While he wore the jersey for 14 years, she proudly wore hers for 3.  (more than half of her life).  It was her first jersey and I always thought it suited her personality well.   

As we listened live to Hines bid his tearful goodbye to football this afternoon, we were sad to see him go but as my 7 year old pointed out, “thankful he’s not going to play for the Ravens.” 

We’re going to miss seeing his smiling face on the practice fields at training camp this summer. 

As he retires, his jersey, it seems time to retire hers as well.  As she pointed out after the announcement, “I’m going to need a new shirt so I have a new guy to cheer for and it has to be a Steelers guy because I won’t cheer for a Raven.”

From our part of Steelers nation where we proudly wear our black and gold in a land of purple, thank you, Hines Ward.  Thank you for all you brought to the game.  Thank you for your leadership both on and off the field.  Thank you for giving us something to cheer for, for so many years.  We’ll miss you and look forward to the day we can wave our towels for you again at your induction into the Hall of Fame in Canton. 

I’ve had a few shows over the past 10 years, that I’ve really loved.  You know the ones where you connect personally with the characters in a manner some might find unhealthy?   But, if I had to pick one, as my favorite (I’d probably kick and scream begging you to not make me limit it to just one)  But, if I had to pick one, than I’d probably say it was Alias.  I remember when Scott and I first started watching, the show was already a few seasons in (which is the best way to start watching a show b/c we watched the first 2 seasons on DVD).    I don’t even want to tell you how quickly we blew through those 21 episodes, staying up way later than we should for just one more. 

I loved it. 

Alias nights quickly became one of my favorite nights of the week, as we’d sit curled up on the catching watching Jennifer Gardner get the bad guys. 

And here’s where I offer you my secret confession.  In my head, when I watched her strut around in those crazy outfits with her blue hair and high heel shoes, in my head, I thought, “I could so be her.” 

I know… stop laughing… please…

But do you ever do that sometimes?  Have this version of you in your head that is so way cooler and so waaaay unrealistic?  It happens whenever I play volleyball too.  In my head, I am suddenly this awesome athlete that dives on the ground hitting the ball up setting it perfectly for my team mate to spike on the other team.  When in reality, I am just giddy if I actually make contact with the ball in an appropriate way (rather than say, getting hit in the face).  Reality is often a cruel intrusion. 

But, back to me in my high heel shoes karate chopping the bad guys as I sneak off with the secrets of some terrorist organization. 

I am a sucker for anything CIA, FBI, or any other acronym with I in it.  If it’s a redbox night and I’m picking and I see any of the above acronyms you can bet that’s my pick.  “What’s the movie about Crystal?”  “I don’t know some CIA thing.”   My heart is racing as they sneak into the building to steal the secrets… I can’t believe it when they go snooping through the stuff while the people are in the next room… How do they do that?

Lately, my movie obsession has crossed over into my book reading as well.  Last week I plowed through the first 4 books in the Gallagher Girl series.  OK, here is where my obsession perhaps starts to get a little embarrassing, as it leads me back into the world of Young Adult Fiction.  But, truthfully, I’ve found that I like young adult fiction. (Hunger Games anyone?)  It’s clean which I appreciate and an easy read.  Anyway, Gallagher Girls is a cute series about a top secret spy school for high school girls.  A tad adolescent, I know, but by book 3 and 4 I found myself up past midnight with my little book light on eager to read on.   This weekend, I read a more adult CIA fiction book, which I would describe as realistic fiction.  It gave a much less glamorized view of the spy life than that I’d seen on TV.  And while I did enjoy it, I found myself forlornly telling Scott, “I don’t think I have what it takes to be a spy.” 

Again, stop with the laughing. 

It’s always hard when reality comes intruding again.  I had this really cool image of myself with this awesome cover (minivan driving stay at home mom) who could totally kick but with a handgun, keep cool under pressure, and karate chop better than Daniel-son.  And truthfully, I find myself realizing, I could NEVER lie to my husband, spot a tail, or shoot a bad guy.   But, I’d love to file their paper work.  Now that would be a dream job! 

It’s Monday and I’m being "Miss Elaine-ous" over at The Miss Elaine-ous Life!

On the wall in my bedroom, tucked away in the corner on my side of the bed is a shadow box in which I pressed some dried flowers from my wedding bouquet.   I’ll confess I don’t look at it often, but when I do I smile and remember that special day.

My children, however, don’t share my sentimentality.

The other day my 5 yr old and I were sitting on my bed and she said, “Mom, why do you have those old dead flowers hanging on your wall?”  I told her that Daddy had given me those flowers on our wedding day.   I of course thought this obviously answered her question.   But she looked up at me like I was crazy and said very matter of factly, “But now they’re dead.”    (as in so why do you have them hanging there now Mom?) It was then obvious to me that she thought her mom was crazy for hanging dead flowers on her wall.  I then remembered the conversation I had with her brother a few years ago when he asked me why I had poop hanging on my wall.  I told him it wasn’t poop, they were dried flowers from my wedding.  “Oh,” he replied, “they look like poop to me.” 

Something tells me 50 years from now when the kids are cleaning out our house and divvying up our our belongings, none of them are going to be fighting for the right to take mom’s dead flowers to their homes. 

Scott and I got away last week, just the 2 of us, for 3 nights in the Windy City.  It was a belated 10 year anniversary gift to ourselves.

And it was WON-DER-FUL!!

The city of Chicago is beautiful.  The buildings are unique and interesting… truly works of art in and of themselves.  We had so much fun walking around the city and taking in its beauty. 

The weather was overcast and it rained off and on while we were there.  But, thankfully, we were able to enjoy a gorgeous evening observing the skyline at the Navy Pier our first night. 

We had a great time at the Art Institute of Chicago.   One of my favorite dates with Scott is going to the art museum.  We have fun looking at different paintings… picking our favorite in each room, or picking the one we’d hang in our house if we had our choice.   It might surprise you to know that Scott’s favorite is always modern art.  Before we were married, I’d never have pegged him as a modern art guy.  (I know this picture isn’t of modern art…but it was our favorite picture in that room, and I liked the picture of Scott observing the painting).  We also attended the symphony, another rare treat for us. 

The clouds parted and the sky opened in time for us to head to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly called the Sears Tower)… the highest structure in the U.S.    You might recall I am not a big fan of heights…but I didn’t want to miss out on the adventure. 

So glad I didn’t… how cool is it to kiss the man of your dreams at the top of the world?

We did lots of walking… lots of talking… shopping…eating… there was no schedule.. no place we had to be… no demands… just time to enjoy my best friend all to myself.  And I did… every minute of it. 

Of the 32 years I’ve been a Steelers fan, I only had the joy of being a hometown fan for only 8 of those years (5 of which I was 5 and under so it doesn’t really count in my book).  My sophomore year of college, I moved to PA for 3 years.  I was thrilled to get to watch the Steelers on a weekly basis.  Unfortunately, this was during the Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox era, which wasn’t exactly the Steelers golden era of football.  I truly enjoyed watching The Bus in action each and every week.  Those were his glory days for sure!

Now, thanks to Direct TV’s NFL season ticket we get to watch our boys in black and gold every.single. week!! But, we still don’t really get that hometown feel.. especially living in the Baltimore area …When I step onto my back deck I am greeted with the icky colors of purple and black ALL OVER my neighbors yard.  

So,  we’ve begun making the trek to Latrobe, PA in August to watch the Steelers training camp at St Vincent’s College.  It’s our little taste of life as a hometown fan.  Since it is part way between my parents house and our place, we ended up finding a campground truly in the middle, making a weekend out of it and spending Saturday in Latrobe watching practice.   I always feel like Adam Sandler in “Fever Pitch” as we pack up to go and “check out the team.”  As if they needed us to scope out the new players.    This year Scott was especially excited to check out Baron Batch… a rookie RB he had read about that week who was apparently getting noticed on the practice field. 

Scott and I have now been 4 times… we’ve taken the kids 3 times… and even still, I get this rush of excitement as I look out and see the players in person.  It’s so different than on TV, they are so much bigger and it’s fun to watch them interact with each other. 

This year was especially fun b/c my oldest daughter was SO EXCITED about going.  She’s been asking all summer if we were going to go.. and since there was so much up in the air with the lock out, we honestly didn’t know if there’d even be a training camp to go to.  When we told her we were going, she packed her bag literally a week ahead of time.  She had her camera, Steelers pants, tee shirt, sweatshirt, hat, jersey, and her sign to hold up for the players, all packed into her Steelers drawstring bag.  I had to remind her to throw in a few pairs of underwear and socks too.  She couldn’t wait to see “the real Steelers players” play a game.    Yes, it warmed this Steelers lovin’ Momma’s heart! 

As we were walking back to our car I spotted Heath Miller sitting in a cart while Mike Wallace was signing autographs.  My parents had just given the youngest circus member his official Steelers jersey that morning… it was none other than 83 Heath Miller… so in true paparazzi style, I grabbed my baby and ran over to the now growing group of people surrounding his golf cart.  And then I froze.  He was literally right in front of me (just a few teenage boys begging for autographs between Heath and I) and instead of saying, “Hey Heath can you pose for a picture with my baby, he’s wearing your jersey!”  Instead, I said absolutely nothing.  As if I was waiting for Mr. Miller to look over and say, “Look, he’s wearing my jersey, want to pose for a picture?”    And so instead of getting a nice posed picture with this starting TE (who by the way is SUPER TALL in real life)… instead I stood there until the driver started the cart and then I rushed over and stuck my baby by his side while Scott snapped a picture.  Classy, huh?  I then kicked myself the whole way back for not opening my mouth and at least asking. 

Oh well… we got to see the Steelers play, we got to see 2 of them up close, and we all had a good time!!  The circus house is abuzz with talks of football season.  The first preseason game is tomorrow night against the Redskins!

Years ago my Mom and I attended a Women of Faith Conference…I believe our first was when I was in college.  We drove to Cleveland, OH to attend the conference.  We left refreshed and inspired and vowing to make it a tradition to attend some sort of spiritual conference together as often as we could.   Since then, we’ve attend Women of Faith, Beth Moore, and a few women’s retreats together.  I appreciate the opportunity to worship, and grow alongside my mom.   Our faith and our ability to encourage each other in our spiritual walks, is one of my favorite aspects of my relationship with my mom.  It is something I have treasured since middle school when we first did a mother/daughter Bible study together. 

When BookSneeze offered the opportunity to attend a local Women of Faith conference and blog about it, I jumped at the opportunity.  When they offered me 2 tickets to the conference in DC, I knew instantly who I wanted to go with. 

I am very excited about attending the Women of Faith conference later this month.  I have to confess I have been negligent lately in my personal quiet time and I am looking to get back on track.  I am eager for some encouragement and inspiration in my personal walk with the Lord.    But from past experience, my favorite part of the conference is typically the worship.  There is something quite powerful about worshipping in an arena full of other women.   I am also so happy that my mom is able to get off of work and come down to attend with me.  I look forward to the quality one on one time with her (something that I just don’t get enough of anymore… especially now that I am a mother myself) as we travel to and from the conference each day. 

For more information on WOF and to find out if they are visiting a city near you, click here.

I received two tickets for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the ">">">Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

It was one of the best days of my life. 

Even though it seemed like the time would never arrive, finally it was time.  The doors opened, and Scott’s best friend began playing Trumpet Voluntary on his trumpet.  And dad and I began our walk down the aisle.  I will never forget the look of love in Scott’s eyes as I walked toward him down that aisle.    I have a picture of his face on my dresser so I can remember it always.  Love… Pure Love… as he looked at his Bride…How in the world was I ever lucky enough to be chosen as his bride? 

We sang a few praise songs, the pastor gave his sermon (I remember him talking about the two becoming one and relating it to chemistry some how)  Then we said our vows

“I Crystal, take you, Scott, as my husband.  I give you my solemn words, as a sign of my faith in you and love for you.  For better or for worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.  I promise to support you; to undertake full responsibility for you; to shelter and protect you.  I trust you. I will stay with you, never leaving you, and make a home with you after the pattern for Christian marriage commanded by God and described in the Scripture.”

and then we exchanged our rings…

With this ring, I give to you my promise that from this day forward you shall not walk alone.  May my heart be your shelter and my arms be your home.   May God bless you always. May we walk together through all things. May you feel deeply loved, for indeed you are.  May you always see your innocence in my eyes.  With this ring, I give you my heart.  I have no greater gift to give. I promise I shall do my best.  I shall always try.  I feel so honored to call you husband.  I feel so blessed to call you mine.  May we feel this joy forever.  May the glory be to God.  I love you.

We signed our marriage certificates, lit our unity candles and gave flowers to our mothers.   Verses were read, a song sung, prayers prayed, and the benediction given.  It was the wedding of my dreams.  It went exactly as I dreamed it would go, and then…

after which, we were pronounced husband and wife.

10 years ago, I walked down the aisle of my parents church holding hands with the man I loved. 

We took gazillions of pictures, had a fabulous time at our reception and then were off for our honeymoon.  I remember going to church 2 weeks later and seeing our friends.  “How’s married life?” they’d ask.  And we both would answer, “Married life is even better than I thought it’d be and I thought it was going to be good.”

10 years later and I say the same thing. 

Married life is great.  Truly great.  Marriage gets a bad rap in our society today.  In fact I read the other day that according to the recent census, the number of people married today is at a record low. 

I know everyone isn’t as fortunate as I am.  But I can honestly say, with the technical “honeymoon phase” long passed…4 kids, a dog, a house and 10 years later… Marriage is even better than I thought it’d be and I thought it was going to be good. 

Thank you Scott.  Thank you for treating me with love and respect.  Thank you for making me feel adored and special.  Thank you for working hard to provide for us, while yet, putting your family before your career.

These past 10 years together have been wonderful.  Truly, the stuff dreams are made of.   And in the midst of these crazy years with everyone telling me, “my your hands are full” as we jet to baseball games, soccer practices… as we juggle nebulizer treatments, and pukey kids…while figuring out when we’re going to mow the lawn, trim the trees, and buy a new oven…as I try vainly to keep the fridge stocked and the laundry folded… in the midst of what some might call the mundane of every day life and others might just call the circus… in the midst of all that… thank you for making me feel like #1.  Thank you for coming home to our chaos every day.  Thank for you for choosing me.  For loving me.  For cherishing me. I feel so honored to call you husband. I feel so blessed to call you mine. May we feel this joy forever. May the glory be to God. I love you.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Chick-Fil-A.  So, when I found out that they were opening a new one in Pasadena AND they had a “Raving-Fan” contest on face book in which the winner would win a year of free Chick-Fil-A, I had to enter.

The contest:  submit a photo of your favorite memory at Chick-Fil-A and explain it in 100 words or less.

My favorite memory at Chick-fil-A??  How ever will I choose?

The time I requested Chick-Fil-A after giving birth to my daughter and my brother did a CFA run for me to deliver it to me at the hospital.

Or her birthday party four years later?

How about our anniversary dinner while in labor with baby number 4?      (as in, for real laboring – went to the hospital right from there)

Or when given the choices of any restaurant at Disney World, the circus family happily chooses Chick-Fil-A for the last 2 meals of their vacation?

Or any number of times that I dressed my children up as cows to earn free dinner?

2005

2006

2008

2009

2010

I opted for the 2009 Cow Appreciation Day.”We have made it a family tradition to participate in Cow Appreciation Day for the past 6 years.  2 years ago we invited one of our best friends to join us.  They ended up having an appt to look at a prospective house on the way to our dinner. The Realtor graciously agreed to follow us to CFA afterward, so we didn’t miss Cow Appreciation day, and they signed the paper work there while we entertained the kids in the play area.”

Our story was selected as a finalist (original post here).  We got to go to a Premiere Dinner at the new Chick-Fil-A before it opened.  This alone, made me giddy!! 

But, as if THAT wasn’t good enough… while there sipping our Sweet Tea… they read our story aloud to the room, and WE WON!!!

Without a doubt… best thing I have ever won… ever…. with 52 coupons for free combo meals, we can take our family of 6 out to dinner at Chick-Fil-A once a month for a year!!  This makes for one VERY happy circus family!!

How about you? Do you have a favorite memory at Chick-Fil-A?

Exciting things are happening round the circus parts this week and it’s only Tuesday!!

Sunday, I ran a half marathon with my FIL.  My friend, who had to run a half marathon in order to see me in real life, also ran but she was so stinking fast that I am glad I caught her in line for the potty before the race, b/c there was no seeing her after that.   Dad and I ran at our own pace and I felt much, much better about this race than my last race.  This time, I felt prepared and when I finished I didn’t feel like I was going to die.  Last time I knew I wasn’t prepared and it felt AWFUL!   As an added treat a friend of mine surprised me and ran the last 3 miles of the race with me.  She was a true cheerleader and burst of enthusiasm and I was touched that she went to so much effort to surprise and encourage me.   Joc, you rock!

Monday, I could barely walk…see above…but I did get a night out with my friend Megh.  We grabbed dinner and went shopping for jeans…in a size I haven’t worn in YEARS!!  That’s right folks, I am happy to share I am now at the size I was before I got pregnant with my son, over 7 years ago!!  Wahoo… I am super psyched about that!  And I truly appreciate the time to catch up with Megh as well as her help in answering such baffling questions as “What is boot cut?”  and “Do I want dark jeans or light?”  These are the things I am clueless about and I always appreciate her insight.  She willingly comes along with me when I need a night out of shopping sans kiddos and I love that we can just pick up where we left off, filling each other in on our lives and chatting about movies and TV shows.  We’ve never really been in the same stage of life ever in our friendship, but I truly appreciate how she just sorta rolls with my crazy chaotic life and accepts me for what I am. 

While out with Megh, I got a text from Scott which read “Looks like someone has his first loose tooth”  I was so happy for him b/c he’s been waiting for a loose tooth since early Kindergarten.  When I got home a few hours later and went in to peek on all the kids, he was still up and was super excited to show me how it wiggles!  Here’s a picture of his smile before it changes. 

Races, New Jeans, Great Friends and Loose Teeth… Oh My… the excitement here at the circus is mounting and we haven’t even reached Hump Day yet! 

How’s your week been?

Well, it’s over… another great football season has has come to an end.  While the ending wasn’t quite as sweet as I wanted, it was to be honest, a WHOLE lot better than I thought it would be when the season started.  I never dreamed in August that we’d be having a Steelers party in February.

Looking back, it was a great season.  We had a ton of fun cheering for our boys in black and gold.  We had several family gatherings at our place to watch the game.  I went on a date with my dad to Pittsburgh to watch a game at Bettis’ Grille 36.  We even orchestrated our schedule so that we were in hotels for the 2 games that occurred during our family vacation.  It was quite fun parading around our Disney Hotel in our Steelers jerseys.  Scott and I went to an actual home game with my dad in December.  And, we had a fabulous play off run, culminating with a Superbowl Party!

As we left my parents house early Monday afternoon, we had the thought to try and catch the team as they arrived in Pittsburgh and  give them a hearty welcome home.  But, as much as we googled, we couldn’t find any information on their homecoming.   Man, I would have loved to been there to clap and cheer as the Steelers got off the plane.  Let em’ know we love em’ and we’re still proud of em’.  We weren’t quite ready for the season to be over, so we decided to drive a slightly longer way home and take the kids through the city.  For the first time, Scott and I realized that while we have been to the city of Pittsburgh several times, the kids have not.  So we drove them to Heinz Field.   And we walked up to the gates and showed them where our beloved Steelers call home. 

I’ve been to the gates a few times and inside three times.  Still it gives me a little thrill to stand there and gaze out at the stadium. It was a quiet, rainy day in Pittsburgh and as we walked around, I couldn’t help but think how different the atmosphere would have been had things gone differently last night. But, you know what, we walk away from this season with our heads held high.  Our boys played well.  And we can’t wait to cheer them on again next fall!