One Year Later...

As I was thinking of our recent anniversary and going through family pictures over the weekend, trying desperately to find ANY pictures of Jeremy and I together... I was stunned to see the change that has occurred in the kids over the past year!  

I remember 2011 as the year that I thought I was never EVER going to sleep again... I was never EVER going to be able to shower again... I was never EVER going to be able to have a moment to myself again...  I'll admit it: having two kids under the age of two, totally kicked my booty!  Hard as it was, I wouldn't give any of it back.  

2012 has proved to still have plenty of tiring moments because, let's face it, they are still little.  But every single day they are more and more independent, expressive and fun.  Every day, I see different layers to their personalities... and see how they are growing up.  These pictures prove it... it goes by quick... and pretty soon instead of begging me to hold them, they'll be begging me to give them some space.  I'm cherishing them... and I couldn't love these two tiny people more!

May 2011

One Year Later...

 May 2012

June 2011

One Year Later...

 June 2012

5 Spectacular Years Video

We have countless videos of our kiddos... so I decided to throw together a little video of photos of Jeremy and I.  It's full of wonderful memories and our "signature" picture (where we take our own photo ;)  One thing I did notice, is that we have far fewer pictures of us together since the kids came along.  Natural I know, but now I want to make an effort to take a few more... after all, he's my dream guy!

5 Years and Counting

This past weekend, Jeremy and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary!  Is it bad to say?  Sometimes it feels like we've been married forever - I don't think my life truly started until Jeremy entered the picture... Other moments, the 5 years feel like just a breath - I can remember our wedding day with crystal clarity.

Our plans of a 5 year getaway didn't get to happen this year, but we were blessed beyond belief when my sister graced us with her care for our kids, so we could have an evening to celebrate.

We enjoyed dinner at "OUR" restaurant, Clark Lewis... it's the place where we had our first date and have celebrated many milestones since.  We literally always enjoy a good laugh thinking back to that very first official date as a couple, since Lord knows why (!!!) I decided to wear a ankle-lenth skirt while at the same time sporting hairy legs!  And yes, Jeremy DID notice... I knew as soon I got asked out for a second date, that Jeremy was different... he had to posses depth and grace ;)

After dinner, we went to see the musical Jersey Boys downtown.  Since it was a last minute plan B, I can't say I was overly excited going into it.  I was happy to be out with my love, but I hadn't really thought about the show.  But my hubby knew better... as soon as the lights went down and the singing and dancing began... I had a grin on my face for the next 2+ hours solid and was giddy like a kid in a candy shop.  Jeremy and I agree, in another lifetime... I would have been a dancer.  I think it's the other thing, like writing, that makes me feel alive... I've done a bit in my past, but is it too late to take dance lessons when you're going to be turning 30?!?  It was a VERY fun time with Jeremy.

If the evening had been a normal date... like any parents with young children... we would have headed home and gone straight to bed.  But it wasn't a normal date, so we decided to go down to 23rd street to be young again and reminisce about the first time we "hung out" as friends.  Maybe this sounds odd to many, but the first time we hung out as friends was magical and we both remember it well.  It was a warm summer night, while we sat on some whimsical stairs on a shop front drinking coffee and talking about everything we could touch upon before my curfew (Yes... I was still in high school ;)  It was when we found out the other person was special... memorably special.  Like "I could marry you" special.  But it wasn't our time.  God had us go our separate ways for the next 5 years without a single interaction or conversation, without a single hope to ever see each other again... except for our very magical memory together on 23rd street back in 1999.  Even though all the coffee shops were closed on 23rd street after the show (due to an E. coli scare in the water!), we grabbed ice cream cones and found the very steps where the magic all began... and re-created that moment in time.  It was the perfect evening.

That single memory from 1999 on 23rd street held tight to each of our hearts for years... through our growing up into adults, through our search for our faith, through career choices, through the heart break of other broken relationships, through experiencing life... and death.  God had given us a glimpse at what was to come and planted a seed that survived our storms.  Nothing is more clear to me... God brought us together, at the perfect time, in the perfect way.

I am so deeply thankful for you, babe.  For the perfect man that you are for ME.  I know we got hurled into the parent-thing much quicker than we anticipated... but there is no better friend, no better lover to go through life's twists and turns, joys and pains with.  You inspire me to be great.  You encourage me that I am enough.  You make me laugh and love life more.  You constantly point me towards Jesus.  You hold my hand when words are not enough.  You show up and truly love me every day.  These have been, by far, the best 5 years of my life.  My heart is overflowing...

I love Song of Songs 2:3, in regards to you babe, "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, is my lover among the young men.  I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste."

I love you my sweet... and I look forward to every day of our life.

Overdue

Our recent schedule has lead me to a point to where it's been tough to keep our blog updated...

This post is overdue, just as our visit with dear friends was grotesquely overdue!

My dear friends, Laurel and Greg, were able to fly to Portland from Denver with their two adorable kiddos for a week of reuniting our group of friends - Krista, Josh and their little boy, Crew, as well as Ben and his fiancé Emma. These friends represent sincere friendship (that dates back before I knew Jeremy) and unmatched loyalty. I love them all dearly and felt SO blessed to have gotten to spend a memorable week together... Eating, laughing, adventuring, playing with our kids and reconnecting.

Krista and Laurel are the friends who I can "pick up where we left off" with, who have seen my countless flaws and love me anyways... You girls are irreplaceable and I look forward to more moments together in the coming years!

I got to sneak away downtown to see Krista and the Startzel family on the 4th of July!  This was the first time Laurel and I had seen each other in about 4 years... since Jackson was a newborn and I was pregnant with Harper!!! I had never met sweet Kennedy before either!!

Harper and Jackson hit it off from the very first minute they met at the zoo

Harper and Bentley (more than) ADORED Kennedy

There were lots of these moments with the kids all week... they were a cute little crew!

Laurel, me and Krista... love, love these ladies.

Getting energy out after our drive to the beach

It was a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast... but a bit windy.

The crew walking on the beach... with beautiful Haystack Rock in the distance!

Daddy braved the cold waves with the kids.

Harper and I were both wishing all week that the Startzel's lived nearby...

Josh, Krista and sweet little Crew

Laurel, Kennedy, Greg and Jackson

The four kids grabbed hands and took over the tiny streets of downtown Cannon Beach

Harper and Jackson hanging out at the park together.

One last breakfast together before the Startzel's had to fly back to Denver.

Mama and Bentley at breakfast ;)

Our sweet, yet TIRED, kiddos at breakfast at the end of a fun-packed week!

Happy July 13th?

I just looked at my calendar, and I'm wondering how in the world it could be the 13th of July. Didn't the 4th just pass??

I guess I'll chalk it up to the business of summer... But why am I getting the feeling this just might be how I'll be feeling when my kids enter high school? Oh, to be an adult and have to embrace the concept of how time rushes by without any consideration for your own desires...

I wanted to post a couple quick pics from our fourth. It was a busy time surrounding that day, but we were able to slow down enough to celebrate the freedom the day represents.

We spent the afternoon soaking up family and sunshine, and setting off fireworks at Nana and OoOo's house. It included a pretty good show from 4 kids under the age of 5 ;)

Harper thoroughly enjoyed every pop and bang, often with us trying to keep up with her enthusiasm. Bentley, on the other hand, was quite nervous and unsure through most of the escapades... Even "hiding out" in the car for a bit... Right until the very end when he then was asking for more!

In Oregon, it is actually legal to set off your own fireworks; and across the river in Washington it is legal to set off the "show-y, up in the air" kind... So you can guess correctly that countless people in OR cross the line and there are many sights to be had around many neighborhoods.

Once the kids were in bed, my parents stopped by for a celebratory cocktail and the Lake Oswego firework show, which we could watch from our back deck.

Most every fourth, when I'm sitting in the dark... Comfy, relaxed and warm... I am taken aback by the beauty that each explosion paints in the sky, by the joy it elicits. It is then... I am unable to reign in my imagination and I wonder, "what if all those blasts and bangs were real? What if we were under attack... threatened, scared and restless?"

Somehow, I imagine way back when fireworks were invented and adopted as our "freedom tradition", that this was the intent, the hope... That they would cause us to stop, to remember and to be ever thankful for the freedom, peace and security we experience and too often take for granted.

I remember... And I hope to share these thoughts and the importance of what we have with our kids as they grow. Our freedom, security and peace are much to be grateful for.