Love is...

Love is...

... when you and your husband watch a few episodes of a new-to-you tv show, and when afterwards you say to him, "I think we watched too much Spy," he answers with, "Why? Because you're thinking in an English accent?" and he's right.

... when you call your husband to ask him if he'll run home to help you wrap up a freezer meal for a family with a new baby because you're saran wrap incompetent. And he does.

... when you're youngest child curls up with her stuffed cow at bedtime and has her knees taking up the spot where you usually lay at bedtime, and when you bump her knees and say, "scoot over! You're in my spot!", she says, "Oh! I forgot about you!" And when you look at her with incredulity and say, "that didn't sound very nice", she answers, "I'm not joking! I really did forget about you!"

Ok, maybe that last one wasn't really a good example of love ...

102 things to cherish from 2012

At our wedding, Chad's parents sang the song Cherish the Treasure. My blog is a reminder to me to cherish the days with our kids. And every day should include something to cherish, for a moment, for a day, for life. Here is a snapshot of things we cherished during 2012 ...

 

...a copy of Chad's favorite book from childhood which I found to give him for Christmas.

 

... a family reunion for my mom's mom's side -- the same as every New Years Day. This past year, I was even able to spend the day with these two lovely ladies, just like we did as kids. 

 

... a picture of our girls (from the three of us in the picture above) together, at the same ages we were in a picture from this same reunion many years ago. 

 

... a very unseasonably warm January that allowed rollerskating outside without even a hat. 

 

... many, many, many hugs given between these two. 

 

... ever evolving relationships between the three wonderful children God blessed us with. 

 

... dress-up and crafts ... sometimes at the same time. 

 

... a jump from kindergarten to first grade in January. 

 

... two kids with the same homework every night. 

 

... indoor pretend snow angels in mid-January due to a snowless winter. 

 

... an excited 4-year-old who belly crawled all the way home from Daddy's office in order to make her outdoor time last as loooooooong as possible after we finally got a bit of snow.

 

... Evan deciding a good use of his time would be moving part of the city snow pile that goes in our yard up to our front door.

 

... Laura wearing my favorite dress from childhood while playing with my doll dresses and my baby doll from childhood. 

 

... lots of reading and lots of snuggling.

 

 ... many random displays and declarations of love.

 

...a wonderful big sister who happily sat and read aloud the entire pile of Dora books that Laura brought to her.

 

... many nights away from home, figuring out whose turn it was to sleep in "the little bed", which is made out of blankets and towels, is often under a desk or table, and is always a coveted location.

 

... staying up late to read books from a big city library by the light of the hotel bathroom. 

 

... giving Evan a long-awaited desire of his -- a jug of butter pecan syrup from IHOP. This gift is still giving him buttery pecany goodness nearly a year later. 

 

... high, high March temperatures that led to me saying, "But it's MARCH!" numerous times a day. It also led to our kids being able to play outside in northwest Iowa IN MARCH in shorts and t-shirts at a whopping 85 degrees. 

 

... a circus in Des Moines on Kendra's birthday 

 

... sharing the loveseat, sharing their love of reading, sharing a blanket, and sharing a series of books. 

 

... No more training wheels! 

 

... a night with some of the ladies from my mom's family at a fun women's banquet at my aunt's church. 

 

... No more training wheels! 

 

... lots of Laura/Mommy time while Evan and Kendra are at school. 

 

... No more training wheels! 

 

... pretending to be a trapeze girl. 

 

... playing in dirt. 

 

... more sidewalk chalk drawings from Chad.

 

... many, many kisses. 

 

... an evening spent watching the solar eclipse at sunset. 

 

... the last day of school. 

 

... the slip-n-slide Chad's parents bought. 

 

... the many pairs of big blue eyes I live with. 

 

... staying with Chad's parents for a week and a half (just me and the girls for half of it), and the girls making a slide on the stairs. 

 

... many hours playing in the tree with jump ropes. 

 

... a couple weeks of Kendra wrapping up her stuffed animals in her blanket so everything was ready to take to the basement if there was a tornado. (I didn't really cherish this one so much.) 

 

... a lesson in what happens when you turn onto loose gravel too quickly on a two-wheel bike. 

 

... gymnastic lessons for Kendra and lots of practicing. 

 

... birthdays celebrated for and with family. 

 

... a sapphire ring from my wonderful husband! 

 

... karate classes for Evan and his first round of testing. 

 

... hot, hot summer weather, and some glitches in the weather forecasting. 

 

... riding bikes in the Fourth of July parade. 

 

... hotel time near Chicago for a cousin's wedding. 

 

... learning how to clink glasses from Grandma. 

 

... time with Great Grandpa and Grandma. 

 

... new-to-us old books from my mom. 

 

... coffee drink experiments. 

 

... lost teeth. 

 

... patience during swimming lessons. 

 

... an insanely long, hot, dry stretch of summer. (Not really cherished, but memorable.) 

 

... my grandma's 90th birthday. 

 

... a 90th birthday party with most of my mom's family. 

 

... crazy amusement park hair. 

 

... amazing drawings. 

 

... thank you pictures to Chad's parents for our vacation with them. 

 

... watching the dam get a little drier each week until it finally quit running over for several weeks. (Again, not so cherish-able.) 

 

... heading out the porch with a guitar and a can to try and earn some money. 

 

... the first day of 2nd grade for two kids. 

 

... nose snuggles. 

 

... testing for his yellow belt. 

 

... making a paper beard and paper whiskers for Daddy after he shaved his beard. 

 

... uber impressive paper creations.

 

... the first day of preschool. 

 

... my brother telling me I had squash bugs so I could pick my squash before losing all of it. 

 

... lots of time together. 

 

... trying to be like Daddy as much as possible. 

 

... good coffee drinks. 

 

... the annual cousins picture in September. 

 

... lots and lots and lots of wonderful time with Chad's parents. 

 

... tractor time and combine time for Laura with my dad and my brother, including getting picked up from preschool in the tractor one day. 

 

... coffee drinks I can now say I've tried (but will never try again). 

 

... imagination. 

 

... wonderful notes from wonderful kids. 

 

... a commandeered box turned into a car. 

 

... a Kindle for me, a Kindle for him. 

 

... new recipes. 

 

... new ways to part hair for piggy tails.

 

... huge smiles for all the new things she found she loves. 

 

... making 60 Twinkie ghosts for second graders 19 days before the end of Twinkies. 

 

... trick-or-treating. 

 

... matching Daddy for church every single Sunday. 

 

... going with Mommy to vote before school. 

 

... having a Pooh bear to play Go Fish with while you're home sick from school. 

 

... dancing like no one's watching. 

 

... lazy days with cousins. 

 

... Christmas programs and goofy kids. 

 

... a December reminder of what winter is supposed to look like. 

 

... a new book at Christmas that trumps watching presents. 

 

... enjoying the bows as much, if not more than, the presents. 

 

... teaching Great Grandma how to play your new electronic Disney Princesses game. 

 

... still enjoying being together after all these years. 

 

... decorating wooden cupcakes for Jesus on Christmas morning before anyone else is up. 

 

... being together and loving it. 

 

... a box full of kisses and hugs from Kendra for Christmas. 

 

... giving the kids homemade Christmas presents. 

 

 ... going to your first skating party. 

 

... playing lots of games, some conventional, some made-up. 

 

... a Christmas break full of jammie days and together time. 

 

... finding the treasure at the end of Daddy's scavenger hunt.

 

May the new year be filled with as many treasures to cherish as the past year!