It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed since we said “I do,” and yet, when I look at you, I still see the same man who made me laugh, made me feel safe, and made me believe in forever. What I didn’t know then was just how much that “forever” would teach us.
Fourteen years of marriage of growing up together, of figuring life out hand in hand. We’ve built a life full of ordinary moments that mean everything—shared glances across a crowded room, caffeine-fueled mornings, chaotic dinners with the kids, quiet nights when nothing really needed to be said and there are Office episodes to watch. And through all of it, one thing has stayed constant: us.
Staying connected hasn’t always been easy—especially in the seasons when life pulled us in a hundred directions. Work, kids, responsibilities… the noise of life can be loud. With the complexities we have experienced, especially over the past couple years, it would be easy to just fall apart. But somehow, we always found our way back to each other. In the small things. In the effort. In the choice to show up for each other, again and again.
You still make me feel chosen. You still make me feel wanted. And loved. And seen.
You always know how to lighten the mood with a perfectly-timed joke or sarcastic comment, and even when I try not to laugh—you get me every time. You have a way of talking all of us off our proverbial ledge and help us focus on reality. Your mind is sharp, your hands are capable, and I swear, you can fix anything. Whether it’s a broken toy, a car, or a rough day—you’ve got a way of putting things back together.
You’re the kind of dad I always hoped my kids would have—playful, patient, endlessly loving. You have made their childhood magical. They look at you like you hung the moon. And honestly, so do I. This life we have built together is nothing short of a miracle, and it is more than I ever dreamed of.
What I admire most, though, is who you are when no one is watching. Loyal. Ethical. Steadfast. Honest. People underestimate you all the time—and you just keep showing up, proving them wrong. There are so many little things that you do to improve the world around you that no one even knows you are doing. But I see you.
Thank you for being my steady when life gets messy. For showing up, not just as my husband, but as my teammate, and my safe place.
There’s a quiet kind of magic in a love that grows deeper over time. It doesn’t need grand gestures or perfect moments. It just needs care, commitment, and a whole lot of grace. And somehow, we’ve found all of that—together.
Fourteen years in, and I still choose you. I choose this life. I choose us.
Happy anniversary, my love. Here’s to every year that brought us closer—and to every year still to come.
I have pinched myself several times this week. I still can hardly believe that the Chiefs won the SUPER BOWL!
It is unreal!
Growing up in Kansas City, I always imagined what this would feel like. You always rooted for the Chiefs like this was going to happen, but then it never did.
So to watch this come to fruition this year was purely magical.
The Chiefs aren’t perfect, but what a perfect testament to never giving up and picking yourself up each time you fall. They are the only team to trail in all the playoff games to come back and win the whole dang thing. I felt like I was watching a movie all post-season.
I really don’t know how to explain the spirit behind rooting for the Chiefs in KC.
The Chiefs have been an important part of my life making so many memories possible.
Growing up, it was just what we did on Sundays in the fall. We got home from church and put on our red and yelled at the TV. I would say part of my relationship with my dad was built through this time we spent cheering on our beloved Chiefs.
I still remember the first game I went to with my dad when I was in middle school. I remember feeling the electricity run through the Arrowhead stadium and the pure joy that filled my soul.
During college, our marching band was fortunate to play at halftime. I remember being giddy for days after the experience of being on the Chiefs field. I also still have that field pass!
When I moved away, football was a connector for me and my family. We would often talk through what was happening and have hope that this year was our year…or move our faith into the next year when inevitably things went wrong.
But that is the thing as a Chiefs fan, you always have the hope.
There is something about hearing “TOUCHDOWN KANSAS CITY” that gives me chills and makes me want to jump up and down.
Being a Chiefs fan is often times agonizing and I bite all my fingernails off, but it also means that all the big moments are BIG. I jump out of my seat with every long pass, and I have lost my voice to many games. Being a Chiefs fan is emotional and stressful, but gosh it is so fun.
I think because they have always been scrappy and a little chaotic, they become so rootable because they aren’t always perfect. We are always the underdog, and that is fun to get behind because no one expects us to win. It’s relatable in a sense. Watching this team come back time and time again has a lot of life lessons in it.
I mean Kansas City is known for being the come back kings. I remember writing a similar post about the Royals…
But in the end, what I love about being a Chiefs fan is the way it connects people. It ties people together whether you are family or complete strangers. There is beauty in that, so that is why rooting for the Chiefs, rooting for our hometown, rooting for a football game is so enchanting.
And now I get to share that love with my own family. We get to create our own magic moments as my team becomes their team too. To hear my kids say “Go Chiefs” or “Come on Kansas City” brings me pure bliss. The Chiefs have been such an integral part of my life, and I hope it brings them the same level of joy.
Days go by so quickly, and I want to remember the little things.
I saw another blogger record just a random day for her family, and it prompted me to do it for us. Our days change so much with our schedules, and with an ever changing toddler, but I thought it would be nice to see just one day of our lives laid out.
And I also happened to do it on a Monday. The day that I rarely have my crap together. Sounds about right.
My alarm goes off at 5:10, but I hit the snooze until about 5:30 when I grudgingly get out of bed. This day, George was still asleep so I rushed into the shower to get done before he decided to join the day. Every day is different though. Some days he wakes me up before my alarm, other days I have to wake him up 15 minutes before we have to leave.
This Monday however, he stayed asleep until I got out of the shower and dressed. He EVEN read his books quietly for about 5 minutes before I went to get him up for his milk.
One of my favorite parts of the day is when I pick him up out of the crib is that he hugs you so tightly. Seriously the best. It warms my cold morning heart right up.
First thing on the agenda for little man is getting some milk. He is barely awake so he usually gets upset when I put him down so I can get his cup ready.
He is obsessed with this chair. He carries it around with him, and he will sit so proudly in it. He looks way to big sitting in it. I do not approve.
Most mornings though he isn’t done snuggling, and this morning was no exception. So he crawled in my lap as I ate breakfast and did my morning devotion. However, I think the snuggling is all food motivated because he generally gets some cereal in the process. (He eats a full breakfast once he gets to the sitter’s.)
Every morning George shuts us in this room to get ready. I have the door open, but he feels so proud of himself that he can shut the door on his own so he does it anytime he can. Even though all his toys are behind the door, he usually finds other things of mine to play with, like my scarves. He LOVES my scarves. He is often carrying them around like Linus in Peanuts, or he wears them as scarves are meant to be warn. He is infatuated with them.
He also loves this box and that he can sit on it like a chair. Surprisingly, he will sit on it quietly for about 5 minutes just content with the world on a box.
At about 7am, we are finally getting George dressed for the day. And I take the opportunity to get some good snuggles in.
And in the car we go. Folks this Monday, for some reason I decided to make this the day that we no longer use a pacy in the car. It might have been because my car stash had all made it into the house, and I didn’t feel like running back in to get them. But hey, Mondays already are the pits so why not endure a screaming toddler in your backseat.
(He did really well actually. He only cried for maybe 3 minutes on the way there and on the way home. This was our week I guess!)
I also need to mention that I got all the way down the street before I realized I was not wearing real shoes. So we had to turn around so I could grab work appropriate shoes instead of my slippers. #Mondays
This Monday apparently was like the heavenly Monday because I made it to work on time as well, even with the lack of shoe debacle.
My day at work was a pretty light day. I only had one student meeting. We also had a huge event planned for Tuesday (that I was co-running), so I had a lot of prep work to do for that. Bulletin boards, last minute emails, random printouts, and event set-up were on the docket to make it successful. I also have been working through a personal financial planning course for the last 6ish months, and the final exam was this week. I blocked out a lot of time to study for that, and my test anxiety came back real strong. But I passed it! Now I will be able to talk with students about their personal finances more effectively since our office sees so much of these struggles and looking for options.
I am loving that it is still daylight once we get home which is sometime between 5:45 and 6:30 depending on the day.
We are trying to teach George how to get from the car to wherever we are going. It is a process. Sometimes he loses footing or his focus.
His hugs. Can’t.Get.Enough.
George looks like he is having a very important meeting.
We generally play a little bit before dinner, or while dinner is cooking. He loves his puzzles.
I have started letting George record himself while holding the camera. He thinks it is great, and I find the videos hilarious to see his viewpoint.
George knows how to feed himself a banana, but some days he will only eat it if I hold it. If I try to give it to him, he throws a tantrum. Some days I am up for dealing with the tantrum. This Monday, I was not.
We had spaghetti and meatballs with brussel sprouts for dinner. Truth: the meatballs were from a bag in the frozen aisle.
George needed some reassurance before getting in the bathtub.
Sometimes toddlers are odd.
George just climbed up on this chair to assist his daddy with getting ready for work. Tom was on the midnight shift, so he gets ready after we do bath time.
It’s not easy to say goodbye, but at least we have these moments.
He may not be talking much, but he can follow instructions.
He does a really great job brushing his own teeth now. It makes me so proud!
Whenever Tom is home right before bedtime, George gets to jump on our bed. HE LOVES THIS! Jumping is a new development in the past couple weeks.
Before we go to bed, we have to say “night night” and dole out hugs to everyone.
We usually read two or three books each night. I let George pick out at least one of the books each night, and he ALWAYS picks the “That’s Not My” series.
Once Gdubs is in bed around 8, I get my me time since Tom went to work. Monday nights I don’t worry about any dirty dishes or the toys every where. Whether it is Dancing with the Stars or the Bachelor franchise, Monday nights are my nights. I am a bump on the couch and enjoy my ice cream watching the drama go down.
I start getting ready for bed around 9:30/10pm. I am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Pretty good for a Monday if I may say so. Every day is a new day trying to make this thing work. But we all made it to where we needed to be…on time…and eventually wearing shoes. So that is something!
We survived George’s first Christmas. We are all holidayed out.
We actually didn’t do anything crazy for him, besides putting him in a different “holiday” outfit each time we had a family gathering. Anyone surprised that my kid will have matching outfits to coordinate with the day’s events?
Being only four months old combined with lots of traveling gave us the excuse of not going all crazy about baby’s first Christmas. Which is fine, there were other things to stress about. Other people bought us baby’s first Christmas ornaments– is this a mommy fail or a mommy win?
Next Christmas though, thoughts are already brewing on how to share the Christmas spirit and start traditions with Georgie Man. It will also be the first Christmas that Tom and I will be able to start our traditions as a family and not have to travel way far (now it is a 3 hour drive max to family) or have some momentous event happening (like leaving the Army). So hopefully big things will happen to our Christmas cheer next year.
George seemed uninterested this year anyway…
He took sitting on a stranger’s lap like a boss. Not even phased…
We took pictures and opened his gifts.
Still not phased.
He just wanted to sleep, eat and poop. So by his accounts he really did this Christmas up! Check, check and check. (And can I get in on this kind of holiday?)
Extra bonus that he got a giant elephant rocker in the process, which he will be excited about in about 4 months.
While this isn’t a Christmas he will remember, it for sure will be one that we as his parents will not forget.
And we have pictures to prove just how darn cute he was.
George and Cousin Addy
George and Cousin Ava
I have a kit to do his hand print as an ornament. I should get on that.
A family who wears headbands together sticks together. Holiday Spirit!!!
The biggest downside of living in various parts of the country and away from your family are the moments missed.
I have missed weddings, births of my nieces, holidays, and just ordinary days.
Today marks another thing missed.
This past weekend my family said goodbye to Mabel, my step-grandma.
She had a stroke recently so we knew it was only a matter of time.
She was this little old thing that just loved to tell a story. (Sometimes three or four times in one sitting.)
If you couldn’t guess, Mabel is the one in the bright red shirt, surprisingly with her eyes open. (Which is a rarity in most family pictures…)
Since my dad remarried when I was fairly young, we were fortunate to be have 3 sets of grandparents for most of our life. Granted, we call them Mabel and Bob, but the love of grandparents none-the-less.
I find myself without much to say or being able to verbalize it. There are so many emotions that cannot be fully expressed.
Emotions of the loss, emotions of not being there for my step-mom, emotions that Mabel will never meet George, emotions of separation.
At times like these, you just want to be be there and with your family. Unfortunately though, I cannot make the 8 hour drive (more like 10 hours in my current pregnant state) to be at the funeral today.
So you do what you can.
Mabel, here’s to you and your full life.
I guess this means someone will have to fill your shoes as the ringer at holiday card games and keep us on our toes.
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