I Love You Truly...

This summer Dan and I headed to St. Louis to celebrate my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary with the whole family.



We surprised Grandma Betty and Grandpa Wayne by singing a song that was sung at their wedding years ago. It goes like this...

I love you truly. Truly, dear....

Life with its sorrows, life with its tears.


Fades into dreams when I feel you are near...


For I love you truly. Truly, dear...
This Valentine's Day I'm so grateful for my husband who loves me and my grandparents enough to wear my grandpa's old, wool, supper skinny uniform in 100 degree weather :)

I am grateful for the beautiful example of love shown to me by my grandparents these 28 years.




I am grateful for the love of Jesus Christ that allows me to truly love each day.

Happy Valentine's Day dear friends. May your hearts overflow with love this day and always...

Too Late

I was just about ready to do a True Confessions entry on how my Christmas tree was still up and how I had AbSoLuTeLy no intention of taking it down anytime soon...how plugging the tree in and seeing its cozy, warm glow makes getting up at the DreAdFuL hour of six a.m. a little less painful, etc....



When much to my SuRpRiSe my love met me at the door on Tuesday, our tree in hand, hauling it to be disposed of in a location that shall remain UnDiScLoSeD (I'll simply say that I am a rule follower...Mr. Bailey is not ;)). It should also be noted that the tree was still wrapped in LiGhTs while it was headed for destruction! The scene was quite hilarious...scads of pine needles and ornaments everywhere...I must have said something to the effect of "No! I can't believe it's over...our tree, our beautiful tree!" about ten times...

I so wish I had a picture of Dan carrying our light adorned tree out of this place...such DeTeRmInAtiOn!

At any rate...after all of that I'm afraid I still have a true confession to make...

We haven't sat on our couch all week... I just can't bring myself to pack up those lovely ornaments...

Attention Husbands of the World...

So if you're a HuSbaNd, and you're leaving your wife for the weekend, and it just happens to be the end of an ExTrEmEly overwhelming week...you know, the kind that leaves the kitchen looking like this:







You might want to be PrOaCtiVe and SmArT about the situation.


For example, you might want to leave your wife a voice mail like this one so she's not surprised that you left her with the T.W.D. (this term was created by my dad: Toxic Waste Dump) you two have created over the course of the week:

"Hi Honey it's me. I just wanted to call before I leave to apologize for the mess that I'm leaving. I feel really sad about it. I can clean on Sunday when I get back and,
hopefully I can make it up to you with a date Sunday night."

Though acknowledging the situation in this way is good, you might not want to assume that a voice mail totally covers your tracks.
It does prepare her for what's to come, but let's be HoNeSt when she walks through the door and sees first hand the MeSs you and she have been trying to IgNoRe all week...and all she really wants to do is ReLaX... and she realizes that you are ReLaXiNg around some GoRgeOuS lake surrounded by trees turning their leaves into the BrIlliAnT shades of AuTuMn...and though the idea of you cleaning on Sunday sounds good, you know that in reality there's no way she could stand herself any longer if she left it until then...

You might also want to leave something like this:

Honey Love,

I miss you already. You are my love. I'm so sorry it's still a TrAsH PiT.
Please forgive me. I'll clean on Sunday. Think about our date on Sunday.

Love,
Grizz

...that way when she sees this:

...She'll MuSteR up a GrAciOuS attitude instead of FrUsTrAtiOn. SmIle and LaUgH instead of RoLl her EyEs and SiGh. She'll probably even forget the about the mess and MiSs you terribly...And who knows...maybe her just knowing that you recognize that she got the CrUmMy end of the deal this time might help her AtTaCk those dishes with GrAtiTuDe and LoVe as she thinks of her SmArT and PrOaCtiVe husband.

Still in Shock

It's Saturday morning, I wake up, and Dan is already over at church starting his day. I pull myself together just in time to deposit checks at the bank before heading to watch one of my FifTh GrAdeRs bowl.
This weekend happens to be rather full so I'm wondering how I'm going to fit everything in as well as relax, clean the house, grocery shop, make meals, etc.
As I watch fifth graders get BoWliNg scores I will never in my life achieve, the smell of bowling alley food tempts me. Somehow I resist the GrEaSe BoMbaStiC food even though the only thing I can imagine throwing together at home is a microwaved/baked potato with cheese, broccoli and deli ham...TeMpTiNg, I know.
After being a cheerleader for three rounds of bowling, I say goodbye and take my growling stomach to the car and begin not looking forward to my sink full of dirty dishes and my throw whatever we've got on a potato because we haven't been to the store in awhile lunch.
As you can imagine I was thrown into a total state of shock as I walked into our house and smelled something DeLiCioUs...then I remembered we live below Mark and Kora so it was probably their something delicious I was smelling...
Dan was standing at the sink WaShInG the DisHeS that I was dreading only moments ago so I decided to expect the best and ask what he made that smelled SO good. You must understand that Dan's specialties usually include deli sandwiches, BLTs, and breakfast so when he proudly said, "I made a YuMmY ThAi DiSh" my jaw just about dropped to the floor. I couldn't imagine anything I would rather have for lunch at that moment, but I had to see it to believe it...
It turns out he DiD indeed make a yummy Thai dish! Not only did he make lunch, he actually went online and found a recipe for pad Thai and tweaked it a bit because of our lack of groceries...Even as I sit here with a FuLl BeLly I still can't believe it...what a PleAsAnT surprise...even if Dan says it was really more for him than me...I'll still take it.

love, LoVe, love my Birthday Weekend...and my Husband...

FrIdaY...

Saturday...

Teasing me with my gifts...so CrUeL...

Sunday...

And since they made a HoLiDaY WeEkeNd to celebrate my birthday....

...Monday...

And last but not least...Birthday CaKe!

ThE EnD...

...and the BeGiNnInG of what I'm HoPeFuL will be a year of learning, love, laughter, and gratitude. Thank you LoVe for making my birthday so special. You're the BeSt...

Window Seats & Alligators = True Love

One of my favorite JuNkfoOd movies (one you can't consume regularly but you CrAvE from time to time) is The Wedding Singer. Here's just one of the exchanges that I love between the main characters played by Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

Robbie : She wasn't the right one, I guess.

Julia : Did you have any idea she wasn't the right one when you were together?

Robbie: I should have. Uh, I remember we went to the Grand Canyon one time. We were flying there and I'd never been there before and Linda had, so you would think that she would give me the window seat but she didn't and... not that that's a big deal, you know. It's just there were a lot of LiTtLe ThiNgS like that. I know that sounds stupid...

Julia : Not at all. I think it's the LiTtLe ThiNgS that count.

Recently the Hubster and I were at a Gator Farm in Florida...

We had a BlaSt on our AiRboAt ride...and even got to see some of the FiNgEr BiTeRs up close in their natural habitat, the EvErGlaDeS...

We were thoroughly entertained and amazed at the gator show that followed...

And then came the opportunity of a LifEtiMe, a chance to hold a GaToR. Of course we were totally PsYcHeD. It was $2 per person to cradle a small reptile so I scoured my purse for four bucks but was only able to come up with $2, enough for OnE chance to hold this coveted creature.

Me: Honey, you can hold the alligator.

Dan: Are you sure?

Me: Yes, I'm sure. I know you ReAlLy want to hold him. I want you to hold him.

As the Alligator man said his final words I rummaged through my purse just to be sure I didn't have two more dollars...sure Dan would be oblivious because he was listening to alligator man and usually focuses on one thing at a time :)

Dan: Kate, you're gonna' hold that gator, and I'm gonna' take your picture.

Me: No way, you're holding that gator.

Dan: I've already decided. It's done. I want to see YoU with that gator.

And as that gator was within my grasp, I posed for Daniel, and in my HeArT I was reminded that ThIs is TrUe LoVe...seen in alligators and window seats, the things that count, the LiTtLe ThiNgS...


Thank you Honey for loving me in all things big and small. You're definitely the right OnE for me.

Nice to See

Tonight as Dan and I walked into the Bloomingdale Library, I was blessed by five words from a middle-aged woman I don't even know. As she walked past us she smiled and said, " A GeNtLeMaN. Nice to see."

All at once I realized my hands were securely in my pockets and Dan had just opened the door for me without skipping a beat. I was struck by the CaRe and LoVe shown to me by my husband through this simple gesture. I was struck by my presumption that this is the way it should be as my hands were firmly in my pockets...I never even thought of removing them because I have just come to subconsciously ExPeCt this gesture from Dan.

Isn't it ReFrEsHiNg that a few simple words from a stranger can open our eyes? In the business of our lives, I so often don't stop to ApPrEcIaTe the little things that show great LoVe.

I want to be the stranger that NoTicES and AcKnOwLeDgEs the little things. I want to be the friend and wife that others/Dan expect these little acts of kindness and love from.
I am GrAtEfuL for Dan who does so many little things that I know I take for granted and to this stranger who used her words to help me NoTicE.