nodding my head and relating to the single girls standing up for their single life. The older we get, the more the question is asked "So why are you still alone?"  I commend those who refuse to "settle" because they know that their knight in shining armor is out there. They know someone exists for them and that God will align their paths when the time is right...Some will roll their eyes but my belief in this got me exactly what I was looking for...

I don't just say this because I'm happily married now, but because I look back and see that, without a doubt, God opened our eyes to one another when he knew it was right and not a moment sooner... Indeed there were plenty of chances for us to hit it off sooner.

Just to prove my point....witness this recent discovery by a very close friend............

You'll remember my friend Micah who traveled to Brazil with me in 2010. He and I go way back. We're talking 5th-grade-way-back. 

In the spring of 2006, Micah hosted a get-together at his mother's house for a semi-small group of friends. There were about six of us who'd graduated high school together. I brought a few other friends who knew Micah. My older brother Nic also came with a few of his closest friends.

We hung out in the sunshine all afternoon.We grilled, enjoyed drinks, played yard games and hit up the hot tub. Later that day I made my first (and only to date) trek through downtown Louisville for Thunder Over Louisville at the Ohio River. It was a madhouse but exciting to say the least. Nic hosted the post-party at his apartment. 

A fun, fun spring day in Kentucky. One of the many memorable college events where my camera was overly active in documenting the fun.

Ah, but it documented something else--or someone else I should say--as well. 

Among that group of close friends at Micah's was none other that my Mingus. He's right there in the thick of the fun happening in several pictures. He's there laughing with my closest guy friends. How did he not become a closer friend because of this day? 

Valerie and I at Micah's Party in 2006.
Jon was just over my shoulder when we took this picture...

What makes this 2006 gathering different than the others over the years--besides the fact I never knew he was there--is that this was as small, more intimate group gathering. It really shows that we were staring each other in the face but we were kept blind to each other for one reason or another.

Given, we were both wrapped up in own love lives at this point in time. He had a girlfriend. I was spinning circles with several confusing loose ends in the relationship world. But that never kept me from becomes friends with Nic's other friends. 

Jon and I connected immediately on that day we finally did hold a conversation. Could it have happened had we simply decided to hold a conversation on that sunny spring day in 2006? 

Needless to say, there is no answer to that question, and frankly, I don't care about the answer. 
If we had hit it off that day and started dating? I can't say the course of my life would have followed the path that it did for the next four years and I had a great college career as a single gal living it up with my girl friends. What would he say? Ha, I'm not sure but since I do know a tad about his adventures (thanks to my brother and mutual friends) I'd venture to say he wouldn't trade in those memories either.

We needed those four extra years to explore ourselves and independently grow before we could best begin to better each other. 

My dad once told me that if we would go back and change anything about our lives it must mean we aren't really happy with where are lives are presently. Any one change to the past would cause a ripple effect of changes to the aftermath and alter the present as we know it and everything in between. I couldn't be happier now, so I'm more than grateful to have been single for years and letting God steady my heart while waiting for "the one".

Told to me by my Pa shortly after graduating Bellarmine. 

A birdseye view of Valentine's Day

Jon and I kind of let Valentine's day just arrive this year with neither of us thinking too much about it. That's sort of just the way we work. Not to sound "above" it, but in general we don't acknowledge holidays and such in big sorts of ways. Birthdays are definitely acknowledged, usually with a gift. Christmas the same. I'm sure we'll make a point to doing special things for our anniversary. We have never really acknowledge the anniversary of when we first began dating (maybe because neither of us knew when that would technically be). And Valentine's Day has never been a big ordeal. 

I attribute that to the fact Jon goes out of his way regularly to do things to make me feel and never doubt his love. He'll stop on his way home from work to bring me a peppermint mocha latte--not because I've asked. He'll do the dishes for me after dinner without a prompt. He'll help me clean (so that I can go on walks with him later.) He'll send me a picture of a flower or something pretty when he sees it and thinks of me. He'll tell me I'm beautiful when he sees me in the kitchen with my hair pulled back and my apron in action. He'll heat up the bathroom for me when he knows I'll be showering soon. 

I kind of wrote Valentine's Day off this year since I've come to see everyday as a day to celebrate our love, but Facebook made me change my mind. Jon and I still kept it simple. I found post it notes hidden in different corners of the house throughout the day while working from home with special messages from Jon. What I loved about Facebook, though, was the continuous posts through the day of the sweet acts of love happening around the globe. 

Pictures on end of beautiful surprise flowers. Exciting posts of a surprise dinner out. Champagne after night class. A new puppy, tickets, cute cards... A talk on the phone with a deployed loved one.  A home cooked dinner. Valentine's from the kids at school.

We call it all "cheesey" and maybe we do love each other all year round and maybe we do little things all year round to show that love. But Valentine's Day gives us that one day of the year to be as proud of our love and cheesey about it as we please with no shame.  A day when people everywhere are going out of their way to make someone else feel special.

A Hallmark holiday? Maybe, but this Valentine's Day I didn't just get to enjoy my husband's love... Facebook may clue me in on more drama and ridiculousness than I care to know about on most days, but on Feb. 14 it allowed me to see the love so many others share. In some weird way, it made me feel more loved.

Nothing can ever rival a love letter from My Wonderful
(and him still asking me to marry him with a Ring Pop.) 

Lotsa Love in 2011

On top of having a wonderful first Christmas with my Hubster, love was booming for some of my nearest and dearest friends. I'm so excited for the news of a wedding in the future for three people who mean so much to me. Congratulations to them and their Christmas surprise engagements!

Emma & Andy

 A long-time running buddy from Bellarmine (although she was more of a pole vaulter I suppose...), I'm so excited for Emma! I've only met Andy a couple of times but he must be a stellar feller to keep up with the likes of Emma. She's the busiest person I know but never seems to miss out on anything from her work to organizing and managing Louisville's Girls on the Run program to simply hanging out with friends. She's an incredible person.

Russell & Krista

 A dear friend since the glory days of high school, Roose (as I like to call him) is one of the best guy friends I've ever had--always bringing a smile to my face. I think we once had a "Friends" promise to marry by age 35 (or something) if we were both single. Looks like we both "lucked" out of that one! :) I've not met Krista but no doubt she's found a guy to treat and love her like a princess.

Becky & Sam

Yes! Yes! And more YES! After nearly six years they're making it happen! Becky is one of my best friends from BU--my snuggle buddy for track meets and a roommate for 5 years. Through their undergrad to her PT doctorate and his med school, they've not wavered and now he's off to an unknown location to begin his residency and, just like the rest of his life, he doesn't want to go it alone so he asked Becky to be by his side for anything and everything!

While I'm at it... I might as well shout out to two other big engagements this year that made me oh-so-happy...

Joe & Annamarie

 #2 in The Man Clan to get hitched: Joe and Annamarie got engaged Thanksgiving weekend after over four years together...!!

Jo & MJ

And, of course, my cousin, roommate, childhood playmate and best friend Holly Jo got engaged this summer so we actually got to be engaged at the same time for a period. What special times in our lives we are getting to share!

Congratulations to all others who were blessed with wonderful love-filled events in 2011! Engagements, marriages and even just finding love! All you need is love......!

My Wedding on a Budget: 33 Days to Go!

Readings...Check!
What a lazy, rainy day! I guess it was quite all right considering it was Labor Day and technically you are supposed to celebrate by doing little to no labor...so that's what we did! We slept in some, but not too late and it was still raining. It was cold, cold, cold outside which is just crazy because it was just Saturday that it reached over 100 degrees! Now it's in the 50s! Unbelievable! Between the cold, the rain, and two very busy days, Jon and I laid low. We cleaned up the kitchen from our gather last night. (Friends and family cooked out and had a little shindig.) We did make a trip down to Greystone because Pa was extracting what little honey we got from the bees this year and I definitely wanted Jon to see how that went. I would have made more salsa today but didn't want to take on the cold rain to pick tomatoes.

Instead I took advantage of having Jon inside with me for the day and we decided on our readings. We'd sort of already narrowed down our favorites over the other times we'd looked through the book in the past. The book I have, by the way, is one I found and took from Grandma Rousculp's house at the time of her funeral. Of course, Jon and I were not even close to being a couple at that point and I was dating no one so I'm not sure why I took it but I guess I knew (hoped) one day I'd have a reason for it. It's kind of an extra role Grandma can play in my wedding planning. None of the readings we chose are too standard. I really like the message of God being love and that having love in your life is having God in your life and you cannot have one without the other. If everyone could simply see God as love, it would be that much easier for everyone to realize there is something at work in this world outside of themselves and something powerful beyond belief. I think most people believe in love. If they believe in the power of love, they believe in God; perhaps all people just done like to put that label on it, but God's power and presence is nothing more than something so simple as love. And that is why Jon in my life brings me closer to God, because the love I can experience with him brings me so close to the love of God.

My Wedding on a Budget: 46 Days to Go!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I did quite a bit of that tonight! I finally have time to knock out some of these thank you cards I need to write from my showers earlier this month. The last 3 weeks have been madness with how much traveling has been involved. I think I wrote it a night or two ago, but I cannot express how excited I am to have several weekends of STAYING HOME with Jon. Sure I have to drive to Louisville for work, but compared to these exhausting last few weeks, traveling up here for a couple of nights of work won't be anything! Anyway, yes I knocked out the thank yous from the shower in Ohio and 90% of those from Evansville. I know people always say to not worry about sending them a thank-you but I truly want to do this and give them a good little note inside. These people have NO REASON to buy us gifts. Sure it's customary that you have showers before weddings and people bring gifts, but the truth is, NONE of this is about presents. Jon and I are just so excited to begin life together and we'd love to have our closest friends and family be a witness to that beginning. So the fact people are buying us things to begin our new life with is above and beyond, I don't care what today's culture says. I am thankful to anyone who thinks of us during this time, says a prayer or shoots us kind words and I mean that with all of my heart. So for all of you out there... regardless of any gifts we may or may not have gotten from you... thank YOU for wishing us well on our marriage!