Blake's favorite

Every time we visit Nebraska, we HAVE to eat at Runza ASAP.  Last time we visited, a few weeks ago, we bought 6 extra runzas, packed them on ice, and brought them home to our freezer.  I'm surprised that they are all still in there!

I had ever had a Runza until I met Blake, but I must admit, they are pretty tasty!

Five

I could not have said it better than my dear husband on facebook:

I know I can't put into words all that you mean to me, so I will just say that I love you very much and want to thank you for the best 5 years of my life. Happy Anniversary!

I love you too!

27 - D is for Daddy

Happy Birthday to the man who schedules inappropriate reminders in my cell phone because he thinks they are funny {sometimes, they are!}. Just one of the many things I love about him.

Also, this picture is "D" in Isaac's alphabet book. I just haven't added the text yet. :)

Four

Four years ago, I married the most wonderful man.

Proof of wonderfulness seen in this photo: Even though we have a manly version of a diaper bag, he still carries the girly one around too! Check out that lovely shade of red and fancy knot! :)

Happy Anniversary!

Three years

Three years ago, I married my best friend. Time sure flies when you're having fun. Happy Anniversary!

Cap and Gown

This soon-to-be Doctor of Chiropractic is still a kid at heart. We were trying to figure out how to make his doctorate hood thingy work properly on his graduation gown, when we gave up, and decided to mess with the cap instead. I think he should wear it like this at his graduation on Friday:

Please pay special attention to the tuft of hair sticking out of the front, and the fact that his ears are tucked into the sides of the cap. :)

Getting to the bottom of this feeling

For the past couple of days, I've had this bad feeling...I still don't know what it is, but it's annoying. I'll feel better about the bad feeling once Blake is safely in Brazil.

I don't want to sound like a sap, but I've been really sad about Blake being gone all day today. It's not that I can't handle being apart from him....we already spend half of every week apart the way it is. I've just been especially bummed that I can't call him or contact him. I can't even call the hotel once he has arrived and askl for his room number because the rooms are booked under the group name. I have to wait for him to e-mail me in two days. And even then, he won't be spending much time in his room as he'll be at the clinic all day long....the next couple of days will be hard...once I CAN contact him, I'm sure we'll work out a time to chat. It won't be every day, but it's better than nothing.

On a positive note: We found our long lost abstract for our house. One more thing to cross off of our list!

Do not disturb

My two little sweethearts taking their afternoon nap. So precious.

And the award goes to...

Blake - husband of the year, hands down.

In Monday's post, I had worried about leaving the house cleaning to him for our showing today. When I got home, the house was cleaner than it was when I left! It was amazing! I almost didn't want to set anything down when I walked in the house because I was afraid to dirty it up a bit. How wonderful.

Blake and his lemon smile.

Weekend discoveries

Blake and I went to a wedding for a friend this weekend, and I discovered (and re-discovered) love for some more things in this world:

1. Country sunsets

2. Old friends (and new ones!)

Colleen, Amy, little Alyssa, Jenn, and me

3. The organ at the church in New Vienna. An original tracker organ, one of only a few left in the world. The pipes on this puppy are gorgeous!

4. Mariachi bands!

5. Karaoke - not just fun to watch, but actually fun to do! Yes, it's something I discovered this weekend as part of the wedding after-party. I always thought I sucked at it (though I had only tried it at little family functions), but apparently I have a hidden talent! Then again, I was in rare form this weekend. I had a confidence boost from my little friend named Captain Morgan. Blake says I sounded great, as did all of the drunk people in the bar. But wait, didn't someone tell me that drunk people always tell the truth? I love Karaoke!

Our new friend, Demetrius. He's one good Karaoke-er
Maybe because he's also a DJ in Chicago?

Engaged encounter

I met with a future bride and groom today who seem completely clueless about everything that being married entails. They both know that they love each other and want to be married (or do they just want the ceremony and the party that follows?), but outside of that, they seem insecure about their future big decisions (i.e., where they are going to live, if they are having kids, if she is taking his last name, etc.). They want the Catholic wedding ceremony, but aren't even sure that they want to continue with that religious affiliation after the wedding (and they admitted it to the priest!). They are getting married in less than a month. I wish them the best now, and will give them my well wishes on their wedding day. Marriage is work, but it's well worth it!

Everything that happened today made me appreciate coming home to Blake so much more.

Omnia vincit Amor: et nos cedamus Amori
Love conquers all things: let us too give in to love

Sorting through life

Tomorrow, I embark on the first major step of our house-hunting process....and I am scared. Why, you ask? I am scared for a number of reasons, namely embarking on such a huge financial decision when we aren't even positive that we are going to end up in our choice area. I hate that I'm doing this without Blake. Instead, he will have to rely on the pictures I take tomorrow. But what happens if I find some beautiful cabinets, take a picture, and then realize later that the picture does them no justice? I worry that Blake has put all of his eggs into one basket, and that this one basket will provide us with no chicks. I wonder if enjoying yesterday's "Lazy Saturday" could have been better spent, or more pro actively spent searching or researching more real estate options?

I'm scared about the current state of the real estate market. Even though I know that our state has seen an increase in real estate transactions, I fear that we will not be able to sell our current home, and therefore be forced to bridge mortgages or fore go buying a house all together; at least for the time being. I'm scared that I won't find a home that I love as much as my current place. Sure, it's small, but it's cozy, comfortable, and perfect because for a short while, it was mine.....our own home.

I wonder many things: Will our family and friends judge us based on the purchase price of our home? The answer, of course, is yes they will. Will Blake actually have a job, instead of us talking about the possibility that he has been approached with? That, I don't know, though I wish, oh how I wish, we had an answer to that question! This process would be much less stressful and scary if we knew what we were working with. Will we even be approved for the mortgage amount we want? Again, I have no clue since we haven't looked into it a lot...again, because we have absolutely no idea about Blake's situation! Will we find a house that we like in the limited market we are searching in? It seems like anything we may like is either in a flood plain (NO), or way too expensive. When do we realistically put our home on the market? We were thinking originally November, but thought it may take more time to sell, so now we are thinking September. If our house sells too early, what will we do? Do I simply move away and leave Blake to stay with some friends and thus continue on the house hunting journey without him? What happens if we find no house at all? Will my parents just let us live with them for an unknown amount of time? Or worse, what happens if we hear from our mortgagor that we can't afford a house at all? Or at least, not one that is any more than our quaint 1,012 sq. ft. of living space! I fear that I will fall in love with a house that Blake won't like. But, if he had perhaps been there, he could have pointed out any flaws he may have seen before I fell blindly in love.

And yet, with all the fear, worry, and anxiety, there are small pangs of excitement. I am very much ready for us to move onto a different chapter of our lives. One where we are both finished completely with school, and the financial responsibilities can be shared, and a family of our own (yes, the little children running around) can become a reality. On the other hand, I really want to go back to school myself, which may put some of our plans back on hold. How beautifully stressful life can be. Only, I wish it wouldn't stress me out sometimes....despite its beauty.

something beautiful from my mom's garden

Sweet

One of my favorite things in the world is seeing an elderly couple walking hand-in-hand anywhere.

Holding hands is possibly the simplest way to tell someone that you care about them.

And how wonderful to have a found that kind of love for your life.

This is my vision for Blake and me....an elderly couple holding hands after buying our groceries, walking into a restaurant to eat, sight-seeing.

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." - J.L.