Project 366

Happy New Year! 

A while back I said I was coming back to the blog world. I really meant it at the time but I've found it somewhat difficult to get back into the swing of blogging again. I have been posting some on Millie's blog but not routinely. I plan to get better at the blog thing. Really, I do.

For at least three or four years I've wanted to participate in a picture-a-day type of project. For one reason or another I talked myself out of it, though. That negative self talk can really do a number on me and I fall victim to it ALL the time. I know I'm not that great of a photographer. I am not particularly creative. I fail in areas of being disciplined. Blah. Blah. Blah. 

I decided to set aside my thoughts of self-doubt and go for it. There was absolutely NOTHING to lose. Who knows? Maybe I'll improve my skills. Maybe I'll find that creative bone in my body I've been searching for. Maybe I'll employ some self-discipline, have some fun in the process, and realize it is not meant to be a burden, a contest, or area of stress. Crazy, I know.

I've been posting my pictures on Facebook but then I thought I should post them on my blog for better record keeping.

I present the first installment, days 1-9.

Thanks for reading!

1/366:

Happy 2012 from the Osborn Family!

2/366:

"Liberty" the pardoned National Thanksgiving Turkey hanging around Mount Vernon.

3/366:

Lindy baking cookies with Grandma. My girl loves the gift of time.

 4/366:

Why yes. You may pinch my cheeks.

5/366:

A (yummy) impulse purchase.

6/366:

And I was worried I would run out of material for this project.

7/366:

Boo for taking down Christmas.

8/366:

Sweet sisters.

9/366:

A fast, beautiful snow JUST popped up! Not the best picture but so excited to see the beautiful white stuff falling!

I'm coming back...

I have decided that after a very long, unplanned hiatus to return to blogging in some form or fashion.  Initially, it won't be here.  It will be here.  We're FINALLY about to bring home our long-awaited daughter, Millie.  We hope to blog about our adventures while we're in China.  Then maybe I'll condense the three blogs to one.  I have heard through the grapevine that things don't really get easier when you add another child to a family, so I'm thinking I need to simplify if I'm ever going to be able to do this again.

So, if you'd like to follow along as we go to China, please visit us at Make Room for Mei Mei!

It's for the children

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  Matthew 25:40

Don and I have a friendly little joke we refer to when we spend money or time for a cause that is somehow related to children.  For example, when Don goes and participates in a golf tourney on a Saturday morning or afternoon instead of attending to the Honey-Do list, he'll say, "It's for the children..."  How do you say, "no" and pout about that when you know children are being helped?  When 22 boxes of thin mints enter my house on an annual basis, we look at each other and our chocolate-covered teeth and proudly proclaim the hit we're taking to our non-existent diets is--say it with me--"for the children."  When I would go into some crazy bidding war on a silent auction for a local Christian school,  I'd remind him it was "for the children."  Long before we had a child, we had a soft spot for helping children.  When we found out our Lindy had been taken care of so well in foster care because of VERY generous donations through FTIA, we knew we'd always continue to help children...

I'd like to let you know about a way YOU can help the children, more specifically the orphans, of China.  My dear friend and fellow adoptive mother, Michelle, is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog to promote the 2011 Red Threads calendar.  EVERY penny raised from the sales of these calendars will go to charities which support children in China such as Half the Sky and Love Without Boundaries.  I might add that Michelle is an incredible photographer and was the photo editor of the calendar, so I'm sure it is beautiful.  I missed the deadline to get Lindy's mug in the pages but I know there are several other cuties represented!  PLUS, it is also filled with authentic Chinese recipes...

I know times are tight but please consider helping this wonderful cause either by promoting the calendar and/or purchasing a calendar or six.   Go to her blog and see all the fabulous prizes and many ways to win.

And remember, "it's for the children."

What do you say when you just don't know what to say?

I'm at a loss for words.  Really.  I am.  In the past WEEK alone I have had:

• A long-time high school friend lose her beloved father.
• A very close sister and friend lose her last living grandmother.  She experienced the loss of her other grandmother just a few months ago.
• One of my best friends hit the SURPRISE emotional high of thinking by Friday she might receive a long-awaited, unexpected referral of a son from Nepal--a country that has been at a complete standstill with referrals--only to find out on Friday that not only was she not getting a referral but the United States had suspended any further adoptions from Nepal. 
• A conversation with a friend who is facing the second year of her husband's unemployment.
• A friend and amazing adoption encourager come home with a precious baby who is now wondering if she'll be able to be his mommy because of complexities of the case.

I'm sure I'm leaving off others as I know of so many others suffering and struggling.  These were the current situations that burned the most in my heart and mind and really left me feeling so frustrated and awful and helpless and sleepless.


I so want(ed) to provide hope and encouragement and strength.  I want(ed) to help.  I want(ed) to impart wisdom and the truths I know to be true and yet I feel like I haven't done that at all.  I don't want to sound trite or insincere.  My heart feels so broken for them and, sadly, I. just. don't. know. what. to. say.  IS, "I'm sorry," "I'm here for you," and "I'm praying for you" enough? 

What do YOU say when you just don't know what to say? 

Menu Plan Monday

Yes, we still eat around here.  Yes, I still do a menu.  However, I just haven't been so diligent in sharing.

Here's what's cooking this week:

Monday-Leftovers for Don and Lindy from my birthday dinner.  Don't feel sorry for them.  They'll be having yummy pecan-crusted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled zucchini, and some grilled pesto chicken flatbread.  Yum!  Meanwhile, I will be dining at Tiago's with my "big sisters."  Here we are last year celebrating in Port Aransas.  Notice the big pile of goodness in front of me!

Tueday-BBQ chicken and cheddar sandwiches.  I thought they sounded yummy and who doesn't love the combo of chicken, bacon, bbq sauce, and cheddar cheese?  I could do without the bun and am not quite sure how I'll eat it yet.  I'll make sure Lindy sets the table with extra napkins!   I think a nice side of mixed berries and some carrots and celery will bring some color and lots of vitamins.

Wednesday-Out before bible study...

Thursday-Pierogies, broccoli, and salad.  If you don't know what a pierogi is, I am not sure I'm totally qualified to tell you.  They are dumplings typically filled with mashed potatoes, onion, and cheese.  They are a staple among Czechs and Polish people, from what I understand.  I was first introduced to pierogies while I was at East Stroudsburg University.  I had a friend whose mom would make her homemade pierogies for her to bring to school; a total labor of love!  They were incredible--especially drenched in butter!  If I'm not mistaken, I can remember having them at the "caf" every once in a while, too.  Anyway, they are wonderful.  I have found a frozen brand that really is very good and the closest thing I'll be getting to homemade.  My body can't handle drenching them in butter like it used to.  Okay, honestly, it really never could handle it!  I pan fry them in minimal (hardly any) olive oil with garlic and they are really quite tasty!

Friday-It is the most wonderful time of the year!!!  Nope.  Not back-to-school.  Nope.  Not Christmas.  It is the $19.95 Party for Two at this restaurant all month--Two soups or salads, one medium SPECIALTY pizza, and a pizookie.  It really is a superb deal for our little family of three, as the pizza alone is usually more than the whole deal.  For $20 we get about six meals (three people eating twice--not three people eating six times) off the pizza.  We order the Mediterranean and have never been disappointed.  The p*izookie is incredible!  We order the Gh*irardelli chocolate variety.  Pure bliss on a plate (and my thighs).  Friday Night Family Pizza night is ON!

Saturday-Grilled chicken with basil lemon pasta and some yet-to-be determined veggie and salad on the side.  Don and I like to cook together but sometimes a lot of the time we get lazy and don't plan for it.  I think it is time for us to be elbow to elbow this Saturday using up some of that basil growing on our back porch.


Sunday-I'm banking on there being some leftovers!


I'm suddenly hungry!  I think my multi-grain Cheeri*s have worn off...

What's on your table this week?  If you like to peruse recipes pop over here to see what 100s of other people are eating this week!  Have a healthy snack first, though, because you're going to get hungry!

Monday miscellany

A while back my friend Sara posted about what she was reading this summer. I was happy to see that I'm not the only person with a few reads going at once.

I love to read but sometimes I go through EXTREME dry spells and don't read for months on end and then other times I read like I'm never going to be able to again.

I thought I'd check with my beloved readers to see what is on your nightstand and share with you what is on mine.

Here's what I've been reading:


I actually finished The Help a couple of weeks ago. It is a very powerful story set in the deep south in the early 1960s. I really shudder when I think about what was going on just a few years before I was born. I like to think that things have dramatically changed and shudder to think that maybe they haven't...

I'm still reading this:


My friend, Elissa, loaned me the book Going Public in May after we had talked about public school versus private school one day over breakfast. At the very beginning of 2010, I broached the subject of sending Lindy to a private Christian school with Don. (Is that sentence structure all screwy?) He was surprised by the topic as much as I was. I think the realization that in Fall 2010 Lindy would be starting school really hit. Suddenly I was feeling unprepared and worried about what all Lindy would be encountering in a public school environment. I was also concerned we'd be losing some influence, too, and possibly be facing a lot more competition.

After discussion, prayer, and consideration, we decided to send Lindy to public school. We had not been financially preparing for the expense of private school and we just couldn't do it. Also, as we were thinking about it, I heard a quote and it really resonated with me. Since then, I've heard it several times. I believe the quote comes from Colt McCoy's father and it goes something like this, "Our job as parents is not to prepare the path for our children but to prepare our children for the path."

At that moment, I realized I was really concentrating more on the path and not her heart. PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG...I am not saying that if you choose to send your kids to private school or homeschool them that you are not doing your job or that you have it all wrong. I don't feel that way at all. Really. The parents I know who have chosen those options are VERY concerned about their kiddos and are doing an excellent job parenting. So, please don't think I am criticizing or saying one is better than the other. What that quote reminded me is that no matter what, where, or who, we needed to be stepping it up and preparing her heart for that path and capitalizing on teachable moments.

The book Going Public has provided some great thoughts, ideas, scriptures, and encouragement as Lindy begins a new chapter in her life three weeks from TODAY!!!

Last but NOT least, I've been reading a less pretty version of this:


Here's a confession. I'm undisciplined. I'm a slacker. I'm a wannabe sitting on the sidelines. I can't even think of a time--recently--that I've set a goal and accomplished it. I am busy but I'm not accomplishing what I want to accomplish. I'm not being self-depracating; I'm being honest. Last year at some point I was whining to Don about how he was responsible for my weight gain and lack of exercise and he said, "So what you are saying is you want ME to be your self-discipline..." Um, yeah, basically...By the way, ouch...

With all that said folks, I set a goal. Yep! I set a goal to read the entire bible this year. I've started and stopped in the past but this year I'm going to do it. I am. Really. Sadly, I am on June 3rd and by my calculations that puts me at about two months behind. However, I WILL do this. I am not doing this with anyone else. I'm being my own self-discipline. I have no one to blame but MYSELF if I don't achieve my goal, which, by the way, I'm going to achieve. I felt like it was a more important goal than all the other quasi-goals I have floating around in my head.

I have been amazed at all I've been learning and all I had forgotten. I've been trying to read for comprehension and not just gloss over things. I'll admit it is rough at times. This approach offers some of the Old Testament, some of the New Testament, a Psalm, and then a verse from Proverbs each day. That breaks it up nicely in my opinion. God in his INFINITE wisdom gives me some great nugget for me to savor with each reading!

Along with catching up in the above-mentioned, next up for me is Crazy Love:


I'd love to hear what you've been reading or what you're wanting to read.

Happy Monday! Hope it is a great week.

Thankful Thursday

"Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life. "

Robert Louis Stevenson

No pictures. Just a quick list. Not sure when I did one of these last. It has been a while, that's for sure.

I have been thinking about things I'm thankful for and here are some that I'd like to share today:

I am thankful for health insurance, easy access to doctors and medical care, and people who devote their life to medical care and research. I have been to the doctor three times in one week (twice was adoption related and once was not) and I can't imagine not having access to the care I need. I never want to take that for granted.

Some of you may know I currently have shingles. I am thankful I got to the doctor fairly early and didn't wait like I'm prone to doing (Mrs. It's Not a Tumor). They are very painful and uncomfortable but I am managing fine thanks to medicine, as referenced above. I always figured I would get them but thought it might be a little later in life. Hopefully, this will be the one and only time. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me I've been a bit too stressed????

I am thankful for Lindy's honesty. Lindy has her flaws--like we all do--but I have always been impressed with and appreciative of her truthfulness. Last night she was a constant flow of true, from-the-heart discussion about Kindergarten. She shared her anxieties and worries and I loved that she felt comfortable to share what was on her heart and mind. I pray we'll always be able to keep the lines of communication open--even when it comes to the tough stuff. I also pray I'll have the wisdom to parent her.

I am thankful for the little, teeny, tiny glimmer of hope I got yesterday from our adoption agency. Even if we found out today who mei mei is (which we aren't), we would still be several months away from bringing her home. However, yesterday made it seem not. quite. as. far. I've truly been without hope for a really LONG time. I definitely relate to the first half of this verse: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12.

And on a little more of a shallow note, I'm thankful I FINALLY found an AFFORDABLE pair of RED mary janes for Lindy Li. I mean we're supposed to rejoice in ALL things, right? Well, I'm rejoicing over these shoes! She hasn't had a pair since she grew out of her little red squeaky shoes we bought in Guangzhou and I have been trying to find some ever since. I won a pair of See Kai Run shoes once as part of a giveaway and chose a pink pair instead of a red pair. I finally found this pair on Land's End for $14.99 and free shipping. They are leather and the perfect red! I will admit I ordered the next size up, too. I am a bargain shopper and do my best to stock up on things, too. They are kind of a casual mary jane but they'll still work for dress up, too.

What are you thankful for today?

Black and White Wednesday

Watermelon, everywhere,
On my face and on my hair.
On my fingers, on my toes,
Watermelon on my nose.

This may SEEM funny,
But it's best in my tummy!

This may LOOK funny,
But it's best, in my tummy!

~~Author unknown~~

Oh the bliss of REALLY, COMPLETELY, THOROUGHLY enjoying something from start to finish. How often we take the little pleasures in life for granted. Do you have something you thoroughly enjoy? I'd love to hear about it!

Now I need to get back to trying to catch up on Lindy's blog and her sister's, too.

Come visit if you have the time.

If you REALLY want to see some amazing black and whites, click on the link below.

Crazy Love

Last Saturday night my long-awaited Valentine's Day present from Don came to fruition. We got a babysitter, went to a nice dinner at Piatti, and headed to the AT&T Center to see Michael Buble' in concert. Five months is a LONG time for a girl to have to wait for a present but I've had more than one time in my life where I've had to wait, so I consider myself an old pro when it comes to the waiting game. Bitter, party of one, your table is ready.

Sorry. I digress. I had our babysitter take a couple pictures before we left the house because I'm trying to get better at remembering to have pictures of us taken together...

I changed them to black and white and if you saw the combo we had on in color, trust me, you'd thank me for it! Don used to sneakily color-coordinate his outfits with me before church or other occasions when we'd be seen together. He didn't do that on Saturday and we CUH-LASHED in a big way! My apologies to anyone who sustained a headache or psychadelic reaction from seeing my zebra print dress, red accessories and wedge sandals (I packed flip flops in my purse to walk back to the car in because I'm OLD and can't do heels), and Don's CONSTRUCTION zone orange shirt all together. Oh yeah, did I mention I forgot to change out of my lavender and white print handbag? Yikes, where's Stacy and Clinton when you need them? However, the name of Michael's tour is Crazy Love and boy did we fit that! Please don't get me wrong...I LOVE Don because he is not AFRAID to wear color.

We had a great dinner and on the way to the concert I started messing around with my little, lightweight, old point and shoot digi camera.




You can't tell we don't get out much can you? I'm pretty sure I saw some of my spinach salad on one of the pictures of me. Oops...Like I said, we're sooo crazy...

It was a great evening! The opening act was a group called Naturally 7 and let's just say they've mastered the art of beatboxing. I was going to call them an a cappella group but that really means without the sound of instruments and this group made ALL the instrument sounds WITH their voices, so I guess beatboxing is a closer description or perhaps a vocal band. It was super entertaining and they were very talented.

Then Mr. Buble' came on and he is wonderful live and in concert! I am not an avid concert-goer but I know that live and recorded don't always sound the same. However, he sounded incredible live. I was really surprised by how talkative and personable he was and how much he interacted with the audience. I am sorry I don't have any pictures to share of the adorable Canadian swooner live and in concert. I assumed cameras wouldn't be allowed, so I didn't bring mine. For the first time, I snapped a couple of pictures and video clips on my phone--a feature I didn't know I had--and now I don't know what to do to get it off of there...(Seriously, we don't spend a lot of money on technology and gadgets in our household!) Anyway, I'm pretty sure any picture I took on my camera looks like the psychadelic blur of our previously referenced outfits in color...But his website was so kind to let me download these.



I know I may be over emphasizing how dreamy he is but, honestly, I really was just glad to be on a nice, fun date with my hubby and am truly thankful for his thoughtful present to me AND the means to be able to have a night out on the town together.

Warning: Shameless self-promotion...I'm trying to catch up on Lindy's blog and will be blogging a thing or two on mei mei's soon. Check them out--if you want--for more news about what's going on with our family.

Pictures from Port A

We just got back yesterday evening from a brief stint at the beach with Don's youngest sister, Anne, and her family. Lindy was super thrilled to spend time with her Colorado girl cousins--Livi (5) and Sadie (3)--and we were thankful to have the chance to visit with Anne and Robbie.



It was great to get away from the to-do list and live without a set agenda for a few days. Well, I guess beach time, pool time, and putting away seafood technically are agenda items but you get my drift...

Didn't you get the memo, Don? NO to-do lists or agendas!

There! That's more like it. Some people PAY big money for a mud exfoliation treatment. It is much better FREE and at the hands of preschoolers.

I've been super frustrated with my photography skills (or lack, thereof) lately. I see more and more pictures I want to take and perfect backdrops but I'm not successful at seizing the moment or the driver seems less than thrilled to stop and let me out to explore. I also really, really, really wonder how one takes great beach shots without trashing one's equipment?! Perhaps I should have asked that BEFORE my trip and not after. Between the severe humidity, wind, sand, and splashes, I was a nervous wreck and probably took fewer shots at the beach than ever. I also couldn't see a thing through the viewfinder!

Anyway, for those of you who HAVE been successful at capturing beach shots, I'd love to know how you lovingly protect your equipment and get it to cooperate, as well as get so many wonderful shots despite the elements. (Mine fogs because of the humidity!) Is the key just to keep shooting and not spend so much time trying to search out the angle, settings, etc.??? I decided on day one, though, that I wasn't going to dwell on it and pout about it. Instead, I'm just choosing to be thankful for the memories I captured, not critique them too heavily, and keep trying to get better.

Uncle Robbie and the girls

A beautiful sunset!

A night at the WINDY ballfield! Life is sweet in the cheap seats.

Walk softly, but carry a big shovel!

It's a good look for her, don't you think?

Sadie might just be on a future cover of Sp*rt's Illustrated...

Anne, this TOTALLY counts as working out and lifting!

One word for all you future beach goers--REAPPLY!

No words...
...needed...
...about my loves...

Excited about a treasure--a dead crab.

I am kind of excited to have a TIMELY blog post, for once. Now back to my piles of laundry...Oy vay.

Hope you are having a fun and festive summer!

BTW, blogger, why are you italicizing this when I'm asking you not to?!

What makes you cry?

"A woman wears her tears like jewelry." ~Author Unknown

I am deviating from all the blog posts I have told myself I'll post and writing something completely random...

I have a confession. I am a cryer. There. I've said it. I am a genuine, true blue "bawl bag." For the most part, I don't think I'm weak, extremely fragile, overly sensitive, or totally irrational. I have my moments but I did include a caveat at the beginning of the last sentence! I'm just VERY affected and moved to the point of tears about LOTS of things. Just this week I have cried at a few things--including hearing my Chinese born daughter singing, "Red, White, & Blue" the song they sang in preschool about the flag and hearing her chant "I am Proud to be an American and live in the USA." I cried as I watched Charlotte's Web--not just because of the story but because of the beautiful, breathtaking scenery, and the one that surprised me the most was boo-hooing at an OnStar commercial. I've lost it at Hallmark commercials and phone commercials but I was genuinely stunned when I found myself crying as I listened to a commercial of a panic-stricken mother calling OnStar to let them know she had locked her keys in her car with her young child. Some people could be all judgmental and think she was an idiot but as a mom I know things can happen in a blink of an eye and my heart hurt for that mom, so I cried for her. Subsequently, Don and Lindy both looked at me like I was a lunatic.

So I got to thinking about some of the times I cry and thought I'd fly my flag and list a few:

• I cry EVERY time I watch Sleepless in Seattle.
• Along with that, I cry at Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride 2 and MANY other movies--still.
• I cry at Taylor Swift's song "Love Story." Ha! You thought it was going to be "Teardrops on my Guitar!"
  
• I cry when I read I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, Shaoey & Dot:Bug Meets Bundle, and Love You Forever. Show me that blue cover of Love You Forever at a baby shower and I'm already digging through my purse searching for a tissue.
  
• I often choke back mega tears during an airplane landing (somewhere else other than coming home). Not really sure why. I think it is either because I am about to see a loved one I haven't seen in a while or I am usually going somewhere with some beautiful scenery and I'm overcome by seeing God's handiwork such as the mountains, ocean, lush greenery, fall colors...
• I cry when I see a bride.
• I cry when I hear beautiful and powerful music.
  
• I cry when we sing "10, 000 Angels," "Precious Memories," and "Because He Lives" at church because they really stir my emotions. The first song paints such a vivid account in my mind of Jesus' death that I really feel like I am there witnessing the horrific event that has given me life.
  
• I cry when I see dead animals. I don't necessarily lose it when I see the mushed up armadillos or possums but a dead deer, dog, or cat makes me sad to the point of tears.
• I cry each time I see pictures/videos of adoptive parents meeting their child for the first time.
• I cry when I watch a live production of something. It isn't always because what I'm watching is sad, really powerful, or life-changing. I think I'm in a heightened emotional state of excitement and awe over the talent I'm witnessing and then I'm overcome. It happened during Mary Poppins last year and Disney on Ice this year. Tinker Bell, really??? Strange? Wait. Don't answer that.
  
• I cry when I see the flag, a military ceremony, and military homecomings.
• I cry at goodbyes.
  
• I cry when I see beautiful things and think about people who are beautiful to me.
  
• I cry when I think about my memories of tree-lined streets during autumn. The colors, smells, sounds are so vivid in my mind. I guess I always loved that scene because I even wrote a poem about that very thing when I was in 8th grade.
• I cry when I think about how kind and generous so many people have been in my life and the many times I've received true sacrificial love.
  
• I cry when I try to do something and fail. In school it was math. In adulthood it has usually been a craft or kitchen blunder. I have a yummy, to die for chocolate chip shortbread cookie recipe that my friend Megan gave me years ago. I still haven't mastered that recipe but one day Don won't find me in the corner of the kitchen curled up in a ball crying and all my friends will feast on proper butter-filled shortbread that isn't in shards.
  
• I cry when I think about the hardships people have had to endure and continue to endure and I cry more when I realize that I'm so blessed but don't do a banner job showing God and people around me that I'm thankful.
• I think, therefore I cry. If I let my mind wander too far about a lot of things, I cry.

There have been times I've been kind of ashamed at how easy it is for me to cry. Through the years, though, I've learned that is how God constructed me and I'm okay with it. It is kind of part of who I am. I try not to judge people who don't cry a lot and hope that those people don't judge me.

Now that my remaining 3.2 readers are scrambling to remove this blog from their blog list or unfriend me on Facebook, I'm kind of curious to hear what makes you cry...

Sealed with a salty kiss~
L.

Black and White Wednesday

She's Got A Way--Billy Joel

She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her
She's got a way of pleasin'
I don't know why it is
But there doesn't have to be a reason anywhere

She's got a smile that heals me
I don't know what it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She's got a way of talkin'
I don't know why it is
But it lifts me up when we are walkin' anywhere

She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around
She's got a way of showin'
How I make her feel
And I find the strength to keep on goin'
She's got a light around her
And ev'rywhere she goes a million
Dreams of love surround her ev'rywhere

Traveling partners

June 12, 2010

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am severely behind on blogging. I have honestly thought of scrapping it and calling it quits. I may still merge the three blogs into one. I am not sure. Anyway, I decided it is easier to do random posts to catch up, rather than try to sequence them.

Last Sunday--June 13th--Don and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. That totally seems surreal and impossible to me. I can't begin to convey how thankful I am that God so carefully orchestrated our paths to meet and allowed us to become traveling partners for life. I was thinking about where he had been and where I had been before God plopped Don on a church pew behind me and my family in May 1991.

Don was born in CO, moved to UT when he was a baby, then grew up in TX. He went to college in MD and during that time he spent summers working in a lab at Los Alamos, NM, "cruising" on a submarine, docking in Israel and Hong Kong, traveling to PA for Army/Navy games, road tripping all around the country playing Ultimate Frisbee and watching Navy football (BEAT ARMY!). After he graduated, he went to Cancun, spent time in FL for his first round of flight school, and visited who knows where else. He already had logged thousands and thousands of miles in his personal travel log before he showed up in my life that wonderful May morning.

I, too, had a few miles in my log. I was born in southern CA, moved to HI at four months, moved back to CA, then moved to VA at eight, made my way to PA for 7th grade through my sophomore year of college, and moved back to CA--this time northern (Sacramento). During that time, I had been to many states, met hundreds of people, and thought I met "the one" more than once.

Though I am not sure why, it still amazes me how God chose two people who had known hundreds of people and lived and traveled all over the place to meet and fall in love. I am so thankful He did, though, and for the journey he has allowed us to continue to travel together. We have logged many miles together and prayerfully we will continue to do so. This past year has been filled with many detours and road blocks and I couldn't have survived without my traveling partner by my side.

Looking at the picture, above, I am amazed that man still loves me! Talk about crazy, big hair and chubby cheeks! Yikes. We had a great anniversary dinner at a place called Roaring Fork--sans Lindy--and a nice evening together. I ate so much, I felt like I might get ill at one point. Sorry for the visual. That NEVER happens, as I try not to eat to the point of feeling stuffed. Our anniversary is usually the only time we order an appetizer, main course, and dessert, so I totally wasn't used to the whole gamut and everything was so yummy I had to eat it all. Thanks to my sweetheart of a friend, Ashleigh, for sneaking behind my back and arranging to watch Lindy for the evening.

Since we brought Lindy home, we really haven't used a babysitter a lot so we don't experience "date" nights very often. I know, I know, all the relationship experts would get on to us about that but I truly think we have a very healthy, happy, and harmonious marriage, nonetheless. I know PLENTY of marriages that have far surpassed mine and date nights were non-existent. Ironically, though, both of us bought gifts for one another which included future date nights. I have to admit, I am kind of excited! It is a great excuse to dress up more than usual, have dessert with dinner, and maybe he and I will actually get our picture taken together more than once a year, too.

Re-entry into blogging with a B&W Wednesday

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row."

-Children's Nursery Rhyme

It has been ages since I've been on blogger and even longer since I've blogged. I hope to get back to some blogging soon but thought I'd get my feet wet by doing a simple entry for B&W Wednesday.

I was perusing some photos for a little home project I want to work on and thought this little picture would be a good one to use to convert to black and white. My little prissy girl doesn't really like to get dirty but she does like to do some light gardening, hunt for rolly pollies and other non-objectionable creatures, and experience nature--strictly on her terms. Hmmm...kind of sounds like her momma (minus the creature part).

Hope everyone has had a wonderful spring and that your gardens are growing with grandeur.