Ten

I can't believe it's been ten years!



I love this one because it makes me look skinny. :) And because I loved our cake. And because he was kind and didn't smoosh it into my face.


I love this one because it reminds me how much fun we had at our wedding and reception. I think I only had that one glass of wine but my mood was as if I'd had many more! Giddy! That says something, doesn't it!


and I love this one because it says it all. Happy Anniversary, my Dear, Darling, Wonderful Husband.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

L is for Love Thursday

Is there anything cuter than an alphabet lesson in jammies? (Okay, maybe it'd be cuter without the garbage can in the background...)

Happy Love Thursday, people!

Getting to know her

Dear Baby Girl,

I hope you will like the little pink blankie I just bought you. I wanted you to have something special to cuddle. It has butterflies and a flower on it, and it's the same pink my "boppy" was. Oh, I called my blanket "Boppy" before there was a name brand to usurp my word, and there's your first indication that your Mom is brilliant: I coined a NAME BRAND. When I was a BABY. Anyway, I rushed right over to Target this morning after receiving more sweet photos of you and your undeniably girl-self. I couldn't wait to add something soft and flowery to the household, and to think of you while cruising the Carter's aisle. Just imagine how many years of shopping we can do together; I had to get started right away.

You are going to have plenty of hand-me-down clothes even though you have an older brother, because there is a thing called SECOND COUSINS, right here in Georgia. And God Bless the three of them, and their mother's truly excellent taste and tidy storage bins. But I wanted to be the first person to give you something of your very own to wear. That's why I also bought the lavender polka-dot onesie, size "NB," and I hope you'll get to wear it at least one time. :)

It seems like you really should be coming any time now, although I know you still have a lot of growing to do before you're ready to see us. So stay in there and stay cozy, we'll wait. Everyone is going to love you, and I really think you're going to change us all in good ways. For myself, I know I'll have to really lead by example as my Mom did, and teach you grace and inner beauty and goodness, if I can muster them up myself. I'm trying to teach those things to your big brother, of course, but it's different with girls, you know? I hope we'll be good friends long into my old age. It makes me teary just to think about that -- having someone to girl-talk with.

Your Daddy isn't going to know what hit him when you arrive, I think. I can't wait to see how he cradles and protects you, his precious little girl. I know that the confidence he's gained with three years of parenting under his belt will make him your strong rock, your Giving Tree. You're just going to love him, and I pray that he'll always be your number one. Here's a hint if you ever want something from him: One smile, one kiss, and I bet you'll send him straight over the moon.

AJ has been speculating that you're a girl; I'm excited to tell him tonight that he was right, and he's going to have a sister. He may jump up and dance at the good news; he's very happy about things like this lately. He is planning to teach you all kinds of things, like which Mother Goose poems are the best (The House that Jack Built, naturally) and how to make a Legos Zoo. And how to run really fast. You're so lucky that you'll have a big brother -- something every little girl without one dreams of, I think. He's great -- vibrant, smart, and even sensitive. I bet you'll be able to tell him anything. Be friends, okay? Even if he tells you to go away sometimes. Big kids just say that; they don't mean it.

I have a lot to do now to get ready for you. There are paint schemes to choose and new crib sheets to buy (I had a hard time resisting one of each pink item at Target), and I'm eager to get started now that we are starting to know you a little more.

I love you, can't wait to meet you.
Mommy

(...You guys? POLKA DOTS.)

Love Thursday

Love is sharing Mr. Potato Head with your cousins.

Get your Love Thursday on.

Sister Love

I've been calling my sister out this week, since she went to Malaysia and didn't tell me. :) But she is not rotten. She is my favorite. :) She and I can be separated by miles and many miles, but still feel as close as when we shared bedtime stories and giggles. I love to remember that for many years, she and I wouldn't sleep apart -- we'd go kind-of in phases -- three or four weeks in her queen bed, and then 3 or 4 in mine. Something comforting about having your best friend there with you in the deep dark quiet of night.

And OH, did we have fun! And by that I mean, argued. ;) Before we fell asleep, I "breathed too hard" and annoyed her, and when she'd tell me that, I'd make her feel pretty bad by saying "WELL I HAVE TO BREATHE." Then *huff off and turn over.* It's funny now because I've grown overly sensitive in my adulthood, even to my own breathing, and especially at bedtime. If, for instance, I feel my own exhaling hit my bare shoulder? I FREAK OUT. Must cover up shoulder with sheet immediately.

It's special to have someone you'll tell your dreams to. Who'll trade back scratches with you. Who doesn't kick the covers off, unless you're conspiring to kick them together. Who'll turn off your lamp after you've fallen asleep with the book still open on your chest.

Sister love is one of the very best kinds. Happy Love Thursday, Beansy! And safe travels!

More Love Thursday here, here, and here. Spread it! Tell someone you love 'em.

Wake up and understand him

It isn't always wine and roses. It isn't even always easy conversation. Sometimes love is a quiet dinner, when something - she's not sure what - is on his mind. Love is not asking. Love is letting him be. An evening spent apart, him in the office (basement) balancing the checkbook, her on the sofa, waiting to fold dry laundry.

Sometimes she forgets to snuggle up to him before saying good night, because in the time it takes him to go downstairs and check the locks, she's already fallen asleep.

Sometimes he's still a little withdrawn when he wakes up in the morning. Love is knowing it's okay. Love is being perhaps the one happy thing he can count on today. Smiling for him instead of sliding down with him. Carrying the hope that he'll be able to smile at her, when dinner comes around again tonight.



No picture today, Found a perfect photo, and happy Love Thursday all the same. :)

Love Thursday

I love the idea of Love Thursdays - of posting about, capturing with a lens, spreading and sharing what love is. Clearly, my cup overfloweth.

It's still kinda rare that AJ and his Daddy get to spend quality time together. There's just too much work in this life. But bedtime is the exception. Bedtime is stories, both made-up and on the page. Bedtime is cuddling. And jumping. And the warmth from his hot little head. Bedtime is colors, and numbers, and characters, and remembering the day with gratitude. Sometimes bedtime is fussing, too. No toothbrush. More stories. But Daddy - bless him - is calm and humble even when AJ says he'd prefer Mama tuck him in. Bedtime is all of us. Bedtime is love.

Read more Love Thursday.