7 Quick Takes

The blog has been pretty quiet recently. I've found lots of things I'd love to write about, but I just haven't had time. Since we returned from our anniversary getaway, life has been crazy. And next week looks even crazier. So I had to take a break from all the craziness today and share my seven quick takes. I apologize in advance for the photo bombing that's about to begin.

1. Matthew has outgrown his toddler bed, and Noah has almost outgrown his crib. So we had some major decisions to make about the bed situation. We plan on moving in the spring and buying a house (God willing), but until then, we will need to set them up in this house for sleeping. After a lot of research and discussion, we decided to go with bunk beds. This means that Noah will completely skip the toddler bed phase, and I am okay with this. We found a black wooden bunk bed frame from IKEA, and we will add a bed rail to the bottom bunk to keep Noah safe. I had so much fun ordering the kids bedding this week, and I have been picking up wall decorations when I see them to redecorate their new room. Goodbye, Elmo and Pooh. Hello, Steelers! :) It is going to be great. :)

 

2. Matthew's first preschool pictures came in this week, and they are adorable! I love the group picture the most. The picture is adorable and so funny. I love how Mary is behind them all. It's awesome.

3. I am obsessed with Sara Evans' new video, Slow Me Down. She is by far my all time favorite singer. I have met her twice and seen her in concert numerous times. She is one of my idols, and it has been three years since she put out new music! That's too long. Take a second to check it out. You will be happy you did. :)

Me and Sara Evans in August of 2004....wow I'm old!

4. I made some time this week to bake for my dad's company's Cash Bash fundraiser tonight. They do a dinner buffet and dessert table and are always looking for donations for the dessert table. Since I love to bake and inherited my grandma Kay's baking skills, I always volunteer. This time around, I came up with the cupcakes below. Seriously, they were soooooo easy to make. And they're cute. 

5. Brian gave me the sweetest, most romantic anniversary card ever last week. Most of it will remain private, but I just had to share the fact that inside the card he taped two tickets to a football game we had attended 6 days into our relationship. Later that day, we prayed together for the first time and later that night, we said I love you for the first time. It is a day I will never forget....and apparently Brian didn't either. I didn't even know he still had the tickets. It really made my anniversary. 

6. Matthew gave one of his closest friends a birthday gift this week. He loved the entire process of gift giving. He had such a blast picking out the present, wrapping it, decorating the card, and then finally presenting the gift. It was so cute to see how much joy he had in the whole process. At the end, he totally attacked his friend with a hug. He's a little more of a hug person than she is apparently, but it was still cute. If only arranged marriages were still the in thing....

7. This picture pretty much sums it all up. This is my goal at the end of the day. I fail almost daily and sometimes hourly at doing this, but I am trying. And I saw this graphic on facebook a few days ago and just really liked it. I think we will be using it in our talk on NFP. It says it better than I ever could.

Have a fantastic last weekend of October! Time is truly flying by! :)

Our Anniversary Getaway

This past Friday, Brian and I left town around 1pm and headed up the Wine Trails just north and East of Erie in North East, PA. We didn't return until around 2pm on Sunday, and we had the most incredible time together. It was so peaceful and romantic and just the perfect way to celebrate five years of marriage. It is so easy in our crazy, hectic weeks to go days without really having a full conversation. Our lives are filled with quick kisses and a "make sure you do ____ for the kids," in between jobs and activities. It was a great delight to have 48 consecutive hours together alone. We spent a good deal of money to make this weekend happen, and we would do it again in a heartbeat. (We may already be discussing ideas for our ten year anniversary.) We know that weekends like the one we just experienced are rare, but also so important. And we know they will be easier to make happen once the kids get older. For now, we are holding tight to our great memories from the past weekend. Here are some pictures from our awesome weekend. :)

I started off the weekend early by sending Brian a balloon bouquet at work the Thursday before our anniversary. Note to every female coworker he has: He is totally taken. ;) lol

The cute computer background I found waiting for me when I got home from work on Thursday night. :)

The gorgeous, long stem roses Brian had waiting for me in our suite at the B&B. I love pink roses!

All dressed up for a fancy dinner in my new, smaller dress from White House Black Market. Thanks, Christi, for helping me get into shape!

After dinner selfie on the night of our anniversary. Filet Mignon is delicious!

Our king sized bedroom with a built in fireplace. :)

Whirlpool bathtub. :) We had a sitting room, too, but I forgot to photograph that.

Wine sippy cups do exist. :)

Best selfie of the whole trip. Wine tasting is fun. :)

Our haul from the wineries. (We also bought two additional bottles as gifts.) I think we visited about a dozen wineries total.

All of the cards and gifts from our fifth anniversary. We are very blessed.

We both agreed that we really do love being married. Our favorite part? The fact that we can dress it up like we did for our anniversary dinner but then run home and get in our sweats faster than you can count to ten so we can be "comfy." We also both enjoy the fact that we love sports and just enjoy sitting back and watching college football on Saturdays when the kids are napping. And the biggest thing we love? The fact that we share our Catholic faith. That's pretty darn cool.

I Could Never Love You Enough

Five years ago today, I married my best friend and the love of my life. So much has happened in those past five years, and we have lived every part of our vows. We brought two beautiful sons into the world, and said goodbye to one beautiful daughter. We've laughed and cried and seen the best and the worst in each other. Through it all, I wouldn't want to have anyone else by side besides Brian. He is kind, patient, understanding, caring, loving, compassionate, faithful, and the list could go on and on. I am beyond blessed and so thankful that he chose me to be his wife and partner throughout this journey of life. When I envisioned my husband, I never imagined someone so perfect and so right for me. He is my better half and together we are complete. Without him, I couldn't be the woman or mother I am today. I love him beyond belief and have fallen more in love with him each day since our wedding. I cannot wait to spend many, many more anniversaries with him by my side. Today, I am beyond blessed. God is good. I really Could Never Love You Enough. :)

I heard so many times "You've got to take love slow"
Well, that's just something said by unsure people who don't know
What it's like to fall when you fall with all your heart
Wantin' to be together every second you're apart
Must not know what it feels like to feel like this
Longing for each other moment, waiting for each kiss

I could never love you enough

I could never hold you too tight

Never give too much of my heart

Never spend too many nights

With my arms just wrapped around you

And a million stars above

Baby, I still can't believe I found you

I could never love you, never love you enough

 

Seems like the time we're given always goes too fast

Before I know it with you girl the future is the past

Seconds turn to hours, the hours turn to days

It seems like you're always leavin' when I'm wantin' you to stay

Cause I could spend the rest of my life with you mine

And still it'd only be like a few seconds in time

 

I could never love you enough

I could never hold you too tight

Never give too much of my heart

Never spend too many nights

With my arms wrapped around you

Underneath a million stars above

Baby, I still can't believe I found you

I could never love you, never love you enough

Five Faves: The Hubby Edition

I got to thinking today that my husband is pretty awesome. And I thought I'd share why. So here are my five favorite things about my hubby:

1. He is beyond patient and always is there to listen to me.

Yesterday, after a very long day at work and long evening with the kids, we were finally settled into our normal seats for the evening. Me on the couch and him in the recliner. Dance Moms was playing on the DVR and Leslie had just had the mother of all tantrums. And at that moment, I just felt like I had to unload every fear and worry and sadness that I was feeling at the current moment. Instead of rolling his eyes and brushing me off, Dance Moms got paused and Brian listened to me unload for a good half hour. And that's not out of the norm. I know I can always count on him whenever I need a friend or a shoulder to cry on.

2. He loves our kids to pieces and is an incredible, hands on Dad.

He is most happy playing with our boys and teaching them things. He LOVES spending time with them and cannot get to them fast enough once work is over for the day. He never even hesitates when I ask him to watch them solo because I need to work or just need some "me" time. He is more than happy to do his fair share and goes above and beyond. Seeing him with our kids is such a joy.

3. He loves me even though I'm not the life of the party.

I have a fairly melancholic personality. I tend to see the glass half empty most days, and although internally I usually feel some sort of being content, I'm not one to simply just run around smiling. In fact, super bubbly people usually annoy me. (If you are reading this and we are friends, clearly I do not consider you super bubbly. So no need to take offense. :) If we aren't friends and you feel you are super bubbly, I apologize, but in real life, I'd probably annoy you, too!) But Brian loves me anyway. He loves seeing me laugh and smile and enjoy life, too, but at the end of the day, he accepts me for the personality I have and doesn't wish me to be more outgoing or happier. He's okay with who I am and doesn't want me to be anything more.

4. He is holy and devout and strives daily to live his faith.

Brian calls me on to be a better Catholic. He takes the Church's teachings seriously and loves passing on those teachings to our children. We talk about the Church and faith openly in our house and enjoy discussing theological issues on our own level. And he prays. Lots. I don't where he finds the time, but he does. Every morning he tells the boys that he will, "pray for them" during the day. It is so wonderful to be married to such a strong man of God. His example calls me on to do better and pray more and become more faithful. We are both blessed to be able to put God at the center of marriage.

5. He works hard every single day to provide for our family.

Brian goes off to work every day so that the boys and I can stay home together. At one point he even worked two jobs so that we could make ends meet. And he doesn't complain about it. He works long hours most days, and then comes home and works some more being a husband and father. He is proud to be putting a roof over our heads and food on our table and feels that's his duty as the man of the house. His only regret is that he doesn't provide more for us. How amazing. 

I love my husband a lot, for many reasons. The above are just five of my favorites. I am beyond blessed that he chose me to share this journey of life with, and the boys and I am grateful to have him in our lives. I honestly don't know what we'd do without him. He's a pretty special guy, for sure. :)