Love

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Since the day we got married, there’s one song I’ve played first every single time I’ve played the keyboard, and I plan to keep playing it first for the rest of my life. That song is “Gentle Shepherd,” and it was sung over us on our wedding day, right after we promised ourselves to each other.

We said our vows, and then we knelt as our dads prayed. When they stepped off the stage, we didn’t stand up. Instead our talented bridal party gathered around us and sang “Gentle Shepherd,” and it is still one of my favorite moments of the entire ceremony. ...continue reading →

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We celebrated my parents' forty-year wedding anniversary today. When you're only going on year five in your own marriage, forty years seems like a very long time. 🙂 Something to look forward to, for sure.

Family gathered, mostly under the guise of the very worthy cause of meeting Drew's lovely lady friend but also to celebrate my parents.

Dora and I surprised Mom with a cake decorated in her wedding colors, and Mom surprised us by coming out in a new white dress. I'd texted Dad earlier in the week to tell him to make sure that he and Mom's clothes coordinated so we could get some good pictures, and they really went all out. Mom quickly and quietly sewed a dress the day before the party, and Dad brought along dress clothes to match her. I think we were more surprised with the wedding garb than they were with the cake! ...continue reading →

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I hung up Eric’s work shirts the other morning. One of them was a lime green polo. And I thought to myself, This is the shirt I met Eric in.

It seemed a bit unreal, that we'd ever actually met, that we haven’t always known each other.

But I remember that night so clearly. We were playing volleyball in our school gym, and I was at the far side of the court from the entrance. I heard the doors open and close, and before I looked up, I smelled cologne. All the way across the gym.

And there was that lime green shirt. ...continue reading →

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I have a confession to make, one that the "date your spouse" people might judge me for: Eric and I don't really go on dates anymore.

When we were freshly married we didn't make it a priority because, after all, every day is like a date when it's just the two of you. 🙂 Then when the first baby came along, I hated to leave him anywhere, plus it just plain involved more planning, plus we weren't already in the dating groove. And when the second baby came along, not much had changed. I still hated to leave the boys anywhere, and it still involved more planning, and we were even less in the dating groove.

So the few times we find ourselves out and about alone are usually out of necessity, and out of necessity usually has unpleasant connotations in our case. Cleaning church. Going to the dentist. Things you can't exactly have two little people along for.

Today it was going to the dentist. Eric got us both in for cleanings at the same time, so we left the boys with his mom and headed off to Canby. ...continue reading →

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It seems like something profound should come with returning from a long blog absence, but I don't have anything profound. Just a bit of advice.

If you're not sure if the fireplace flue is open or closed, by all means, don't start a roaring fire in order to find out. You might find yourself yelling at your husband to evict himself from his YOU-imposed exile in another room to come help you remedy the smoke rapidly filling your house.

And when you're trying to pair iced coffee, a fancy little cake, and a romantic fire to make a nice surprise for him, hollering at him to come put out the fire/open the jammed flue/heroically carry burning pieces of wood out of the house with a paper towel is the last thing you want to have to do. ...continue reading →