Happy Anniversary!

We had a great 14th anniversary! It was on a Wednesday, and to say that we were exhausted would be a huge understatement. We decided, undaunted, that we were going to have fun anyway! My sweet sister, Anna, came to babysit the kids. Allen surprised me with roses, which was very sweet. I loved them!

We went to one of our favorite locally owned Italian restaurants, Joe's. It's so good. The sweet matriarch takes care of you as soon as you walk in. While we were waiting on our table, she gave us some "Italian Water." This was red wine, Sprite and lemon slices. It was soooo good! She carried around a pitcher and didn't let our glasses get too empty. Also, while we were waiting for our table, one of Allen's friends from high school came in. She's a wine rep and had come to bring some wine. She brought us some samples of things to taste, which is why I have two glasses in front of my on the table. ;) The food was good too! My favorite part was when "Mama" danced a traditional Italian dance with a waiter who was playing the harmonica. The entire restaurant was laughing and clapping. It was so sweet and fun that I laughed until I nearly cried. I so wish I was Italian!!!

After dinner, we went to Book-A-Million and browsed around for a bit. We then gave into our fatigue and went home. It was a sweet night and a great dinner. When we got home, we got another present. Zane had woken up, and Anna had gotten him back to sleep! That was huge! It made me very, very happy!

My gift from Allen is one of my favorite ever. I admit that I found it, quite by accident, on Etsy, but he took care of ordering it and getting it here! When we were dating, I would read poetry to him. ee cummings is one of my most favorite poets ever, mostly because he breaks all the rules, and one of my favorite poems to read to Allen was "i carry your heart." It became "our poem." It surprised us greatly to learn that one of our favorite guitarists, Michael Hedges, actually recorded it as a song with David Crosby singing. Our dear friend Jon sang it at our wedding. So my bracelet is a sweet reminder of our courtship and our wedding. It was a perfect gift!

It was a great anniversary, and I am praying it's a year of our marriage the glorifies God greatly.

i carry your heart with me - ee cummings


i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you


here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart


i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PqSZzmUMHM&feature=PlayList&p=85BDEA4979685ADA&index=0&playnext=1


(You Tube video of Michael Hedges singing our song!)

Stinker

So when you buy Neopolitan ice cream {and by the way it's not Napoleon Ice Cream. I just always thought they named an ice cream after the famous history guy. Wow. Sometimes I amaze myself} you don't expect to find *THIS* when you open the carton. Evidently not everyone likes strawberry. After confronting the culprit, I was less than impressed by his lack of concern for his misdemenor. This is truly a major offense. No matter what someone says.

Fun, fun, fun!

Allen was off this weekend, which is a tiny miracle. So we decided to make the most of it! He decided that we were going to have a date night on Friday night, and asked me to see if my sister, Emily, could come babysit. She rearranged her schedule and came to help out. Allen told me to dress up and took clothes to work to change into so he could "really pick me up, like a real date." He even parked next door so the kids woudn't know he was home, and I snuck out. We ate Mexican, and walked around the shopping center by where we ate. We didn't have long, since Emily had plans, but it was a great night, and so much fun to spend time together alone! I even got flowers!

The next morning, I dropped Laney and Jude off at my sweet friend Jenn's house for a bit of yard saleing by myself. Then I picked up Zane and Allen and we headed to watch a bit of Jenn's son's soccer game. It was great to see him play, and see some sweet friends there too. Then we ate a picnic lunch in the van and headed to the Magic City Art Connection. Allen and I used to go before the kids came along, and this year we felt like everyone could go have have fun! No more babies!!! We did have a blast and topped the afternoon off with Blizzards from Dairy Queen and left overs for dinner. After the kids went down, Allen watched the draft while I worked on Bible study. It was a great and wonderful end to a perfect day!

Sunday, after church, Allen told me to go spend some time by myself, so I went to run some fun errands alone! Wow! Then I came home, and he told me to relax and watch the race while he cleaned the kitchen. I was so pampered and loved on this weekend, and I really appreciated the way he took such special care of me. He even set up the sprinkler for the kids and took care of dinner, and cleaned the kitchen again! I think I'm keeping him!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Suprise

I was rumaging through my bookcase today, looking for something when my hand touched something unfamiliar. It was my old writing notebook. I fell back on the stairs and sat, reading. It was odd, like taking a journey back through my soul. It made me feel odd, reading those words. Where I was in my life then, how I viewed myself and the world. Disconcerting. I decided I needed to cronicle what I had written. Why? I don't know. I'm desperate to learn from my past mistakes, and reading my past will help me not stumble that way again. And as I'm learning from Esther, my past is tied to my destiny. No matter how bad my past was, it doesn't determine my future. My future is secure with God. Thank goodness.

So here's installment One. No laughing. This is scary. Like baring your soul. Ugh. I feel sick to my stomach, but I am forcing myself to do this. I need to own my past, and watch it intermingle with my future.

Expedition

I journeyed

into my mind.
Around thoughts and dreams
into my past, present and hopeful future.
Above my mind are thoughts I cannot attain
-things like infinity and being omnipresent.
Behind my mind are things I push away
-lost loves, lonely days, shattered dreams.
Through my thoughts are intertwined hope
love and peace, my stability
At the places where my mind rests are
Waterfalls, mountains and snow white beaches
-small vacations
Up soar my dreams and aspirations - swirling and
twirling like a child's baloon finally
set free.
To the years ahead when I imagine a home filled
with love, warmth and laughter
With thoughts in my mind - spinning, flowing,
gliding, floating, never ending
spiral of me.

This was for my literature class. The assignment was prepositional poetry. Each line had to begin with a preposition. It was written on April 12, 1994. I had met Allen the week before. We had to publish our work, and I did, dedicating it to Allen. My friend, Jan, who was in my class, commented, "If Allen inspired that, I'd marry him." 


I did.

It's here!!!!!

I love, love, love it!!!! I think I want everything on her website... And here it is, by the way, so you can send the link to your hubby and give him great hints for all your upcoming occasions!

http://lisaleonardonline.com/

And me in all my sick glory!! The real me!

Gymnastics and Mexican food

Allen got off early, on Tuesday, our anniversary, and my mom was coming to stay so we could go eat. Laney developed a fever late in the day, so I scrambled and cancelled my mom. It was a rainy, dreary day, so the thought of staying at home with a movie and some yummy good sounded great to me, actually.

The kids and I headed out, even though Laney was sick, because the PS3 game Allen wanted came out on our anniversary. I was going to get a snazzy outfit to wear to dinner, but instead found this great capri/short sleeve jacket/comfy outfit. Perfect for the couch!

The kids had helped me get Allen's presents and wrap them, so when he got home they were super excited to see him open them. We went ahead and asked him to open them while they were awake. So much for romance! I got him his game, the Indiana Jones triliogy and the Alabama Football Vault book he's been wanting. He was really happy about his presents, and that made us all happy!

My present hasn't come yet! I got some beautiful white roses, though. What a happy surprise! We had white roses in our wedding, so that's why he got me those!

The kids went down easily, and Allen scooted out to get Habaneros. I love that place! We ate and watched the Olympics. After dinner, we put in "Raiders of the Lost Art," but after a bit I got up the courage to tell Allen I really wanted to watch women's gymnastics. He rolled his eyes just a bit, but was really kind about the whole thing. It helped that swimming was interspersed throughout the gymnastics, so he liked that!

It was a sweet, cozy anniversary!

When I went to bed, I realized that Zane was burning hot with a fever and he was sleeping uneasily for most of the night. I thought, "Well. that was a quick return to reality!" It's okay, though, because Allen always can make me laugh. That's the most precious gift of all!

I'm so glad we some pictures of the two of us. We don't have that many. We were so tickled because Jude was taking them, and he was so cute with the camera! I had to post all three of them. Yea!!!!!

13 years ago today

two kids who had no idea what they were doing got married. They had no idea what forever meant, what for better or worse meant, or what it would be like to have to always work it out. They thought it would always be easy. She thought this was her happily ever after. They danced off into the sunset, sure that they had it all figured out.


Thirteen years later, there are three kids. There is a mortgage payment, bills, responsibilities, deadlines, stress, chaos, noise (lots of noise) and there is still that better or worse thing.


There is also love. There is lots of laughter. There is comfort, understanding, teasing, inside jokes - a soul bearing, Christ searching, kid loving, fun having, joy of being together. It's not always easy. Marriage is the single hardest thing ever undertaken by these not young anymore kids. It's hard, but rewarding. It's tender and understanding. And at times infuriating. But it's the way God intended it, and it's an honor to celebrate the first of several thirteen year anniversaries we'll have.

What a husband wears when he loves his wife