Fear of change… Change the fear…

I was chatting with my sister Jennie this morning, about how quickly things change. How quickly her plans to stay home all summer became an entirely different plan involving the east coast, traveling with her kids and Independence Day. To a more tragic tune is how quickly so many in Joplin (and other areas) went from a normal Sunday afternoon to mass devastation. 
My friday trip to buy bread led us to the path of moving. 
After the details were (mostly) ironed out, Chw’s greatest affliction- the fear- set in. There is so much pressure heaped upon the shoulders of a man. Thankfully I’ve been his wife for the better part of seventeen years and I knew this tide of fear would come in. 
The tide always comes rises… 
When he confessed to me, today, his fears- I was ready. 
In complete seriousness he exclaimed that this bad feeling he had was stronger than any bad feeling he’s ever had. It’s not like any other time before, he assured me. Finally, after he’d exhaled all of his worries and the pressures behind his worries he told me that he just didn’t know if it was a good decision. 
“in your bad feeling, do you feel fear?” 
Yes, a lot of fear. he exclaimed, before back tracking a little bit. He knew where I was headed…
“If your bad feeling, this dooming certainty had no traces of fear than I’d be more inclined to trust it as a premonition or sign from God. God doesn’t speak to us through fear though, and so I’m pretty sure we’re ok to move forward. What do you think? 
And really, in six weeks when we’re settled into the house and all of the work is behind us- he’ll feel no inkling of that sickening fear. Usually I’m the one who struggles more with the change but not this time. :) Hopefully Chw can say the same too because that’s a pretty miserable seat to sit in… 
So, we move forward… I’m excited to take on this new project, and this new journey, complete with pictures. It’s NOTHING like we thought our summer would kick off- but we are ok with that… 
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La Vie En rose…

If I were to pick my favorite meal of the day, I would choose brunch. 
In fact, brunch sort of umbrellas a lot of things: 
– favorite thing for my husband to make. 
– favorite date. 
– favorite thing to make, in the kitchen, with my husband. 
– favorite _______…
– favorite …. 
A few weeks ago my husband and I had the rare opportunity to venture out and try a local brunch place, just the two of us. {That alone was divine…}
We opted for a French-American place in the lower level of the hotel we honeymooned in some seventeen years ago. 
I had their incredible classic french toast and the BEST Chai latte I’ve ever had… 
Chw had biscuits and gravy (eh…) and the most delectable hash browns on the entire planet. 
Over all, MAJOR brunch success… 
So much so, that I had to share just a couple of shots. Please forgive the fact that i was so enamored with the one on one brunch time with my husband that I forgot to shap photos of the food… 

What is your favorite date thing to do? 
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Thirty-Six…

Dear Chw,  
I could address this letter so many different ways… 
Happy Birthday, Baby… 
To the Man of my Dreams… 
Hello Sexy Lover… 
But really, they would all head in the same direction so I thought to myself, why not keep it simple? 
Day by day, year by year I am continually amazed by you. Just when I think that you have reached the epitome of everything I could ever want or appreciate in a man- you go and push the limits even farther. It would take me years to write out everything I adore about you and all of the ways that you raise the bar as a father, husband and friend… 
Thank you, for loving me. For choosing me. For loving our kids as much as you do. For working so hard, for being so brave. For being you… 
Happy birthday, my husband. I love you so much… 
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Say No To The Dress…

I haven’t really mentioned it before, but for a (too small) chunk of time we’ve had a completely awesome girl named Aubree living with us. We met Aubree last year when she blindly agreed to nanny for us for a short period of time while I attempted to balance writing and homeschool. The months where I had her help were wonderful, but when last summer came I found that I was nowhere near more balanced than I had been pre-Aubree. 
Anyway, Aubree is here and lovely. She’s brought a really fun element to every day family life. 
One thing about Aubree, that is key to this post is that Aubree is engaged. 
Like many a someday bride-to-be, Aubree is interested in wedding things. 
On the rare occasion, conversations about wedding photographers, wedding cake designers, centerpieces, reception styles and wedding dresses take place. 
Genny loves this. 
Like many a girl-who-dreams-of-becoming-a-bride, many a conversation is centric around similar things. Those of you who know Genny know that she has notebook upon notebook full of sketches and plans for her and her beloved’s nuptial day… 
So, one day we are watching Say Yes To The Dress, {Thanks to Aubree} when I could see the wheels in Gen’s head begin spinning. Magically she caught glimpses of these fit-for-a-queen dresses as well as their $10-14,000 price tags. Teasingly she joked about bankrupting her dad and I with her dream wedding. Candidly (though she was certain I was kidding) I responded. 
A little while later though, less fun spirited, she mentioned her wedding again. 
G- I know I can’t get a wedding gown that is fourteen thousand dollars, but what is a reasonable budget? 
Yes, she’s twelve. 
M- well, since we’ve got a little time I can’t be certain but I’m thinking no more than five or six hundred dollars. Again, we have time, so I’m not sure. 
G- What?!?! I can’t even find a dress for that price! 
M- Technically speaking, you could find a dress for $50 depending on how creative you want to be upon looking for it. 
Needless to say, I have a feeling this discussion isn’t over. All I have to say is, it’s good that she’s all about the fashion design… Perhaps she needs to stop planning her chocolate and nacho cheese fountain reception and start working on dress design. In fact, after all of these years of struggling to find consequences that work for her, I’m thinking that I may finally have my bargaining chip… 
It’s too bad you chose to steal _____________, that’s $25 off your dress budget. 

Oh, did you seriously just rip that t-shirt to shreds? Well, another $15 off your dress budget. 
If she plays her cards right, she’ll be buying US beautifully designed clothes for this completely hypothetical wedding. 
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The Hard Love…

The hard love is telling your daughter the truth. The truth about where she came from, what she’s been through and what she’s seen. Even when she’s small, and fragile… because, it is her truth, and she has flashes of memories she may not understand. 
The hard love is telling your children you are disappointed in their far too grown up choices, and loving them anyway. 
The hard love is the love whose heart breaks when your kid’s hearts break. 
The hard love is the love that candidly looks at yourself in the mirror, every morning, with a pair of honest goggles. It is the love that looks at your insides too. 
This is the love that can one day look your husband in the eyes, years after fighting, and crying and aching and finally- forgiveness… It is the love that gets me to the point of no longer wondering what she looks like, or what her perfume smells of. This is the love that kept me sane when he would travel for work. 
The hard love is love, period… It is the take-everything-from-me sort of love, because the person on the receiving end deserves it. 
Even when they choose the easy love route back… 
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