Fresh Pine & Twine

 

Ahhhh... Christmas Eve morning. Waking up we went to one of our favorite coffee shops where some girls were playing the baby grand piano and singing Christmas songs. We sat on the sofa by the fireplace and Christmas tree, secretly pleased the café wasn't busy. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the foam top on the coffee intended to look like something Christmasy turned obscene. David refused to even sip my Sugar & Spice Latte and we laughed. 

A stop at a pretty Christmas shop with fresh florals, we grabbed some fresh pine. Fresh pine & twine made the packages pretty and they smell good, too. It was team work with all the presents we had to accomplish and the Christmas tree is completely surrounded by presents and gift bags and family arriving in hours. 

The lights on the tree are shining bright and me, I'm enjoying a cup of coffee and a quiet home before the production begins. My grandbabies will be arriving soon and seeing all the presents. Their childlike thrill and presents begging to be unwrapped... Imagine, the angels in heaven bursting in excitement as Jesus is about to be born that very first Christmas day.  

Merry Christmas

Charcuterie Boards & Hosting Christmas Gatherings

 

In the midst of the hustle-n-bustle of Christmas season, our home seems to be the place family and friends gravitate to. Day after day after day, we are hosting Christmas gatherings with different sets of family and friends.

Charcuterie boards, appetizers, and competition side-by-side cookoffs between David and I have being at home a warm and comfortable place in our hearts. 

We like being at home. We would rather be comfy at home, cuddled on the couch, binge watching shows, creating new recipes and cooking together, versus being out and about in busy stores and restaurants, especially when we are both good cooks in the kitchen. 

Our favorite drink this season is Southern Comfort Eggnog over ice with Peppermint Bark Rum Chata. 

More Christmas gatherings this week then we welcome the new year. I have to say 2021 has been a blessed and welcoming year. We embraced our sweet little Claire in the world and she is now 8 months old. I saw this sweet outfit for her and knew she needed it for Christmas. She is an absolute angel! 

David and I chose life together and we both gained a whole new family and new friends. Our congregation transitioned into a new and permanent home church. I had another record breaking year in my position as an events director. David joined the Bomb team this year, in addition to his current role, and he's loving the stimulation of learning something entirely new to his already extraordinary career. 

In the midst of an ongoing pandemic and a chaotic world, we are so blessed, and I for one, do not take that for granted even for a moment. 

A Christmas Stocking for Claire

 

I cannot remember if I was on step #4 three hours in or step #3 four hours in, but there were 94 steps to Christmas stocking completion.

Aunt Carol made mine & Jason's Christmas stocking when we were little and I was always so proud to have a beautiful Christmas stocking when everyone else had store bought. I made one for Mariah and I made Brooke's sitting next to her incubator when she was in NICU and I was told she wasn't going to live. Maybe it was then I learned to pray while stitching hours on end. 

When Sofia was born, I knew, I knew, I knew, she had to have a handmade stocking. Thus, began tradition.

When my girls were little, the stockings took about 20 hours each. Nowadays, they are so much more detailed, they take an average of 50 hours each. That is early mornings and evenings for weeks!

While I'm stitching, it gives me time to pray for each grandbaby purposefully and specifically and when I hand it to them, it is my hope these stockings warm a place in their heart each year and long after I am gone. 

Pretty and feminine, just like Claire, yet equal to her brother and sisters...

Their names hand-stitched on them, Rowan's on the backside of the dangling pinecone, keepsakes wrapped up and stored, and brought out each Christmas.

Their momma plays a role in the selection. A catalog of stockings arrive each Christmas. I give the book to Mariah when she's pregnant and when each baby is born and we know if they are boy or girl, Mariah picks out a couple stockings she likes best, then I pick out the one I like best out of her selection. It's a surprise for Mariah, too. 

Merry Christmas, my sweet little Claire-bear! Know you are loved and I am always praying for you. 

xo

A Castle at Christmas

 

A Saturday night off, which doesn't happen often, I choose for us to go to a castle lit up in Christmas lights for date night. Actually, every night feels like date night, but dinner out and a drive to the country, and I mean in the middle of nowhere, nestled on a hill was a castle lit up. 

We had drove an hour and as we were deeper in the country on rough roads, we see a hill lit up. Who would have imagined this pretty castle in the middle of nowhere. Who would have dreamed of building this and hauling building material out here? But it was simple and pretty.

We walk into the hotel hobby and asked where we should go. This is it. Simple and understated, but it was perfect. No grandiose lights and large crowds, just a castle, hotel, and walking path lit up in pretty lights. 

Then, we saw Santa and tables with a sign. For $10 we custom-made hot cocoa, decorated cookies, made an ornament, and saw Santa. 

It was magical in a quaint kind of way. There was something special about it not being too much, too crowded, too overly sensational. Simple was perfect. 

Driving home through the country roads the stars lit up the sky. We don't get many clear nights and sometimes out of sight is out of mind, but there they were twinkling bright. 

Relaxed, unrushed, our Christmas date was perfect. The best part is... the best never ends. Going home together, turning on the soft lights of the Christmas tree, slipping in comfy clothes, snuggling on the couch under a soft blanket, a warm drink was probably mint tea, and we turned on our new favorite series Jack Ryan.

I am in love with our life together and Christmas tree nights are the best. 

Happy Monthversary

 

Happy Monthversary, Love! Today is our 1st month anniversary living together. Kind of one of those you imagine, fantasize about, and reality has been that and so much more!

Simply put, I could not have found a better partner to share life with. He is truly my Boaz and a million times worth the wait! 

I love that he is the last person I see and kiss and feel at night. I love that I sleep better than I can ever remember knowing he is next to me and I love waking up laughing at something completely ridiculous he says the moment I wake up! 

I love knowing at the end of busy days, he's who I am coming home to. I love that when I walk in the door, the dishes are put away or washed. Does he know I loathe putting away dishes? I laugh because he never knows when they are clean or needing washed, because I scrub them clean before I wash them.

We are kind, loving, thoughtful, and highly considerate of one another and he adds to my life in so many ways I didn't expect. 

This month passed by seamlessly and in a blink! 

He is an excellent cook and of course I am beyond thrilled to come home and a homemade dinner is fresh prepared and ready. I wasn't fully aware how good he is in the kitchen. What a wonderful suprise!  On Thanksgiving Eve, we cooked side by side for his family coming over, he lacks in nothing. Thanksgiving Day was at my mom & dad's with everyone together. 

I am rich, blessed, and highly favored. I am rich in every way that money cannot buy and blessed I am comfortable as well. I take nothing for granted. I look back and see the road that brought me here and I know, I know, I know what I have with David and I am grateful.

Nostalgia

 

Paying bills this morning and putting my utility bills in a drawer, the drawer for the first time wouldn't shut. Pulling the drawer out, I found a Valentine's card from my grandmother dated 2013, that somehow slipped under the drawer and decided to make itself known.

Nostalgia fills my mind. She always sent me cards and handwritten notes. There is something so special about a handwritten note, which truly is a lost art. Email and texts are quick and easy, but a handwritten note from my grandmother in her handwriting is special. 

She always dated her cards and I never really understood why. Now, I get it. 

Her letter shared snippets of details and at the end she wrote, "I do enjoy you coming to visit." She loved my driving to see her in the mountains. I can imagine how wonderful I would feel if I was 80 years old, like her at the time, and one of my grandchildren pulled in my driveway to spend a couple days with me. She would greet me on the front porch and laugh in delight when I pulled in. I can only imagine. 

ON THIS DAY: 10 years ago, on Facebook was a post I made:

Life flows along normally... All it takes is

one moment, one day, one phone call

and everything changes forever. *Please 

keep my Mariah in your prayers.

I cannot believe it's been 10 years today since the phone call came. Eric said he needed to talk to me, his test results are in. I remember sitting down in the chair in my living room, when he said he has ALS. I hadn't heard of it, "What is that?" He said it was terminal. 

We were one month away from the 1st anniversary of Brooke's dad's death, when this second blow hit. 

Life is but a vapor. Some seasons seem to last forever and some slip by in a blink. 

A quick conversation with Mariah acknowledging the date. It's important to me that my girls know I am aware of dates. I never want them to feel they are alone in there thoughts. I was there, too. 

One take away from today, I will begin dating my cards. How I would love for my grandbabies to find a card from me one day, many years after I am gone, and them simply remember me and smile. 

Kindness Matters

 

               

My babies waking up one by one, their sleepy faces, morning snuggles, and I had time snuggling, rocking, and talking softly to each of them. It's not that easy when they are all awake. 

It was my day off and my day completely open, which made for a perfect date date with my Sofia. She said, "mY fAvOrItE tHiNg iS hAvInG a dAtE dAy wItH yOu!" It was that moment we just got in the car and she knew she had my undivided attention, a full day ahead of us, and she reminded me that it's her date day, she's the boss, and picks when and how we do things.

Little Miss Determined knows exactly what she likes and wants to do, very clearly communicates it, no question there. I love her mind, her heart, seeing life through her eyes, and sharing life with her. 

It was a very busy, action packed day and before I took her home, we baked cookies. She told me Miss Joann, their elderly neighbor at their former house, her husband Paul died, is in heaven and Miss Joann is very sad. We baked cookies, put them on a pretty glass decorative plate, and knocked on her door.

Miss Joann was delighted to see sweet, little Sofia. In the way that an elderly person is who doesn't get much company and is lonely. We stepped in her door and she happily asked about everyone, especially our new little Claire. 

A plate full of chocolate chip cookies on a pretty glass plate, a quick visit, and we wished her Happy Thanksgiving. I love Sofia's heart and of all things we teach our children, kindness matters. 

All Our Babies Together

 

We had talked about it for a long time, what it would be like to get all our babies together... and we did.

Claire and Emmy are two weeks apart. Addison and Sofia are one year apart with the same personality, and then there is sweet Rowan who was crazy about David's Brooke. We both have a Brooke. 

Our families meeting, our own children + spouses meeting, our beloved grandbabies meeting, and our Sue's meeting, it was quite the happy birthday celebration success for David. 

Happy Birthday(s)

 

Closing on his home, fully moved in, buying a new home, a move right before Christmas, our schedules, then four birthdays within a week with several individual celebrations, our families meeting for the first time, time change, then changing our mind on the new home, life calls for a big slow down.

Wednesday was my handsome Scorpio's birthday and we went to a fabulous restaurant that is built on the side of a cliff overlooking the water. It was quiet, relaxing, and he was wow'd! Both of us tried swordfish for the first time and it was perfect slipping out of town, even if for the evening, just him and I. 

I'm glad we are not moving before Christmas. The thought of moving all his stuff again, packing up my home, it would have been Christmas chaos. We changed our minds for a couple of reasons and are at peace with it. There's no rush. 

The weather is ready to crap out and get cold, but with yesterday being 67 degrees, we planned a day off together, loaded up our bikes and biked the towpath. Being in nature and getting exercise was more than needed. He likes his new bike. Happy birthday, Love! 

Worth the Wait

It's been a really busy week. we started off the move with him in a fever and sick, then our all over the place work schedules, days worth of packing boxes, moving boxes, and finding space in my home. Movers moving the big stuff, and my relief we not only puzzled it in my house, but aesthetically it still looks good. 

The basement is packed with a mountain of things. Basically, we have 5,000 sq. feet between two homes into 2,000 sq. feet and a basement. My mom and dad's basement is filled, too. We thought downsizing to buying or building 1,800 sq. feet, open floor plan sounds ideal, perhaps after a major purge. 

We are making decisions as we go in our pace. 

I love having him here. I love knowing no matter how conflicting our schedules are, at night we are sleeping together. 

Our mornings start off laughing out loud before we are even out of bed. He is hysterically funny and lavishly showers me with affection, words of affirmations, and laughter. I never know what he is going to come up with, but he always surprises me with something wildly funny and laughing out loud before your feet hit the floor is good for the soul!

I'm happy. Really happy. He is so, so, so, so worth the wait. 

 

The Scent of a Man

 

My home is very feminine and now it smells like the scent of a man. His clothes put away, I can smell him when I walk up the stairs and in the bedroom. 

Putting away his clothes, I forgot I used to like doing a man's laundry, as odd as that sounds. I don't know why, I just do. 

All the little things are moved in, now the movers need to move the big stuff. 

My girlfriends have been calling and checking on me often. Anyone who really knows me, knows this is huge. There are many on the sidelines who must not believe I am capable of this, because I've chosen independence for so, so long. He is my best friend, he is my love, and I cannot wait to share life with him.

My house is quiet for the moment and I am content in the stillness knowing we are only days away from David being fully and officially moved in. 

He and his presence is intoxicating and I am ready!

My Heart is Twirling

 

He makes me feel beautiful and he makes me feel loved. When David walks in the door he always lights up like the Northern Lights. He lifts my hand and twirls me and always makes me feel beautiful at the end of long days. 

We've started the moving process and logic and romance fills my mind. I say logic, because he brings so much to this relationship with his family I have fallen in love with, with new friendships, and he brings some super neat kitchen stuff I don't have! ha ha He also has four living room sets we are trying to figure out on top of my two living rooms. 

What has surprised me the most is I feel I am falling deeper in love with him, which I never thought possible. I can only explain it having grandbabies... I am so completely in love with Sofia and when I felt I couldn't love any more than her, then Rowan came... then my sweet little Claire. 

My heart is growing in ways I didn't expect with this transition of our life together. We are putting our hearts, our faith, our trust, our families, our finances,  our everything all in forever. 

Thrill races through me and I am so blessed to share life with his man I am deeply in love with. 

A Different Kind of Embrace

 

I do believe it's been easy for me to trust God in my life, because I am blessed with an earthly father that I've always trusted and love dearly. I've always been a daddy's girl with a strong father who was my 1st hero. This set a place in my heart of what a man is and what love and feeling safe feels like. 

Being a quiet and strong personality, I've always known I was the stronger one in my relationships. Wanting and waiting on the sidelines for a man to step up and me ready and sliding in when I knew they couldn't. Wouldn't also means couldn't. 

It was Sweetest Day and we were standing in a beautiful home in a picturesque neighborhood. My girlfriend, our realtor, said, "Are you sure you want to make an offer?" She knows me and she saw this odd expression of I was saying yes, but a wave of  holy smokes this is a huge decision being made so quickly was more my expression. 

In all my home-buying bravado, I felt like I couldn't make the decision, and it needed to be made instantaneously because we both had to race out the door to two professional appointments. When I couldn't sort through my thoughts, I stepped into David's arms, wrapped my arms around him, and put my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around me in such a way, I knew I was loved, adored, and protected. It was the same safety as stepping into my dad's arms. An embrace that was pure trust and I said, "I need for you to make this decision." 

We made an offer on the house, signed all the agreement letter documents together, with an offer pretty good over asking price. We didn't find out until late that night it wasn't the highest offer. It's okay, it wasn't meant to be. 

Do you know what I got even more on Sweetest Day? When I came home from a wedding and walked in the door, there sat on my kitchen counter was beautiful roses and a love note he surprised me with before I could jump in the shower and he came over. 

What I got on Sweetest Day was the realization that while I know I love him, admire, respect, and trust him, I've absolutely and genuinely for the first time in my life trust him to lead our relationship and I am nestled in his arms allowed to simply be a woman. 

This isn't where I crumble my any means! I trust him because I know he loves me and respects me, and I know how much my happiness means to him. Like my heavenly Father and my earthly father, I found a man I love, trust, and absolutely respect, which makes ALL the difference. 

There you are... my soul has been looking for you.

 

The Romance of House Hunting

 

I was sharing with a colleague today how romantic it was when David and I began house hunting.

Holding hands, dreaming of our home together... so hopeful. "What do you like, honey?" "What do you like, babe?" Can you feel our excitement, our happiness? The home we find together is where our journey will begin and we decided together we would leave no stone unturned. 

Well, we've turned over every stone, we've jumped through hoops, conflicting work schedules, and raced to early morning and evening home tours to be aggravated at hope and excitement turned wild disappointment at what photographer filters can do to a home versus reality. 

I laughed and shared it all started off so romantic and hope-filled! Now I drive by a house before I tour it because the neighborhood counts, and I entirely nixed the best house we ever looked at because the road before you reached the allotment was ugly and I didn't want to drive down it everyday.

Oh my gosh [laughing] we sound like movie critics now walking through homes and post-tour. My girlfriend, our realtor, is a saint for what she does for a living. I feel like I text her every day, "HURRY!! We think we love this house!" Then, "Nope, the basement ceiling is too low."

Frequently, I'm taking Zillow sabbaticals, which last maybe 24 hours, then I'm looking to see if anything new has popped up. 

I've asked David when his closing date is, he's convinced it's in a month. This morning I requested he please ask his realtor. Let's just say it's a good thing, because he closes and has to be 100% out of his house in two weeks!! 

Hopes, dreams, and talking about life together, now has a move date!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love him and I cannot wait!

Let's just say... 

Sun's Out, Gun's Out

 

Don & Kandy asked us to do a day trip with them and what a truly success-filled day it was! It was her day and she hit 6 times then hit a Royal Flush. Cha-ching!! It was exciting for ALL of us to watch and be a part of!

They are both wonderful and I love them both. David is ALWAYS hysterical, fun, witty, and entertaining and I am wildly in love with him. It made for a fun road trip, a fabulous lunch, a weekend getaway next month, and Vegas in spring! 

In the midst of all of our super hectic schedules, waiting on the closing date of David's home, and us on the verge of merge, a play day road trip was perfect! 

Zen

 

Zen, a state of calm attentiveness in which one's actions are guided by intuition. To feel peaceful.

When there is too much commotion going on in life, I've learned I can quickly bring myself back into balance being in nature and/or a calm and quiet home.

Honestly, I wish I would have learned this at a younger age when I used to run around like my hair was on fire stirring embers of white noise that shatters peace.

After back to back weddings this weekend, church this morning, lunch and plans with Brooke, and plans with David tonight, I knew when a text came through from a girlfriend wanting to get together this afternoon, I had to pass. And, I've been wanting to see her! It was the only window of quiet I have in my day and instead of making everything happen, with a day trip tomorrow, I needed a few hours of quiet. 

The sun is shining, windows are open, and it's is a gorgeous afternoon. Perfect to do a few things I wanted to do and perfect to simply think through details without white noise being louder in my head than my own thoughts. 

God gave us a sound mind, yet people are more of an emotional, stressed out mess now more than ever. Yes life gets too busy, but be intentional about peace and quiet, too. 

[Meant to post Sunday afternoon, but tall, dark, and oh so handsome walked through the door.] 

Love is a Story Worth Telling

 

Love is a story worth telling... 

         Those moments between the words... 

                   Moments that take your breath away... 

Each moment that continues to build on one another, whether it be a tender word, a kiss that says a thousand words, or fingers that entwine. A smile that says, I'm happy to see you. An embrace I know in my heart I am loved, adored, respected, and I am home in his arms. 

These moments matter and they count. 

I never needed a man, I needed a hero. Someone who admires all the things about me, yet let's me be a woman as I was created to be. Me, I let him be the man in my life and I breathe life and love into him. 

I look at this man who makes me think about every oath I've made that I'm happier on my own and I realize he has done the unthinkable. He has made me fall in love again. 

To Buy or To Build

 

It was only 1-1/2 years ago that I stepped into the front door of my home and said, "I will be making an offer tonight!" The realtor smiled and asked if I wanted to see the rest of the house. I knew this home was it the moment I stepped in the door. 

Much time and energy was poured into creating a home that perfectly reflects me and as I look around, I am so proud of the home I created. This has become an oasis for me and others. My Mariah who likes to have escape days in my pool, the patio, the clawfoot tub, and when she longs for peace and quiet. For my parents who swim here most, my Sofia who laughs and frolics in the pool and loves her date days with me, my girlfriends who choose to come here for our get togethers versus going out, and David's sweet granddaughter, Addison, who I continue to hear, shares this is the most beautiful house she's ever seen. According to her dad, she tells everyone! 

This life transition has been so blessed and I am so, so grateful. 

But, life is a constant transition and now the question is.... to buy or to build?

David and I have toured home after home for a couple months. Life is so busy and our downtime has been touring homes for sale, going through model homes, and searching for property. We are both pretty set on custom-building our perfect home and that vision is coming together beautifully putting our favorite parts of different model homes together. The next step is to meet with a couple different builders we are in conversations with. We know the property location that is our #1 and I am jumping up and down happy! We continue to leave all options on the table, because honestly, the longer we look and tour, the more firm we are in our desire to build. 

David just put his home on the market and received a full offer last night!!  

When I think about our life that is about to come together, I think about how it feels to slide my hand in his and to step in his arms. He is my home. I think about how warm and loving it is him stepping into my family who loves him and how warm and loving his family and friends are with me. My gosh, I adore his ex-wife and her mom and dad! All of us sitting together for his girls games, hugs, and conversations. They are wonderful people. 

When I think about our life coming together, I know he is my home within what ever walls we reside. 

Lost in the Dream of Us

 

I couldn't imagine not experiencing the four seasons. Do you know what's better than a fun, hot and sultry summer? The sunshine of September with cooler air, when windows can be kept open and although it's beginning to get dark earlier, it means slowing down some, and get ready for the trees to burst into autumn color. 

Yesterday evening we bought a bottle of wine, grabbed two glasses and went to sit down by the water. The sun was bright and warm and as it began to set, it was perfect out. I'm so glad we went. 

He is my best friend. Our journey getting to know one another has really been at a beautiful pace and there is something so peaceful falling in love with the right person. He is everything to me, yet he is more than I had hoped for. I love him, I am in love with him, and he's my best friend. 

There is something powerful when two hearts can trust one another and I trust him with everything I am and have. Holding his hand and sharing my heart in a safe place of always love and respect, I don't take that for granted. He is kind and caring, he is romantic and funny, he has a true warriors heart. Yet, he sings my love languages and always makes me feel beautiful and well loved. I love life with him and I am better with him. I was happy before him, now my cup overflows because he fills that special place in my heart where he was meant to be. 

The windows are open and the cool air is a welcome relief on a quiet September evening. 

Me, I am lost in the dream of us. 

An Odd Realization

 

As odd as it sounds to say, really because it surprised me when the realization hit, David & I have never turned on the television when we've been together for over a year!

It was never a plan, I guess it's because we are always talking, engaged in activity, or plans. So, we actually made a plan to have a low-key evening, select a movie off of Netflix, and snuggle on the couch together. It was cozy and I confess I fell asleep a couples times cuddled in his arms. 

It is such an easy form of entertainment, but a part of me loves that we are more active together. Perhaps this winter we will slow down some. 

An After Hours Private Coffee Experience

 

I couldn't wait! A fabulous coffee shop opened near me and I had an idea, asked the owner & coffee connoisseur, and he created the first ever, an after hours private coffee experience!

We were there for four hours tasting whatever we wanted, teaching us the coffee bean process, allowing us to roast our own coffee beans, bag them and keep them, and teaching us the flavors of coffee and how unique they taste brewed different ways. 

The evening was far beyond what I expected and absolutely perfect for a private party! 

Music playing in the background, full access to the entire coffee shop, we were astonished the process a coffee bean goes through and the art and science behind it. I don't think I will ever think of coffee the same way. 

Jeremy said it was one of the best gifts he's ever received and I couldn't have been happier to create this experience for him. He is a wonderful husband to my daughter and an excellent daddy to my grandbabies. 

Mariah loved the private experience, too. There was a moment during their birthdays that blessed my heart. David & I text Mariah happy birthday messages (of course I Facebook messaged, and Facetimed... I like to cover all the bases!) and Mariah replied to David, "I am so thankful you have  entered ALL of our lives! The missing piece to our family! <3 

David told me last night Mariah text him last week to see if he could play on their co-ed softball team, that they needed another player. He couldn't because he was working, but I cannot say how happy it makes this momma's heart BOTH my daughters love him. I needed him and perhaps they needed him to for me, too. 

We made a friend that night with the owner, we all admired, and we appreciated the detail he went into to share his passion. 

Happy birthday, Mariah & Jeremy, I love you both!