Dear Monday....

Dear Monday, how are you able to sneak up so quickly?  It seems like one day it's Friday and a blink of an eye later you are already here.  But don't fret, we still had a wonderful weekend.

Friday night hubby and I attended a prayer service and renewal of wedding vows at our local parish.  This is something our parish does every year and I find it to be a wonderful celebration and beautiful reminder of our commitment to each other.

Following the prayer service, there is dinner and a dance that follow.  We have a lovely group of friends who attend this event as well and we always end up having a lot of fun.
This year was no exception.

Saturday morning was a nice, lazy morning.  I even slept in.... until 7:15 (darn internal alarm!).

After lunch, another afternoon of watching Sassy play volleyball was upon us.  After last weekends volleyball tournament resulted in a bloody elbow and bruised and swollen knee, I was hoping for an injury free event.  Not the case.  Girly hurt her shoulder somehow during their first of their 3 games.  However, she powered through and played hard all 3 games (her coaches opted to not have her serve in their last game of the day to prevent further injury).  Now she is taking it easy and using lots of ice.
During the course of the games, the girls had about a 2 hour break.  Unfortunately the players can't leave (they have to ref the other games and be there in case one starts early.) But hubby, Smiley, Action and myself, snuck off to BW3's for a little dinner.  Quite tasty!

Sunday was a relaxing, uneventful day.  The day started by going to church.  Once we were home though, the sweatpants came on and a day with no agenda lay ahead.  Smiley and I found some cute valentines on the blog Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke.  And  YAY! for downloadables!  Seriously, check out these cute Ahoy Matey valentines.  I think Smiley's kindergarten classmates will love them!

 via Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke

So you see Monday, you maybe snuck up on me, but this weekend, unlike many others, was beautiful, fun and relaxing.  I'll put up with you today and your 4:40 morning alarm and I will choose to have a wonderful week, no matter what gets thrown my way!

12 + almost 5 = almost 17

Years that is.

You see, Hubby and I dated for 4 years and 11 months before we got married.  And today, we've been married for 12 years.  So that, equals almost 17 years with my honey.

And I think the years have been good to us ~

I mean, here we are during the first summer we were dating.

(yes, I took a picture of a picture ~ notice scratches and the flash?)

And here we were Friday night 

(and the Saturday before that)

Don't you think marriage is treating us well and bringing out the best of each other?

(I think I've heard it said, that married couples start to resemble each other after awhile... 

What do you think?)

Seriously though, I'll admit,  the days have not all been fabulous. We've had lots of ups and our share of downs.  The downs don't defeat us, they only make us stronger.  We've learned that a successful marriage doesn't just happen, it takes work.  It takes love, sacrifice, understanding, trust, compromise, forgiveness and laughter.   I love who we are, what we have, and where we are going.  And I am so looking forward to the next 12..... 17...... 25......50 years and the surprises they will bring!

But from the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.' For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

~Mark 10 6-9

A 2 year old in a white dress

Saturday was the day.  

The day Smiley put on her beautiful white dress and enjoyed playing the role of flower girl.  

Or, did she?

Here's how the day went down.

Smiley and I arrived at the church at 2:15 for pictures.  

And while she was waiting for her turn in front of the photographer's camera, there was:

Spontaneous Posing

Twirling

Playing

And

Assessing

Then, we moved locations and headed to a field.  And luckily after a few swipes from some baby wipes, her dress remained..... mostly clean :)

Five hours after we arrived for pictures, it was time for the wedding.
She and the ring bearer walked down the aisle beautifully.

She took her place next to the bridesmaids.

Gently placed her flower basket on the floor and proceeded to make a face
that looked something like this:

unfortunately, this was so unexpected that I was NOT camera ready ;(

Giggles engulfed the congregation.
From my pew in church, I finally convinced her to pick her basket back up, but she had to give her sister one last look:

She continued to stand in the front of the church.  As I watched her, I could tell she was beginning to "zone out" and daydream.  All of a sudden, she dropped her basket and the flower petals inside spilled out onto the floor.  She looked at the floor.  She looked at me.  She looked at the floor and I watched.  I watched her little face begin to get sad.  Very sad and soon she was sobbing and running down from the alter to me.  She felt so bad about dropping her basket.  

One of the bridesmaids reached down and picked up the petals and basket.  No worries.  

Smiley was still worried.  When I finally convinced her it was no big deal.  She decided it would be ok to go take her place in the front of the church again.  She walked up and forcefully grabbed HER (hee hee hee.....) basket from the bridesmaid.

And then, she looked at me.  And it was the look.  The same look she had when she dropped her basket.  And the tears came again.  I'm not sure why ~ maybe nerves, maybe she was a little tired, maybe......who knows, but it started again.  The tears began to fall.  She came running down from the alter back to me.

She continued to sit on my lap until almost the end, at which time she made her way back to the front and proceeded to walk out with the ring bearer.

With a little help from the Maid of Honor and Best Man.

Then we were off.

Off to dance and..... have cake :)

Smiley, who loves music and to dance, actually began rolling around on the dance floor
before the music even began.

And when your sister is lying on the floor, you must jump over her:

When the music finally did start,  man did that girl dance.
Actually, all three of these fabulous kiddos danced like crazy.

They danced and danced and danced.

When she had to sit out a dance.  She crashed.

Hard.
(and yes, it was midnight)

She was a BEAUTIFUL flower girl at a beautiful wedding.
What a fabulous weekend, that of course, went way.to.FAST!

Simple Relationship Tips

I guess today I feel like using my degree ~ not the deodorant,

I'm more of a secret girl  if you really want to know ☺.

But this morning, I was thinking about marriage..... my marriage.

My hubby and I have been married for 10 years, we have 3 precious kiddos, 1 crazy dog and a roof over our heads.  Perfect right?

I'm not going to go into details, but like most marriages and relationships, ours has had its share of ups and downs. 

But one thing that makes a HUGE impact on our relationship is random acts of kindness.

Huh?  Aren't those the nice things you do for strangers?

Well, think about it.  Do you remember when you first started dating that special someone and a phone call could make your heart jump and your stomach turn?  Or when that special someone would reach out and grab your hand while you were walking ~ just because they wanted to touch you and have you close.  How about the simple act of getting ready for and going on a date.

Now, when was the last time you phoned your significant other just to tell them  you loved them without talking "business" ?  Or when you gave them a compliment rather than a critique?  When was the last time you had loving physical contact ~ you know holding hands, a hug, or a quick shoulder rub instead of a belly poke or a smack on the rear? 

Try it.

Leave a note ~ be it  a wish for a good day, a good luck or a love note.  Leave it in their car, on their pillow somewhere they will find it. 

Greet them at the door when they come home ~ you would greet a stranger if they came to your door.

Give a hug, hold hands on a walk, rub their shoulders ~ let them know you want them near.

Go on a date.

Enjoy each other!

And you may end up like this ADORABLE couple: