What I Want You To Know Is...

 What I want you to know is... 

How much you mean to me and our family. 

What I want you to know is...

You are the most amazing man I've ever met.

What I want you to know is...

I love everything about you.  EVERYTHING!

What I want you to know is...

I envy the relationship you have with Yaya.

What I want you to know is...

I strive daily to be as patient as you are.

What I want you to know is...

I have never met anyone with a heart as tender as yours.

What I want you to know is...

I feel safe when I reach across our bed and feel you laying next to me.

What I want you to know is...

How thankful I am you always put our family first.

What I want you to know is...

I am proud of your strong work ethic.

What I want you to know is...

I am proud of you.
What I want you to know is...
I appreciate all you do to help me around the house.
What I want you to know is...
I wish you would sing more often.  You have a beautiful voice.
What I want you to know is...
How many lives you have changed for the better because of something you have said or done.

What I want you to know is...

You still make me laugh.

What I want you to know is...

Yaya is the luckiest little girl in the world to have you for her father.

What I want you to know is...

I am the luckiest woman in the world to have you for my husband.
What I want you to know is...

There will never be another you.

What I want you to know is...

I don't want to imagine a day without you in it.

What I want you to know is...

You still make my heart skip a beat.

What I want you to know is...

I love you.

Glass is half empty or full?

What kind of thinker are you? I'm a glass is half empty thinker. I always have been. I guess it's a way that I learned to cope with life. If I think of the worst scenario then the reality yet to come couldn't possibly be that bad. Do any of you think this way? Bird is definitely a glass is half full if not completely full thinker and in our almost 11 years of marriage it's been interesting to see how different we think only to arrive in the same place in the end. One of the craziest examples I can remember happened while we were going through the beginning steps of our first IVF treatment. We had just gone to talk to the financial advisor on how much the treatment would cost and the discounts available to us if we chose to be part of an IVF study. As we pulled out of the parking lot I asked Bird, "What do you think of all this?" Mind you I'm thinking about the cost but in the sense that I was trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was paying someone to do crazy things to my body in order to try and make a baby. Here's what was going through Bird's mind and I quote word for word, "I want to pay for all of this on our credit card so we can earn free frequent flyer miles. " Um... yeah. You could have heard a pin drop in our car. DEAD SILENCE and then uncontrolled laughter from me. (Thinking back my laughter probably sounded much like the laughter of a crazy person.) Which may not have been much of a stretch back then. For the life of me, I couldn't understand how on earth he came up with frequent flyer miles with all the information the woman had just given us. SERIOUSLY!?

Needless to say, that moment in our marriage has gone down in history as the glass is half empty vs. full moment to beat all.

No Place

I bet you're wondering why on earth I took pictures of this old building/bar.

Good question. It's not something I would normally take a picture of but this place holds a bit of sentimental history for me. I know, you think I've lost my MIND. Why on earth would an old tin building hold any sort of meaning to me? Well... this building is where Bird and I first met. Back then it was called, "No Place" and it was a country dance hall/bar. Seriously! Would I tease about something like this?

If you want to hear more about it, feel free to read the post I wrote last year about how met.

Are you wondering why I decided to drive by and take a picture? Well, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do so but since I passed it on the way to and from hanging with Karin I couldn't resist. Plus, Yaya is in a new phase these days. She constantly asks about where she was when we got married or when we were kids. She is really into learning about stuff from our childhoods. I'm talking this girl soaks up old stories about our life and hers like a sponge.

As soon as I turned off the road she asked, "Momma, where are we going?" I said, "Hold on just a second and I'll show you. It's a surprise." When I pulled into the giant parking lot and stopped the car directly in front of the building she asked, "What's in there?" I said, "This is the place where your daddy and I met. It's where your daddy asked me to dance and we fell in love." Yaya's eye's sparkled with excitement and she joyfully exclaimed, "REALLY? YOU MEAN IT? AW! I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE WHERE YOU MET! (silence from the back seat) What does Met mean?" After a quick giggle. I explained Met or to meet someone means it's the first time you've seen them. EVER. I put it in terms I felt she could understand and asked her, "Do you know what your new baby looks like? Have we ever seen her?" She shook her head saying, "No." I continued, "That's because we haven't met him or her yet." She got the biggest smile on her face and said, "Mommy, I'm so happy you mmmet daddy. Where did you mmmet me?" She's heard this story a million times but I told her the story of how we met and promised to take her there in May. The rest of the way home she sang a happy little song in the back seat and I sang right along with her.

Bird is My Hero

A few weeks ago I came home from a busy day of errands to find Bird sneaking around the side yard of our home. He was trying to surprise Yaya and me with a new shelving unit for her room. He had no plan drawn out just went to work. You should know we own very few power tools so he had the staff at Home Depot pre-cut the wood to the sizes he wanted before bringing it home. He also found an old can of stain we used to put a shelf around the top of her room and took it with him to be sure he had enough for his project.

Here's an old picture of the before shelves.

Here's the after shots.

WE LOVE IT!

Thank you daddy!

Valentine's Surprise

Bird's family and I have been plotting and scheming for a few weeks to surprise him for an early Valentine's Day gift. As I've said before, his family means the WORLD to him and to say he's been a little homesick would be a huge understatement. I hated hearing this and got straight to work figuring out how to get them here ASAP.

 

Yesterday, I picked his mom, Beverly AKA "BO" from the airport and headed to where Yaya and I were supposed to meet him for lunch. Yaya and I walked in first and gave him our HELLO DADDY Hugs. Bo wandered in a few minutes later. Can you tell he was a little shocked? He couldn't believe she was really there.

When they hugged reality set in.

Seeing these smiles is proof of how perfect this gift was.

Bo brought Yaya the Velveteen Rabbit.

Even our dog Ellie enjoyed listening to the story.

Playing dress-up together was a perfect way to end the night.
 

10 Points for Dad

Last weekend, Bird came home with a fun way to spend Saturday morning. He'd heard of a Fancy Nancy party being held at a local Border's. Yaya has several of these books plus a few things from the Fancy Nancy clothing & accessory line. We couldn't pass up the opportunity for her to meet other girls who enjoy these books too.

If you know anything about little girls & Fancy Nancy,

they take any opportunity to get all dressed up & look tres chic.

The Borders team read 2 or 3 of the Fancy Nancy books to the kids.

Click on the picture below to see how decked out some of these girls were.

Yaya is in the fuchsia hat just to the right of the reader.

Poor kid! Her hat wouldn't stay on right for more than two seconds.

I couldn't believe how patient she was with it

let alone how long she kept it on her head.

Between book readings, Borders staff served Starbucks hot chocolate & scone wedges,

offered Fancy Nancy crafts, stickers, magnets,

held a Fancy Nancy parade through the store

AND they held a raffle to win a Fancy Nancy bag and 2 of her books.

We didn't win the raffle but we sure had a good time.

THANK YOU Scott for being such an involved and loving father. 
Thank You Borders for offering such a fun weekend activity.

Date with Heaven

continued from Love at First Sight

Dear Yaya, FINALLY Wednesday arrived! Daddy and I went to work but I honestly doubt either of us got very much accomplished. All we could do was think of you and how it would feel to finally meet you. We didn't know it but it was the biggest night of our life. We joked that it felt like we were going on a blind date we were so nervous. We met Jo in the parking lot of In and Out Burger on Nellis Blvd around 6:30 P.M. Then, we followed her to your house. I'm not sure how we didn't pass out from excitement as we walked up the front steps and waited for someone to open the door.

Your foster mom, Christall came to the door and led us into her kitchen where you were sitting in a high chair eating. Seeing you for the first time was indescribable. You were beautiful even with food all over your face! Christall cleaned your face and picked you up. You were held by Jo and her intern. I wanted to scream, “IT’S MY TURN! PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME WAIT A MINUTE MORE OR I’LL EXPLODE!” Instead, I waited for my turn as my heart felt like it might explode from my chest.

When I finally pulled you into my arms tears filled my eyes but I had to force myself not to let them fall. I was terrified I might scare you or that you would cry. Instead, you just tilted your head and looked at me. I also remember you taking your tiny fingers and playing with my cheeks and lips. You still like to do this to my face even now.

Daddy and I asked a million questions. We wanted to hear everything about you and we soaked you up like sponges. I asked Daddy if he wanted to hold you. You won't believe this but before you he was awkward around babies. You helped him over this very quickly when I put you in his lap. You looked up at him and wrapped your long toes around both of his pointer fingers and held on for dear life. I know in that same moment you had his great big heart wrapped around your tiny little finger. You couldn't stop staring at each other and watching you share that moment took my breath away.

Sitting in daddy's lap for the very first time reaching up to touch his face.

You can't imagine how hard it was to leave Christall's house without you in our arms. It was even harder each time we met after that. 14 days later, you came home to us forever. You were worth the wait!

Valentine's Past

There are so many reasons why I think My Husband Rocks but recently I've been reflecting on one in particular. I have to say the most memorable Valentine's Day we've ever had was during our first year of marriage. He handed me a Valentine's card that said something like, "Tomorrow night we'll be dining at a very special place for dinner. Be sure to dress up." Then, he told me how he tried to make reservations a week in advance for Valentine's Day but they were already booked solid. Yeah, It's that good! He took a gamble and made reservations for us the following night. Little did even he know how special it would turn out to be. The next night, we dressed up, hopped in the car and headed out for our "special night." Instead of heading to downtown Laramie as I expected he would, Bird drove out of town toward the Snowy Mountain Range. I'm sure I gave him some hassle about not knowing where he was going. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains and the view was absolutely gorgeous! I've seen some of the prettiest sunsets while living in Wyoming. Anyway, we pull up to this place called the Vee Bar Ranch. It's a working cattle ranch with log cabins and a big lodge. We walked into the lodge and were taken to a comfy seating area by the fireplace to warm up. We thought we were waiting there until the other guests arrived. It turned out, we were receiving a special treat because we were the only guests that night. The entire lodge/restaurant was ours! Talk about ROMANTIC! They served hors d'oeuvres while we snuggled on the couch in front of the cozy fireplace. They also took our orders while we cuddled. Soon, we were invited to come to the table and eat. The table was also near the fire. I ordered the steak and Bird ordered the fish. SO GOOD I tell ya! I think that night was one of our most romantic evenings ever! I'll never forget it and how waiting an extra day to celebrate our love made our Valentine's Day Extra Special. To learn where MY HUSBAND ROCKS began head on over to Katy Lyn's Place.

Which One Of These Is Not Like The Other?

Once again I'm participating in Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta and Katy Lyn's My Husband Rocks. If you like sharing pictures and stories about your husband/family be sure to check these bloggers out. Their followers post some fun pictures and stories too.

Today, I am challenging you all to find an item on my tree that doesn't belong.

In case the first picture was too far away here's a closer one.

Did you figure it out yet?

Yes, it's this ugly yellow toy chicken.

My husband, AKA Bird has always been playful. He hides objects around the house for me to find but doesn't tell me to look for them. A few such objects include these toy frogs, (Why he has/had them I'll never know.) Jack In The Box heads and now this toy chicken.

He knows I sense when something in the room is out of place right away. He gets a kick out of how quickly I notice his little hidden treasures. At first, it drove me NUTTY! Eventually, I decided it was fun and decided to play along. Now, when I find one of these "treasures" I move it to a new place. My husband rocks because he loves to make life fun.

Any suggestions where I should hide the chicken next?

My Husband Rocks and Candid Carrie's Fx4

I tried and tried to get my daughter to read with me. For a while she sat still long enough for me to read to her while she sat on the toilet. Look who had the magic touch and patience to draw her in. This is why I think my husband rocks. I love these pictures of them sharing their love of books.

Get on over to Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta and My Husband Rocks and share your pics and comment love.

It's a combo day

Candid Carrie is once again hosting Friday Foto Finish Fiesta and Katy Lin is hosting My Husband Rocks Friday. So I decided to combine their themes with my favorite pictures and stories of my husband, AKA Bird.

He deserves to know he's my favorite guy and that I think he rocks!

Where do I start?

At the beginning, of course!

A question we are often asked is, "Where and how did you two meet?" Imagine the looks we get when we answer, often simultaneously, "No Place." Honest! We met in the middle of a country bar called, "No Place." If you've ever been to Grain Valley, MO you probably have heard about, No Place. Though I'm told it (No Place) doesn't exist anymore. Are you following me here?

Here's how we met. I actually met Bird through his sister. She was visiting him after he returned from his tour of duty in Iraq. They were at No Place when she pointed at me and told him he should ask me to dance. (Keep in mind, his sister and I had never met or talked.) Being the gentleman he is, he didn't want to ask me to dance when he was there with her.

Fast forward to a month later. He was at No Place again and so was I. He remembered me and his sister's instructions and he actually came up and asked me to dance. I don't know how long it took him to get up the nerve to ask me to dance but he did it as he was leaving. Thankfully he decided to stay and ask me to dance because we danced the rest of the night away.

That was almost 11 years ago and we're still dancing. Even our daughter has caught the dancing bug. Would you like to know the weird part of this story? I didn't actually meet his sister until the day before he and I got married. She picked me out of a crowded room for Bird w/o ever having met me. Pretty cool aye?!

Now that you're all caught up on how we met, here's the first reason I think my husband rocks.

1. He danced his way right into my heart.

I hope it doesn't sound too cheesy because it's totally true. I also hope you enjoyed this combo post and will come back again next Friday to learn more of why Bird Rocks. Be sure to check out all the fun stuff Candid Carrie and Katy Lin have for you at their blogs. I can't wait to see what you have to say and share.

"Every day will be our Honeymoon."

"Every day will be our Honeymoon."

9 years ago today, I made the above promise to my husband on our wedding day. Why you may ask? At the time, our "Honeymoon" consisted of packing our separate households and moving to WY for his job while his family came along for the ride in a U-haul and 2 car caravan. Right Poppy? (Still thankful for them by the way! Especially my mother and father-in-law who drove the U-Haul through a tornado and still got themselves and our things to Laramie safely. That's a whole other story in itself.) Looking back, I am sure my husband wouldn't say "Every Day" has been a honeymoon but we've sure had fun using my promise for later travels saying, "This trip will be the honeymoon we never had." We've been so many places and seen so many things thanks to his military career and the "Honeymoon we never had."

Many of you were with us 9 years ago today witnessing our vows before God. We are thankful you are all still part of our marriage today. You've been there to cheer us on during games, moves, TDY's, career changes, failed attempts at In-Vitro and while we waited for the call offering us a chance to meet our possible baby girl. You also cried tears of joy and shouted God's praise with us the day we brought that same little girl home to be ours forever. Our perfect little angel. I am thankful to all of you for your support and prayers over the past 9 years.

Above all, I am thankful that God and your sister brought you into my life. We have learned and are continuing to learn what marriage is about. You allowed me to help you when your career with the military was cut short. Many people would have pushed their spouse away but you let me in and allowed me to grieve with you and to be strong for you. You have seen me at my very best and my worst and you love me anyway. You gave me the will to live when I didn't think I could if it meant I couldn't give you a child of your own.

Slowly you allowed your heart to open to the idea of adoption and to raising a child someone else could not. We learned together that contributing an egg or sperm does not alone make you a mother or a father. It's being there every day with a child teaching them, loving them encouraging them and nurturing them that is what makes a parent a parent. You are the father I always knew you would be. The night you and YaYa met she sat in your lap and she wrapped her long toes around your fingers but she also wrapped them around your giant heart. I'll never forget the look in your eyes at that moment. FEAR! Just kidding. It was pure love and hope. I love you more today than I ever imagined possible. I said 9 years ago, "Where you go, I will go." Little did I know how much that vow alone would be tested. I still mean it today. You are the love of my life and I am thankful for every minute we've shared the past 9 years both as Christians, as a couple and now as parents of our beautiful daughter.

I am sorry that I'm sick with the flu and can't celebrate our anniversary with you tonight. Remember, today is part of our honeymoon even if you are sharing it with my dad and our daughter instead of me. You're a real trooper! I LOVE YOU!