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Friday, June 20, 2008

Celebrating 10 Years

Ten years ago today, Casinodad & I took our wedding vows, pledging to love one another & keeping God at the center of our marriage. As I was cleaning out some stuff, I came across the following that I wrote about our meeting each other & thought I would share it with you.

It all began in November 1996. Mentally, I had reached a low point in my life. My friends & I were all busy with our jobs so we didnt' see much of each other, my sister had recently gotten engaged, & I was having trouble adjusting to my new position as a store manager for Blockbuster. On the positive side, I was an independent person with a full time job, a great family, & wonderful friends. Something was missing from my life though. I was ready to settle down but was missing someone to share my life with.

It was a Friday evening & I had just been paid. Since I had worked that day I had to go to a bank that would be open - inside a local grocery store. Casinodad handled my transaction. He was extremely polite, friendly, & had the nicest smile. I remember thinking that I wouldn't mind getting to know him. He asked about my job. I told him I had recently been promoted to store manager. As I was leaving, he congratulated me & wished me luck.

Two Sundays later, after church, I had to go back to the bank. He was there again & impressed me by saying "munchesmom, right?" I was flattered & thought that was a positive sign of interest. (I didn't want to get my hopes up though. Maybe he was like that with all his customers.) As he was handling my transaction we talked briefly. He asked if I was any relation to the deacon at my church. I said yes, he was my father. As it turned out, he used to go there. He remembered me from there years ago. I didn't remember him, but he did say he had been shy then. He also mentioned that his sister had worked at another Blockbuster & asked how my store was. I was very impressed by his memory - my name, job, & even church.

Three days before Christmas was our next encounter. We talked briefly about Christmas shopping while another girl waited on me. As I was leaving, he mentioned the bank's hours on Christmas Eve & that he would be there. I siad that hopefully I wouldn't need more money & wished him a Merry Christmas.

As it turned out, I did need more money!! Thinking the bank opened at ten, I arrived at 10:30am. Since they didn't open until eleven, I went ahead & did some shopping. Casinodad was there when I went back so I was able to talk to him while another teller waited on me. Casinodad wasn't working a window, so when I was finished I took the initiative to step aside to talk to him.

We discussed our Christmas plans. I mentioned that I had gone out to eat w/ a friend the night before. He asked if it was with my boyfriend. When I said no, he quickly jumped on that & asked if I had a boyfriend. When I said no, he said he was also single. He asked if he could call me sometime. I gave him my number, we talked a little more, then I left with a huge smile.

(He told me later, after we'd been dating a while, that they were not having a great day at work that day. The ATM was giving them troubles, customers were cranky, etc. But he walked around w/ a smile on his face the whole day! Hmmm! I wonder why!)

The first song I heard in the car on the way home was "I've Finally Found Someone" by Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams. This song has become our song, because we had indeed found our special someone!

(to be continued with the proposal)

History Summed Up!

We just finished school for the summer! This past week, so that we could finish by today, we've done about four chapters in The Prophet's history book. I'm not worried about him missing something because he'll cover the Ancient Times to the Fall of Rome again in fifth grade. His final narration was to list some of the gifts of Rome which we still use today (names of planets & months, swimming pools, books sewn together, etc.) His last comment summed up our whole year of history & I thought it fit in perfectly:

"And without archaelogists, we wouldn't know about this."
We'll still do a few things throughout the summer so they'll stay fresh in his mind. We'll read a lot & do some math flash cards. Now to start planning next school year so that we can begin in Sept. after our new arrival joins us! I have all the books, I just need to get organized.
Have a great summer!
Munchesmom

Monday, June 16, 2008

Time for a Cold!

Well, on top of all the last trimester aches, pains, & general tiredness, I have a head cold! The munchkins each had it last week for about a day & a half. Casinodad's sister came down w/ it on Sat.

Yesterday we took a trip a few hours north to visit Casinodad's dad for Father's Day. I felt fine other than a few sneezes (which is normal - for some reason the air up there really plays w/ my allergies). On the way home, my throat felt sore all of a sudden & by the time we got home, I was very congested. Sleeping last night came in very short spurts. Then I woke up this morning w/ a huge headache. I told the munchkins that I wasn't feeling well this morning so we weren't going to be doing much. I said that I must have caught their colds. Later this afternoon, The Princess came up to me & said, "Mommy, I tink you dave me my told back." (translation: I think you gave me my cold back.)

Despite feeling like I've been hit by a truck, I did manage to change all our sheets (w/ Casinodad's help), do two loads of laundry, do our couple hours of school, & Casinodad helped me move a few things around in our room.

Now if I can sleep tonight I should be fine!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

More Bargain Shopping!

Next month, my SIL is getting married & we are extremely happy for her & her fiance. They are a great couple. They want the munchkins to be in their wedding, so today she & I took them shopping for their outfits. I had done a little research online & was expecting to spend about $150 on suits for the boys. We stopped at Value City & the smallest size they had in suits was an eight. We found one that looks great on The Prophet & it was on clearance for $32 (jacket & pants). I think he has a shirt that will work with the suit, so all we need now is a tie for him.

For The Archangel, we found a four-piece set that includes a dress shirt, pants, vest, & matching tie. He's five years old now, but is still a little guy, so the 4T fit him perfectly! His outfit was a whopping $16.

SIL had been looking at flower girl dresses online & was planning to spend around $60. We found two dresses for The Princess & she volunteered to buy both of them - for a grand total of $30! One she will wear in the wedding & the other will be a great church dress. I may even have her wear it to the rehearsal dinner.

So, for less than $90, we bought a boy's suit, a boy's set, & two toddler dresses. Isn't bargain shopping great!? I'll post pictures of them after the wedding.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A Trip to the Dentist

Took the munchkins to the dentist yesterday for their six month appointments. This was the first time for The Princess. The boys had always gone back by themselves w/ no complaints, but she kept telling me that she wanted me to go back with her & hold her hand. I told her that would be fine. Well, the hygenist came out to get her & held out her hand. The Princess hopped up, took her hand & off she went - no looking back. I was amazed! I never heard a peep from her once she went back.

On the way home, I told her that I was very proud of her going back by herself. She said, "I was very patient!" She was very happy w/ her toothpaste choice, too. She chose grape. The Prophet chose Tropical Fruit & The Archangel chose Cookie Dough. Now, why didn't they have all these flavor choices when I was a kid?!?