Two years ago!

Would you believe that it was two years ago TODAY that Kenny wrote to me for the very first time :) It still gives me butterflies and makes my heart leap when I read that first message he ever wrote to me. It is so amazing to see what God can do...to bring two people together like that. I am amazed and thankful each and everyday!

I was just thinking about my life and where I am and just how truly happy I am. This is the happiest and most content I've ever been with my life. I am really just enjoying every moment and looking forward to what each day brings.

When Kenny got home from work yesterday he greeted me with a kiss and an arm full of roses "just because".

He is unbelievable! I am so blessed to be his wife. I don't think I deserve him. I know it sounds goofy, but even the smallest things like making the bed, or doing laundry feel special because I'm doing them for Kenny. Just little ways to show my love.

Lumberjacks!

Dad, Mom, Kenny and I got to be lumberjacks all weekend long! ;)

We've been needing and wanting to really trim back a lot of the branches in our trees. Some of them were damaged during the ice storm last winter and some of them were just growing so big and out over the street and house that then needed to be trimmed back. Dad and Mom have the same situation at their house and we've just been procrastinating so we finally decided that THIS was the weekend to do it.

We rented a huge aerial lift that can go up FIFTY feet in the air! And we got to work!
Saturday morning Kenny and I went over to Mom and Dads and we started our big work day. Dad and I went up in the lift and I operated it while Dad used his chain saw to cut down limbs. We also took two big trees out for their sweet neighbor, Aunt Lee. That was an adventure! Dad tied ropes around them and Kenny and I were pulling while he chainsawed the base and they came crashing over. Then while Dad and I continued to cut down more and more limbs, Mom and Kenny were on the ground gathering them all up in bundles and Kenny chainsawing the big pieces into fire wood. Let me just tell you, we are all set for firewood for this year! *grins*

We worked the WHOLE day, just stopped for lunch and kept going until the sun set. It was a lot of work, but a ton of fun. It was really such a pretty day just to be outside, and I love the feeling of doing hard work and accomplishing something. It was fun hanging out with Mom and Dad and my heart was just throbbing with love for Kenny helping out there all day. It makes me think about what a huge help Mom and Dad were to their parents and I want to be able to help them ALWAYS the way they are ALWAYS willing to stop and help me.

Saturday night Kenny and I had an indoor soccer game at ten o'clock, after our long days work. I was so nervous. This was only my second time to play....ever, but it ended up being so much fun! Kenny scored TWO goals! :) I got at least one really good kick in, I'm hoping to get better every time.

Sunday morning Dad and Mom came over and we got started on mine and Kenny's trees. I was so excited! We go SO MUCH done! We worked all day again, just stopping for lunch and then working until the sun went down. I've been feeling sympathy for our Garbage collectors now, we have about thiry huge bundles of sticks waiting to be picked up.

All in all it was a VERY productive weekend and I'm thankful we were able to get all that work done :)

Springfield, Missouri!

Wow-o-wow, we had such a great time in Springfield visiting Neil and Julie!

Since Kenny was already there, gone camping with Neil for Fall Break, Lori and I rode to Missouri with Julie. We had a fun four hour drive just talking and laughing non-stop. Apparently the camping trip was pretty cold, so the boys came home a day early. They actually beat us to the apartment and were there waiting for us when we got there. Yay, I was excited to see Kenny!

Julie and Neil's apartment is so beautiful. Everything looks so new and fresh. They have high arched ceilings which probably makes Neil feel more comfortable ;) The colors are great and I love all their pictures and candles and decor. It really suits them!

Julie, Lori and I planned on having a girls shopping day, so the boys decided to go see a movie and watch some football on Saturday. We really had a fun shop-a-thon day! We went to TJ Maxx and Marshalls (found some GREAT deals on sweaters!) and a discount shoe store that had some amazing deals! I got some new brown heels that are ever so comfortable! We also went to a store call the handbag and jewelry warehouse (so neat!) Julie and I got matching purses ;) Mine is black and hers is brown.

We were starting to get hungry by this time so we met up with the boys and had a yummy hamburger lunch at Fudruckers! They have really great onion rings if you ever go. After lunch we girls went to go see a huge Bass Pro Shop! They had beautiful waterfalls and fish and ducks and animals all over the place! We took a bunch of pictures there, people probably thought we were a little crazy ;) but... I guess we kind of are *grins*

Julie wanted us to get to taste a Springfield treat, so on the way back to the apartment we stopped and got Andy's Custard (oh wow, SO good!) It's made fresh EVERY hour, and you can really tell, it's SO tasty!

Once we got back to the apartment we girls did manicures and pedicures while the boys finished watching their football and just had a great time catching up.

Sunday morning we got to visit Neil and Julie's church, First Church of God in Springfield, and hear them sing and Neil lead worship. It is such a special church. Not too big and not too small. All the people were so friendly, and they knew the moment we walked in that we were Julie's sisters, *grins* "Oh, you MUST be related to Julie, you look just like her!". The music was GREAT, Neil and Julie just belong together!
After church we all went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday. We actually ran into Julie's new bosses there. She's starting a new job today and they just happened to be eating lunch there too. They seemed like really sweet people. I'm sure she'll enjoy working with them.

After lunch we all said our goodbye's and Kenny, Lori and I headed back to Oklahoma.

We had such a wonderful time, I can't wait to go back again soon! I am TRULY blessed to have such a wonderful family, my sisters, my brother in laws, my husband, I don't deserve any of them. Thank you Lord for placing them all in my life!

Movie night with the girls :D

Well, Kenny left yesterday after work to go to Missouri to meet Neil for a Man camping trip. They are going to Arkansas to camp out and hike and all kinds of fun! If only I had more days of vacation I could have gone too and it could have been Neil and Julie and me and Kenny. Well, I'm sure those boys will have fun anyway.

I miss him already. You wouldn't think one day would be a big deal, but....it is. I just enjoy having him with me. He makes me smile and he makes me feel safe. Well, I suppose absence makes the heart grow fonder right?

Julie came down here to see the family since Neil was going to be away from home, and now we've decided that I can ride back to Missouri with Julie and come home when Kenny comes home *grins* That will make for a fun filled weekend I'm sure! I haven't been up to see Neil and Julie's home yet, so I'm excited for that, and to visit their Church. :D

I had dinner over at Mom and Dad's last night so I could spend time with Julie while she's here. We went to the library and rented a bunch of girly movies. We watched Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck last night. Mom even watched with us. We had never seen it so it was a fun new treat for us all!

I just love all the cute 1950's clothes and the innocence and romance of the time. So cute!

Tonight's feature film is Auntie Mame or Swiss Family Robinson :) and I'm making dinner for everyone!

One Third of a Year!

Happy "month" aversary to my sweet Kenny, he says it's not an "Anniversary" yet because that would mean a year while we're still counting the months ;)

Either way it's cause to celebrate! I can't believe we've been married for one third of a year already! WOW!! Time just flies! It feels like our wedding was just last month. I can remember it so vividly in my mind, the smell of the flowers and the evergreen trees outside, the warm sun on my skin, the butterflies of excitement in my stomach, the look in Kenny's eyes when he saw me round the corner and come walking down the aisle to become his wife, just being so intently focused on each other and such strong feelings of love! What a perfect day! I hope it's burned so strongly in my mind forever!

Well, I can honestly say I love him even more now. Every day we spend together just gets better and better! I thought "wedded bliss" was just a saying, but I think it is TRUE! I am SO thankful that God brought us together and I hope we get to celebrate at least a million more "month"aversaries!!

Hardwood Floors! Yay!

Do you know what I discovered my sweet hubby doing on Mondy night when I got home from the grocery store!?

He was ripping up carpet in the living room. We had discovered a few months ago that there were beautiful hardwood floors under the carpet in our informal living room. We'd been wanting to take the carpet up for a while and since it was "big trash day" for the garbage men he just decided to go ahead and do it! He's so great, always surprising me with stuff like that. He's also ripped down TONS of wallpaper, taken off wainscoting, and painted the living room, put in a flagstone patio area under our hammock, and so much more without me being there. I'm so thankful for Kenny and his "get it done" attitude ;) I'd never get anything done without him!

We were overjoyed with the condition they were in once the carpet was off. I was so afraid there would be pieces missing or stains, etc. but no, they're almost in perfect condition, no scratches or anything. We'll probably just need to buff them and maybe wax or polish! :D YAY!

Anyway, just thought I'd post a few pictures of his hard work.

Renaissance Fair

Sunday, the day after the Zoo we got up early and headed out to the Renaissance Fair. Kenny and I went last year and had a really good time, so we thought it would be fun to go again and reminisce.

It is a HUGE Renaissance Fair. There are actual buildings all over, castles and little shops that stay up year round. It's a big deal. There were tons of people in costume. It was really neat. One special thing they had going on at noon, after the jousting was a Renaissance Wedding... people were actually getting married! Pretty neat!

We walked all around and saw some shows as well as a jousting tournament and the Parade of Royalty ;) So cool!

About one o'clock we drove back to Topeka to have lunch at Via's, the pizza restaurant owned by Kenny's brother and sister-in-law, Jeff & Jessica, YUMMY!!! THE BEST PIZZA ever! ;) We were glad we got to see them and Alex and Ellis!

After lunch Kenny and I drove over to visit with his Grandma for a little bit, then start the drive home. Kenny's Grandma Dottie is so neat! I just love spending time with her. She is so easy to talk to and fun! All of his family are pretty great! ;)

Kenny and I kept thinking it would be SO awesome to go to the MLS soccer game in Kansas City while we were there. They were playing against Chicago who has a great player (Blanco) that we would love to see in person, and what a coincidence, they just happened to be playing there THAT WEEKEND....but, it would have made us not get home until about midnight, so we reluctantly passed ;( Maybe next time.

We had a great trip! But we were also glad to be home :D I guess that is a great thing when you're happy at home.

Fun Trip!

Ahhh, we had such a great time on our trip. It didn't feel quite long enough, but vacations rarely are huh? ;)

We had a nice car ride up to Kansas City. About four and a half hours, which you'd think might be boring, but I actually look forward to that time alone in the car with no distractions. I just get to sit and talk to my hubby ;) We're always reading a book together, usually at bed time we take turns reading back and forth to each other, but since we're in the car and Kenny's driving I take turns reading our book and listening to Kenny's huge CD collection. We also got to see a gorgeous sunset. I love how in the picture the three light poles look like the three crosses on calvary.

Just as we got to Kansas City we hit a MAJOR traffic jam. Pretty strange for eight o'clock at night. But, traffic cones were narrowing I-35 down to ONE LANE! Eeeekk ;) So, we merged (very slowly) all the way over to the left, then all the way over to the right. Pretty strange! It took us about twenty five minutes to go the last three miles to our hotel. We were getting pretty hungry by that time. I am so thankful for Kenny's patience and good nature in situations like that. When we're able to just laugh and make the situation fun it is SO MUCH better.

Kenny's Dad and Mom and ordered pizza for us, so we were ready to eat as soon as we got checked in. We stayed at the Drury Inn in Merriam Kansas. It was pretty nice and we even got rooms that were right next door to each other with a door in between :D

We set out the next day for our Zoo adventure. The Kansas City Zoo was so neat. Cecilia and I loved the little Red Pandas. They looked like sweet poofy puppies! In the center of the Zoo is the Australia area there is a wide open area where they have the Kangaroos...WIDE OPEN they weren't fenced in at all WOW! They also have an Africa area that is huge with a lake and all different animals from Africa. Fun Day!!

Kansas City HERE WE COME!!

Well, I'm rushing out the door at work to get home and leave for our weekend trip to Kansas City! :)

I'm so excited! We're going to see the Zoo and the Renaissnace Fair. Kenny and I went to the Renaissance Fair last year. It was so cool! Kings and Queens, all kinds of animals and Jousting!

We're meeting Kenny's Mom and Dad in Kansas City. I'm glad we'll get the chance to spend some time with them too!

I'll post lots of pictures when we get back!

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

This is the day that the Lord has made!!!

I am thankful to be able to say that every day! I am thankful for the blessings God so freely gives us and for every little detail (good and bad) in my day that make them exciting :D That may sound funny, to be thankful for the bad things in my day...and believe me, at the time I'm probably not cheerful for the negative things, but in retrospect I can always see that they were opportunites for growth and for that I'm thankful. I know that patience is a virtue that I certainly struggle with and I do pray for more patience. I know that is why God gives me opportunities to practice my patience ;)

Well, we've had TWO soccer matches since I've posted last. They won on Monday and then on Tuesday they had a bit of a struggle. My wonderful Mom came with me to the game on Tuesday. She even brought neat camping chairs for us to sit in! It was fun to get to share the game with her. I think this was her FIRST soccer game ever ;) I love how she always takes an interest in things that I care about.
I don't know if the team was just worn out from their game on Monday or what, but they lost on Tuesday. They were really pushing hard in the second half to come back. Playing their hearts out! I was glad that they weren't too disappointed or down on themselves. They can still win the championship next week. Kenny was encouraging them "keep your heads up". They worked hard in practice on Wednesday and re-worked some of their plays to use against that team in the finals.