Ode to my husband

I am blessed!  Even when life is tough, I try to remember the blessings in my life.  One of those blessing is my husband, Brian.  Almost 12 years ago when we said, "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health," we never could have imagined how much we would be tested.  This amazing man has stood by me over the last 8 years as we have suffered loss, not once, but twice and has watched me suffer debilitating dizziness every day.  So, if you don't mind, I'd like to share with you a little bit about this man I call my husband.

He has an amazing heart for those less fortunate.  He loves to serve the orphans and the widows.  This is one of my favorite pictures that was taken while he was in Haiti just a few short weeks ago.  He hadn't been to Haiti since the summer of 2010.

 

He is an amazing dad to our daughters.  I love to just sit back and watch the way he gently instructs the girls and how he makes them think for themselves.  I love to listen to him read to the girls at night.  He has passed on his love of C.S. Lewis and the girls enjoy hearing him read the Chronicles of Narnia. I love how he takes them to dances and on dates.  It's so important that my girls know how a man should treat them when they starting dating. Daddy makes sure they know how loved and valued they are.

Brian loves to run and compete in triathlons.  I was so proud of him this last weekend when he competed in the Birmingham Mercedes Marathon and beat his PR by a landslide.  This was his 3rd marathon (Boston 2008 & Miami 2010) and by far his fastest.  I also love to watch how he encourages others to take up the sport.  I can't tell you how many people have started running because of Brian's gentle encouragement.

Brian, I wanted to publicly thank you for being an incredible husband and father.  I didn't want to wait until Father's Day or our anniversary to let you know how I felt.  Today just seemed like the perfect day.  I love you with all of my heart and I want to thank you for being such an amazing example of Jesus to me.  I know at times it's been hard to watch me suffer and know there is really nothing you can do to help me, but pray.  Those prayers mean the world to me.  Thank you for helping around the house and caring for the girls, when I just simply can't.  You are more than I could've ever asked for and I am so thankful God chose me to be your wife.

Ups and Downs

I'm having one of those days.  I know we all have them, but today just plain stinks.  I really want to throw myself a pity party right here and now, but I'm going to refrain.  Really, what would it help anyway.  It wouldn't do anything but letting the devil get an even bigger foothold into my life than he already has.

In a nutshell, I have a migraine and the dizziness is getting worse.  How can this be?  I finally have a diagnosis and therapy to help it, but it's not. Would you please pray for me?  I'm at the end of my rope.  I called my hubby in tears today at the office.  I hate doing that, but sometimes I just have to and it's better to break down to him, then in front of the girls.

So as sweet and supportive as only my man can be, he blogged about it.  You can read it here.  He doesn't know I am writing this, but if you would love to leave him a comment on his blog, that would be awesome.  He would be thrilled.  I'd love to do a little something for him to say thank you for taking such good care of me.  Thanks y'all. 

There's no crying in football

Today's blog brought to you by my hubby.  Thanks honey.

Daddy is a little too obsessed with fantasy football. My daughters, then 3 and 5, sensed this. Instead of trying to cut back on my fantasy football, I decided to welcome them to my world and try to get them addicted, too. Rather than doing the more complex fantasy football where you pick individual players by position, I started a Yahoo 'pick'em' league. For this league, once a week you go online and pick the team you think will win.  You can't get any simpler than that. Based on her love of ballet, Sydney's team was named "I Rock The Tutu". Brooklyn's became "Zhu Zhu Princess" after her toy collection. I recruited my mother-in-law, who is so football obsessed I can't watch games with her, a brother-in-law, and my only two friends who are more addicted to fantasy football than me, to round out our league.

Last year, I'd name off the cities and names for each team, and the girls would pick. This year, I'd start to say the city and they'd cut me off before I'd get to the team. I'd say "Green Bay..." and they'd yell "Packers!". Both girls had learned the names of every NFL to go with the city, although there are occasional pronunciation issues with the Raibers and the Rabens.

The girls have a funny way of picking teams.

Kindergarten Favorites

I found this idea on Pinterest, so I cannot take credit it for it, but how cute is this?  I knew as soon as I saw it I had to do it for Brooklyn's first day of Kindergarten.  Before school, I took her to our backyard and snapped the picture.  Then I downloaded it on to Picnik, my favorite website to create my photos, and then typed in the info.  Easy as that.  I am going to do this for every grade.  How neat will that be to see how her favorites change over the years.  Can't wait to do this with Sydney next year.

Brooklyn had a great first day and I didn't cry one bit.  I couldn't believe it.  I think it's because she's been in preschool since she was 2 years old, although it was only 2 days a week then, so I was used to her being in school, if that makes sense.  I am looking forward to a great school year.

I couldn't end this post without wishing my hubby a very special birthday.  I love you Brian and I am thankful to be your wife.  I hope your day is fantastic.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

There are many perks to my husband's job and one of those is getting free tickets to sporting events.  This time it was thanks to Dusty Baker, the coach of the Cincinnati Reds.  We had the best seats.  Right behind home plate.

The Reds are my husband's favorite baseball team.  He's followed them since he was a young kid growing up in Indiana.  He was so excited to take the girls to see their first Major League game.  The Reds were playing the Cleveland Indians, so it made for a great interstate rival.

Great American Ball Park is gorgeous.  One of the best, in my opinion.  The Ohio River is just right behind the stadium and they have a lookout where you can see the river. 

I wish I could say that the Reds won, but unfortunately, that was not the case.  They lost 8-1.  Yikes!  We all had a blast and that's what matters most.  The highlight of the game for the girls was the ice cream in the baseball hat.  Can't go to a ballgame without picking one of those up. 

This pictures makes me smile.  What a dream come true for Brian to be able to take his girls to see his favorite baseball team play. 

We did get to see one of the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen in my life. It went on for almost 25 minutes after the game. What a way to start off the 4th of July weekend.

Dad's Day

The girls helped me make breakfast for daddy this morning. They even helped me make his favorite, Chocolate Croissants. Ok, so I know this looks like something that should be served for Mother's Day, but I felt like my hubby was man enough to be served breakfast in bed. 

The girls felt like joining him.  I'm loving the bedhead. (Sorry the photo stinks.  I used my brand new iPhone.  I don't know what happened.  Ugh!)

The highlight of our day was taking a canoe trip after church.  We went down the Harpeth River and had a ton of fun.  I didn't know how the girls would do since you have to sit pretty still, but they did awesome.  Towards the end, Sydney was getting tired.  She kept asking me when it was going to end.  The problem is I had no clue.  It's not like there are signs or anything to tell you where you are.  

It took us about 2 hours to go 3 1/2 miles.

We stopped about an hour in to let the girls get out of the boat and stretch their legs.  They loved finding some seashells and playing in the rocks.

We had a fantastic day!  I am so thankful that I have such an amazing husband who is such a great dad.  The girls love him so much.  Thanks honey for all you do to provide for our family and for loving Jesus!  I read this quote today that I loved and wanted to share it with you. 

“The greatest thing a FATHER can do for his children, is to love their mother."

 -Anjaneth Garcia Untalan

I can't sign off without wishing a Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad.  I am so blessed to have a father that has shown unconditional love to me and my sisters.  He was there at every soccer and softball game I ever played, every choir performance I sang in, and now we are doing races together.  At 71 years old, he is my hero.  I love you more than words can say.  I will always be your little girl.

Name Dropping

Saturday was a historic day in the Lord household.  My hubby went cycling with Lance Armstrong.  Yes, the one and only, Lance Armstrong. 

I guess I should mention that there were 1498 other cyclists among them, but whose counting.  The event was called Harpeth River Ride.  Cyclists from all over middle Tennessee came to ride.  You had your choice of 20 miles, 42 miles, 62 miles and 100 miles.  Brian chose to ride 62 miles.  Lance rode 100 miles.  Fun fact: this was Lance's longest ride since he competeted in the Tour de France last summer.  Brian was right behind Lance at the finish line.  If you look closely in the photo you can see Brian back in the red.  Way to go Brian.  So proud of you!

This is not the first time Brian has been in the presence of the greatest cyclist ever.  A couple of years ago, Brian booked Lance for an event in Salt Lake City.  He got to get his picture taken with him.  

Speaking of the one of the greatest ever, I told you that Brian got to meet Peyton Manning a few weeks back.  He had booked Peyton to speak at an event in Indianapolis and had the pleasure of hanging with Peyton for a few hours.  Brian said he's incredibly nice and very down to earth.  This had to be a dream come true for Brian since he was born and raised in Indiana and the Colts are his favorite football team.

Well, that's enough name dropping for one evening.  I am super proud of my hubby as you can see. 

Weekend Wrap Up & Tuesday's Tip

We had a fun filled, jam packed weekend and I'm just now recovering from it.  My friends and I had a garage sale starting bright and early on Sat.  I left there around 8:00 to go see the girls do a mini triathlon.  They bike, run and run through sprinklers for the swim part.  It is the cutest thing ever.  They love it.  They get a shirt and a medal just like daddy.  Speaking of daddy, he rocked his triathlon in Knoxville on Sunday.  He beat his PR by 28 minutes.  We are so proud of him.

Brooklyn had her last soccer game of the spring season.  She scored 4 goals.  She was on fire.  She loves the game and she really hustles.  I just love to watch her play.  Reminds me of myself when I was her age. I just couldn't get enough and was constantly kicking a soccer ball whenever I got the chance. 

Now that soccer is over, it's time for swimming.  We only like our girls to do one event at a time.  That keeps me from running around like a mad woman and allows us to have family meal time at night.  Sydney is still loving ballet and dressing up like a princess.  The child is obsessed with all things sparkly and beautiful.  I asked her if she wanted to play soccer in the fall, but she was not having it.  I think it's because she would have to wear shorts. :)  We'll ask again in the spring to see if she wants to play.

Daddy left on a business trip today so I am playing single mom til Friday.  Ugh! I will clue you in on Thursday as to what big time NFL star he gets to hang with.  He will be his right hand man for 3 hours tomorrow.  Brian is beyond thrilled.  Any guesses as to whom?  I'll give you a hint.  He's a quarterback.

I'll leave you with a quick Tuesday's Tip.  I bought this stamp about a month ago. 

It's called Guard Your ID Stamp and can be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $9.99 (I used a coupon  and got it for $8).  I love it.  I'm worried about having my identity stolen and this was one way I felt I could guard against that.  Before I recycle our mail or anything with our name and address on it, I use this stamp.  I used to use a Sharpie, but this works so much better.  I highly recommend it.

Results

So I had food allergy testing today and it came back positive for peanuts and almonds.  Lovely.  We don't do peanuts at home, but we do eat Almond Butter, which I love.  So I will come completely off of peanuts and almonds and see if I feel any better.  I will have to read every single label and menu to make sure there are no peanuts in anything.  I also had blood drawn for Celiac and we should know within a week or so.  It's probably doubtful that I have it, but you never know.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  This is an incredibly difficult season for me.  I thought losing Jonathan was bad enough, but this has pushed me over the edge.  Please pray for Brian.  He is amazing.  I am so incredibly blessed.  He never complains, he just encourages and loves me.  He has hope when I have none.  He has to help me around the house and with the girls because I just physically can't do it.  He works so hard and I HATE that he has to help me.  I love you my sweet husband.  You are an angel.

In other news.  We have one fertile bird hanging out on our door.  :)  Can you believe 5 eggs?  From what I read, it's pretty rare for them to lay more than 4 eggs.  It's getting exciting.

Diamonds Are Forever!

Brian and I were laying in bed last night discussing the fact that 10 years ago last night we were getting ready to say "I Do".  We had no idea what the anniversary gift was for 10 years so we decided to google it.  It was diamond.  Let me just say that Brian got lucky when he married me because I am not really into jewelry.  In fact the only jewelry I wear is my engagement ring and wedding band and my necklace with all of my kids names on it.  That's it.  So he's getting off pretty cheap this year I must say.

I love this picture of Brian because, he will probably kill me for putting it up here, but I look at it and see a strong, athletic, goal achieving, perservearing, hard worker, manly man.  He pushes me to be the best I can be in everything I do.  He encouraged me to start running, who am I kidding, walking 5K's.  I am so glad he did because I love them.  I've learned to push past what I don't think I can do and I have beat my time every single race.  Thanks Honey!

I look at this picture and I see a caring, confident, hard working, positive and Godly man.  He was wearing a suit when I first met him 11 years ago and I always thinks he looks dashing. :)

This picture makes me smile from ear to ear.  I knew when we were dating that Brian would be an amazing father and I was so right.  He's caring, loving, encouraging and a human jungle gym for our sweet girls.

Brian, I love you with all of my heart and I count it a priviledge to be your wife.  Thank you for 10 years of laughter, love and for being strong when I needed you the most.  Happy Anniversary!

What would you do to lose weight?

Last week Brian came to me and told me this grand way he was going to shed a few lbs. First let me say that my hubby isn't overweight, but he's a runner and a triathelete wanting to shed some fat and trade it in for muscle. I couldn't wait to hear what he had planned.

He said he was going to give up sweet tea and Coke for the entire month of March. I liked his plan, one because I don't like him drinking the Coke because of all the chemicals in it and two, I've always told him if he cut out the sugar, he'd lose weight. I liked his plan until he told me the rest of it.

To find out what this picture has to do with losing weight, you'll have to go to Brian's blog to find out.

One Night

ONE NIGHT


Holy cow, are we busy?
running around
getting milk, paying bills
wishing lost socks found

Could we just have one night,
not as parents, not as friends
or grand kids or mourners
trying to make amends,

Just a guy and girl,
just for tonight,
no worries at all
just for one night.

Not as accountants or salesmen,
Or moms or bloggers
Not as 'cookers' or cleaners
Or swimmers or joggers

Just you and just me,
sitting here holding hands,
no need for thinking,
no need for big plans.

Just a guy and girl,
just for tonight,
no worries at all
just for one night.

Tomorrow's for thinking,
for stressing, for kids fighting,
There'll be time for working,
Just not for tonight(-ing)

We've come along way,
Ten Valentine's tonight,
No crying about Janet Jackson tix,
Will that be alright? :)

Just a guy and girl,
just for tonight,
no worries at all
just for one night.

Written by: Brian Lord for his wife

Dancin with my girls

Tonight's post is being brought to you by my hubby. Thanks babe.


Last night, I got to take two of my three favorite girls to a dance. (Krista got her Valentine’s date on Friday.) This was Brooklyn’s second Daddy-Daughter Dance, and Sydney’s first. Throw in two cousins and a neighbor, and about 200 other 3- to 12-year-olds, and you got yourself a party.
Brooklyn was the old pro, and told Sydney Kate and their friend Grace everything they could expect at the dance. Punch, cookies, dancing, and colorful balloons were described in detail, although I think Syd only made it to cookies before she got too excited to concentrate.

Having two girls this time was easier and harder than last time. Syd is an explorer and was all over the place, so I had to try to chase her down a few times. It wasn’t till the end (when she started getting tired and the sugar was wearing off) that she wanted to dance with just me. She and Brooklyn entertained each other most of the night, with a few dances with daddy thrown in. Otherwise, it all cousins, screams, and sugar cookies.

This is certainly one of those times I’ll cherish. Right now, I’m the coolest guy in their universe (with the possible exception of Alvin Seville). A month or two ago, Brooklyn told me she wanted to marry me when she grows up, so that I can have an old wife and a young wife. When I’m with the girls out in public, I’ll have 50-something guys walk by and with a knowing smile say “Enjoy it now, its not going to last forever!” You know what old dudes? The next one of you who tells me that is going to get a knee in the groin. I know time is fleeting, I know they won’t think I’m this awesome forever, and I know I can’t change that. But I am making sure I do things like this now so I’ll have those memories later. Being a dad is awesome.

Team Lord Brings It Home

It's been an eventful sports weekend in the Lord house. As you know, Brian ran in the Ragnar Relay and his team did awesome. They finished 2 1/2 hours ahead of schedule. They were so pumped. They finished 4th in their age group and 64th out of 160 teams. Not to shabby. He was only able to sleep an hour during their break time, so by the time he got home he was exhausted. We all joined him for nap time and slept from 4-7. Not ideal because then we were all up until 10:00 p.m., but thankfully we gained an hour sleep. Yeah!

I know I have told you this before Brian, but I am so proud of you. Proud of you for organizing your team and pulling it all together. I know you've had a stressful time with everything that has happened and I'm just glad it all went well and now you can relax.


Brooklyn had her last soccer game of the season on Saturday. I hate that daddy had to miss it because she rocked. Seriously, I was so proud of her. This was her first season to play and at the beginning I was thinking we had made a mistake. She did not want to be out on the field. It was like pulling teeth to get her to play. She literally cried and didn't want to go out and play. It was one of the first times as a parent that I really didn't know how to handle the situation. Do I let her quit or do I tell her to just try her best and make her play?

Here's where I get "The mom of the year award". I bribed her. Yes, you heard me right. I told her she could get a Zhu Zhu pet if she went out there and played her hardest. Amazing what can happen when you offer up a toy. It was a miracle. The child got out onto the field and hustled. So that's how I got her to play. Thankfully, in the meantime, she fell in love with the game.

Fast forward to this Saturday. She was so excited to play. She told me she was going to score 2 goals before the game. They called a water break about 10 minutes into the game and she came over crying hysterically. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was upset that she didn't score any goals. She thought the game was over. I started cracking up and told her that it was just a break and that she could get back out there and score. That's exactly what she did. She didn't score 2 goals, but 5. Yep, 5 goals. I couldn't believe it. I was proud of her for the goals, but more proud of how she got out there and played her heart out. She would fall and get back up and hustle to the ball. It was like I was watching a totally different child.
So I guess I will be signing her up for Spring soccer next week. It does my heart good to know that she is liking the game that her mommy and aunties loved growing up. Who knows what the soccer future holds for her, but as long as she loves it and is having fun, I will encourage her to play. I was all set to post all these cute pictures I took of her at the game on Saturday until I went to take the photo card out of my camera and realized I didn't have one in the whole time. I am such a dork. Seriously, who does that? I am so bummed. Oh well. There's always next season. (This video is from the goal she scored last week. Thankfully my friends got all 5 goals on video yesterday and will be giving me a disk so daddy can see them. Thanks Brandi & Phillip).

The Long Run-Part 2

Brian and the team are doing great. I spoke to him around 8:00 and they were 30 minutes ahead of schedule. He said it was cold, but that he did really well, faster than what he expected to run. I can tell he and the team are having a blast. They are supposedly eating tacos and doing Karaoke while they wait for their van to be up again to run. I hope someone is recording it.

Speaking of video. They are doing little snippets while they are there and posting them on to Facebook, so I thought I would share some here. Brian is the one you can hear narrating the video.


His next run is around 3 am and the temp is supposed to be about 25 degrees. I'm praying they can keep their energy up and bring it on home. They will be getting back to our house around 5:45 a.m. where they will get to sleep for about 5 hours before they have to run again. The girls and I spent the night at my parents so they could have all the beds and the peace and quiet.

They are running for a great cause. They are raising money to feed children in the Dominican Republic. I am personally donating $1 for every comment left on yesterday's post and today's post. I would really appreciate your help. Please don't make me beg. :)

The Long Run

Brian will run from Chattanooga to Nashville tomorrow. Crazy right? I think so anyway. Ok, so let me explain. He's not actually running the whole way himself. He is part of a team of 12 runners (2 vans of 6 runners) who will each take a different leg of the race. It's called the Ragnar Relay and starts off at the Chattanooga Riverfront and ends at the Nashville Riverfront. He is pretty pumped about it. The best part is when the team is done, Lonestar will be doing a concert for them. How cool is that? I may brave the crowd and take the girls. I love Lonestar.

In all, there will be 160 teams of 12 runners. That's a whole lot of runners, about 2000 to be exact. Brian will be running his first leg of 6.5 miles over Monteagle sometime around 5:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. He will run his second leg of 4 miles, in Shelbyville, at 3:30 am Sat. morning when it's 25 degrees. Yikes! He loves running in the cold so I know he will be fine, but I just pray he's safe in the dark. He'll be wearing a headlamp and a runners vest so he can be spotted easily. I just pray there aren't alot of cars on the road or drunk drivers. I've been assured that this is a very well planned out race and they've taken every precaution to keep the runners safe.

Brian's team is running for a good cause. They are raising money for Servant's Heart Ministry. It's a program that feeds children in the Dominican Republic. Just $1 provides a meal for 1 child. I would love for you to support this ministry if you are able to do so. Even if you can just donate $1 you will help 1 child have a hot meal. You can donate here. Also, for every comment I receive on this post, I will donate $1 to Servant's Heart. I would love to see how many kids we can feed.

Thank you for your support and please pray for all the runners tomorrow and Saturday. You can follow Brian and the team on Twitter to see where they are in the race.

Date Night

I've been looking forward all week to a night on the town with my sweet hubby. The girls are over at my sisters having a slumber party with their cousins.

We decided to go to Chipotle for dinner tonight. It was so yummy. I love Chipotle for their fresh and natural ingredients. I love what their slogan, "food with integrity". I'm on a 12 week detox, more on that later, so this was a great way for me to eat out and eat healthy. All of their meats are organic or naturally raised, which means no hormones, antibiotics, or steroids, and they get alot of their produce from local growers. If you have one in your area you should check them out.
We decided to rent this movie to watch tonight. Have you seen it?

I know it came out along time ago, but we just never have time to go to the movies. Well, that and the fact that it costs an arm and a leg to see a movie in the theatres these days, so we wait til it comes out at Redbox. You can't beat seeing a movie for $1. I've heard it's hilarious, so hopefully we won't be disappointed.

Busy weekend with lots of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating. I hope you all have a great and safe weekend. I'll be spending mine with Minnie Mouse and Jilly, The Zhu Zhu pet.

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is my husband's 35th birthday. Yes I robbed the cradle and married a younger man. Thankfully he looks older than me though. :)

It's been a rough week as you all know so I didn't have time to make a cake. Thankfully, my sweet friend Amanda brought us dinner that night and she brought a yummy dessert. Thanks girl.

I couldn't find my candles, but had just bought the 5 candle for Brooklyn's birthday party so we went with it. It's better than nothin' I say.

We love you honey. So thankful you are in our lives. You are the best husband and daddy we could ever want or ask for. Happy Birthday!

Our first date

I was going to write about our trip to the aquarium this past Friday, but then I noticed the date July 8th and remembered this date has significant meaning to me. 9 years ago today, Brian and I had our very first date. We had briefly met back in 1999 when he served me and my sisters lunch. No he wasn't our waiter, per se, he had a job working at The William Morris Agency here in Nashville. He was an assistant at the time and the agency had us in for a lunch to talk with us about signing on as our booking agents (my sisters and I were in Christian Music for 6 years). I remembered Brian walking in with some food and thinking to myself, oh he's pretty cute. That was really it. I think I told one of my sisters afterward, but then forgot about it after that. My family was getting ready to move from California, where I grew up, to Nashville because our first album was getting ready to be released. So that year was a busy one for us. We were on the road constantly and didn't have time for much of anything, let alone dating. One day I was walking into Schlotzsky's Deli with a friend when I saw a guy walking out and he stopped me. He said, "Excuse me are you one of The Darins?" I said, "Yes I am. I am Krista". I'm thinking, ok how does this dude know me? I had only been in Nashville about 6 months at the time so I didn't know how I would have known him. He said, "My name is Brian Lord and I used to work at The William Morris Agency". Oh now I remembered who he was. I said, "Oh good to see you". He said we should get together sometime and he gave me his business card. He had just gotten a new job and was proud to hand me one of his new cards. I really didn't think anything of it and filed the card away somewhere in my room. Well about 3 months past and I was cleaning and ran across his card. I took it out and thought, I should email him. I think I was desperate to make some friends and I thought to my self if nothing else I could have a new friend. We emailed each other back and forth and decided to set up a group date to go hang out. He said he would get some guys and I would get some girls. Ok that's fine, but I really didn't know anyone in town. What was I thinking? We plan a date and to our surprise no one shows up. So it's just the 2 of us. Something even more crazy is that we learned that we lived in the same apt. complex and had never ran into one another. I lived with my roommate Jennifer, but my sisters all lived together in the building right next to his and they never saw him either.

So here we are, Saturday July 8, 2000 and we are on our way to our first date. Now remember it was supposed to be a group date so it was definitely more fun in nature, than romantic. We headed to OpryMills where we dined on some yummy Cajun food from the food court. :) Then we walked to Jillian's (which is now Dave & Buster's) and we decided to play a game of bowling. Here's where it gets interesting. We are both very competitive by nature. I certainly didn't want him taking it "easy" on me. I will say now that bowling is not my game, but I put up a good fight. About half way through the game, I bowled a strike. I was so excited. As I was walking back we decided to high five each other, which was fine, except for when Brian's hand was coming back down he smacked me across the butt. I was embarrassed, he was too. I knew it was an accident. Brian is a perfect gentlemen and would have never done it on purpose. I pretended like it was no big deal. We still laugh about it to this day. After bowling we went to play Laser Tag. Did I mention this was a fun date? By this time it's late but we're both having fun and enjoying each other's company that I didn't really care. He beat me at Laser Tag too. No surprise there. I had never played before. I always tell him, let me get you on the soccer field and it's game on. I will destroy him.

So that is how we met and the happenings of our first date. We were engaged the day before Thanksgiving that year. If you are doing the calculations, I will save you the headache. We dated for 4 months before we got engaged and were married 4 1/2 months later on April 7, 2001. It's one of the best decisions I have ever made and I am so glad I married my amazing husband. I love you babe more than anything. You are my rock and I am proud to be your wife.

What was I thinking?

Ok so today was the big Music City Marathon in downtown Nashville. Brian left early this morning, before 5am, to go to the race which started at 7am. The girls woke up early around 6:45 and I thought to myself, what a great surprise to be waiting at the finish line with the girls when he crossed. It was a last minute decision, but one that would be well worth the hassle. I knew it would be a difficult task forging our way through the crowd of at least 25,000. I was excited. There was no way Brian would ever believe I would have attempted this by myself. I decided to get Brooklyn and Sydney Kate dressed up in their new $5 Target matching sundresses I bought them yesterday. They looked adorable as you can see. So off we went. Wagon in the car, check. Sippy cups, check. Snacks, check. Kids buckeled in, check. Camera bag & Flip video, check. I was set. Now to find them their sprinkled donuts I promised them on the way. Krispy Kreme in Cool Springs was closed for remodeling, so on to Dunkin Donuts. There was a line wrapped around the block so that wouldn't work because I knew I didn't have time to wait. So off we went onto the interstate. I get downtown and streets are blocked off. Great I have no idea where I am going. I ask a cop, who was directing traffic, how to get there. He tells me so I proceed. I knew we might be in the car for sometime longer so I stopped at a mini mart to get them a donut. I park right in front, turn off the car and run inside. 7 people in line. Crap. I can't wait that long. I did what any mom would have done in this case. Grabbed two chocolate sprinkled donuts and gave the man in front of me cash to cover it and asked him if he would tell the clerk I took 2 donuts. He was very nice and said no problem. Back to the car, give the girls their donuts and off we go. I follow the cops instructions and now I am lost. How did I miss Shelby Ave off I-24?Somehow I did and I find myself at another Krispy Kreme off Nolensville Road. Brooklyn informs me at this time that she has to go potty. So we stop and she goes and we proceed to get back in the car. Well Sydney is not a happy camper. She goes balistic and starts screaming. It takes me a few minutes to get her buckled in her seat and off we go again. I will add that Sydney screams for the next 1/2 hour. I finally reach downtown, but the way I know how to get to the stadium is blocked off. So I ask yet another cop and he tells me how to go. That way has now become blocked off as well. Keep in mind it's the next stoplight. I ask that cop how to go. He tells me and I proceed. Well his directions are wrong and I end up in a part of Nashville I don't want to be. Scary. Syd is still screaming and I cannot stop anywhere for fear of my life. Ok it's the middle of the day and I am probably overreacting somewhat, but I wanted to play it safe. I finally find 2nd avenue and I continue until I see a bunch of runners. Hallelujah I can see our end in sight.

I finally find a place to park, load the girls in the wagon with enough goldfish and suckers to keep them happy for a good while. At one point I looked back into the wagon and saw that Sydney had 6 suckers in her hand. Good grief. She was content so I didn't mind. It is a task to pull a wagon through thousands of people on one tiny sidewalk. We go to the family meeting "L" (goes by your last name) but no Brian. Then I think well lets go to the end of the finish line. That would be nice if I can wade through the crowd to get there. I get close and decide to pull up in the shade I could find and stop to rest. How in the world am I gonna find him? I texted him earlier to let him know I was there, but I knew he probably left his phone in the car. I call Eddy and he said that Brian was a few miles ahead of him. In my heart I knew he had finished and we had missed him. Then I get a call from Brian. He's in the car. I lost it and just sobbed. It had been such a long morning and I can't believe everything we had been through to see him and now I know there is no way he can come back. So I continue to cry and pull the wagon back to the car. By this time the girls are fighting in the wagon and Sydney is opening the wagon door and hitting people as I try to pull it by. I take her out and I am carrying her in my left arm and trying to pull the wagon at the same time. Did I mention it's 80 degrees? I get them in the car, attempt to drive away, but traffic is crazy. I have another meltdown and said some "choice words" that I am not proud of, but in the moment seemed ok to say. I finally get home and on the counter I see this...

I broke down again. What a sweet husband I have. I know he was tired, sweaty and feeling bad for me, but he stopped by Gigi's on the way home and got me and the girls cupcakes. (Note... they had eaten theirs already when I took the picture, but they had pink cupcakes. Too cute). Then I started to eat my lunch when I happened to turn my head for some reason and look at the refrigerator. The sunlight hit it at just the right angle that I see this... Several dings on the door. What the heck! Those were new and one of my children were to blame. Not sure which one, but I am gonna take a guess at Syd. She likes to beat stuff against walls and she probably thought to herself, why not try the refrigerator door. I lost it again. I had had enough. I crawled in my bed and started this blog. I'm physically and emotionally drained. It had been a long week anyway and this was the icing on the cake. Then it dawned on me that I never even asked Brian how he did. So I went downstairs to finish my lunch and ask him how it went. He finished the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours 10 min. I think that's pretty darn good considering the heat that we are having today. I know that probably slowed down 95% of the runners.

Thankfully I can end this rather long drawn out blog on a happy note. I just saved $350 on our tickets to California on Southwest. So happens that today only from Nashville to Cali they have slashed prices by 50%. I think the Lord knew that I needed that today. Thank you Lord for showing me your Grace.