All things country

We have had a delightful week. Wednesday morning, the kids and I hopped into the van and drove our little selves out to my sister's house in Nebraska. Aside from the continuous hollering from the small male child in the car (who got on my last nerve just 2 hours from home and was relocated to the back of the van) as to when we would get there, the trip in the car was smooth and happy. We stopped about every 2 hours for a potty break or snack break and arrived at Lisa's house (or Ashley's house because in Michael's mind that is the only person who lives here) just in time to attend VBS with our sweet cousins. We have caught lightning bugs, picked peas from the garden, jumped on the tramp, driven the tractor, gone to VBS, shot off bottle rockets and smoke bombs, shopped, talked, giggled, missed Daddy, caught toads, eaten yummy food, gone swimming, and best of all we've had the ultimate sleep-over; Brittany, Maddie and Marky are all sleeping together downstairs, Lauren and Meredith are upstairs, and Michael is on the floor in Ashley's room. We are all literally the happiest of campers. Life on my sister's farm is fun and full of new adventures for the kids. The only thing missing has been that Daddy hasn't been with us. I've tried to keep him somewhat connected through texts and pictures of the things that we have been doing, but I know that he misses being with us. He is flying here today and there will be happy kiddos (and an even HAPPIER mama) when we pick him up at the airport. There are more adventures to come over the next couple of days. Daddy is joining us today for fun as we stay at a cool Holiday Inn tonight and then go to "Pioneer Village" for some more country memories. I love all of the things we are getting to do together as a family this summer. My family is the best part of my life, and even though my last nerve was shredded 2 days ago (help is in the air!!), being these kids mama is the best job in the whole world. I can't think of any better place to do my job then here at my sister's house connecting my family's hearts with her family's hearts. If we could have dreamed up these days 20 years ago, the knitting of our 8 kids' lives together, our imaginations would have fallen short of the beautiful reality of the last week. Truly the icing on our life-cakes.

Poem

If any little work of mine may make a life the brighter;
If any little song of mine may make a heart the lighter,
God help me speak the little work, and take my bit of singing,
and drop it in some lonely vale to set the echoes ringing.

If any little love of mine may make a life the sweeter,
If any little care of mine make other life completer,
If any lift of mmine may ease the burden of another,
God give me love and care and strength
to help my toiling brother.

Taken from:
"Poems with Power to strengthen the soul".

Celebrating our marriage

Yesterday was Patrick's and my 6th wedding anniversary. A few weeks ago, Patrick took over the task of finding something for us to do for a celebration and he hit the jackpot!! We went to a really wonderful hotel in downtown Denver called "Hotel Manaco". It was very luxurious complete with Aveda (one of my favs!) skin care products. After checking in, we walked over to Larimer Square and had dinner at an amazing mexican restaurant called "Tamayo". It was probably the best food I have ever eaten... at least before I had brunch this morning. Last night, we sat out on the roof of the restaurant, enjoying the nightlife of Denver and the sprinkling of rain by God. We sat under an umbrella and so we were able to stay and enjoy the atmosphere. It was truly beautiful watching the sky and being together. We talked about all that we've done in our 6 years of marriage; we talked about some things that we want to do this year. There was laughter, conversation, remembering, and some satisfying silence - it was perfect. After a wonderful, uninterrupted night's sleep, we stumbled upon a little restaurant called "Parallel 17" and had the most incredible brunch. I could not believe that the food on my plate had been made by mere human hands. It was to DIE for. It was blueberry. walnut and romano cheese stuffed french toast, coated in a cornflake crust. With syrup. And whip cream. And blueberry sauce. Oh my goodness - it made Patrick's biscuits and gravy (which he was drooling over) envious that they were just plain old biscuits and gravy. I seriously haven't ever eaten anything that tasted like this. I loved it so much I wanted to marry it... that would have been awkward though. After our yummy brunch, we drove to the old part of Denver down by the Botanical gardens. We were going to tour those, but decided instead just to take a nice long walk. We ooed and aahed at the amazing mansions, commenting on the old perennial gardens that create such beauty aorund these old structures. The time together celebrating and sharing was wonderful. Looking back to the difficult, yet much needed, life overhaul that happened in the years before I met Patrick, I see God's hand in our meeting and our union. God knew that I needed a man who would commit to me, challenge me, support me, accept me and my 2 children and love me with true love. God blessed me with a man of strong character, mature and Godly worldviews, and un-moveable principles; things I hadn't known before in marriage. These last 6 years have been written on my heart as years of restoration - the restoration of my heart with the gift of real love. The love of God through the gifts of Patrick and my children - all 4 of them. Love that surpasses even blueberry stuffed french toast. My dearest husband, if there was no one else on earth but you, I would want to be right by your side, paddling the rivers of life with you. Thank you for being the most amazing partner and "lottery winner" a girl could have. You are everything I want and never knew I always needed. You have made our corner of the world the best place to be.