Wife

It was one of the best days of my life. 

IMG_1531Even 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…

IMG_1534 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.  IMG_1537

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.

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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?

Chick-fil-a was first meal after labor and delivery

 

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?

Oldest daugher had birthday at Chick-fil-a

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

Anniversary Dinner at Chick-fil-a WHILE in labor with 4th

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?

Family loved Chick-fil-a in the Magic Kingdom

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

2005

Youngest son with chick-fil-a cow

2006

Sold out to chick-fil-a

2008

enjoying their free food

2009

Cow Appreciation day with friends

2010

Circus kids and friends

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!!!

Me and the hubby at premier dinner in Pasadena

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?

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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 h2011-03-06 BandA 1-2 Marathon 1alf 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 toothSmile  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.  IMG_9448

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?

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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. 

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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! 

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We’ve been playing the song on repeat for weeks and now the day is here.  Pittsburgh isn’t going to the Super Bowl anymore they are AT the Superbowl!  And we are ready to cheer them on for their 7th Superbowl victory!

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Even our dog Maggie is sporting the black and gold today!

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GO STEELERS!!!!!!

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