The day I said yes.

Ten years ago today, Russell and I were literally days into officially living together.  I carefully zipped myself into my new black dress, assuring that my hair and makeup were just right, as Russell dressed himself in his Marine dress uniform.  You see, I was told that we were going to a retirement party for a fellow Marine, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this day just might be THE day - the day he slipped that engagement ring onto my finger.  I looked down at my my hands and noticed my chipped nail polish.  I knew that I couldn't have that if people were going to be ogling the rock that was about to be slipped on my finger.  I could not find any nail polish remover in the apartment into which we had just moved.  So, on our way to dinner, I made Russell make a quick stop at Target.

Once my nails are appropriately unpolished, we are on our way to dinner.  We head to Mr. C's, a local italian restaurant, which has since sadly closed.  While at the restaurant, Russell says "Oh, I forgot to give you your graduation gift."  (Sidenote: I had graduated from ISU that May and Russell missed my graduation because he had drill with the Marine reserves and couldn't get out of it.)  My heart skipped a beat as he reached into his pocket to retrieve my gift.  My heart sank as I noticed that the gift box was much longer than a ring box.  And I tried my very best to hide my disappointment as I opened the box to reveal a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant (the very one that I still wear to this day).  We finish dinner and head to (what I am now coming to terms with might actually be) the retirement party.

So, we make the drive from Mr. C's in North Omaha to West Omaha.  During this time, another Marine calls looking for directions.  My heart sank a little more.At the time, it annoyed Russell, but it made me start to actually believe that we were, in fact, going to a Marine function.  But, rather than going to Skyline, as I was told, we end up at Zorinsky lake.  Zorinsky has some history for Russell and I.  It was where we ended up on our first date and where we went when Russell broke up with me the summer after our senior year (his reasoning was because I wasn't "the one" - something I still tease him about.  Haha!).  There are 4 entrances to Zorinsky lake off of 156th street, the above 2 events occurred at separate areas.  So, imagine my surprise when he whipped into a 3rd entrance.

Once we are parked, he tells me to hang on a second as he unloads items that I had no idea were stashed in the car - namely a blanket and his acoustic guitar.  He runs back to the car and leads me to the area where he has laid out the blanket.  And despite the people on the trail, he proceeds to serenade me the song Everything by Lifehouse while playing his guitar.  This is a very special treat because he very rarely sings in front of me.  Unfortunately, I don't have a video of the actual event, but this is *almost* as good:

Once he finished singing, he tells me that he has gotten my father's approval and asks for my hand in marriage, while holding a much smaller box than the one he had given me at dinner (which is now referred to as "distraction necklace"), with the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen in it.  I (of course) say yes and we awkwardly get the ring on my finger.  This was followed by a lot of crying, laughing, hugging, and kissing.

But, this was not the end of the surprises for the night.  Our next stop was his parents' house, which I noticed as we pulled up, was surrounded by cars.  I first meet my Dad and Step-Mom on the front porch.  They try to be nonchalant "so, what's new?"  "Russell asked me to marry him!!" I say in a voice that sounded far too whiny in my opinion (due to the crying).  "So, what'd you say??"   This was the question of the night.  :-)  As I walk into Russell's parents' house, I realize that I am surrounded by many of our family and friends.  He not only surprised me with the proposal, he then planned a surprise engagement party!

Still 10 years later, I can't imagine a more perfect day.  And later I realized just how much work went into  the whole thing.  At one point he went down to KC to take my dad out to dinner to ask for my hand.  He went to the jeweler and actually helped design my ring, based on what I had told him that I wanted.  He planned the whole night - including making a special CD for the event.  And he arranged for the surprise engagement party (because we had previously talked about what we had thought about as far as our dream proposals - I wanted something public, like on the screen of a baseball game, but he wanted something more intimate - and he managed to get both elements in on the same night!).

Have things been 100% perfect?  Nope.  But, life is a rollercoaster and nothing makes you appreciate the highs like successfully navigating the lows.  Is there anyone else on this planet that I'd rather have next to me on this crazy ride?  Nope.  I mean, for one, look what I've gained:

Ephraim is 10 months!

The Graduate!

It seems like just yesterday that I was walking Jameson in foe his first day of preschool, holding back tears.  It was such a monumental occasion as he took the first steps of his educational career.  Today was the end of the very first chapter in that journey.  Today is the day that Jameson graduates preschool.

He has been talking about his "show" for weeks.  He has been practicing his songs and he has been inviting just about everyone that he see to come to his "show."

The day of graduation came.  We entered the auditorium with all of the other friends and families of graduates.  Jameson had not just the four of us cheering for him, he also had his Graham-cracker, Papa Terry, Mama O, Nannie, Papa Bruce, and Aunt Rachel there as well.  The teachers took turns speaking about the program and the progress that the students have made over the past year.  They showed a slideshow of the kids (which of course brought a tear to my eye).  The kids sang a few songs.  They took turns dancing in smaller groups.  Jameson danced to the song "I like to move it!"  We also learned that when Jameson grows up, he wants to be a police officer, like daddy.  He wants to take bad guys to jail.  He was so cute, but very serious during most of the ceremony.  He also looked very bored during times that he was not performing.  He later told us that he was not bored, he was just paying attention.

After his graduation, we had some treat at a little reception.  During this, he said goodbye to his preschool friends and his teachers.  I think that Jameson got his first taste of how bittersweet the end of something cal be.  As we let the gym, I caught him tearing up (which, of course, in turn made me cry!!).  We talked about how it's okay to be sad about not seeing your friends all the time, but also being excited for something new (in this case KINDERGARTEN!!).

We had a lovely family lunch at Greenbelly.  This is one of our favorite places to go for a Saturday lunch.  We've gotten to know the owner during our visits.  So, he held a table toward the back for us, had some bruschetta ready, and even got cupcakes for the kids!  All in all, it was a very nice day, even if this Mama isn't ready to admit that she now has a school-ager!!

Ephraim is 9 months!

Jameson is 5!

I can't believe it, my buddy is 5.  FIVE!!  The jump from 4 to 5 has always seemed monumental to me, but it is even more so when it's my very own child.  I can still remember the day he was born so vividly.  It's hard to believe that the precious little bundle of joy that I finally met in person that day is this amazing soon-to-be kindergartener that I know today.

Jameson has got to be just about the sweetest person that I have ever met.  He has such a tender heart.  I find this equally endearing and terrifying.  Basically, it scares me because he has such a pure soul and I don't want to send him out to be tainted by the cruel world.  But, I absolutely love that his best friends are his brother and sister.  I love that he tells me that I look beautiful nearly every day.  I love how excited he gets about just about everything - whether it's riding his bike, playing a game on the Wii, hanging out with the neighbor kids, learning something new, or whatever.  I basically melt when we go to Lincoln to visit Russell's Grandma (Gigi).  Jameson will sit next to her, hold her hand and talk about whatever he is passionate about at the moment.  

He has such a "joie de vivre" or zest for life.  He is RIDICULOUSLY excited to start kindergarten.  He has no fear about not knowing where he's going.  He just knows he's going to love it.  He is always wanting to sign up for extra classes at school.  And once he overcomes a fear (like going under water or down a big slide), he's the first one to step up and help another child do the same.  And any time I mention being sad about something (like MY BABY GOING TO KINDERGARTEN!!!), he tells me that he'll draw me a picture to make me feel better.  Gah, I love that little guy.

Happy 5th birthday, Buddy!

9 years? It feels like 9 minutes...

Alright folks, we are now in the midst of the time of year that I call "celebration alley," which those of you not from the Midwest may not get that it is a play on words of tornado alley.  Every year, January is spent recovering from the craziness of the Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah season.  Then we start in by celebrating Valentine's day and  Delilah's birthday in February.  March is spent celebrating our anniversary and Jameson's birthday.  And then three weeks later, we round out the season with my birthday in April.  After that, things settle down a little bit until the summer festivities.

Now back to the title of my post.  9 years?  It feels like 9 minutes...under water!  That's one of Russell's famous jokes regarding marriage.  I'm fairly certain it originated with his dad, but I digress.  This year marks our 9 year anniversary.  It's a pretty big milestone in my mind, even though next year is a more universally celebrated milestone.  You see, last year was difficult.  It was really, really rough.  I'm not exaggeration or being dramatic when I say there were points in the last year that I questioned whether or not we would make it to year 9, let alone 10.  I think that we had some growing pains as we transitioned from carefree young adults in our twenties to responsible parents in our thirties.  It was necessary for us to figure out how to strike an amicable balance between our family and us, as a couple.

Alas, we made it to year 9, no matter how narrowly.  And I'm feeling confident that we will make it to 10 and beyond.  I can only speak for myself, but I feel like we have a new appreciation for each other and renewed vigor for our marriage.  We are moving into a new phase of our relationship, now that the kids are getting older and there are no more babies on the horizon.  This will give us an opportunity to shift our focus on to our family as well as our needs as individuals and as a couple.  Also working in our favor is that communication has seemed to improve.  I'm feeling pretty positive that our relationship is currently healthier than it has ever been - which gives me hope for our future.

Enough about that.  This year, I was blown away by the preparation involved in our anniversary.  I had mentioned months ago that I'd like to go see the Lion King musical.  Russell not only remembered that I wanted to go, bought tickets, found childcare, but managed to surprise me with all of this!  It was so nice to have an evening to ourselves - especially after being separated for nearly 3 weeks just a few weeks prior.  We started with dinner at M's pub, then off to see The Lion King, and then we grabbed dessert-to-go at the Cheesecake Factory before picking the kids up.  Once the kids were in bed, we devoured our cheesecake -  Mmmmm!  It was a pretty fantastic night!

Delilah's aDORAble party!!

If you haven't known me for very long you may not be aware of this, but most of you should already know that the military insists on screwing up my life at any chance it gets.  Well, this year did not disappoint in that regard!  :-)  Russell had to go for his annual required training through the military reserves (AT or active training).  The commercials often boast that the reserves only require a "one weekend a month, plus 2 weeks a year" commitment.  I find this hilarious because more often than not, Russell's training is generally closer to 3 weeks.  But, in any case, this year he was scheduled to be gone over Delilah's birthday.  We originally scheduled her party for the first weekend in March (2 weeks after her actual birthday).  Well, once Russell FINALLY got his orders and booked his flights, we realized that he was not going to make it back in time for the planned party.  So, we had to move her party back an additional week - poor thing!

Her party was scheduled for the afternoon of March 10th.  Russell's cousin, Katie, came into town to help out with the kids,so that I was able to run around town finishing up last minute details.  They were predicting a little bit of snow.  Nothing major, I believe it was about 2-4."  I wasn't too worried because they had already over-predicted a couple of snowstorms this winter.  But, the snow started to fall...and fall...and fall.  I think all told, we got about 8" of snow.  It wasn't as bad by our house as some other areas got it.  There were white-out conditions and parts of the interstate closed.  We started receiving cancellations from party guests.  But, the party must go on!  I made this poor pumpkin wait long enough - I wasn't about to cancel it on her!  And honestly at her age, I think she would have been content if her party consisted of just Jameson and her.  :-)

Fortunately, we didn't have very far to drive.  We reserved the Saddlebrook community center for her party.  It's just over a mile North of our house.  A brave few still made it to her party, primarily it was people who lived out our way.   Delilah bounced her little heart out in the bounce house.  They also had out various toys, like a little basketball hoop, a slide, hula hoops, etc.  The kids all seemed to have a blast!  Then it was time to eat and to sing to the birthday girl.

Delilah's birthday shirt spells out three in Dora fabric.  It was made by my friend, Bryn of The Upper Room.

Please forgive me, I worked really hard on her favors and since a lot of Delilah's friends weren't able to come to get them...I'm posting a bunch of pictures here.  :-)

We had favor bags decorated like Backpack.

In each bag there was: a Dora party blower, napkin, stickers, PB&J uncrustables, Dora yogurt, Dora fruit snacks, mini banana (for Boots), string cheese decorated like Map and a wipe to clean their hands before they ate - because who knows what those little monkeys got into!

Map's face on the string cheese was drawn by none-other than my very talented husband.  Of course, AFTER we got to the party location, because that's how he rolls.  :-)

Delilah's cupcakes were baked by her Uncle Ben and decorated by his very talented fiancee, Brooke!

And if that wasn't enough, everyone got to go home with a cookie...Dora, Boots or an Explorer Star.  These were made by my very talented friend, Ashley of Sweet Bites.

...however, very few people waited until they got home to devour their cookies...

Delilah NEEDED a pink star...but, she wouldn't let me take a nice picture of her eating it!

Happy birthday, silly girl!