carve your heart out

a love story

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy.


She was 16. He was 19.
Their paths crossed on the streets of market night in Redlands, CA.

Home of the orange trees.

He was the cool older guy.

With a ton of friends and all the right words to say.

Who loved God unlike she had ever seen.

She was shy and innocent in

so many ways.

They walked and talked.

Giggled when necessary.

He gave her a squash with his last name written in marker on the side.

She kept it...until it got moldy.

He left for tour.

She grew up. Got a job. An apartment.

5 years passed.

With only a few phone calls in between.

The Girl was now 21.

Out on the town with her friends one night in Redlands...in a loud, crowded room...their eyes met.

The Boy and the Girl together again after so many years.

And the room and everyone else in it ... disappeared.

2 years later, these 2 were married in a special "secret" ceremony on November 5th in Redlands.

It was destiny I tell ya!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Fisher.

you have bewitched me, body and soul.

and I was made to love you.

a thousand words

"All that I am or ever hope to be."

Today's Art Project

Part Love / Part SpongeBob / Part Spectacular

The "Monday-itis"

How to cure the "Monday-itis."

The Fisher Way.

1) Free guitar lessons.


2) Playing with your Eyeballs:

3) Season finale of Mad Men. It's so so good.

4) and an Apple Crisp to eat while watching my favorite show...

Costumes

Yesterday I finished the costumes for the duo just in time for Brandon's school carnivel.

They were a hit!

I was very proud. Proud that every inch was made by me.


Take a peek.



Halloween here we come.

The Mill Creek Boys

are pretty awesome.
this is one of my favorites.

Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Patch

In the Yard

Yesterday these 2 hunted for rocks. And the husband and Brandon played catch.

While they hunted, I admired some "pretty things" found hiding in my yard. The toilet makes for excellent yard decor...who needs a gnome when you have a porcelain tank!

<3>

Macyn

Friends of ours - who we had the pleasure of going to Romania with a few months back - have been struggling for years to have a baby...with no luck, they decided on adoption.


After what felt like forever... they were FINALLY united with Macyn.

A beautiful 4 month old Armenian baby girl. She is a doll, with a massive amount of hair amount of hair and the greatest face.

She also has down syndrome and some pretty serious issues with her heart and lungs.

Today Macyn is having surgery on her heart.

Please pray that the surgery goes well and that they don't find anything new.
And what they do find, can be fixed.

When most new parents are consumed with sleepless nights, poopy diapers and feeding schedules.
These parents are fighting for the life of their lil' one.

Found...."BOB"

I know you've been waiting...desperately.... to find out what happened
to our dear neighbor "Bob:"

Well we found him and he wasn't in the backyard!

Apparently, the Fisher's jumped to conclusions (not like us at all), obviously thinking the worst.
(Just call us The Burbs.)

The husband was getting in his truck the other day and saw "Bob" pull in the drive way...so he blasted the car in reverse, jumped out of his truck and ran over to "Bob!"
I don't think "Bob" understood why he was so excited and he couldn't bring himself to tell him....
we thought you were dead, man!


So this whole time "Bob" has been working at a halfway house in San Bernardino.
So he let some friends hang at his house, to protect it......hmmmmmm.......

Phew.
Mission Complete.

the "i love you" game

We play a little game in our house called, the "I love you" game. It's fun.

It's works like this.





Ayden says ALL words but I love you. I don't know, he's stubborn I guess. It's not that there is a lack of that word in our house, we say it every chance we get...but for some ol' reason that sentence will not come out of the mouth of our lil' one.





So my husband invented a game.





Ayden...you say everything that comes out of my mouth.

(Dad says....Ayden says)

Pickle....Pickle

Happy....Happy

Alright....Alright

Turtle...Turtle

I love you....Bye Bye


Ayden the jig is up. If you can say, "Mommy, can I have some chocolate milk please?"
We KNOW you can say I love you!

One of these days...if we're lucky.

Life

These were pictures taken by some friends of ours in Europe. They instantly make me happy.

Every Wednesday night we have a small group over to our house. Although I have to admit it, "The Getting Ready for People to Come Over To My House Syndrome" that I have really gets in the way. The second I get home on Monday, I feel like I need to get my house in tip top shape..."last minute vacuuming," My husband calls it. I have a problem...it hasn't been diagnosed...yet... but I'm sure there is something out there to label it, Besides Freaky Woman Who Can't Relax.

Anyway, on to the point of my story...I was rambling.

We have a group of friends over every Wednesday and right now we are reading Philippians. The goal last week was to read the book of Philippians every night from start to finish. Then each week after that we would read one chapter a night, and so on.

My husband led the group last week. Proud moment.

You feel such a sense of joy and love from reading this book. The true sense of how God wants us to be. To be loving to all, to love him and to not be afraid of sharing his love.

To read how Paul was in a prison; probably starving and not in the best of environments...so humble and joyful about the the lives of people he loved outside of those walls. And how thankful he was about his life exactly as it was, and wishing for nothing more than to do God's will.

I can't imagine living any other way.

me & you

"Being a 6 six year old in 1st grade is tough stuff." - Brandon

Today at the grocery store- our normal Monday hang out- I had an excellent conversation about life with my 6 year old.

He groaned about how shopping is no fun.

"What's not fun about being able to pick your snacks and spend one on one time with your mama?" I ask.

He says, "Yea, you're right."

I told him how hungry I was because I was so busy I forgot to eat today.

He said, "What? You didn't even have a cookie?"

(Why not, right?)

"Nope, no cookies.... It was a rough day."


He has been having a rough year. Friends moved, new class, lots of "pressure" to get this reading thing down... He had to start over and make new friends...which hasn't been easy.
And so sometimes he spends his lunches playing basketball by himself.

I aked him if he wanted mama to come play ball with him.

"That's not very cool mom." He said with a smile.

Making friends is rough. Especially for a 6 year old.

I pray for a truck load of cookies for him at school tomorrow.
Friends or no friends, he is still amazing.

Strength in my weakness

This weekend brought many a revelation for me.

1) I baked. Pumpkin chocolate bread.
I definitely had great expectations for this autumn dessert, but it failed upon completion.

2) Started making Halloween costumes for the duo. Making a mummy costume isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

3) I was asked to be a part of a team that goes to India in March. But I am struggling with this decision. Here is why:

• The last team that went was held captive by Hindu's and their lives were threatened and the leader sacrificed himself to be beaten by bricks in order for the team to escape.
• Mr. Fisher would not be able to come. And he strongly disagrees with the, "me going without him scenario. "
• The trip would be over 14 days.
• The cost of the trip is a pretty penny.
• Bills still remaining from our trip to Romania...I hate left-overs.

In my heart I know that I was made to help others. Every ounce of compassion and sensitivity that has plagued my life since I was a kid, incorrectly labeled as "weakness's" have blossomed into "strengths." Beautiful gifts.

But making this decision for the safety of me: a wife and mother... has me feeling conflicted.

"Treasures"

Two men with shopping carts passed by my house this morning, both going in opposite directions...to begin their day's journey collecting "treasures" from others' trash cans.

"Hello", one said.
"Hello," the other replied.

"Isn't today beautiful?" He said.
"Yes, it definitely is. Have a good day." The other said while walking off with a smile.

At times my neighborhood can be "strange" but at best, where else could I experience such beauty so early in the morning?

It makes me think about the times we are living in, with the economy in the dumps and families threatened with the thoughts of losing their jobs and worried that they can't provide for their families...here are 2 men, who hunt for "treasures" all day out of the trash and can still see the beauty in the day.

And I think about my "treasures" and how at the end of the day I have three beautiful characters to spend my life with and here after. how lucky am I.

new red shirt

My husband looked exceptionally cute today. (which was really Sunday)

On stage at church, when I should be thinking about God and how much He has blessed our lives... I can't help but look at my adorable husband, playing bass...looking so cute in his new red shirt.

6 year olds

brandon had a sleep over.

two boys. one night.
here is what i learned:

1) Superman apparently is not tough. Batman can kick his butt.
2) Waking up early before the parents is a definite must. Our house opened at 4 am. Lights on, game on, and 2 of the loudest laughs you've ever heard.
3) constant songs regarding "ding dongs."
4) they have an answer for EVERYTHING and mine was never the right one.
*it was very funny and very entertaining. I forget that to a 6 year old, I am OLD and so not cool. When did that happen?

to see Brandon soooo happy and sooo goofy made my heart smile.

An apple a day...

Sunday we went apple picking:

This was our tree.

Running through apple fields...

After all was said and done...we had a mountain of apples to call our own, dirty shoes, and a bee bite on Ayden's neck. Moments worth treasuring forever.

at a snail's pace

Can't seem to get it moving this morning. I'm at a snail's pace.

dishes still in the sink from breakfast...

piles of laundry in every room.... (that looks nothing like this)

if I wanna be a good wife, I'd get them done...

but instead I am on here, blogging, mindlessly searching...

thank God it's friday

came home after a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong week at work...

to my husband asking what he could do to make me smile.

well since you ask:

1) good food from somewhere other than my kitchen

THEN he said..."do you want to go buy a shirt?"

well since you say so...

i found these, they made me happy:




He knows how it's done.

Why this?

I am here to relish in the joys of being a wife and a mother, with you.
To celebrate the minuet and the mundane.
To savor things twice in my life: once while it happens and the other while I share it with you.

If you get anything from this blog, maybe you want to kiss your children more and hug your husband twice.
This is my mission. This is my reason.

xoxo.
yours.truly.

PS- Still no news on "Bob."

clouded

Today I am feeling a bit sad.
I'm sad at the way people are and how they act maliciously towards other people... when other people are just trying to better themselves and their families. Ugh!

LOST

Ayden got lost today.

I knew that this day would come, I think I've been waiting for it from the day he learned to walk at 9 months.

I turned around and he was gone.
Lost!

My first thought, " Oh he must be around the corner."
My second thought, "Okay, he's not around the corner, maybe he's in the next aisle..."
Third and Fourth..., "WHERE IS HE?"... "PLEASE GOD, HELP ME FIND MY SON!"

All the while I'm keeping the one thought out of my mind, but couldn't help but let it slip in at my most desperate...
"DID SOMEONE TAKE HIM?"

My mind was fuzzy. Brandon & I became a team on a mission to find our lil' one.
People stopped. Look concerned.
Someone asked if I was Kyle's wife and asked to help.

On a side note, it made me realize that people are genuinely good when it comes to helping other people. This made me happy.

Because I am the type of person who likes to know the end of the story.... here is the end:

In a corner, looking at a Spiderman book was our lil' one. Unaffected by the chaos around him. Clueless about the fear that had consumed my life in what was the longest 5 minutes of my life.

Happy Halloween

We made these yesterday:

Branches from the yard spray painted white.

Bats

Happy Halloween!

Ducks

Hockey Season has begun.

They had fun!

Can I let you in on a secret?

We are going to try and have another baby!

can i just say,

how much I love the weather outside today.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. The smell of Halloween in the air!
Coats & Boots...can't wait.

Today Brandon is fishing, and Ayden & I are going to a birthday party.

yours.truly.

Lunch with Me

Dear Friend,

Today I want to sit and have lunch with you.
We don't see each other very often and I miss our conversations about life, children...you name it!
Life has flown by this past year! Can you believe it's October already?

There isn't a second that goes by that I don't think about you and your family.
Praying for you, for the strength to be the best woman God has created you to be.
The best Mommy to your children. The best Wife (or soon to be wife) that your Mr. Husband could ask for.

That no matter how much time passes, you will forever be in my heart!

xoxo,
yours. truly.

update

Called the police station about "Bob."
They are concerned???
The Deputy came out to his house, no one was home.
So...if they have another yard sale this weekend, I've got to call the Sheriff.
Caught in action, got it!

I feel important.
Time to save "Bob!"
Time for a stakeout!

to be continued...

yours.truly.