A Crazy Celebration

Not much blogging lately. Apologies to my one reader :)

Sunday was Mother’s Day. Everybody slept in.

I received some nice scrapbooking related gifts from my girls.

In the afternoon, we got together with some family to celebrate

Mother’s Day with a BBQ.

At least that was the cover up story.

We took pictures of the mothers and their children,

and enjoyed some yummy BBQ Veggie Burgers and Hot Dogs.

In reality,

everybody came ready to celebrate

Joel’s 41st birthday.

The theme was CRAZY!

Since Joel feels so comfortable around crazy less than stable people.

We sent him outside with the excuse of setting up a crocket game in the backyard.

When he came back in the house he found people dressed like this

and this

and this

and a cake that looked like this...


We told him to go up and change into something crazy

and it took him all of 30 seconds to come back down

looking like this!

It was fun!

CRAZY Fun!

Happy 41st Birthday Joel!

He is His Own Boss

Today is the second anniversary of my husband starting his own business. The good news about having your own business is that the sky is your limit. The bad news is that there is no lower limit either. Yikes! All I am going to say is that it has been tough, but luckily, there aren't any casualties to report yet.

Happy Anniversary McArthur Counseling Center!

Thirteen: Happy Anniversary

Today is our 13th Wedding Anniversary.

Thirteen years ago today, I was bursting at the seams with anxiety and excitement, and worry, hoping the days activities would go exactly as I had planned them for the last year. Thirteen years ago, I stood in front of hundreds of people and God and declared my life-long commitment to my husband. Thirteen years ago, I was all sure of myself, thought I knew exactly what it would take to make the marriage work. Boy was I stupid.

Today, we have long since passed the fiery and all-consuming stage of our romance. Turns out, I did not know jack about what it takes to make a relationship work. Along the way, the chemistry and the hormones have lost a lot of their luster. We get angry at each other for not thinking ahead, for not feeling understood, for the stresses of real life.

Now we have a mortgage, debts, and housework, yard work, stiff backs, but also a clear view of the past 13 years. Even though at times it does not feel like it, I do think we have have grown closer than we give ourselves credit for. We have two daughters that, most of the time, think we know what we are doing. We both still think our marriage is worth fighting for.

So happy anniversary to my husband, a wonderful father, a kind and dedicated man from your wife, an impatient and intense but sincere woman.

One Year Anniversary

Wow! How time flies! Today marks the first year anniversary of my husband opening his own Counseling Practice. It seems not that long ago we were all at the office getting things painted and cleaned up in preparation for the Grand Opening.

It has been quite a challenging year, full of uncertainty and financial challenges but somehow we have all survived.

I am very proud of my husband for keeping committed to his vision and sticking with it even when things looked like they were not working out. So Joel, if you are reading, Congratulations again! I know that I do not show my support the way you would prefer me to, but I hope you know that I do support and believe in you. It just takes me a while to work around the nervousness and anxiety that I get when something big changes.

If you have a chance drop Joel a congratulatory e-mail I’m sure he will appreciate it.