The Magic Of It All

I realize that Christmas happened practically a month ago, but it seems every time I run into someone and we have the "how was your Christmas vacation?" conversation, I'm repeating the same thing--it was so fun this year! So I want to document it (and dump a bunch of Christmas pictures into the post for safekeeping. Sorry. But not really). The kids--especially Marie--have reached that perfect age where they are bursting with anticipation and excitement for pretty much anything fun, be it play dates that will happen in a few hours or birthdays that will happen next week. Just like I remember my excitement as a kid, Christmas was the like the Mecca of excitement for them this year. And even though we were the ones now staying up all night playing Santa, our kids' delight in every little thing rubbed off on us and made it all so enjoyable and so worth it. I can't think of a better way to describe it than just magical!

The Countdown
Marie has been enamored with calendars lately; one of her favorite things to do is circle important dates and cross off the days. I know the countdown to Christmas for her seemed agonizingly slow, but there was still lots of magic in chocolate-filled advent calendars from Grandma and gathering around our family advent wreath every Sunday to light candles and sing songs. Finally it was Christmas Eve. We went to church, then went to Peter's brothers to exchange family gifts with the cousins and grandparents, and came home for some late-night festivities. It had started snowing while we were in church, so we got the White Christmas we had been hoping for! The kids were so excited when they could eat the last chocolate, blow out the candles for the last time, and set out cookies for Santa. Marie also left carrots for Rudolph and wrote Santa a note. Then Peter and I put the kids to bed to dream of sugar plums while we quickly set to work on the rest of our elf tasks. Peter filled stockings and piled presents under the tree while I feverishly stuffed pillows for the new reading corner. We made short work of Santa and Rudolph's treats, and "Santa" wrote back to Marie. We finally trudged up to bed exhausted but happy that every last bit of magic was in place for the morning. And blessedly, the kids all slept in!!!

The calm before the storm: Our resident bunny
enjoying a White Christmas, the tree all lit up, and a tired
elf headed to bed on Christmas Eve...then
all quiet on Christmas morning (not for long!)

Christmas Morning

Setting out cookies for Santa, discovering the reading
corner, opening baby Jesus, and putting
him in the manger!

Marie woke up first, and we were waiting for her. She asked to put on her queen costume that Gran and Granddad had given her the night before...a theme complete with king and knight costumes for the boys and a cardboard castle to play in that is miraculously still standing! (Erik slept with his new sword Christmas Eve). Marie was soon looking like royalty and made a beeline for the little present sitting in the middle of the new reading corner. We've carried on my family's tradition of reading the Christmas story and opening the most important gift first--baby Jesus--and putting him in the manger. But the boys were still sleeping, so we let Marie play quietly in the castle until they woke up. Once awake, we read the Christmas story from her kids' bible and watched them place Jesus in their Little Tikes nativity set. Then the excitement really took off. They opened stockings filled with Hot Wheels and dinosaurs and nail polish, and made ramps (with daddy's help) to race the Hot Wheels. We took a break for breakfast--caramel rolls and candy cane hot chocolate--and then moved on to the pile of gifts under the tree. This also turned out to be the best time to Skype with my family, who got to witness the kids opening all the long-distance love they'd showered upon us.

More discoveries: Santa's big appetite, stockings, toys, and castles!

Opening and enjoying the gifts! Racing cars through wrapping paper
tubes, trying on clothes, and of course eating yummy Christmas
caramel rolls and Fattigmann from Gran and Granddad
(it's just as it sounds--"fatty man," yummy Norwegian fried dough!)    

Samson also got some love in the form of a rawhide bone a new toy. Ethan actually got the hang of tearing through wrapping paper to open some of his gifts, and it was just so fun to see each of them in their own little bubble of happiness at any given moment. I think the best part was that they seemed genuinely happy about each gift they opened, playing with things or trying them on right away instead of just throwing one gift aside to open another. They were also excited to give each other gifts, which is something we really tried to stress leading up to Christmas--giving instead of just receiving. It just warmed my little heart!

The Aftermath
We got to spend the rest of the day having fun with toys and just relaxing. I baked a birthday cake for Jesus, and Peter's parents brought over a Christmas ham for dinner. We enjoyed a laid-back evening together with all of the new gifts. Before bedtime we snuggled in the new reading corner for story time and bedtime prayers. (I've since caught both Marie and Erik in the reading corner looking at books when they're supposed to be in their room for nap or quiet time)! We all went to bed tuckered out but absolutely fulfilled by the magic of it all!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Next year I'll do a better job decorating that cake of yours...

Caught in the act!

Bonus: Zoo Lights
We decided during Christmas Dinner that we should take the kids to the Denver Zoo for Zoo Lights before the season was over. It's just what it sounds like--a bunch of really cool lights all over the zoo that you can go see at night during the Christmas season. It was pretty frigid; there was hot cider and cold tears to be had from our little ice queen, but still very much worth the trip! We saw some ice sculptures, and got to go inside to warm up for a bit and see what elephants and giraffes do at night. The elephant was doing some very questionable things to his salt block (sorry, kids), and the giraffes were just lounging around and looking tall. Before we left we saw one giraffe get pampered with a little brushing from a zookeeper which was pretty cool--it reminded us of Samson when he gets brushed. Marie is adamant that she never wants to go back because it was so cold, but I think Zoo Lights definitely on the list for (a warm night) next year!

So many lights!!!

The G-rated version of the elephant playing with his salt block and the giraffes! It's hard to tell,
but that zookeeper is actually reaching as high as she can from a second-story ledge to reach his head!

Happy Engage-iversary!

December 28th is always a day to celebrate in our family--it's my Dad's birthday, Peter's parents' anniversary, and most recently, the day we got engaged six years ago. It occurred to me that I've never actually blogged about our engagement story, so here you have it--six years to the day, our little moment in history.

We were both seniors at West Point, and had known each other since the day we got there (though we weren't always on such cordial terms). We'd been talking about our future pretty seriously, especially since the Army was about to force us into some decisions, such as which Army post we'd be assigned to after graduation, which would certainly affect the timing of any personal decisions if we wanted to spend our future together. As fall approached, we'd pretty much settled the fact that we would get married. But I imposed a few conditions: I did not want to be engaged until second semester (no idea why now), it could not be at our school (in my mind a military school did not coincide with romance), and I did not want to get married right after graduation. I felt I needed some time on my own for a few months at least. And my last condition specified how Peter should propose--in no uncertain terms was I to suspect it or know what was going on. You see, Peter has always been a huge closet romantic, and in the time we'd been dating he had planned some pretty fabulous "surprises." But I usually figured out his schemes far in advance and just had to play along. I did not want this to be the case when I got engaged!

As Christmas break approached, Peter dropped more hints and had fun messing with me. He would randomly drop to his knee when we were walking around campus, and when I'd start to protest, saying "don't you dare!" he would claim that he just had to tie his shoe.

Finally the semester was over, and we drove to my parents' house in Pennsylvania where Peter would spend the first five days of Christmas break with my family, and then fly back home to Denver for the rest of break (or so I thought). During his visit he kept up the act, and I was especially nervous when he got ready to give me my Christmas gift. My mom played along, telling my baby sister to give us some space while I opened my gift. It was a pretty big box, but I knew a smaller box could be inside. In my mind, hiding a ring in a Christmas gift with my family all in the other room was about the lamest stunt he could pull, so I was praying that this wasn't it. (I'm starting to sound like a real brat, aren't I?!). Thankfully, it was just a gag gift (a pop-up toaster...another story for another day), although Peter jokes to this day that I still had to open the box and inspect every nook and cranny to make sure there wasn't a ring hiding. To my credit, he did hide something in there--skate guards for my ice skates, which were my real Christmas gift from him!

The next day, Peter flew home to Denver and my poor family had to endure a rather miserable creature after he left, since I thought it would be a whole week and a half before we saw each other again back at school. (Insufferable, I know. But that was before we'd lived through year-long deployments). We still spent long hours on the phone every day, until Peter called me on the night of December 28th to tell me he couldn't talk long because a huge blizzard had just descended upon the Denver area, and he was trying to drive back from Colorado Springs, where the All Academy Ball he was supposed to attend had been cancelled due to the storm. It was supposed to be a 1.5 hour drive that would probably take 3 hours, he said, and he needed to hang up and keep both hands on the wheel. Worried sick, I waited impatiently for his phone call that he'd gotten home safely.

Unbeknownst to me, Peter had actually booked a flight to come back to the East Coast to surprise me with a ring prior to the end of Christmas break. He wasn't supposed to fly until the next day, but managed to get an earlier flight out of Denver when the snow started. His ruse of driving in the snow storm was supposedly to avoid explaining airport sounds in the background and buy himself time to fly across the country. He flew back to West Point, picked up his car, and tackled the four hour drive to my parents' house that very night.

Meanwhile, I wrung my hands and paced around the house, demanding that my family pray for Peter's safety in the snow storm and just being a whiny brat in general. They all managed to keep their mouths shut (since they were in on it) and play along like award-winning actors. I finally got the call around 11:30 pm that Peter was safely back in Denver, sitting on his back porch swing and watching the snow fall (when he was really pulling into my parents' neighborhood in Pennsylvania). This induced an argument because I didn't remember any porch swing at his parents' house. He was right, for the record. He asked me how the weather was in PA, and I said it was warm and I was sad that there was no snow. He then made the ludicrous suggestion that I should go sit on the swing in my parents' backyard and pretend I was sitting next to him. To which I immediately responded "are you kidding me?! It's not THAT warm out!" But persuasion is one of Peter's strengths, and somehow he won out and convinced me to go outside and continue our phone conversion on the swing under the stars, or some such romantic nonsense.

Labeling the cork
from our engagement toast...

Grumbling, I bundled up and considered just going to stand on the deck, but reconsidered because he'd know in a second if I were lying to him. On the way out, my mom gave me a strange look and asked why on Earth I was going outside at this hour. She really could've won an Emmy. I mumbled something about looking at the stars and ended with "I don't really know, it's Peter's idea!" before proceeding to the swing with Peter still on the line. We talked for a moment about how bright the stars looked from where I was, and how hard the snow was coming down where he was. He then asked what I would wish for if I saw a shooting star, and I replied that of course I'd wish that he were still here (duh) and not in Denver right now. At that moment I saw a dark figure cresting the little hill in front of me, and just as the alarms went off in my head and I began reproaching myself for not carrying Mace, I realized that the voice on the other end of the phone was...also coming from that man walking toward me? But Peter is in Denver. But here he is in font of me! How...what...the confusion lasted for another moment or two, but I recovered quickly, jumped off the swing, dropped my phone, and ran to hug him. I also ripped off my left glove because I knew there was only one reason he would be there. He promptly got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I squeaked out a "YES!" as he slipped the ring on my finger, and then we sat on the swing together (the back of which forms two hearts) for a moment so I could recover from the shock and we could revel in our bliss. We finally made it back inside where my parents were waiting with the camera and a bottle of champagne for a toast! We stayed up well into the night celebrating, and announced our happy news the next day to a host of family and friends at my Dad's 50th birthday party. I congratulated Peter for definitely catching me by surprise, and doing very well meeting all of the conditions I imposed on him. We jumped right into wedding planning, and the rest is history!!!

But wait, there's more!

**EPILOGUE**

As I was happily typing this post, the kids were napping and Peter was out working in the garage on toy boxes for the kids' rooms. I had to stop at one point to wrestle our barking polar bear of a dog away from the front door because his best friend, the FedEx truck, was stopped in front of the house. Just as I kicked him outside and sat back down to type, my loving husband came in and asked if I'd take a look at the toy box design--out in the freezing cold garage, of course--and give my opinion. Even though I was grumbling internally about the cold (again), I smiled, grabbed my coat, and led the way to the work bench. I began to survey the frame, then turned to see what Peter wanted to ask me. Except he wasn't standing behind me like I thought he was, he was down on one knee with a ring box containing this, saying, "Happy Engagement-iversary! Will you marry me again?"

Still needs to be sized but
I love it already! I'm so spoiled...

I made some squawking chicken noises, told him he was in big trouble, admonished him for spending so much, and of course thanked him a million times and couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. "Just when you think you've got me figured out," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

The perfect ending to the perfect story? I think so!

You got me good, Peter--I love you!

Merry Christmas - 2012!

Merry Christmas from the Hjelmstads!

Our intent to get
a nice family picture
before church was subverted
by a little girl crashing
into a door. So we got
a fat lip instead. But we
still got to church on time--
a true Christmas miracle!

And we got a White Christmas!!!

We're having an awesome day celebrating Jesus's birthday (and playing with toys)!

Wishing you peace, love, joy, and laughter during the next 11 days of Christmas and especially in the New Year to come!

{Outtakes}

It's the Most Wonderful(ly busy!) Time of the Year...

It's been a tough week, but if nothing else I think that accidents and tragedy and sickness have reminded us how much we have to be grateful for--and how much good there is to celebrate every day. We've had a lot of wonderful things going on this busy month, so I wanted to capture it all before the real craziness hits next week. Here's the rundown of what we've been up so far during this December to Remember...

"Friendsgiving"
We kicked off the first day of December with a fabulous new tradition called Friendsgiving (your idea, right, Kristin?), where we shared a meal and celebrated some wonderful friendships the week after Thanksgiving. It's not easy being the new kid in town, especially while adjusting to new jobs or the role of staying at home (with little to no contact with the outside world). So when I met a lovely mom at the library less than a week after arriving here, I didn't expect much. But within a week or two she'd organized a fun dinner club with a few other moms she'd "picked up" around the same time (we joke that she's good at that!) and it quickly became a second family of sorts for us all. It's been so refreshing to be around other moms who support each other, understand each other, and provide that comic relief we all need some days when life gets crazy. Friendsgiving was a super fun and crazy night filled with lots of love and laughter (all thirteen kids played together unbelievably well!) and the perfect opportunity to share our gratitude. So thankful for all of the fun and friendship--you ladies are awesome!

Friends!

A Great (Granddad) Christmas party
Last Thursday we got to go see Peter's great-granddad when his nursing home hosted a Christmas Party. We've been  lucky enough to visit a few times since we've been here; though he has a hard time remembering who everyone is, it's always great to spend time together, and the other residents just LOVE seeing the kids. It's worth it just to see their faces light up!

Grandsons and great-grandsons!

Marie's First Christmas Program
Our little lady has inherited my shyness, and my goal last week was to support her as much as possible during her pre-school's Christmas concert (she even asked to stay home because she felt too shy to sing). Although she spent the entire concert facing away from the crowd, we expected as much and were still very proud of her and consider it progress that she even made it up on stage! I tried to make it a special night by getting her all dressed up and curling her hair (which she loved!), and Gran and Granddad took her out for hot chocolate afterwards. And for a good thirty minutes before we left for the concert, our beautiful Marie was twirling around the house in her dress and curls, singing all of the songs she had learned and practicing her bow. Peter whispered to me, "look, we're getting our concert now!" and we stopped to watch her and listen to her sweet voice. We had the best seats in the house, for sure.

Daniels (Denver University) Snow Ball

We may have given up Army balls and dining outs, but in their place we've gained alumni functions since Peter started grad school. We had a lovely date night sans kids--schmoozing with the DU alums, hanging out with friends, and tearing up the dance floor photo booth! (My personal favorite is Peter in the Santa beard hat thing).

Touring the Lights
It wouldn't be Christmas without a grand tour of the twinkling lights. We drove around Denver on two differnt occasions so the kids could enjoy the full show. The neighborhood across from ours is one of the most decked-out, and had a house with a light show, complete with music. Pretty crazy. Marie wanted to know if we could "do that to our house;" our answer "once you're old enough to set it up and pay for it!" In the mean time, we know where to go for some good entertainment.

Discovering Elfie
It's a fun hide-n-seek game each morning to see where our Elf On the Shelf, "Elfie" is hiding. Usually the first thing the kids do is run to find him, and then barge into our room and shout "SURPRISE" and demand that we go find him for ourselves. Most mornings it's nothing crazy--he just shows up in a new place--but a few times Peter has definitely flexed his creative muscle...the zip line was the biggest hit of the season thus far.

Dinosaur rides, visiting baby Jesus, just hanging out, and zip lining across the family room...

And eating some
cookies, of course!

And most importantly, learning all about the Christmas story!

Fun traditions with the Advent wreath and Advent calendars (thanks, Grandma!)...
and hours of fun playing with their Little Tikes Nativity Set!

P.S. Update on Our Little Trooper: thank you all for the prayers, our little Frankenbaby got his stitches out and is doing well! (Minus the fever he caught from big bro and sis--go away, sickness!).

Starting a new trend with
some steri-strips!

Our Little Trooper

We made a rather exciting trip to the ER last night for our little man Ethan...here's the summary:

-He's fine (for the most part) after eight stitches in the forehead. 

-Wooden breakfast bar stools falling on toddler heads make for a bloody mess. I didn't see the whole thing, so the jury's still out on whether big brother Erik was involved or not. Marie maintains that he helped tip the chair over; Erik of course vehemently denies the accusation.

-Gory details: The gash was a good 1 inch by 2 inches, and after seeing so much blood and what I thought was his actual skull exposed, I was convinced we'd need an ambulance. (I found out later there was still a thin protective between what I saw and his actual skull. Goody). But I called Peter first since he was on the way home, and he talked me down from the ledge before I called 911. Actually, he just stayed on the phone listening in on the chaos after I called him instead of dialing 911 like I'd demanded, because he was pretty sure an ambulance wasn't warranted. He was right. 

-I'm thankful for the basic first aid the Army drilled in to me...apply direct pressure, check for dilated pupils, etc. The ER nurse said I'd controlled the bleeding "exceptionally well." A new talent of mine, apparently. I was worried about a concussion, especially since my poor mom is still recovering from a recent one--so I was in freak-out mode trying to keep my little buddy awake when my he started to fall asleep in the car on the way to the hospital. But they said he looked great once we got there (other than the obvious hole in is forehead), and the fact that he was soon back to his little spitfire self and flirting with the nurses was very encouraging. 

-Big brother and sister were troopers, too...they did an awesome job helping and following directions, and being well-behaved little angels in the waiting room. It also helped that they got some Happy Meals out of it since we never got around to that dinner I was about to make. 

-Today my Ethan man is acting like his chipper self (other than a little crankiness) and is already trying to climb the bar stools again. This, along with his normal behavior last night, are good indicators that he doesn't have any type of TBI...we have a follow up tomorrow to confirm that he is definitely a-okay in this category (prayers please)! If he's fine like we think, then all we have to worry about is getting some stitches out and treating a gnarly scar so he hopefully doesn't look like a mean street fighter for the rest of his life.

-I'm thankful for all the medical professionals and First Responds out there who have devoted themselves to caring for much worse (including my husband, dad, and brother). But I don't like that being a mommy also equals wearing the first responder hat. Not one bit. It makes the heart ache (and the innards grimace).

-To confirm this, both Peter and the ER doc said it's always harder on the mom than it is on the kid, and not to worry, there will be many more ER trips in the future. Thanks...but I don't think that helped the sleepless night I had from worry and mama guilt. Or my non-color treated locks--the gray hairs are surely waiting in force to make their grand entrance any day now. 

-Based on my initial observations, I'd say that the result looks seriously amazing. I kept having visions of my beautiful boy walking around for the rest of his life with a chunk out of his head--that is, if he even made it out alive. (Overdramatic, maybe. But being the distraught mother, I immediately assumed the worst). But the doc did an incredible job and all he has now are two big fat band-aids to cover his Frankenstein head. 

-We're in low-key recovery mode today and thanking his guardian angel. In the end if all we get out of this is a permanent 12-12-12 scar and a hospital bill, I'd say we're pret-ty darn lucky and not much worse for the wear! 

Finally, some food! Those meanies wouldn't let me
eat or drink anything the whole time!

The culprit.
Or possibly just the accomplice. 

It's cool, Mom. Just gonna watch some TV now.
Quitcher worryin' already.

P.S. Highly recommend
this stuff.
Highly.

For that's the Fearless Army Way!

Alright, Army. We already know we're better at a multitude of things:

Breakin' it down Gangnam Style...

Rocking the Black Gold...

Producing Presidents...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_education

Enforcing Standards...

Trend Setting...

Gray & Gold are totally in...
(source: http://pinterest.com/pin/151222499957280235/)

We've even got Ralph Lauren beat...
(image credit--and purchasing opportunity if you want to be this cool
for only $225.00:
http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16490396&cp)

Marching

And being the CLEAR fan favorite...

Saying "yaaaaay, Army!"

...among other things.

It's been eleven years and we know we're better on all other fronts, so PLEASE just this once let's apply our superiority to the field and WIN!

GO ARMY!

BEAT NAVY!

...And Sometimes, They Are Little Angels

One of my favorite books when I was little was called Babies by Gyo Fujikawa. And in true favorite book fashion, my parents had every.last.word. memorized. Just saying the title and author is now a running joke in the family. My mom could recite it while cooking dinner, doing laundry, driving in the car, or whenever else we happened to make our demands to hear it. And after my sister was born, I had the pleasure as a young teen of memorizing it, too. It's practically a rite of passage in the family now.

At any rate, one of the lines--which we always read with great bravado and inflection--went like this:
Sometimes they are NAUGHTY. And sometimes, they are little angels.

And it ended like so:
But good or bad, all babies like to be hugged, and cuddled, and loved.

These days, as a mom, it's amazing how often those lines pop into my head.

Like when they are screaming and fighting or shaking sippy cups on each other in self-proclaimed "milk showers" (necessitating a real shower or bath) or eating dog food or any number of other fun adventures in naughtiness. In those moments I feel more like pulling my hair out or going to hide in the car with some deep breathing and classical music than hugging and cuddling and loving my littles.

But then there are the times when they melt my heart into pieces--when they give me an unexpected hug and send me "love waves," or when they do something especially endearing or silly, like sing "Police Navidad." And especially moments like today, when the frustrations of having to wake up the boys up from nap (because we have to pick Marie up from school) melt away as I behold this:

And I know that there is no gift in the world so endearing, so precious, so beautifully sweet as sitting next to my angel who assured me he wasn't tired as he slumbers with a toy motorcycle on his chest. So I savor this moment when he's not going 100 miles an hour and will let me hold him for just a moment longer than usual.

Yes, I know when I have to wake him he'll be grumpy. I know that oftentimes sometimes they are not the best listeners, they tear the house apart, get on my last nerve, and I'm tempted to label them as naughty indeed with a "Free to Good Home" sign. But they really are little angels far more often than I give them credit for. And I am so grateful for naptime and school schedules that sometimes don't line up to remind me of just that. Good or bad--or in between--all babies need [and deserve] to be hugged and cuddled and loved. Last nerve or not. Cuddling this one now may make us a little late picking up my other angel, but it's worth it--because I know that just as the tantrums won't last forever, neither will these fleeting moments with my little angels. And they are the ones I will always treasure most.

Thoroughly Thankful {Thanksgiving!} Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! It seems like a tradition of sorts has developed over the past few years (Facebookies like me should know what I'm talking about!) where people list one thing they are thankful for every day in November leading up to Thanksgiving. It always seemed like a nice idea, but between the unexpected happenings of life with little kids, and--quite honestly--general laziness, I haven't been motivated enough to jump on board. Maybe next year. But I've also realized that I shouldn't focus my entire week on how to mash potatoes by hand, either. So I've decided to pause for at least a few moments and join Sarah over at ...and Twins Make Four for Thoroughly Thankful Thursday--Thanksgiving style!

Things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving:

-My beautiful kids. They are the absolute light of my life.

-An amazing husband who is truly my best friend!

-My kid's dad. He's not only an amazing husband, he is the most incredibly active, loving, and FUN dad to our kiddos. I've always hoped that my kiddos would have a great relationship with their father. But the kind of dad he is has far exceeded all of the hopes and expectations I might have had!

-My wonderful family. Even though they are 1,612 miles away, I'm thankful that Skype, in-network calling, and 'letters to grandma' help keep us as close!

-Having family in town. After being so far away from both of our families in the Army, the luxury of having my in-laws ten minutes away is just awesome! They've made the transition so much easier, especially when I'm missing my family so much.

-Our country. Freedom is unfortunately a privilege denied to many. 

-Those who have fought for that freedom. Specifically for all the friends we were lucky enough to serve with, and for those who continue to serve and are sitting in a mess tent on a military base right now instead of around a table with loved ones this Thanksgiving. And most importantly, for all of our friends who have sacrificed their very lives for our freedom.

-A fully-stocked pantry when there are so many empty bellies out there.

-Our community. I love our community. Pretty much everything I could possibly want or need is nearby--the grocery store, Target, church, school, a free gym, nature trails, the playground...I never have to leave my three-mile radius if I don't want to! Our town was literally designed for families with young kids. It's just perfect for us.

-Dear friends, new and old. My life is filled with SO many wonderful friends who love and support me in the good times and bad! 

-The open field behind our backyard. It's part of a running/biking trail network that runs throughout the entire community. During late afternoons in the fall, when the sun starts to set and reflects off of the prairie-like grass, the whole field suddenly transforms, blazing with the most beautiful golden light. When we used to visit Colorado I couldn't understand why people thought it was beautiful. I thought it was brown and ugly. Confession: Now that we live here I've had a [BIG] change of heart. I've affectionately dubbed it our 'Fields of Gold.'

-Rocky Mountain Sunsets from our backyard. Just like those fields of gold, I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching unbelievable sunsets like this one. The best part? They happen all the time!

A little bedtime gift from God--just stunning.

-The chance to stay home. There are many women out there who don't have the option of staying home with their children even if they want to. I used to be one of them. But now I get to be present for the most important moments in my kids' lives. I watch as the scribbles slowly become recognizable shapes and letters, I listen as the babbling morphs into words, and I coach as the things that seem so impossible to little hands suddenly become accomplishments. I am so, so lucky.
-My daughter's school. I just love our daughter's pre-school and her wonderful teachers. It's absolutely amazing to watch her learn and develop so quickly!
-A roof over our heads...particularly one that is large enough to fit all of us comfortably and then some (hooray for closet space!). And all around us we have wonderful neighbors.

-Our 130-pound "puppy." He's the total package: snuggle buddy, foot warmer, body guard, conversation starter...and he's also pretty regal-looking when bounding through the snow!
-Our church and freedom of religion. I don't know what I'd do without a place each week where I can strengthen my faith and be reminded of the things that matter most in life. And I've especially loved getting to work with the high school youth group in the past few months--it's so hard to be a teenager these days...I loving being able to give back just a little!
-Our health. We all are able to get up everyday, put both feet on the ground, get ready on our own, drive to work, lift children, do chores, exercise, and so many things that others cannot!
-Reliable (new!) transportation. Even if we didn't exactly plan on having a new car so soon, we are lucky enough to have not only one, but two functional vehicles!
-The blogosphere. It sounds a little silly, but blogging gives me a chance to do some of my favorite things--write, share what's important to me, and connect with others. I've "met" some amazing people through the blogging community, and in many ways they've become a sort of second family.
-All of the little blessings we overlook everyday. Heat and warm clothes in winter, air conditioning in the summer, the love and comfort fills our home, an excess of accessories, toys, tools, and other nice things..and all of the other seemingly little things I can't think of right now but I definitely take for granted far too often. We are blessed beyond measure. May we try to become more thankful for all of the the blessings we usually take for granted!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!!!

Don't forget to visit Sarah's blog and check out all the blessings that others have to share!

Five Years of Bliss!

Aww, look at us all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...

It's been five years since that fateful day, and I can honestly say that it's absolutely been the best five years of my life! I won't get too mushy-gushy on you, but suffice it to say that having a husband who's not only a soul mate, but who also refills your fancy olive oil dispenser and changes every single clock in the house during daylight savings time (including the one in your car) because you hate doing those things is clearly a keeper. I left out the other million things he does and is, of course, but you get the idea.

One of the things he did this past week was take Friday off so we could celebrate our five years of bliss in Downtown Denver sans kids (thank you, thank you, THANK YOU wonderful in-laws of mine for making that possible)! We kicked off the night watching the sunset together from our mountain-view suite...

Ordered champagne...

...got gussied up without any interruptions (I forgot how quickly you can get ready when you have no one else to dress!) and went to dinner here for an Italian feast of lamb and veal (I highly recommend it to our fellow Denverites)! We also got a fabulous surprise when we went to pay the bill...apparently my parents (who had lots of rather specific questions about where we were going to eat but I assumed were just being nosy because we're Italian and our family eats, lives, and breathes real Italian cooking) actually had ulterior motives...they called ahead and made a (not-so-) little contribution! Thanks again, you guys...even though you're still in trouble!

We closed out the night with a visit to a local photography gallery and topped it off with dessert and drinks at the hotel restaurant and bar. The next morning we slept in til nine (!!!!!!!!!), caught brunch at another great joint, then spent the rest of our special day with our beautiful kiddos. 

In the past few years I've wanted to put my wedding dress back on for fun at some point--I've always loved my dress (especially since I had it made and even got to help design it!) but have always been some combination of pregnant or too busy with babies to bother trying it back on. But our five year celebration presented the perfect opportunity dig it out again and capture this awesome picture (I got the idea from a friend who took a picture in her dress holding her two girls!). I also did a few other things I never expected to do in a wedding dress: unload the dishwasher, chase a toddler, and vote (at home, filling out my mail-in ballot...I didn't leave the house in it)!  

Five years (and loads of blessings!) later...

Overall it was just a fabulous weekend celebrating the beautiful gift of our marriage. It doesn't take much reflection to see that our union is a special one; though we are both imperfect in many ways, we are absolutely perfect for each other. Through all of the uninterrupted conversations this weekend and time reconnecting with my amazing husband, I was reminded of all the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place so many years ago, along with all of the reasons I continue to fall more in love with him every day--and I just cannot wait to experience all of the many ways I will continue to love him more fully in the future!

I love you, Peter!