Ten Years and Counting!

It was ten years ago that Derek and I committed our lives to one another before God, family, and friends.  It was a really beautiful day.

When we married, Derek had been out of college and working for over a year in Maryland, hours from our family and many of our friends.

Since then, we have made new friends, added family members, and have built a life together.  The loss of loved ones and not being able to help our children in life-threatening situations has probably been the hardest part, yet day-to-day life with three young children is not so easy either.  But life IS good together.

So how did we celebrate this tenth anniversary?  We went out for ice cream with the kids.

We tried out a new-to-us ice cream shop that is right in town.

The ice cream was good and messy.

Tomorrow we'll spend some time by ourselves as a friend babysits the children after tee ball in the morning.  We still don't know what we'll do!

My sister Amy painted this of us from our wedding day.

You can read how we met here.  You can read a bit more about what happened in the next three years before we were married here.

NINE!

It was nine years ago that Derek and I committed our lives to one another.  Strange...it feels that he has always been part of me.  Time has gone by quickly.  We are blessed...and I am blessed to have him.

Tonight the family went to a local restaurant for dinner.  Derek and I have attended a few weddings recently, and Meghan has been very curious, so I brought out the rather grainy VHS video.   It may have been slight torture for Derek.  He endured just fine.

Love...in Action

On Sunday I was gone for the entire evening.  

I was shocked to come home to this.

 When I left, I left many unwashed dishes from the Sunday dinner and chocolate chip cookies that Meghan and I made.

But I came home, thrilled to see that Derek had washed them all for me.  

Wow.

And, now that I see Meghan's apron in the photo, I can see that it is definitely getting small.  According the this post, it is well over two years old.  See how my baby has grown!

In case you are curious, she still likes to wear head bands hippy-style.

Eight Years

Today Derek and I have been married for eight years.  

 We've had some tough times, especially with the health of our children.

 But we wouldn't trade our days for others.

 Nor would I trade him for another.

You can see wedding pictures and read about how we met and then what happened next, if you like.

And in case you didn't figure it out, these pictures are without pregnancy.  They are part of our fall family photo shoot of 2010.

Two for Five

Saturday evening we were playing outside when a local Amish woman stopped by wondering if we would be interested in buying any flowers.  Derek asked me if I wanted any, and I smiled and said, "YES!"  I saw the size of the bouquets, and probably would have declined (considering the cost) except that our anniversary would be on Tuesday.  I was shocked when she said they were just five dollars.

When she returned with change, she said we could have two bouquets for $5 because she needed to get rid of them.  Seriously!  Later, I asked Derek if flower arrangements of their size would be $30-$40, and he said at least that much.  Happy anniversary!  hehe!  Derek didn't even have to go anywhere to get them!  I suspect she will be our new go-to for flowers!

I had some fun with the camera, attempting to take a few photographs...and quickly realized I had no idea how to take a decent photo of a flower, even with pretty subject matter.  (Editing helped immensely!)

I should probably explain that during the summer and early fall it is not unusual for some of the local Amish  neighbors to come through the neighborhood, door-to-door, selling produce, baked goods, or flowers.   

I was super excited to have the opportunity to use both of my large vases...vases that are much too large for many of the bouquets of flowers we have had over the past eight years.  (One was a wedding gift, and the other from Derek on my birthday when we were dating.  Of course, Derek gave me flowers to fill it then.)

Beautiful flowers are such a treat!  Knowing these didn't break the bank confirm the beauty, too!

(Can someone tell me what those pink flowers are?  I just know they are lovely.)

Seven Years Ago...And a Story

Seven years ago today, Derek and I married.  Boy, we were young...or at least he was!

To read a quick version of how we met, click here, and then read below for the continuation.

We didn't see one another again for about six months...It was Memorial Day weekend.  I spent my Sunday afternoon and evenings at friends' home who were youth leaders in Derek’s church.  Memorial Day weekend was the kickoff for youth group (and anyone/any age from the community) to start volleyball at this home on Sunday nights.  Derek’s aunt Donna was planning an Olympic-style opening ceremony in which she asked us to both help.  (I had already been friends with Donna for a year or two.) 

So that night I learned Derek was home for the summer, and I invited him to return to the Happenin’ for Bible study on Friday nights.  We saw each other just about every Friday and Sunday evening all summer.   (His family and mine lived about an hour apart, so we wouldn't just run into one another.)

At some point in July I learned he was a Christian, so that was good...though there was still the age difference...somehow that has never disappeared.  Though these were faith-related activities, I knew better than to think just because he was there he was a Christian.  Keep in mind that Derek does not speak up much in group settings...so though he might answer a question or read from the Bible, I didn't really hear much of what he thought until one day a topic came up that he had something to say regarding.

Derek never showed much (if any) interest in me, and I was okay with that.  It was still nice to spend the summer getting to know him as a friend.  I was not about to "chase" him.  He DID invite me over to his grandparents' home for a Sunday afternoon in August when my standing plans were changed.  (I played a rather competitive game of Sorry that day against his mom.)

Then he went back to college.  We had had a couple of long talks that made me think he might be interested prior to his leaving, but when he returned to school and nothing had changed, I thought I was wrong.  Then he contacted me using Instant Messenger, and we enjoyed getting to know each other a bit more.

Then he returned home for Labor Day weekend.  We went to the drive-in movies with a friend.  That Sunday evening we spent spent the night under the stars talking late into the night.  Then he returned to school.  Again.  Nothing had changed other than a deepened friendship.

Then we started dating.  We were serious from the beginning.  We were two and a half hours apart during that school year, so we only saw each other every couple of weeks.  The following school year, I moved to State College for his senior year at Penn State.  He graduated and moved to Maryland for his work...and so it was long distance again (3 hours or so).  In November of 2002 he proposed...and we married in June when my school year was over.  

And we lived happily ever after.  With some reality thrown in to life.

Happy anniversary, Derek!  

Help Us

Derek and I do not always agree.  As we teach our children things that are important (and not so important) to us, we have come to a problem.  We do not agree about who Rudulph goes down in history like.

You know the song...
You know Dasher and Dancer
And Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen.
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?


Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
(reindeer)
Had a very shiny nose
(like a light bulb)
And if you ever saw it
(saw it)
You would even say it glows
(like a flash light)
All of the other reindeer
(reindeer)
Used to laugh and call him names
(like Pinochio)
They never let poor Rudolph
(Rudolph)
Play in any reindeer games
(like Monopoly)


Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
(Ho Ho Ho)
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then all the reindeer loved him
(loved him)
And they shouted out with glee
(yippee)
"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
(reindeer)
You'll go down in history!"
(like ???????????????????)

Would you please tell us who you think Rudolph goes down in history as?  One of grew up singing Columbus, the other grew up singing George Washington.  Even if you have never left a comment before, it's simple.  Just click the word "comments" below.  Please!

(I fear that I am wrong...I usually am when I disagree with Derek.  And that all of NEB Class of 1994 were taught wrong.  How in the world does a song get changed, anyway? Who knows, maybe it's because he is nearly four years younger than me and grew up an hour from me.)

Thanks for your help!

Time for Us

Derek and I went away for two nights...all by ourselves while his mom stayed with the children. We have gone away overnight each summer since Meghan was born (well, really since we were married), but this was the first time that we knew Meghan would miss us.  She did, especially during the night.  Evan wasn't phased though.  We missed the kids, but they were in good hands.

We went to the Lancaster area. (Our hotel was an hour from our home, but some areas of Lancaster are much closer.)  We stayed just a few miles from the hub of it all in a small (tourist) town called Bird In Hand.  The inn we stayed at was lovely.  Many people go to the area for Amish-related activities, but we didn't feel the need to do those.  There are lots of family activities to do, but we're saving most of those for another trip. 

We did a lot of shopping.  Actually, we spent more time browsing and shopping than anything else!  We were fairly close to the outlets (not that that means good deals...you have to be careful).  We also enjoyed the touristy stores and farmers market in Bird In Hand.  We found some things for ourselves and some things to give as gifts.  We saw the Biblical Tabernacle Reproduction, an important part of the Underground Railroad, and a dinner theater that was just okay.   There were some other attractions we were interested in, but the timing didn't work out with it being Sunday and Labor Day.  (Tuesday morning we headed out for a matinee at the dinner theater, so we didn't get to do much that morning.)

We took the camera.  Can you tell?

Since our nephew (and Derek's brother and sister in law) was here on Saturday we have some cute pictures to share soon. 

9-9-09...isn't that neat!?

Six Years Ago Today

We were married June 28, 2003. It's funny; Derek and I have known each other for almost ten years now, but it seems like he's always been part of my life.

Derek's mom made our cake. Tasty and just the way I wanted it.

We entered the reception to the theme of Superman. Derek can be quite funny... he opened his shirt triumphantly when we got to our table. Do you see my sister, Amy hiding her head in shame?! (Really she was probably just in a bit of shock and thinking that my new husband might be a bit like my dad!) That made me laugh, too!

Six years down, a lifetime to go!

Hung Up

We finally hung a few (okay, just two) more things up on our stark white walls. This was one of them. (Boy we look young, and our wedding day was June 28, 2003...not that long ago.) It hangs in what the floor plan calls the living room, but we call it the toy room. I'm sure you can figure out why. I'm excited to finally have this one up.

This is a watercolor painting that my sister, Amy painted. It was our wedding gift from her! Aren't we blessed to have such talent in the family?

Amy and I went to the same college, Kutztown University, and I even took a watercolor class from one of the professors (Matthew Daub) that had great influence on her. I never made it past Intro to Watercolor, though I didn't try since I took it right before student teaching. And Amy is, in a word, an artist, even if it isn't her primary source of income.

She has a website too. Some of the paintings are quite "dark." The teeth in this painting were the first teeth she'd ever painted (not many smiles before). Recently she has been inspired to create in new ways, including landscapes.

I just found out that she's heading to California next week. Why? Because she wants to paint a desert!

Getting Out

We might have had company this weekend, but I feel like I'm on vacation! Saturday Derek and I took advantage of his mom's visit and went on a date! (The last time we did this was in early July when we went to Watkins Glen, NY for two nights. Janice was watching Meghan that time, too.)

Derek and I headed to Lancaster (not the touristy part) for lunch and a movie. We found a RubyTuesday in the same plaza as the theater, so we just ate there. We watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was pretty good!

If you know Kevin James from King of Queens, you know he's a pretty funny fellow. This movie was clean, funny, and family-friendly. Plugged In offers online reviews here.

Then today I had the opportunity to get together with my friend, Leila. (We had taught together in Nittany Christian School, and it had been more than two years since seeing her.) Derek's Aunt Donna and I drove to Allentown to pick up Derek's grandparents, so Leila and I arranged to meet up at the mall there. It was so, so good to see her and even shop a bit. Of course the two top things on my list weren't found, but that's okay. More important was time with a friend.

So thank you Janice and Derek for letting me get out for a bit!