Happy 20th Anniversary to Us!

 Twenty years ago tonight, Jarrett and I, along with 400 of our closest family and friends were tearing up the dance floor until the early hours of the following morning.  It was our wedding day and boy was it fun!  From the moment I woke up that morning the moment my eyes closed, our wedding day was everything I dreamed of and more.  Last night we dug out our wedding video and watched it together and it was a whirlwind of emotions.  I wish I could go back and relive that day again, not only to experience the love and feelings of support from so many, but also to talk again to so many of those we love who have left this Earth.  And also to again share with Jarrett that special day.  Knowing now what our lives would be like for the next twenty years, I'd sign up immediately again to do it all over.

Here are a few photos from our wedding album (for some reason I can't figure out how to shift them to be the correct way).

And here are a few videos from that special day...

Here's the video I made for Jarrett the night before we got married...

As I think about the last 20 years, I can't help but think back to our wedding vows...

for better, for worse, 

for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health

to love and to cherish

and honestly in the last 20 year's we've been through all of these things.  There have been so so many good times, our share of hard times, times of sickness, but thankfully more times of health.  and all times to love and to cherish.

Its hard to encompass all that the last 20 years have brought us, but here are a few photos that remind me of just how blessed we have been in this life together..

 As we begin the journey of our next 20 years, I'm so grateful Jarrett to be able to spend this life together with you. I am so blessed to have you as my partner in this life and thankful for your unending love and support.  Thank you for walking hand in hand with me and for building a life I dreamt of as a little girl.  Who would have thought we'd have such a big family or embrace chaos like we do, but at the end of everyday when we collapse from exhaustion in our bed, I'm so grateful it's you I share it with.  I love you Jarrett Joshua, even more than I did 20 years ago tonight.  I didn't think it was possible back then, but I was wrong.

Cheers to the next 20 years.  Cheers to love.  Cheers to us.

Until next time,

Angie

Isabelle's Salon Visit

For the last 11 years I've been Isabelle's hairstylist minus one or two times I've taken them to great clips.  I know she'll probably be embarrassed that I'm sharing this.  I guess I've been all the kid's hairstylist.  My training is none and often times I think it shows but it works and it saves money. 

As Isabelle started middle school this year, I thought it might be fun for her to actually get to go to a salon to have her hair professionally cut and styled.  Especially since she's getting more into hair and make up.  So before school started I took she and I went on a Mom and daughter morning together.

Here are a few photos from the trip.

I think she was a little bit nervous as it was a whole new experience for her. 

But soon it was clear, she was loving every moment of it.

The stylist deep conditioned her hair (after a summer of swim team and daily swimming at our house) and then massaged in a hair mask which made her thick, super beautiful hair feel restored. 

Both the stylist and I made a comment how lucky she is to have such thick gorgeous hair, and how lots of women pay a LOT of money to get the colors she naturally has.

When she was all said and done she was super excited and happy.  She whispered to me as we walked out the door, "I feel pretty."  And that comment made it all worth it.  

She's such a beautiful girl inside and out, I hope she always can see what we see.

And I'm not gonna lie, I loved the time too.  I know as the days pass, the moments she's going to want to spend with her mom are growing fewer, so I'll soak up the moments anytime I can get them.

Until next time,

Angie

 

Our fridge

Life can get overwhelming and it can often feel like no matter how hard you try, life well can sometimes beat you up.

This week I'm feeling it and while it seems to be no different than any other week, I just feel tired.  And when I'm tired and hit life's normal bumps in the road, it's easy to let yourself slide into a slump. I was feeling it as I've been dealing with neck and back pain for the last week that interferes with my sleep.  And then when I thought I was going to have a win by ordering groceries in the middle of the night so I could pick up first thing in the morning, I quickly realized that wasn't so great when I ended up ordering groceries to be picked up in Waverly Iowa instead of Arizona. After an hour on the phone begging them to refund my $370 weekly grocery bill so I could reorder it again, I just felt silly, and like it would be really great if I could just get my act together and catch up in life.  

And then I got home, opened my work computer and started to feel defeated all over again.  The emails come in faster than I can ever keep up it feels and well, then I started doubting myself... maybe I'm not that great at this either.  

So then I decided to eat some breakfast and that's when I went to my fridge.  If you look at it from a distance, it looks like a cluttered mess of a whole bunch of different things.  I thought to myself, I should clean this up and get rid of the clutter to make it look nice.  Then I started going through each item on the fridge, and soon I realized that the cluttered look of a mess was exactly what I needed and if I'd just stop and look at what is represented on this fridge, maybe I wasn't doing as bad as I had written myself off to be. 

There's messages like this...

that just happened to appear on the fridge.  No one asked Maddie to write us a note, and she didn't even tell us she wrote it.  It just showed up there.  A moment of gratitude shared with us.

Or this note... another one Maddie wrote in her school journal and decided needed to be put on the fridge.

Or this one... One of my favorites.  Maddie often asks my why Noah had to die and what he was like?  I always remind her we will get to see him again when we get to Heaven and then we'll really find out what he's like. 

And these bright beautiful colorful rainbow houses or drawings, or hearts.  Madelyn always seems to incorporate the happiness of the rainbow into her drawings.  They always make me smile.

Or notes like this from the school... of the good things the kids have done.  Or the kindness Isabelle has shared with her peers.  Reminders of the good the kids are doing, even though you often wonder if they hear you when you try to teach them how to act in the world

And these messages.  

After reading our fridge full of clutter, I stepped back and realized while there are many things in the world I'd like to change, and many things that make me question how good I'm doing or the fear of not doing well, when I look at the fridge I'm reminded that there are things I do well, that there are lives I'm impacting and that to some of those in this family, I'm pretty darn okay.

Looking at our fridge it might seem messy and disorganized and often times that is a pretty good description of our life, but amidst all this chaos, there are a lot of things that are going well and so so many things to be thankful for.

Until next time,

Angie