Texas Trip Re-cap #1

Ok, the house is messy and I have a million things to do but I really want to write a little about my Texas trip. Oh and seriously, Libby is one spoiled lil girl already!! She has so many beautiful clothes, stuffed animals, and gear. I'll post some pics when I get things straightened up and in order.

So I flew out Thursday afternoon from Newark airport and our plane was delayed, wa-ho. We had one lay-over and then I finally made it into DFW at 9:30. And my sweet Chris and Katey were there waiting for me! It was so good to see them! They took me to their beautiful, new house and we stayed up munching on goodies and catching up.
Friday we were able to meet Jess and the Alexander kids at Chick-Fil-A and it was so wonderful to see them! We laughed and ate and had a wonderful time!


Friday evening was our first shower hosted by Katey. It was so beautiful and so much fun! She and Chris did a great job decorating and preparing. There were yummy sandwiches and snacks and an adorable cake! I have a few pics from that but I'm still waiting on some from Katey...




Hopefully Katey has more pics of the people who came! Thanks so much, girls!!!

Saturday morning Bethanie and I woke up early (she spent the night with me and Chris and Katey's) and were on our way to New Braunfels by 7:57. Yep, thats right, people, a HENDERSON left on time!! She claims that Steve has reformed her but I told her it was because she was with a Shenk. ;)

We made it to Heather's beautiful house by 11:30 where we found a flurry of ladies preparing for our second shower. This one was given by my SILs Heather and Mindy and my MIL Carol Sue. And many other people helped too by preparing and making cakes. And were there cakes!!! Sweet cousin Abby took pictures and she did a great job. Although, again I didn't get many of the people actually attending the shower. :( There was a great turn-out and it was so fun to see everyone!! Thanks for coming!!






We had so much fun and Libby and I got some wonderful gifts. Plus, I got to spend a lot of time with some great ladies! Thank y'all so much!!
I spent the night with family and friends at the Ranch and then Rebecca, mom, Elizabeth and I left to go back Magnolia. I spent the whole week with my family there and that is where I will leave off and resume next time!

An unwanted visitor

Ok, so this weekend we had this guy show up and he has left a few times but has again returned. In my horrid state I never posted any pics but I can't leave it for any longer!




So what do y'all think?! Crazy, huh?

Kid Rock

I guess Tim and I will have to get used to kiddie music before too long. :) Maybe Libby will like this music. ;)



*Thanks to Bethanie for this one!!

Ohhh the pressure!

Well, sorry I've been MIA for a while.
This new thing my friends have on their blog that shows the most recently updated blogs on their link list puts a lot of pressure to write new posts! Plus, I'm feeling another type of nasty pressure. :(
I got back from Texas really early Tuesday morning and went to work doing laundry and unpacking. And then on Thursday I discovered an unwanted souvenir from Texas. A very awful cold. So since then I've been pretty miserable. Right now its taken up residence in my head and isn't moving. This morning I finished up my third box of tissues. Winter colds are awful and in my opinion even worse while pregnant. I wouldn't wish this on anyone! So right now I'm just taking it easy and trying to quell my nesting urges. Yep, people, I'm 33 weeks and getting things set up! My plan is to have all of Libby's things ready by week 36 so I can take it easy and just do cleaning and cooking until her arrival. Plus, you never know what day God will pick for their birthday! A friend of mine went into labor when she was 38 weeks but more often then not its around 41 or so. So we'll see!! No way of knowing at this point!!

One more thing, a big shout out to Hollie for my new blog layout! Thanks so much!! Y'all should all visit her funny site and maybe you'll get a makeover too!

I'll write more about my trip later but for now I'll just say that I had a fabulous time! I love my Texas peeps so much and had a wonderful time with them!!
Pictures to come soon!!

TEXAS!!!

Tomorrow
I'm going to

TEXAS!!!!!!!


The Land of


I can't wait to see everyone!! I love you and I'm so excited!!! :-D

Which Jane Austin heroine are you??

Take the Quiz here!

Take the quiz and then leave your results!!

29 Weeks!!

Here I am at 29 weeks!! Crazy to think that Libby will be here sometime in the next 8-13 wees!! Kind of a big range but we know how babies have their own timing. :) Like I read on another blog, its kind of like preparing for a surprise party for someone but you don't know when they're going to arrive!

We're getting pretty excited but we still have a ways to go. My mom's babies were either a little early or on time but I don't know what that means for me. I'm hoping she comes right around her due date because my mom is planning on coming and I want her here! Unfortunately, she can't come for a whole month so we're just going to have to make a guess.

Oh and you might notice the lovely preggers acne I have going right now. Apparently I don't have the pregnancy 'glow' that so many are blessed to enjoy. Got any suggestions? I've been washing my face 2-3 times a day and doing a mask or scrub every couple of days. I'm willing to try anything!!

Less than a week until Amy and Nathan come and two days after they leave I'm following them back to the great state of TEXAS. I'm going to be gone for 10 days and am going to be in DFW, Austin, and the Houston area. Yippiee!! And my dear friends and family are being so generous as to throw a few showers for me so that will be fun. Kind of a baby party/reunion! Its really a good excuse to get everyone together and eat cake. :) I know I'll have a blast but I'm really going to miss poor Tim. I say poor Tim because I hope he survives. Tim has a the 'unfortunate' problem of forgetting to eat unless food is placed fully-prepared in front of him. So I'm going to be busy the next week prepping and cooking all of his favorites that can be easily frozen so he can just pull them out and heat them up. I'll probably still have to remind him every day though. :) I think its the engineer in him. I'm sure we'll both survive but I am going to miss him a ton!! However, it will be a blast to see all my dear Texas friends and family!! There's just something about Texas, no other place is like it! I think I'll cry when I fly into DFW. Anyway, we'll be back for good before we know it. :)

One more note before I sign off...Tim and I are playing against each other in our Fantasy Football League and I'M KICKING HIS BUTT!!! :D Heeheehee!! I'm the only girl and I got most points last week and it looks like I'll get that again this week. Loads of fun. :) Have a great week!!

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac - who's to blame??

ONE WEEK!!!

Just one more week before these punks come to see us!!!
My little bro, Nathan, and my baby sis, Amy, are coming in Thursday afternoon and are staying until Tuesday! Yippie! I can't wait to see them!!
Amy and I goofing off at my parent's house at Christmastime.

Nathan holding Tim's niece Annabelle at my graduation last summer.

Amy and I at my graduation.

Goofy Nathan shot at my parent's house at Christmas (notice my HS grad pic in the background? :) )

Amy poppin her colla' and visiting me at Arlington - we share a love of Macs and Starbucks. :)


Can't wait to see you two!!!

28 Weeks!!

I'm sitting here in my pj's drinking a cup of tea and writing this post. At the moment I do not have a decent picture to share of my growing belly but I promise one soon! I do want to give a little update as to how things are going and all that. So if you're easily bored go read this blog and you will be much more entertained. Someone else pointed out that they wanted to write things down on their blog as a type of diary to remember how things were at a certain time. So seeing as I have roughly less than 3 months childless I should do the same!

My belly is getting rounder almost every day it seems and there is no hiding the fact that I'm pregnant! I think I'm normally sized although people still ask if I'm 4 or 5 months and then get surprised when I tell them when I'm due. Two sweet Hispanic ladies in DC were convinced that I was having a boy (because of the way I'm carrying?) and weren't sure if I knew what I was talking about when I said "nope, a girl!". I know that everyone carries differently but I'll take anything that will help me avoid getting stretch marks! Oh and if you're preggers or when you are you have to use Burts Bees Mama Bee Belly lotion. It is the best! If I don't use it or if I use something else then my skin gets dry and itchy within an hour. But this stuff is fantastic! Who knows if its actually helping me avoid getting them but I think it does. :)

Libby kicks and very hard! Last night I couldn't sleep so I went and laid down on the couch and watched "What not to Wear" and the Sunday Night Football game. Yes, I have very varied taste. :) And I could see her moving and kicking even with a blanket wrapped around me! Also, after she finally relaxed my insides were a little sore! Maybe my sister is right, maybe she is a future soccer player. :) Another interesting note about her kicks is that I usually notice them in the same place! Anyone else experience that? She's usually kicking way down low or to my right. I hardly ever feel her kicks on my left side. Don't know whats up with that! Its fun to see her move around and I hope she's good and jumpy for my family next month!

My appetite is about the same although I'm trying to eat more protein and veggies so that gets tiresome. I've gained a good amount of weight, right in the middle of the range they say I should be at. My doc says I'm doing fine so I'm not worried about that. I don't want to blow up like a balloon but I also don't want to become overly concerned about my weight so I don't eat the right things for Libby's development.

My youngest sister, Amy, and the oldest boy of my family, Nathan, are coming up to visit a week from Thursday! I'm extremely excited to see them and I know we'll have a blast. They're 18 and 21 respectively so I'm sure they'll have a lot more energy and get-up-and-go than I do at present! So I'm just going to drop them off at the train station and let them explore the city a little. Saturday I think we'll all go in together and I'm really looking forward to that! I wonder if NYC in the fall will be like it is on "You've Got Mail". And now I have an overwhelming desire to watch that movie. :) The weather has been very rainy and humid since Friday so its been a bit dreary without being too cold. I'm really hoping that its bright and sun-shiny and chilly when Amy and Nathan come! They'll really appreciate that!

Tomorrow is my Gestational Diabetes test at my doctors office so hopefully everything comes back normal and I don't have to deal with GD. I haven't had any "symptoms" so maybe that means I won't have to worry about it!

Well, I guess I'd better get some stuff done around here! Hope you have a fantastic day! I think I'll watch "You've Got Mail" today, seems appropriate!

Why Maddie is Crazy

Thanks, Uncle Todd!!

More of DC

Have I mentioned on here that Tim and I have a special place in our hearts for squirrels? I'm sure that some of you will say "ewww! they're gross" or something but whatevs. :) So it was very exciting in DC that the little guys were so tame and I got some great pics. And of course I called Tim and told him all about it. And if we had iphones then we could've sent pics back and forth but oh well. :) Maybe next year.
So here for your viewing pleasure are some very tame squirrels!


Come and get the cookie!

See, isn't that yummy?

This little guy thought he was really cool.

This one loved my purse and had no fear. He was actually searching for the source of the yumminess, smart guy!

What can you get for $22?

THIS!! ($15)

And THIS ($7!)




I also got a winter coat for $5 and some other random stuff. I went with a friend of mine who put some of my stuff in with hers. At this thrift store you just "buy" a big black trashbag and fill it with stuff, she had room so she added my stuff to hers. I will certainly be checking back there for anything we need. Tim already wants me to look for a bookcase - he was very impressed with my finds. :)

I <3 The Weekly Standard!!

Hey guys,
I've added some new links on my site for some news and political sites I enjoy. I especially love the Weekly Standard. They have a great group of editors who all write very intelligently about current events. And a lot of times two of my favs (Bill Crystol and Fred Barnes) guest on Brit Hume's "Roundtable" at the end of the 7pm show on Fox. You gotta check it out!! I'll post some of my favorite stories on here but I challenge you to check them out for yourselves. It is so important to stay informed and reading these sites will really help with that.

The Irrationality of Anti-Americanism

The Passion of Dick Cheney

Sarah Palin and the Sham of Feminism

Let me know what you think! Love 'em, hate 'em? I wanna hear it!

Home sweet home

I got in really late Monday night and am just now getting settled back into the swing of things. The house is a wreck and I've got a lot to do but right now I'm drinking some (de-caf) coffee and watching foxnews. So I will have to conquer those piles of laundry and stacks of dishes...later. :)
The trip was amazing!! I had such a great with sweet Kristin and we did a lot of really fun stuff. I got there on Thursday afternoon and after she got off we went to her house and dumped our stuff before going to the new 911 Pentagon Memorial. It was very powerful and a terrific monument to the people who died seven years ago. The memorial had been dedicated that day and they still had a military band and choir out there. The music was beautiful and the images were very powerful. They had a bench with a reflecting pool underneath each one for each person who was killed. And each bench faced either the Pentagon or away from it based on whether they were on the plane or in the building when it was struck. A lot of the relatives had visited already so there were flowers and pictures on most of the benches. Please go there whenever you visit DC, and I think it was even more special because we went at night. So try to go after dark. :)

On Friday I went in to work with Kristin and hung out a bit before going on a tour of the East Wing of the White House. A lot of people were on this one as you can get a pass through your Congressional office and that was great but I was disappointed in how casually people dressed. Some were wearing shorts and t-shirts even! I know that most of us were tourists but still! Come on, people, you're visiting the WHITE HOUSE!! Okay, done with that rant. :) I hitched on to a group who had a guard who was leading a tour and I learned some neat facts. He was a pretty interesting guy as well! Quite the character. :)
Friday afternoon was probably the neatest thing that I've ever gotten to do in DC. We were able to go to the South Lawn of the White House and greet the President when he came in on Marine One. That was very exciting and very loud! I've never been that close to a helicopter before! He got off and was only about 20 feet away from us! There weren't very many people there so we were at the very front so I got some good pics. He was very happy to see everyone and took a while waving and smiling. It even seemed like he waved and made eye contact with each person. It was a great experience and very neat how he was so excited for everyone to get to be there and he recognized how important it was for us. He's been getting off that helicopter for almost eight years but he still took the time to smile and wave for everyone. Then when we were walking back we saw the Presidential doggie water bowl so I took a pic. Too funny. :)

That night we went back to Kristin's house and one of her sweet roomies made pancakes, bacon, and eggs for us. YUM! (Sidenote: Kristin's roomies are AWESOME! They're some of the coolest girls ever and they make me wish I had had the opportunity to live in a big house o'girls.)

Saturday we had a lazy morning, or at least I did. Kristin went for a run and then mowed their lawn before I even got dressed. She's a hoss. Good thing I rested though because we had a very loooong day! We went to Eastern Market and browsed through a ton of clothes, paintings, jewelry, food, fruit, and pretty much a ton of stuff. We went to a great used book store and I spent a ton of time looking for books on my "Good History Books" list. And success! I found 6 of them! So I should have plenty of reading material to last me a while. And we went to a neighborhood garage sale that ended up being one lone table. However, I found some cute bags and a roomy top, all for $4! After that we hightailed it back to the White House where we found everything roped off. We changed clothes in a coffee shop and were able to do a West Wing tour! So amazing! It was great to get to see the Oval Office, Roosevelt Room, Cabinet Room, and the Rose Garden. Very cool!!! Here is a link to the White House website where the President and others give video tours. It was very exciting to see so much that I've only ever read about or seen in books or movies.

Saturday was a long and tiring day and it felt so good to get back to Kristin's house, take a shower, and make a huge dinner. :)
Sunday we went to Kristin's church and heard a great sermon and I got to meet some of her friends. That afternoon we rested a bit then did a little shopping and ate some pizza that night and watched the movie "Hitch".
Monday I went to work with Kristin again and after some yummy cinnamon rolls made by her co-worker I went to the Holocaust Museum. Again, something every person must do while they're in DC. It was incredible. There were a lot of people there but everyone was extremely quiet and moved silently through the exhibit just trying to take it all in. There weren't a lot of children there but I would think it was suitable for some young people. There were some disturbing videos but they were very strategically placed so you had to consciously choose to watch them and wouldn't just happen upon them. I started out walking very slowly through and reading everything but I realized it would take me all day to get through the museum so I had to scurry through the second half. I got back in time to hang out with Kristin before she walked me to my bus stop. And then I rode a bus for four hours, walked a mile through NYC, and took a very late train (after I missed an earlier one), before finally getting picked up by Tim around 9:30. It was such a fun trip and I'm so glad that I was able to go!!! And if you've been able to read through all of this, here are some pictures as a reward. :)

The spot where the plane hit the Pentagon.

3,000 flags set up at the Pentagon.

On the South Lawn just after the President arrived - it was windy!!

George W. himself!

Kristin and I.

The Press Room where the newsmedia attempts to eat Bush or the WH spokesperson alive.

In front of the White House.

Cooking in Kristin's kitchen!

And the view of the White House from the street.

Mrs. Merkin goes to Washington!

Tomorrow I'm hoping on a bus and heading to Washington, DC! One of my bestest friends, Kristin H. (sister of Bethanie) lives and works in DC and I'm going to visit her! This is Kristin in case you've forgotten.

And I'm going to tour this place!

I'm going to go on tours of both the West and East Wings and I am so thrilled!! Its going to be a great experience! And I hope I don't faint in the foyer. :) What an amazing experience to see the place where so many influential and powerful men have lived and conducted business. As a lover of US History it just sends chills through my veins when I really think about what an amazing place it is. And the whole city is steeped in history of our glorious country! I'm so excited! Plus, I'll get to hang out with one of my favorite people! Kristin is such a unique, special person and she really adds a lot to my life. Plus, we go waaaaaay back so if nothing else we can watch "That Darn Cat" and laugh about old times. That classic movie is our two families "theme movie". All of us can probably quote the whole thing. Reminds me, we gotta make sure the younger ones have that deep appreciation of this Disney classic.
So that is what I'm going to be doing this weekend! I'm going to take bunches of pictures and I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back! Until then I have some laundry and cleaning to do, oh joy. :)

Holy cow, I "popped"!

Here's a quick pic I just took with my mac's camera. In all my make-up free glory. ;) Gosh, I look huge!! I keep meaning to take a new one, or get Tim to but I kept forgetting. So here's one from 25 weeks and 2 days! :)
PS Doesn't Maddie look cute? She's asking me what on earth I'm doing and can I please stop and play with her? :)

My Garden!

Wow, my garden is currently a sad little mess. However, the neighborhood cats have enjoyed having a nice sand box to use this summer. Which has contributed to its yuckiness. Its a sad spiral, I didn't do much with it, the cats pooped in it, and so then I avoided it in all its stinkiness. But my garden did not abandon me! Here is some proof of what I've gathered from it.


It has been so nice to be able to go out and harvest tomatoes whenever I needed them. And we've had a lot! I've been cooking all sorts of yummy tomato related recipes and I may be biased but I think they taste awesome! Plus, its nice to think that I know exactly where they came from and didn't have bug juice sprayed on 'em.
My other huge garden-related success has been with the herbs I've grown. All summer I've had a bountiful supply of basil, oregano, and parsley! So now I'm totally spoiled and can go out at any time and pluck some fresh herbs for whatever I'm cooking. Its certainly caused and extra bit of yumminess in my cooking, again, is it only because I'm biased? Hmmm, I don't have any pictures of those but I have them in a cute little striped tin that I busted some holes in and filled with dirt. And its worked great! I wonder if I could try to plant some fresh stuff in there and try to grow it inside. We have a lot of windows and therefore a lot of sunlight in our sun room. Any tips? have any of y'all had any experience with doing this?
And tonight I'm going to go make us some homemade spaghetti. I actually made it a couple of weeks ago but I made a ton and stuck it in the freezer. I love doing that and will hopefully be able to get a deep freeze soon, our freezer is so full now! And so I'd better go do that, hope you're having a great day! (new belly pics coming soon!!)

Whatcha reading?

A few weeks ago I finally went to our little town library and got a card. Growing up my family went on weekly trips to the local library where we would routinely check out 20+ books. This frazzled my poor mother (think of the potential library fines!) so she always made us write down the titles and the name of the person who checked them out. Usually the culprits were my younger sister, Stephanie, and I. Between us we probably checked out at least half of the family's weekly book list. We mowed through the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books as well as other random ones. (I'll give a list of my favorite children's books later.)
Anyway, she and I both have retained our love of reading although she's been much more of a prolific reader in high school and now college. In fact, she's even majoring in English! So I talked to said sister on one of my trips and she recommended the author Harlan Coben. Since then I've read a couple of his books and was highly entertained. They are a bit "PG-13" but are a very easy read. Much like watching a movie, not a lot of intellectual stimulation but they will give your imagination a run for its money! I enjoyed the Myron Bolitar novel better but when I looked at Coben's website I discovered that the other one I read "Tell No One" is now a movie. Maybe I'll make Tim watch it when it comes out on video.
So those are the novels I picked up. But in order to actually develop my mind I have also been reading some non-fiction. There is quite a variety among these titles. First off is one titled "Real Change" by Newt Gingrich. This was as interesting and yet depressing read. It discussed a number of topics ranging from health care to social security reform. I leaned a great deal from this book and it helped me figure out more of what I believe on different issues and reasons why. I might go into this book more later, in fact. Another non-fiction book I've read is probably not too interesting to many of you, but the title is "Husband Coached Childbirth" its a book about natural childbirth and is extremely interesting. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is expecting.
So those are the ones I've gotten through in the past couple of weeks and now I'm working on a couple more. A most interesting one is a history of George Washington titled "His Excellency" by Dr. Joseph Ellis. This is another one which I'll probably go into more detail later. And last but not least is one that I've heard a great deal about, "Blue Like Jazz". My mom got it for me for my birthday and I'll probably get through it pretty quickly. I've heard that a lot people have greatly enjoyed this one so I'm excited to finish it.
So what about y'all? Love to read? Hate it? I'm usually a fast reader, especially with fiction, but a little slower with non-fiction stuff. Are you a quick or slow reader? And what do you prefer? Fiction or non? I'd love to hear any suggestions anyone might have.

>>>>NEWSFLASH<<<<

Tim has declared me "officially pregnant". Last night was the first time of our married life where he got cold and I was hot! I had to move to sleep in front of the window fan while he shivered next to me. This morning he said, "well, I guess you're really pregnant." Gee thanks for noticing, sweetie!

On a side note, August weather up here in Yankeeland is AWESOME! It actually gets chilly at night! And our window fans feel like ac units, in fact, I don't even turn them on anymore!! Time to pack away the fans already? Wow! Crazy! (sorry to all my TX peeps who are still sweltering).

23 weeks!

Its so encouraging to see the number of weeks remaining growing smaller. I'm a fan of the count-down and I like thinking, only 16 1/2 weeks to go! And it won't be long until I'm under 100 days! Everything is going well, no weird symptoms, just the eye troubles. Yesterday while I was on my walk one of my glasses lenses popped out so I put my contacts in when I got back. BIG mistake!! By 6pm they were very red and hurt something awful. And when I woke up this morning they were both bright red, sore, with little crusties around the lids. Pretty picture, huh? And they hurt so bad that I had to stay in my bedroom with the lights off and windows darkened until after lunch. Tim says that being pregnant is turning me into a vampire (isn't he sweet?). Oh well, its all for a good cause, right? All I can hope is that it clears up after she's born and doesn't continue on.

Onto happier subjects...we found a birthing class! After some research and discussion we decided to enroll in a Bradley Birthing Class. They really emphasize the role of the husband in the process and teach you all about birth. I'm excited about it! You can find out more information at http://www.bradleybirth.com/. The instructor is a nurse and has been teaching the class for 17 years. We're starting at the end of September and it meets every week for 10 weeks. Each class is going to focus on a different topic such as, nutrition, relaxation, nursing, preparing for the baby, and post-natal care. She's also going to go over different "interventions" (i.e. epidural) and c-sections and when they're necessary. All in all, I think we'll both learn a lot and I'm really looking forward to them!

This Saturday is my birthday!! I love having my birthday on a weekend and even better its on a holiday weekend! Tim has a present for me and he wants to take me to our favorite restaurant on Friday night! Hurray for huge plates of pasta!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

GOTCHA!!

Today was a day that one of my favorite families will never forget. It was their "Gotcha Day" where they were able to pick up their sweet little boy, Abe, from Ethiopia. This is their blog and here is a direct link to an amazing slide-show of this special day!
CONGRATS ALEXANDER FAMILY!!!

Bethanie has a blog?!

Hey guys!! Wanted to tell you to check out "Buff's Blog" I linked to her new blog. She is Tim's cousin (one of the H kids from my previous story) and we grew up together. Bethanie and my older sister, Rebecca, are very close in age and were always best friends. I was the annoying younger sister who tagged along and wasn't always welcomed. (She called me "Forgetful Jones" for some reason - he was a Sesame Street character - and I called her "Barfany"). But interestingly enough, now were are very close and I count her as one of my bestest friends. She was the only person we knew in Dallas when we first moved there as a newly married couple and she came over so many times to hang out and make dinner with me. And we created some interesting memories. Like the time she and her friend Mary rode to the ranch with us for Thanksgiving. Four people, one small car, a ton of luggage, a litter box, and two cats. And one of those cats had a tendency for car-sickness. Ahh, that was a good trip!
She was also in our wedding as one of our bridesmaids and played a beautiful piano piece and sang a trio with her sister, Kristin, and my sis, Rebecca. Well, I'd better scoot now but maybe she can write about some of her memories. She always did have the best memory of our group!
Also, she, as all the H's are, is extremely interesting so I know you will enjoy whatever she has to write. So go check her out and leave her a comment.
And here are a few pics of my beautiful cuz-in-law. :)

My Tim

Tim and I celebrated our forth anniversary last week and I had wanted to write something about him and us but just hadn't done it yet. So now I need to or else I never will, right? And I'm about to get a second cup of coffee (shhh!) so I know I'll be filled with energy. :) And this might get rather long so I'll try to sprinkle in some pictures. And feel free to grab some coffee for yourself!
He is so precious to me and I think we have one of the sweetest love stories I've ever heard (I might be biased but I'm sure other's would think it is pretty interesting!) So I'm going to tell that today!
Background info: My parents have been life-long friends with Georgianna and Eric H. They met my dad before he met my mom and have had a very special relationship. They were the ones who led him to the Lord and Georgianna prayed for a long time that my dad would marry a Christian girl. Well, he found my mom in New Plymouth, NZ and she was not a Christian. However, God is good and Georgianna was able to come to NZ for the wedding and just days before led her to the Lord too!! And such was the beginning of their life-long friendship.
Fast-forward a couple of decades and the H's have seven kids and my family has seven kids. We all grew up super close to each other and spent a lot of time visiting back and forth. One year I went down to the H's and we took a picture in their van, all the H's and me. Mimi (Georgianna's mom) saw the photo and asked me for a copy, which I sent her and which she placed on her fridge. Very important part of the story!! :)
Georgianna has two sisters and one brother and the sister right under her is Carol Sue M. Well, Carol has four kids and her oldest boy happens to be Tim! Since we had grown up so close to the H's we also knew the M's really well, and I was good friends with his mom and sisters. I had seen a couple of pictures of Tim and always heard great things about him but strangely enough we never met! In all those years of rendezvous with the H's and M's Tim and I were never in the same place at the same time! And honestly I don't think that Tim knew I existed...until the fall of 2002. He was at Mimi's house and happened to see the photo on her fridge. Hmmm, he said, "who is that girl with all of my cousins?" Oh thats Stacy S. everyone said! "Who is she?" Tim replied. And everyone gasped because they were shocked that he did not know that precious and wonderful family! ;) You know how mom's and aunts are and they claim to this day that they "set us up" after Tim's question. He very nonchalantly asked his mom to invite our family to the Ranch for Thanksgiving but we were unable to go. (which was a blessing because I was at the end of a dead-end relationship and it wouldn't have been the best timing.)
However, the opportunity soon came for us to meet and it happened in typical H and S fashion. I was asked to drive from Houston to the Hill Country (where the Ranch is) for the day and pick up a few Henderson kids. A "kid swap" as we called it. This was a few days after Christmas (Jan. 7th to be exact) and my mind started thinking. We had gotten a Christmas letter from Carol Sue and family with several pictures in it and I saw Tim and thought, "hmm he's really cute!" And then over Christmas I learned that he had broken up with his long-time girlfriend the previous summer (remember the picture, Kristin?). So on the morning of the 7th I thought he might be at home on break from school so I shamelessly curled my hair and put on make-up. Heehee, the wily ways of a woman! ;) Oh and I was 19 at the time!
My sister and I arrived at the ranch and as we were walking up to the house I realized that Tim was not there. Oh well! I learned that he was at work in San Antonio and was hoping to get off in time to come hang out. In the meanwhile we all went on a horse ride through the ranch and I rode double with Carol Sue (Tim's sweet mom). And the whole time she told me about the ranch and talked a lot about her oldest son. :) Then when we arrive back at the house after our ride she announced "Tim is here!". And there he was! He came walking up to us and we shook hands and I was still on the horse (soo romantic!). We then all went inside and ate some lunch and played some cards. Tim never left my side and strategically asked questions about me (like how old I was!). And I thought, "hmmm, this is interesting, I'm going to test him". And I announced that I wanted to go outside and go for a walk and just went out without asking him to go with me. Yup, he followed. :) And the group was taking a while to get going so I grabbed the nearest H kid (Kathleen!) and the three of us set out on a walk. More questions, one of which got us on the subject of baseball. Now, everyone who knows me at all knows that I love baseball and have been in love with the Atlanta Braves (and Chipper Jones!) since I was eleven. Kathleen knew this so when Tim announced that he too liked the Braves she just snorted. Soo hilarious! She was the best little chaperone! And then we were talking about something else and Tim gave this killer line, "since we're talking about computers, can I have your email address?" Priceless!! I said yes and thought to myself, I'll give it to him if he asks me again. :)
We made our way back to the house talking and talking and silent Kathleen just taking it all in (thanks again, Kathleen! You're the best!). And we actually took a group photo but I don't think I have it scanned in.
Anyway, he did ask me again and so I gave it to him and after a long and very interesting day we started back to Houston. The next morning I went back to work and my sweet friend Lizzles (Elizabeth D) knew something was up. Might be the way I didn't really walk into the room but floated in and told her about this cowboy I met the day before. I wasn't sure if he would email me but when I checked that morning there it was! Our very first (of many!) emails!
I don't have a picture of the two of us when we first met scanned in and I'm feeling kind of lazy. So here's one from March of '03 when we were able to spend a lot of time together over spring break.

At the ranch sitting on the fence while my patient brother conducted a little photo shoot for us. (Thanks Nathan!)
And that was the beginning of my relationship with my wonderful Tim! I'll probably post more later but now I'm all hyped up and need to get to work! But let me post just a few more cute photos of us (if I may say so myself!).

Another one from that spring break. Gosh! We look young!

Post-wedding family camping trip.

This was also taken after we got married but I still like it.

Sooo happy to be marrying him! And he cried the whole time.

Best kiss EVER.

Ok, this has inspired me to post more pictures of our wedding. It was so perfect and we made so many memories!! Seth was the best, best man ever! Every time we looked at each other up there we both started cracking up. It was great! Ok, more about that and the crazy wedding assistant lady later!!
Love y'all!!