Sweetness & Strength...Celebrating 6 Years of Us!

It all started almost 15 years ago on a Band Bus. I turned around, looked into these beautiful deep blue eyes, and felt something!  One can call it a silly teenage crush or love at first sight. No matter what, it all started as a friendship, that turned into a serious boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, then a marriage, and now a family!

Today, we celebrate 6 years of marriage! It blows my mind to think that 6 years have escaped us so quickly, but then when I think about what the past 6 years have blessed us with, I'm reminded at how truly lucky I am to share this journey with:

a man who loves the true me,
a man who sacrifices day in and day out for his family,
a man who would rather spend time with his daughters then with friends,
a man who can fix, build and create anything, and when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING,
a man who constantly sees the wonderful, the fun, and the adventure in our life,
a man who has a passion for all things cars, tools, grease, and motors,
a man who is the best son, brother, friend, and father that anyone can ask for,
a man who is the most understand, patient, and kind soul I know,
a man who can make me laugh like no other with his quiet witty sense of humor,
a man who I fall deeper in love with each day I am married to him,
a man who I look forward experiencing the rest of my life with,
a man who I have dreamed of growing old with time and time again,
a man who I call my best friend!

As I walked down the short church aisle 6 years ago looking once again into those beautiful deep blue eyes, I felt something. This time, the something was unconditional LOVE! The kind of love that this girl dreamed of finding one day, the kind of love that has been challenging at times to maintain through so many years, but we have managed with style, and the kind of love that melts my heart each time I look deeply into my husbands eyes.

And, if someone would have given me a glimpse into the future on my wedding day 6 years ago, I would undeniably have run down the aisle to say "I DO" to my amazing husband. Because, you see, the last 6 years of our lives together have brought so much beauty, joy, growth, and love with:

the birth of our beautiful daughters and soon to be son,
many wonderful vacations,
loads of home remodeling projects,
late nights up helping each other with whatever tasks we took on and needed to finish,
time spent in the garage watching, creating, getting dirty,
walks around the neighborhood just enjoying our family,
a few too many "new" cars,
date nights out with just the two of us growing even more together,
sacrifice on both our ends because that's how we roll,
way to many lunches & dinners at In-N-Out & Volcano Burger because that's what I wanted,
wrestling matches & tickling fights when none else is looking,
time spent just hanging on the couch watching movies & cuddling with our girls,
laughs, giggles, hugs, and kisses

Ryan, time has brought your heart to me. I've loved you for a thousand years, and I'll love you for a thousand more. Happy 6 Year Anniversary! Here's to so many more years of blissful marriage filled with love, growth, and family.

Preparing for OUR BOY

When having a new baby there is so much to prepare physically, emotionally, and financially! With this  pregnancy I started the preparing early, as did so many of our family and friends. Considering this is my third blessing, one could say that I've been here & done this two other times before. Even though I may be a little seasoned, there are things I have forgotten, things that are different, and of course, the fact that this little one is a BOY and not a girl.

As the weeks continuing to tick by, and Baby Boy grows big & strong, it becomes almost painfully hard to wait for the very first moment I set eyes on him and get to snuggle him in my arms. The piles of fun blue and boy stuff is stacking up, feet are swelling and being propped above my heart, pregnancy cravings are being catered too, my belly is growing and growing, and the love for our little guys is being felt stronger and stronger from not only us, but ALL our family and friends as his Birth Day arrives!

A walk through Nature

As the day of Baby Brother's arrival is coming nearer, I find myself wanting to cram in a bunch of "special" moments with just my two girls so that I can forever have these lasting memories imprinted on my heart. This sense of urgency and need most definitely stems from the fact that I can hardly remember what it was like being a Momma to just my sweet Giulietta. The days have merged into weeks which have quickly merged into years, and it all happened with a blink of an eye.

My girls are no longer babies, but little ladies exploring the vast world in front of them. And, as I sit here and look back at all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) times we have had,  I somewhat feel like I have been robbed of time. I know that everyone around me has told me time & time again that children grow so fast, but when you are in the moment, you don't believe! You tend to politely smile and nod and think to yourself, "Ha, if only they would grow a little faster, a little more mature, a little more well behaved."

However, lately I have been feeling rather panicked and obsessed in planning these "perfect" moments with my girls, so that I can capture these precious moments with hundreds of pictures in which I can look back on in a year or so and remember what it was like with just the two of them. And, seeing how so many moments during these last few weeks of pregnancy have been less then perfect in the girls behaviors, in my parenting, and in my physical abilities, this past Friday morning at the Eldorado Nature Reserve was MUCH needed!

This girls and I hiked (walked), we stopped and talked about the surroundings, we saw bunnies and squirrels which Presley deemed as being "babies," we took breaks and ate some snacks, and we listened, laughed and skipped down the dusty trail leaving our footprints in the dust while creating lasting memories for all of us.

Sliding Summer into Full Swing

Last year, Fafa Rick purchased this AWESOME water slide for the girls on Memorial Weekend! They played with it all summer long & Ryan and I may have climbed up a time or two. As the summer started to wind down, we cleaned up the slide, packed it away in its bag & let it sit in shed until the days got longer & hotter once again.

It was only fitting that the slide make its summer debut this Memorial Day Weekend. As you can see, the girls were more then thrilled to have their water slide back in action. They squealed with delight as they splashed throughout the entire day soaking up the sun! And, the slide will continue to come up & down all summer long as the fun in the sun continues for our little ladies!