Until the end of time

Christmas 2011 Patrick asked me to marry him. I was so happy and totally surprised. Of course I said yes! He's amazing why wouldn't I?

Now almost exactly a year and a half later we did it we got married! Our love has just grown stronger, and I don't think we could be any happier. I don't think I could dream up anyone more perfect for me.

There was of course a ton of planning and I think it all came together really nice. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day.

Gabe and I

Patrick, Shawn and Wesson

Patrick's sister, Kelli, made our cake. It turned out great!

We couldn't have done it without our friends and family they helped do so much. Thanks to all of you!

Just a couple of weeks ago my aunt and uncle renewed their vows, for their 25th wedding anniversary. It was really nice. In a blog she wrote shortly after she mentioned how one thing they agreed on at the very beginning of their plans to marry was this, “No matter what would come into our lives, we would never discuss divorce”. It's kinda perfect don't you think? It is really something I think more people should promise each other, it's sad that divorce is so common. Patrick, the boys and I have all been victims of divorce and it has partially shaped who we are. Seeing this just made me realize that we can vow to do the same and not make it an option no matter what. We will forever be together, all of us.

Taekwondo

Shawn has been in taekwondo since Santa gave him lessons for Christmas and the boy loves it. About a month ago we took him to his first tournament. He was still only a white belt and they put him in the novelty division (everyone got medals). It was a great experience for all of us. I enjoyed seeing what he has learned and what the older kids are doing.

He didn't place but they gave him two medals and he was thrilled. We went out for pizza to celebrate.

Last week he did belt testing, and he got an 8th grade orange belt! He is moving right along.



The Belt Ceremony



With his Certificate

Way to go Shawn :) We are so proud of you!

A little piece of heaven

Recently Patrick and I have come across a great opportunity to finally have some land. We both have wanted some land where we can just let the boys go out and play. In the neighborhood that we are in now that just isn't feasible at least not with the two younger ones.

 My grandmother lives on 4 acres of land and wants to have us live on it with her (different house). I have been dying to have some more space. So this way we will be gaining a bedroom and a bathroom! I wont lie the bathroom is a pretty big plus in my book, me and four boys all sharing one toilet is not my idea of fun. The house is a fixer upper but hey that just means I will have home improvements to Blog about.

I think Patrick is just in it for the pond and chickens lol. We are just looking right now but I do see some feathered friends in our future.

We are out there on a regular basis anyway so it all just makes since. It all has happened pretty fast, and we aren't exactly sure when we are moving but some time soon I think. There is so much to do.

Can you tell that they love it?  :)

World of Pets

Ok well it seems like it has been forever. I thought I would take a chance to just let you know whats going on at our house.

Geckos: Ok, so if you remember we have two leopard geckos. I got mine first and then a few weeks later Patrick got one. We never had any idea if they were boys or girls. Well I guess its been a couple of weeks now, and I was just sure that Patrick's gecko had lost it she was digging and making a huge mess out of the entire cage well one night while I was sleeping Patrick wakes me up (I was less than excited) to show me that we had EGGS yea I said it the Geckos have been mating. Well we figured it out Patrick's is a girl and my little gecko is boy. We have eggs and mama covered them in moss and stuff so now we are waiting to see if they hatch. I read something about 45-90 days so who knows we might have babies soon.

Fish: we have been having way to much fun with the Saltwater tank. Every time we go to the pet store its like we must get something new. It's a weakness what can I say.

Chocolate Chip Star Fish

Goby Firefish

Coral 

Anemone

We bought this rock and it has Coral on it score!

Mushroom

The boys just love the fish

TWENTY THINGS A MOM SHOULD TELL HER SON

I stole this from Facebook. With all the boys at home I must say I love it.

 

 

1. Play a sport.
It will teach you how to win honorably,
lose gracefully, respect authority,
... work with others, manage your time
and stay out of trouble.
And maybe even throw or catch.

2. You will set the tone
for the sexual relationship,
so don't take something away from her
that you can't give back.

3. Use careful aim when you pee.
Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.

4. Save money when you're young
because you're going to need it someday.

5. Allow me to introduce you
to the dishwasher, oven,
washing machine, iron,
vacuum, mop and broom.
Now please go use them.

6. Pray and be a spiritual leader.

7. Don't ever be a bully
and don't ever start a fight,
but if some idiot clocks you,
please defend yourself.

8. Your knowledge and education is something
that nobody can take away from you.

9. Treat women kindly.
Forever is a long time to live alone
and it's even longer to live with somebody
who hates your guts.

10. Take pride in your appearance.

11. Be strong and tender at the same time.

12. A woman can do everything that you can do.
This includes her having a successful career
and you changing diapers at 3 A.M.
Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.

13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir"
still go a long way.

14. The reason that they're called "private parts"
is because they're "private".
Please do not scratch them in public.

15. Peer pressure is a scary thing.
Be a good leader and others will follow.

16. Bringing her flowers for no reason
is always a good idea.

17. It is better to be kind
than to be right.

18. A sense of humor
goes a long way
in the healing process.

19. Please choose your spouse wisely.
My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me
spending time with you and my grandchildren.

20. Remember to call your mother
because I might be missing you.

Finding Nemo

Since Patrick set up the first fish tank a year or so ago he has been talking about doing a salt water tank. Well 2 weeks ago he cleaned out the 10 gallon tank filled it up with salt water and live rock then he made me stare at this cute little tank in the living room for a week and told me it wasn't ready for fish yet. Well that just took all my fun away. I am in this for the cute fish and Patrick likes all the science stuff with ph levels and other stuff, which I guess is good because one of us should probably care about the numbers.

Anyway over the weekend we stopped by a pet store just to look I might add. anyway it started that we were just getting hermit crabs, a little help to clean the tank and one critter at a time then patrick decided he could get a blue damsel well there was no way Gabe and I were gonna let him get fish and not us, so we got a clown fish and an anemone too.

Gabe who had been watching finding Nemo all weekend clearly calls our little clown fish Nemo. Patrick thinks we should call it Marlin or something not related to the movie at all. We all know that it's gonna be called Nemo that's how kids work and when Wesson sees it he's gonna think Nemo too.

When I told my dad he said he would name the cute little fish Crusty. Like Crusty the Clown on the Simpsons. Oh Daddy, anyway we haven't named any of the others yet but I'm sure that will come when all the boys are home this weekend.

Here is a picture of our new additions. The anemone is white so it's a little harder to find in the picture.

Our tank isn't done Patrick wants corals but that will come later.

A Fishing We Will Go!

This weekend Patrick, Gabe and I went down to Bennett Springs State Park with the Groomsmen Scott, Chris and Greg. We had a blast there was of course a lot of trout fishing!

Gabe and I spent the day together while all the big boys were in the water. We went fishing, fed the fish, and played on the playgrounds.

I taught Gabe how to cast a fishing pole. I remember always fishing with my dad and how much fun we had, so being the one that got to show Gabe how to cast was really special to me. I hope that he remembers how much fun we had fishing when he gets big and  is teaching his kids to fish.

Gabe was pretty excited to learn, and all the people fishing near us were amazed that my little four year old could do that. I was very proud.

Happy Boy

It was a great weekend!