if this can't make you smile...

...then there is seriously something wrong with you!!!


This is my baby nephew Kaden and I just love him to pieces that I have to share this adorable picture with you! He is my sister Pam's baby and he is a big 3 month old now. Can you tell I am a VERY proud auntie?!! Have a happy winter weekend!!

6 amazing years

Six years ago my life forever changed. On that wonderful Wednesday, December 11th, 2002 I started dating the most wonderful person that I have ever known, and thus began the amazing journey that I am still on today. Now, I know now that we are married that it’s not our official anniversary, and we don’t celebrate it anymore, but I have to acknowledge what this day means to me.

Even before the day that Scott asked me to be his girlfriend, I knew that he was someone incredibly special to me, and even if I couldn’t pin-point all that he meant I knew that his role in my life would completely change me. When he asked me to be his girlfriend that night, it is a moment that I will never ever forget. I remember exactly how I felt and everything about that moment as it is just happened yesterday. It was such a special moment filled with the newness of young love. I remember being so giddy and filled with butterflies that I could hardly fall asleep that night! Scott bought me a teddy bear and gave it to me that night, and it was such a cute thing that I still have today that brings me back to that moment. It’s amazing to me that the Lord had completely planned out the adventure that we would face together, and how that moment was the beginning of His wonderful plan for us.

I never would have thought that day how being with Scott would enrich my life, and make me happier beyond my wildest imagination. I never would have thought that in him I would find my very best friend who would be so loving and loyal to me through thick, thin, good, bad, long distance, and any other thing I could throw at him. He is the most wonderful person I have ever met and I am so blessed to call him my husband. The past 6 years that I have spent getting to know him and love him have been the greatest time of my life, and the past 6 months of being his wife is beyond anything that I could ever describe in words. I am so blessed that my Heavenly Father created my soul mate in Scott. That He went out of His way to create in him all the things that I would ever want or need, and so much more. I am so thankful that I have someone in my life to show me the constant love regardless of whatever comes. I love Scott more and more every day, and I appreciate him more every day, and I am so blessed to have someone who loves me for every part of who I am, but more importantly that he loves the Lord with every part of who he is. I can’t wait for the next 6 years!!

i've been upgraded!!

Yes, it’s true I have upgraded big time from winter 2007. All thanks to my beautiful new townhouse & our wonderful two car garage!! Winter is officially here in Minnesota and we have got a few inches of snow over the last 3 days, and I am so happy to pull my car into my garage and not have to think about scraping and brushing inches of snow off of it the very next day. It’s a beautiful thing!! Last year we closed on our house in January and Scott got to live there alone until the wedding, and every time we got snow last year and I was scraping off my car in the early morning with wind chills below zero, I would think about how unfair it was that he got to use our garage and I was stuck parking in the driveway at my parents house! So it goes without saying that I am so happy to have “upgraded” this year and have my very own garage!! It makes winter a little easier to deal with. Now only if we could come up with a solution for those pesky slippery streets….

touchdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the many things that Scott has introduced into my life is the love of football. I never grew up watching it or enjoying it, or really even having a desire to learn or get into it, but that has changed since I started dating Scott. It actually really wasn’t until after I moved home from Rhema that we really started watching it together every Sunday. I don’t know if it is because in our earlier years of dating, he would do whatever I wanted to do [like any boyfriend would] and I never would choose to watch football, regardless of the reason I am glad that we started this “tradition”.

I used to think it was weird that girls enjoyed watching football with their boyfriend/husband because to me, it never seemed intriguing. As I started to watch it with Scott it become fun to me because it was something he enjoyed watching, and so I wanted to learn to enjoy it too so that it would be a fun thing for us to do together. Now, it is something that we do every Sunday, and it is even better now that we have our own home. We snuggle up on the couch & arm chair, and watch it all afternoon long on Sunday. It is one of the days we actually get to spend together, and I find myself looking forward to it because it is so mellow and just a nice relaxing time [and I usually get to make something yummy like queso for us to enjoy!!].

However, we are a house divided. We both have two very different opinions on our favorite teams & quarterbacks. Mine is Tom Brady & the New England Patriots, of course, not only because he is GORGEOUS, but because he can throw a pigskin like no one else, and the Patriots are dominate!! Scott’s favorite quarterback is……ELI MANNING, and his team is the New York Giants! Now if you watched the superbowl last year you know why we disagree so harshly on this issue. Scott has had a lot of fun this year teasing me since TB is injured for the season, and the Giants aren’t doing too shabby [although I would never admit to saying that]. Honestly, we don’t really fight about it, but it’s fun to tease each other and have some disagreement over it, keeps life interesting.

So, tell me, do you side with my opinions or Scott’s?

Grandpa

to my grandpa:

i can't believe it's already been a whole year that you have been gone. today doesn't make me sad, but it makes my heart happy to know that you have been in the presence of my Jesus for a whole year. i am sure that it hasn't felt that long for you, as there is so much wonder to take it and so much to be in awe of. it makes me so happy to know that you are whole in every way possible, to know that your body is no longer frail and filled with the pain of cancer, but you are now entirely complete in the presence of our God!

i remember last year when my dad called me at work to tell me the news that you were no longer here on earth with us. when i picked up the phone and i heard my dad on the other end before he even spoke a word i knew that you had passed. my dad said to me, "grandpa passed away this morning, but it's ok." through the brokenness in his voice i knew that he was happy that you had met our maker, but sad that he would never see you in the flesh again. as i sit in the same desk that i received that phone call in a year ago, i still feel a bit of the sadness that i felt that day. i remember thinking that day that you wouldn't be here on my wedding day. that brought so much sadness to me, and even though you weren't there in the flesh, i know that you were very much with me on my special day. i know that you saw the flowers, my dress, our family, the ceremony, and i hope you loved it as much as i did!

at your memorial service, the one thing that everyone said your legacy was is the fact that you loved your God, loved your family, and that you worked hard to instill those values in your family. your legacy is still very much alive today and your family is still growing! among those additions are two new great-grand babies, and a new "grandson". your legacy will always live on in your family as we all continue to live a life committed to love as you did.

grandpa, i miss you, i love you, and i can't wait to hug you and laugh with you in heaven someday!

loving you always,
[your last granddaughter/the caboose of the family]
kimberly ann

humor in the daily news

today i was checking foxnews.com [that is where i get my news from] and i came across this story that i found to be wacky, funny, & a little sad all at the same time. now, the situation itself isn't entirely funny [although the context of it did make me smirk] but the last sentence in the article made me laugh hysterically.

here is the article i read:
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A man faces a domestic battery charge after allegedly hitting his girlfriend with a sandwich as she was driving.

Police said the 19-year-old man became angry and hit the woman in the arm and face with a sandwich, knocking her glasses off, as she was driving along Interstate 95 on Friday.

The victim nearly lost control of the car because she couldn't see the road. Her boyfriend then allegedly ripped off the rear-view mirror and used it to shatter the windshield.

He was arrested, jailed and later freed on $7,500 bail.

Police haven't said what type of sandwich was involved.

...you have to admit that makes you smile.

it's a crazy life...

so for those of you who aren't aware, scott & i work totally opposite schedules during the week. my schedule is 8-5, and scott's schedule is 2-10:30, so during the week we only see each other for roughly a total of 4 hours at the MOST. lately scott has been working till 2 am every night doing some overtime, so i haven't had the chance to see him very much.

it's a crazy life, but it's our life for now. obviously i wish i got to see him more then i do, but we get to have all weekend, every weekend together and we always have fun. today i was thinking about how even during the nights when we aren't together, i still feel like i share my night with him. how you ask? EMAIL!! we email each other when i am still at work, and then when i get home i email him at work till he gets home, or till i go to bed. he tells me about his night, and all the funny/stressful things that are going on, and i tell him about the things i am doing at home. it's our little way of sharing the night together. it may be geeky and/or techie, but it's what we do and i like it. i really don't know what i would do if i didn't at least get some time with him at night to talk to him, i would feel so lonely!

it's funny how you can make things work for you, that whatever you have to deal with or overcome, you just make it work. scott and i improvise what time we have to spend time together, whether that is me driving home on my lunch break to have lunch with him wednesday through friday, or him running up to bed to kiss me goodnight, and chat for a minute or two at 2:30 in the morning, even though i am half-way coherent, we make it work. i look forward to the days when we don't have to be a part so much, but for now, it's what we have and i wouldn't trade it for the world.