Backlog: Dave

After only 2 months of M-F travel, I can't believe the amount of unresolved items that have piled up. I can make a lot of decisions alone, but some things truly need Dave's input. Because he's had a little time off this week and we had some babysitting help from grandparents and Aunt Julie today, we've been able to work through some of the backlog:

1- Today we went on a "shirt" hunt and found 5 new dress shirts and 2 new ties for Dave. There was a wonderful sale at Brooks Brothers, although Opry Mills was a zoo!
2- We were able to clean out his closet and I now have a dry cleaning and "laundry challenge" pile (if I can't work the spots out, I send them to my mom, who has a PhD in "laundry challenges".
3- We are finally going to book a cruise for our 10 year anniversary next spring. I know, you'd like to come along, wouldn't you? sorry!
4- Tomorrow morning Dave is going to clean up the Grand Marquis for someone who is coming to BUY it. Hooray!!
5- We will be replacing our 3rd car with a bike for Dave, which he has narrowed down to 2-3 choices after looking at Dick's Sporting Goods tonight. This is his birthday gift (October) from all of our parents.
6- We went to dinner tonight. Without kids. On a date!! HUGE!!
7- As I type this, Dave is preparing a spreadsheet (he is a secret master of Excel) for me of pricing options for microwave/oven combos. I have hope we might have popcorn again soon!

As you can see, I am loving having Dave around here every day again. I love it not only for the things he is crossing off my "to do" list, but because I am reminded he is the most wonderful husband who is so perfect for me. I have truly missed doing everyday life with him these last two months and I look forward to a little less travel in the days ahead.

Blessed in 2008

Once again, it doesn't look like Christmas cards or letters are going to officially happen this year. I send a few cards out to people who I know don't have internet access, but because of this blog and facebook, I'm pretty sure most people who care about us know what is going on. So here is our "unofficial" Christmas letter for 2008:

Dave has experienced lots of growth and change at work. He has spent most of the last two months in Florida and we are thankful that will be ending soon. It has been a great experience for him and is already leading to some new possibilities at work (stay tuned...). We feel fortunate he is really blessed in using his talents every day and it just so happens to also pay the bills. He spends his "free time" full leading our community group, working with the Gideons, and spending as much time with us as possible.

Daniel is coming out of his shell more and more every day. He is a very active 4 year old, and we are enjoying his imagination and creativity. He loves going to church and school. He keeps asking me to teach him how to read. You can sum up his life in this sentence I hear from him every afternoon at nap/quiet time : "But I don't want to rest!".

Wesley is entertaining. He truly believes he is four years old like Daniel, but he just turned two. This can be a little frustrating for him, but most of the time it works out to his advantage. He sings, dances, giggles a lot and is really into sports, especially golf and baseball.

And I am just blessed. I have a great job, the best, most handsome husband, two super fun boys, and lots of great friends. We've been a lot of places this year and had some wonderful experiences (if you want the details, you'll have to read the archives here). I have made great use of my recent time alone, and I have been surprised by how many friends have reached out to me during this time to provide encouragement and invite me to take part in their busy lives.

We don't deserve any of what we have, but we know Who has given it to us and we worship Him for all He is and all He has done.

Merry Christmas!

Congrats to Dave/James/whoever you are, I think.... a little gift from Southwest:

Congratulations, you're in the club.
We'll teach you the secret handshake later.

Welcome to the Rapid Rewards A-List where you'll now receive reserved boarding privileges because you've flown 16 or more roundtrips in the past 12 months. Purchase your travel at least 36 hours prior to your flight time, and we'll reserve you the best boarding pass available—most likely an A.

The great thing about this is, I really do feel bad for my honey. He is constantly trying to remember to check in for his many flights... now he can just show up at the airport and get a coveted "A" (if he can get through security!).

Singing in Error

The last two years, I have wrapped all of our Christmas books (I hide them during the rest of the year) and the boys get to open a new one each night. So we have enough books, I've collected from garage sales, thrift stores, asked for them as gifts, etc. I wrapped some new books this year I had not read yet. One of them was a book version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which the boys opened last night. As I read/sang it to the boys (Daniel told me to please stop singing at day 8), I was shocked by what I learned: for 30+ years I've been singing "Four Calling Birds" when the song is actually "Four Colly Birds". That's a huge error for a well known song.

Sure, there was the time period where I sang part of the Kenny Rogers song, "You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille" as "Four Hundred Children" instead of "Four Hungry Children", but I was just being silly. And Dave loves to point out confusing lyrics of some contemporary Christian songs, which are not always clearly sung (or theologically correct).

I stand corrected. Probably for a lot of other songs too, I guess I'll figure those out eventually.

Caught by Surprise

Nashville rarely gets snow this early in the winter season, so we were very excited for our big wet heavy snow last night- 2-3 inches! We had spent the day over in Hermitage with grandparents, so we drove home around 7pm last night and enjoyed the beauty of it all. It was very slushy, so I could not get traction to get up the driveway. Dave came home from Florida to a nice surprise. He arrived home around 8pm after stopping by an awards ceremony where his latest project won an award.
I took some pictures last night: You can see Dave's beautiful light display, and Erin, our next door neighbor/babysitter, was outside playing and showing Wesley the snow. Wesley was scared by snow last year, so far he is just cautiously taking it all in.

Help in the Kitchen: Microwaves need not apply

When the microwave died a few weeks ago, I thought perhaps I was in for a bit of trouble. I mean, who can live without a microwave? Isn't it the essential appliance? We looking online immediately, rushed out to the Sears outlet and turned up empty-handed. Part of the problem is our "replacement strategy". We want to replace our white appliances with stainless ones as they break down. But the microwave/oven is a combo unit in our kitchen, so they need to match in style and probably be the same brand. I've had my eye on something like this double oven for awhile and it does have a matching microwave, but it's hard to justify replacing an oven that still works (and the price tag is way too high). So we are a little stuck on what to do next.

Meanwhile, I've not had a microwave for about a month now, and I've been pleasantly surprised by how little I've missed it. I boil water on the stovetop or heat it using the coffeemaker, and we have used our toaster oven a lot for leftovers and hot dogs (Wesley's fav food). I really only miss Steamfresh vegetables and microwave popcorn. I keep waiting to find something I just cannot cook without the microwave, but so far the other shoe has not dropped. So we'll keep waiting to decide and meanwhile, I'll enter any kitchen appliance contest I can find online.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

Yes, this is a picture of most of Dave's family on the beach on Thanksgiving day. No swimming, but some shells were collected. We had a wonderful trip to Nantucket and enjoyed our wonderful hosts' lovely new home. Daniel keeps asking, "when are we going to get a basement with a movie theater?" He is so ready to go back, anytime. A good time was had by all and we are thankful for such a great trip and a great family.