Happy Anniversary!

I am one lucky woman! 14 years ago today, I got to marry the most amazing man!

Our wedding day was wonderful. Ryan looked so handsome, and I loved having all of our friends and family there to help us celebrate.

Ryan and I thought we had marriage all figured out. I remember thinking we were so in love.  Looking back, it makes me laugh at how happily naive we were.

The past 14 years have been a real ride! We have come a long way, and learned a lot! Ryan has seen me at my best and cheered my greatest accomplishments.  He has also seen me at my worst. We have laughed together, and mourned together.  He is everything I could have ever wanted in a sweetheart. He makes me laugh. He is so unselfish with his time. I love watching him play with our children. He is kind and patient. And, he is so handsome-- just look at this face...

Oops! How did those get in there? Whoopsie! Sorry honey! But seriously... you can tell that kid is going to grow up to be one good lookin' hunk-a-love!

I can honestly say that the deep, compassionate, concerned love that we have fostered over the past 14 years makes our newlywed hearts-and-flowers love pale in comparison.  I wouldn't trade the love we have developed on this journey for anything! I love you Schmoopie! Happy Anniversary!

January 2012

Talk about the worst journal/blogger ever! January was a slow month at our house with nothing that was terribly noteworthy. So far, this has been the year of "the sickies" at our house. We have rotated through the barfs, strep, the achy flu, and the worst cough/cold imaginable. It has been one long month... and we are excited to see February (and hopefully some better health) finally arrive.

My little Creed is 20 months old! He is so delightful. His speech has really exploded. It is so fun (and awfully cute) to hear his little words. His favorite food is yogurt, but he also really likes "tandy" (AKA-- candy). He loves to say "bean, bean"-- which means he wants to play with his bean box.

He got a hair cut this past month. It was hard to say goodbye to his soft locks, but it was time.

He is learning so many things so quickly that it amazes me. It is awesome to see his new abilities. The other day he helped me sort the silverware into the dishwasher. Here he is painting-- so stinkin' cute!

 Kailani, Karen, and I spent a few of our sicky hours doing a puzzle. It was so fun to spend time with the girls talking. I think we have discovered a great new hobby.  I had to laugh when we got done with our brand-new puzzle, and had 1 piece missing. This is the story of my puzzle-building life-- always one last piece missing!  We looked everywhere for the piece-- with no luck! I am certain it was never included. Oh well!

Kyle had his first ballroom performance! Everyone in the family (including Creed) loved the show. This picture is horrible. Perhaps next time I will get a better one.

Here is a recording of the dance.
At the beginning, Kyle is on the right dancing next to the couple that has the blonde boy. (are those instructions as clear as mud?).

(You can watch it below, or you can watch by clicking the link... which is probably the best way to watch it, because otherwise, Kyle is cut off on the right side for half the perfomance. (I can't seem to figure out how to fix it???) Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWAEFJOPbXg&feature=youtube_gdata_player





Cameron had his first court of honor, and earned a heap of merit badges. It was great to see all his hard work be rewarded.

Lastly, after years of tolerating the ugliest and most uncomfortable couches, Ryan and I bought a new couch. It is a little embarrassing, because we bought more couch than this room can handle, but we love it.  It is so comfy that we are tempted to just sit and enjoy it all day.

And... I need to post a picture of these gorgeous flowers that my sweetheart surprised me with the other day. I am so lucky!