dear henry,

the other day you were having some great independent play time.  as much as i wanted to climb inside your play area to role the ball and stack blocks with you, i decided to hang back.  watching you explore  is one of my favorite pastimes. you were so funny talking and seeing what toys fit where. sometimes you make up a little song when you talk to or about your hands, food or toys. 

i dream and worry a little about how you will turn out.  this is that time when almost every parent looks at their baby and sees the potential of what things could be.  they stress about if their child is learning well and how to encourage their children to explore while keeping them out of the emergency room. i am trying not to be one of those stressed out moms.  its hard because you have no fear.  you climb the stairs as fast as you can, only looking back to see if i am following you.  you climb up and down grunting the whole time as if you are exerting all the energy you have … yet you still have plenty.  you, my dear, are a bottomless pit of energy. 

henry, “they” were right.  you are growing right before my very eyes.  my mom used to say that she wanted to tie a brick to our heads so we wouldn't grow anymore and now i understand what she meant.  it seems like yesterday that you started crawling and now you walk almost everywhere you go.  when you do crawl, you do this thing with your arms and shoulders that make me laugh out loud. 

you have been throwing a few tantrums lately trying to deal with all the big emotions in such a little body.  you don't quite understand why we tell you "no."  you have been doing the "gimme" hands which looks a lot like when you wave "bye bye."  most of the time it means "pick me up please" or "more cheerios" but sometimes we cannot figure it out and you get a little mad.  after a few tries of giving you the wrong thing, i can see it in your eyes ... you are wondering why the devil we cant understand you and get it right.  sometimes you refuse to eat off a spoon because you are dying to be independent and feed yourself.  usually your meltdowns last less than a minute and then you’re off again with the walking and singing.    

i would love to say that you are a momma’s boy but i don’t thinks that’s the case.  you love your daddy so much and it shows when you look at him.  you smacked him in the face a few times this week because he wasn’t looking when you discovered something neat.   his approval and attention means a lot to you.  you giggle when he puts silly things on his head and then you try and do the same. your favorite is when he flies you around the house like superman.  

henry, your daddy and i love you very much.  i am looking forward to our life with you.  we are so blessed!

love, 
momma

husband vs. wife questionnaire

i saw this on sitting in a tree and thought it would be fun.  

note: my answers are orange, husband's are green and any notes with be {in brackets}.

1. How long have you been married?
5 years and 5 months
5.2 yrs

2. Where was your first date?
as a couple?  42nd street oyster bar  
Went to the fair together somewhere around 1995 or 96. Or 42nd St Oyster bar in 2006

3. Where was your first kiss? 
at the wayne county fair on the ferris wheel
Wayne co fair grounds, I think. Or it could have been inside of a plastic tube slide maze thingy at this fun house place in middle school. Razmataz or some jive. 


4. Who first said, "I love you"?
husband
Probably her. She chased me for years. 
{this is funny because husband tried to make me fall in love with him for 7 years until i caved.  im so glad he was persistent!}

5. What were your wedding colors?
coral, turquoise and navy
Coral colors?  I was looking at her. Nothing else.

6. What is her most commonly used phrase? 
"cool beans"
Cool beans

7. Who is her celebrity crush? 
it used to be wilmer valderram but i dont really have one right now
Use to be fes from that 70s show , now it might be Zoey deschanel. 

8. If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get?   
i would order a porter beer (preferably a local brew) and would get husband and grey goose martini, extra dirty. 
Do we have a driver? I honestly can't say, her mood would determine that. A Dark porter, a Shiraz, a jegar bomb. Not in that order. 


9. What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?   
he really likes my spaghetti 
I really liked the beef brisket meal she made last week. She cooks a lot of yummy dishes though. 

10. What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you?  
that time i didnt cook the chicken all the way thru and he is not a fan of the tofu
I'll eat anything... Twice. 

11. What is the most-played song on her iPod?
mumford & sons cd
cherry blossoms probably. Henry falls asleep when she sings it. 


12. What would she say is your most annoying habit?
finishing my sentences but it be wrong
I make too much money, and I finish her sentences... Incorrectly. 

13.  What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed?  
kiss my husband
Asks me if there is anything she can pray for me about. 

14.  If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be?  
my jackets that pile up on the back of the sofa
They are all pilled together, you would never be able to pick up just one. 

15. What would you say is your favorite thing about her?
boobies

She has a great personality? No, right now it is how wonderful of a mother she is. 

16. What's her go-to drink at Starbucks? 
chai tea latte or the pike roast
Coffee

17. What's her blog's name?
best.day.ever.
best.day.ever,  I.think.

note from husband:  "Ps I typed all this with my thumb on my phone while the other arm is asleep bc h us passed out on me. My hand hurts and I'm hungry. Aint nobody got time for that"

photos by christine hall

v-day

happy valentines day 

to the loves of my life

... love you to pieces!

my favorites!

can't get enough of these two.

5 years

on saturday, husband and i celebrated our 5 year anniversary.

we checked into the same motel we did 5 years ago and walked down the same pathway to the beach that was there 5 years ago.

taken 9/15/12

we always enjoy our time at carolina beach but this weekend was special.  

we really spent some time relaxing and enjoying each others company.  

it was fun to think back at how much we have grown individually as well as a couple and to laugh at those things we never thought we would be able to laugh at.  

taken 9/15/07

{wedding photos were taken by christine hall}

happy v-day

happy valentine's day to you and yours ...

... and to mine :)

prayer works

husband has been feeling a little under the weather off and on, for a couple of weeks now.  you know, stuffy head, achey, feeling a bit congested and tired, but he hasn't actually gotten sick.  

the other night, i was at small group while husband was at school.  we did prayer request right before it was time to leave.  mine was "i hope husband will feel better OR get sick already so he can then get better."  we prayed together and started leaving one by one.  before i left (about 15 minutes after saying amen), i got a call from husband letting me know that he was leaving school early because he officially felt like crap and he has been sick ever since.  

heres hoping you feel better soon, babe!!!

... careful what you pray for :) 

pic via

date your man!

i am a firm believer that you need to purposely date your spouse.  most people believe this, but not all make it a priority.  i know when we have kids it will be a lot harder to make time for this, but it is sooooo important.  lately, our date nights consist of some form of dinner and a movie ... out for dinner, in for a movie or vice versa.  i wanted to spice it up and little and do something fun but we had just bought a house so any extra funds were spoken for.  so, i decided we would "go camping" ... in our spare bedroom. 

one of the best parts of our new digs is the space we have.  there are two rooms that are pretty much empty.  but before we load the spare room up with my craft supplies, sewing machine and guest bed, i decided to have a little fun in the space and use it for a date night.

the rules are:  no tv (the computer was for the camp fire video) and that we must stay in the room all night as if we were out in the wilderness (with the exception of letting the pups out to do their business). 

obviously, i did not have to wash my hair for this date :)

 see, fun and romantical!!!

any other great (and inexpensive) date night ideas that you guys have successfully pulled off? 

hobbits & slugs

we found this "little" guy in our back yard. 

the slug, not the hobbit

ok, so that's not a hobbit ... its husband.

do you see that little dot in between his toe cleavage? 

how freaking cute is it? 

i heart that little freckle on husband's hobbit foot!

flash back friday

following up on my flashback friday from a few weeks ago:  

seriously, husband was so adorable!  i think the first grade picture is my favorite.

we met when he was in the 7th grade and me in the 6th.  i look at this pic and remember why i had such a big crush on him ... i mean look at that smile :)  who knew that i would still be crushing on him 18 years later.

i gots the sushi blues

husband and i had a date night tonight.  headed out to downtown raleigh for some sushi for two.  

and this is what i was wearing: 

sweater: dkny (belk $14)

shirt: old navy 

shorts: diy

tights ... now leggings: santa

socks: target

boots:  dsw

husband decided he wanted to jump into my shot and strike a pose.  

my favorite part of this date night is that we were home by 7:00 pm  :)

dear husband,

thank you for:

• sunday afternoon walks

• willingly participating in loud, large family gatherings
• being so handsome

• spending time to play with vincent

• being so supportive
• taking me fishing

• taking care of me
• letting me hang out and be one of the guys

• making me laugh

• being a good role model for my brother

• and most of all, for your service to our country!

to husband and all my family and friends that have and will risk your life for my freedom, 

thank you and happy veterans day!  

... when two became one

Love always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.

Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

dear husband, 

you are my favorite person! 

with all my love, 

liz

today is mine and husband's 3 year anniversary (which means i have a reason to show off our wedding photos).  it has been 3 years of living, learning and best of all, loving!  

ALL PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED AND 

LOVELY PEOPLE I KNOW, CHRISTINE HALL.   

farm adventures

a couple of weeks ago (yeah, im a little behind) husband and i took a trip to visit his family in shelby, nc.  we stayed with his grandparents on their angus beef farm.  after waking up at the crack of dawn saturday morning for breakfast, we took a walk/ride around the farm.  husband has so many fond memories of visiting when he was younger.  it was sweet to hear him talk about his granddad putting him to work and playing around the farm with his brother.

even though we have known each other since the 6th grade, i always love the glimpses into husbands childhood that help me get to know him even better.

^ the family ^

 ^ brave olivia ^