Happy Anniversary, My Love

Happy 15th Anniversary, my Darling.

That picture doesn't seem so long ago. Back when I was a candy striper and you were a crazy boy in love with me, sitting together on a chair at Grandma's house. Nice sweater, by the way.
Two rings, three children, and a lifetime later, I'm as in love with you as the day I met you. You are a good man. Strong and true. Bringing to me peace and quiet comfort when my world was rocked with sadness. Loving me back to life. Patient and kind, a loving father and the best husband a girl could have.
I love you.

This is only the beginning...

Husband Q & A

In honor of my 15th wedding anniversary, I thought it would be fun to answer a meme I found from LavenderSheep.

(By the way, if I want html to work on my blog, I have to use Mozilla Firefox. It won't work for me on Outlook Express. Discuss amongst yourselves.)


2 things you compliment your husband on while in his presence:

1. His muscles.
2. His great work ethic.

2 compliments you give about your husband to others:

1. His great work ethic.
2. His calm, low maintenance, good nature

2 Traits you married him for:

1. His sense of humor.
2. His sense of adventure.
3. The way he can ease my mind and bring me peace.
4. The way he's up for doing anything, anytime.
I could go on and on...

2 days you cherished most being together with your husband:

1. The days that each of our three children were born.
2. Our wedding day (though much of it was a blur).
I actually don't get to spend a lot of one on one time with him. What I wish for is a regular day when neither of us have anything going on, and we could stay in or go out or do whatever crossed our mind. Just be together. Someday...

2 Material things you would give your husband if you inherited a fortune:

1. A big truck like he has always wanted.
2. A motorhome, something else he has always wanted, or some tools, don't know what, but he'd buy me yarn though he wouldn't know what.

2 things you would miss most if he left for 2 weeks:

1. His help with the children!
2. Sharing his perspective on situations.

2 things that crossed your mind the first time you met your future husband:

1. He's so short! (5'2", but pictures made him look taller).
2. He's so easy to talk to.

2 favorite dates:

1. Dinner at the Chart House or the Melting Pot (which is being postponed tonight because I'm sick :(
2. Our weekend trip to Victoria, BC, Canada

2 funny, odd things you love about your husband:

1. The way he mixes up phrases, like "it takes two to tangle"
2. The way he has a set procedure to how he does everything, like backing into the driveway the exact way every time. OCD, anyone?

2 places you have lived with your husband:

1. Lake Oswego, Oregon
2. Tigard, Oregon

2 favorite vacations:

1. San Francisco
2. Disneyland

2 people to tag:

I'll leave it open to whoever wants to do it, just let me know if you decide to in the comments.

Standing Here At Your Shores I Am Once Again Home...

Frustratingly, I still can't get html to work on my blog, so I guess I just have to write in between the pictures and leave a picture just hanging there at the top. That picture is of a significant building in my life. Any guesses? Mom, how about you? This building is the hospital where I was born. Back then it was called McCauley hospital. It is located in Coos Bay, Oregon, where I was born and raised. It sits across the street from Mingus Park and the ballpark where my beloved Uncle Jim used to referee softball games. As you can see, the building is all boarded up now, but that's where it all began.

Since I don't have a lot of control of the order of how the pictures appear, I'll just have to muddle through here. Last Saturday my sister Angie and I took a day trip with my nephew Tim and my niece Stephanie to the town where we grew up. It was the first time that Angie and I had been back since we lost our brother David last November. We chose to look at the trip as a celebration as we drove past the houses where we used to live (most of them torn down now), and the schools that we attended.

But the healing part? That was standing on the cliffs of the ocean and feeling the sand between our toes on the beaches:

I love this picture of Angie dipping her toes into the cold water. I don't know if you can tell, but the sand is not sand like you think of in a sandbox, but rather little pieces of shells and rocks. It's beautiful. This beach is not one that's well known to people who aren't from the area. It's a favorite among locals, and I'm sorry, but I'm sworn by birthright not to disclose it's location.
It's a secluded cove.
Surrounded by cliffs and trees. You have to walk a ways to get there, but the view tells you you're going in the right direction.
A lot like life, wouldn't you say?