A Year Ago Today

It's remarkable to think that it was a year ago today that I received a message from B that said, "I do believe your family would be awesome." The funny thing is that I didn't get that message until July 18th, 2012. Her email to me went to my spam folder and I was completely unaware.

I consider July 18th our "Match" day because that's the first time that the emailing between us began off Baby Center.

I still look at Hewy and can't believe that he's almost seven months old. Where is the time going? Seriously. I vowed when Gus was growing that with a second baby, I would hold on to every second so they didn't pass as quickly. I hate to say this, but I feel like it's going even faster now that I've got two kiddos. 

Gus is making so many great gains with speech and language (all on his own). He has a few favorite phrases, one of my favs is when he says (with total inflection in his voice), "Oh ma gosssssshhhh" and when he wants me to be quiet (or anyone for that matter), he puts a finger (or hand) over my mouth and says, "Hush, mama."

Gus was promoted to level RED for swimming, which might not seem like a big deal, but he was at the WHITE level (zero swimming abilities) for the entire first session. He's getting more and more comfortable and is even jumping in without holding anyone's hand (jumping into the water from the deck and without a lifevest). He's so great.

 

Now we're working on floating on his back for five seconds

I am still a bit shocked that we're done with the adoption process. As much as it was a lot of work, I feel like we had enough time to really get things organized and collected, and had the experience of a previous adoption to help us out as well. 

I still long to have three kids. In a year and a half, I'd love to have another baby in our home and have three kiddos all two/three years apart. I know Steve is totally against it, but who knows what will happen. I mean, a year ago, I would have never dreamed that we'd have a sweet chunk of Hugh upstairs snoozing away in his crib.

Feeling so blessed tonight.

My Amazing Husband

 

Baby Steve at 2.5 Months Old

I could have sworn that I wrote a long blog post about how incredible my husband is, but when I searched for it, I came up empty. How could I forget to write something dedicated to the most important person in my life?!?! It's definitely long overdue, but better late than never!

I guess I should start by saying that I met Steve back in February of 2004. A year and a half had passed since my divorce and I had dated off and on, but was still looking for "the one." More importantly, I was looking for a tall blonde with a last name that came at the end of the alphabet and he worked with the Earth (in some form, I was thinking farmer). You see, I saw a psychic with my friends and Nancy Rose told me that I'd find my husband when I was 28 and we'd be married before I turned 30.

Every guy that I met, after seeing NR, I was suspicious about their last name, what they did for a living, and if they were "the one." After coming up short (literally) a few times, I questioned if it would ever happen. 

I had been meeting people through online dating, but was having ZERO luck. In February of 2004, I got my list of usual suspects (guys that Love@AOL.com thought would be a good fit for me) and this one particular face stood out:

The first thing I thought when I saw his picture was, "He has cheeks just like mine!" His tag line was "Are you looking for your prince?" or something of the sort... and I sent him a wink and a note that said something about him being cute, that I was looking for my prince and that he had cheeks like mine.

Well, he replied back and we started messaging through love@aol.com (which was bought by match.com). Then we started emailing back and forth and he shared with me that he was recently divorced. He was Catholic (I was too at that time) and we decided that we'd just start off as friends and see what happened. I really wanted someone to go to church with, and to just hang out with. 

The amount of information that we shared before our first date was unreal. I knew about his family, his friends, likes/dislikes, and there were so many things that we had in common. He had three cats and they all had people names (Mindy, Tommy, and Eddie). I also had cats with people names (Bob and Hurmin). 

Our first date was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I got lost on my way to his apartment (we had plans to meet at his apartment and then go to Mass together and then grill out after). When I called him, I was nervous, but also freaking out because I was lost. He was so calm and assuring.

I know that when I left my apartment to head out for our first date, I was already falling in love with him. He would have had to be different from the pictures he posted online and a total jerk for me to not totally fall for him.

We went to Mass and he held my hand. I knew I had found "the one." Not only was his last name at the end of the alphabet, but he was tall, blonde, and an environmental engineer. He worked with the Earth.

After Mass, we came back to his place and grilled steaks and potatoes and asparagus. This meal has been repeated so many times throughout our relationship. Anytime we have steak, we have asparagus and potatoes. Anyway, we watched his starter wedding video, we talked about his divorce, my divorce, our exes (we refer to them both as Voldemort as their names shall not be said). 

Our first date didn't end until the next day. Before you think anything naughty happened, I will clear it up. Steve was and has always been a perfect gentleman. He didn't even kiss kiss me until our fourth date. 

As more and more time has passed, my love for him continues to deepen. So on this seventh anniversary of our wedding, I'd like to share a bit about why I married him, and why he's continued to be the best person I've ever known.

Steve as a Child

It's always interesting to learn details about a person that you met as an adult. I will say that Steve was the kind of child that any parent would be proud of. He's always been a hard worker, so dedicated to whatever he sets his mind to, and he's had a drive unlike anyone I've met. 

A few years ago, one of Steve's high school friends passed away unexpectedly. We went to the funeral and met up with a lot of the people that Steve went to high school with. I was amazed at how easily he talked to everyone and picked back up as if no time had passed between them. I learned that he was friends with everyone and accepting of all. It's exactly how I hope my children will be.

Steve was a miracle baby. Not kidding. His mom was told to abort him because if she carried him to term, he'd probably kill her, and not live himself. She decided to ignore them and she continued on with her pregnancy and delivered the most wonderful person. I'm eternally grateful that she had the conviction to stand firm and continue with her pregnancy.

Steve was surrounded by aunts and uncles who adored him, parents who showered him with love and affection, and cousins who were as close as siblings. He learned from his parents that you always respect your elders and because of this, he grew up very close to his grandparents. As he got older and family dynamics changed, he lost the closeness with his mom's parents, but maintained the closeness with his dad's parents.

Steve was always well-liked in school and surrounded by friends. Now, let me say, had he and I been in the same town at the same time, I would not have been attracted to him AT ALL. He had a mullet. 'Nuf said.

  

5th grade 

 

He went to Space Camp TWICE

 

While in 5th grade, he was asked to a dance by an 8th grader... STUD

 

Here comes the mullet

 

Has always had a love for Mustangs

 

So cute

 

Mini-Don Johnson?

Travels with Steve

Steve and I dated for about a year and a half before we got engaged in September of 2005. He proposed while we were camping and it was awesome. Here are some of my favorite things that we've done together (before kids):

 

Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade

 

Detroit Tigers Game

 

Halloween Party

 

Christmas Party

 

Our first Christmas together

 

The day Steve said "I love you" to me

 

A friend's wedding

 

Whale Watching in Bellingham, WA

 

PSP Dinner Party at our House in Canton

 

Parade

 

The Henry Ford Rouge Tour

 

Paradise, MI

 

Sault Ste Marie, MI

 

Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, BC

 

The Cascades Mountains

 

Battle of Bentonville Civil War Battle site, NC

 

Corn Maze

 

Obama Rally in Fayetteville, NC  October 2008

 

Planet Earth Celebration

 

Durham Bulls Game (we had season tickets)

 

UD Basketball

 

Tarheels Basketball

 

The Metro in DC

 

Jimmy Buffet Concert

 

NC Hollerin' Festival

 

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Steve as a Dad

They say that you fall in love with your husband all over again when you see him as a dad. It's so true. There's something so wonderful about watching Steve with both Gus and Hugh. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him with both boys.

 

Meeting Gus for the first time

 

Always at the doctor's appointments

 

Reunited after being apart for five weeks!

 

Gus's First Halloween

 

Christmas Eve Mass

 

Gus's First Christmas

 

Ain't to Proud to Baby Wear!

 

2nd Halloween

 

2nd Christmas

 

1st Haircut

 

1st Easter

 

Watching Bengals Football

 

Picking a Pumpkin

 

The Little Gym

 

Bedtime

 

Hugs

 

Reading the Paper Together

 

Playing with Dough

 

Playing Chase in Piedmont Park (GA)

 

Getting Dressed

 

Our Trip to Meet Hugh

 

Minutes Before Hugh's Arrival

Steve as a Husband

I knew I was going to marry him when I met him. So when it was time to plan our wedding, we decided that we wanted to focus on our marriage and the beginning of our lives together, and not on the ceremony and party. We had both been married before, and both of us agreed that weddings are full of stress and drama and are money suckers... it's basically a party for other people.

We wanted to go away and get married on the beach, barefoot, and do it with as few people as possible. We had wanted our parents to come, but my mom and dad had just returned from a trip to Scotland and didn't have the money, and Steve's dad wasn't able to come. So instead, Steve's best friend Mitch and his wife Jess joined us for our weddingmoon in the Bahamas.

Not everyone is as blessed as I am. I have a husband that loves me for who I am, and accepts all my flaws. He also accepts all my awesomeness, but more importantly, he loves me as I am and has never expected me to change. I know there are things that I do that drive him crazy, but he loves me anyway. 

Here are a few of the things that I love and appreciate most about Steve as a husband:

• He kisses me every morning before leaving for work. EVERY. MORNING. 
• Sometimes, he'll send random texts that say that he's thinking about me and wondering how my day is going.
• He has a warped sense of humor, and I think it's funny. There's nothing he says or does that I think crosses the line (with me personally).
• He and I have the same values for raising our children and are both equally dedicated to making sure our boys adhere to these values.
• He helps with laundry, cleaning, dishes, and other various chores. He usually does more than his share, and I'm thankful that he doesn't expect me to do all the chores, simply because I'm the woman.
• He takes time out of his day to be actively involved with the boys. He goes to every soccer practice, and enjoys spending as much time as he can with Gus and Hugh.
• He is dedicated to his job and gives 100%   He's always working on how to improve himself and how to keep challenging himself.
• He and I have the same social beliefs and views. We don't see eye-to-eye on all issues that are political, but socially, we are both advocates of the same things and believe in the same rights.
• He enjoys popcorn as a snack. Until meeting him, I never really ate a lot of popcorn, unless I was at the movies. Steve loves popcorn. He also loves cheese. Yummmmm
• I love riding in his car with him (his Mustang GT). It's all kinds of good. 
• I love how dedicated he is to his dad and Sue Ann. He genuinely cares about his dad and step-mom and loves to see them whenever he can. He respects his dad more than anyone and I'm proud of the dad that he is to Gus and Hugh, because of the role model his dad was for him.
• He's a family man. He would rather be home with us than to be anywhere else in the world. And that's the God's honest truth. He loves being home with us.
• He loves my family. He honestly enjoys spending time with my parents, which means a lot. I couldn't imagine being married to someone that didn't like my mom and dad.
• He understands my need to go home every now and then (by home I mean Michigan).
• He doesn't complain when I go out every month for MNO with my MOMS Club
• He doesn't complain when I go get my nails done every other week.
• He's the funniest person that I know.

I could go on and on about Steve. I'll just close by saying that I am grateful that God put him in my life. He's a true partner and loves me the way I always knew I deserved to be loved. I pray that we have many many more years together and that whatever life throws at us, we'll continue to hold onto each other as we face what comes.

I live yov me prine!