Jordan turned 30!! Seems like just yesterday that we became friends. I was 17 and he was still 18. Now he's 30?! I had wanted to make it special for him but I was actually away at camp over his birthday. I thought about him more than ever that day. I called him to wish him a happy birthday that morning and then again in the afternoon and my camp girls sang to him. Meanwhile, my mom came over on his birthday and let him have a night out. Our girls and some neighborhood girls put on a musical production for him as well and they had some dessert from my mom. I hope it was special:) We went out for his birthday after I got back (to the casino!) and had just a little surprise celebration with friends and pizza later.
In honor of his 30th, here are 30 random things I love about Jordan:
1. He loves me back
2. He's playful
3. When he laughs really hard
4. The way his eyes crinkle with a smile
5. He's handsome
6. He's honest
7. He asks for me to pick out his church clothes
8. He prefers for me to drive so he can ride
9. Amazing dad
10. How he loves plush new socks
11. How he calls candy corn, 'corn candy'
12. His confidence
13. He loves Jesus
14. He tries new things
15. He sings and hums and dances around the house
16. He sings and hums and dances in public
17. How he loves his back scratched
18. Ok, sometimes even his farts are really funny (except for at this EXACT moment that I'm writing this, he let one rip and it stinks. That isn't something that I love!)
19. He loves toys
20. He loves space
21. That he was almost a pilot
22. He provides for us
23. He loves 'My Little Pony'
24. He likes movies and to read because he's so imaginative
25. He loves to travel
26. He is so smart
27. He makes me laugh
28. He gives me hugs and kisses
29. He cuddles
30. He's spontaneous
So in love with him and proud to be his wife :)
Monday, July 28, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
the deck
There are some things that you immediately pick up on about Jordan once you meet him. He is a hard worker, amazingly talented, and a family man. Those three qualities show up repeatedly in his everyday life. For instance, during his lunch break at work (if he takes one), he makes awesome paper airplanes for the kids, or detailed, intricate wands from sticks or swords from driftwood, or he takes a nap and dreams of me (that's his favorite).
Over the entirety of fall and winter, Jordan filled up every nook and cranny of free time trying to finish up a side job as fast as he could. His hard work earned us some extra moolah and instead of putting it all away, he announced that he wanted to spend some. Understandably so!! I wanted him to have a tangible reward for his time away from us and his hard work as well. So I affirmed that he could and should do as he pleases with his earnings.
Something else you quickly realize about Jordan is that he is a bright-eyed boy in an man's body! And that means he loves toys! So I'm thinking that he's going to buy some awesome toy of some sort, maybe a radio-control airplane or a larger drone, a cool Lego model....! But he decides he is going to do something with the money that'll be a treat for us all.
He decides he's going to transform our deck!
Something we all can enjoy. Something that'll bring family and friends together. Something that he's going to have to work at once again. But isn't that selfless of him? He decides to treat us all which involves more countless hours of work for him. I hope our kids learn from him that hard work creates something that lasts, a character trait that is lost on our 'instant-gratification' prone culture today.
So he immediately gets to work! It's early spring. We plan out as much as we can while we wait for the snow to melt off the deck. And as soon as the last puddle seeps through the deck boards, we work. And work, and work. And the kids work too. We spend hours and hours all spring long. When it gets dark, I bring the kids inside and put them to bed, they have school in the morning. But Jordan continues to work while it's still dark. Using his chop box til 10:30 at night (probably to our neighbors' indignation! Sorry neighbors, we're both from the country and we like to pretend that you are a mile away. PS: we never heard any complaints!) Jordan had promised the girls that he wouldn't do any work for anyone the entire summer and that he would be done working on the deck by the last day of school.
The old deck boards came off, the deck was lowered and properly anchored to the ground, new deck boards are put on, beams are placed overhead for the pergola. In 65 mph winds, those heavy beams were lifted overhead by Jordan and myself on an afternoon where Jordan was dismissed early due to treacherous outdoor working conditions (but here we are on the tallest rungs of each of our ladders with a very heavy beam overhead. (Scariest day of my life = this marriage can make it through anything!)) Anyways, Jordan calculates the complicated details and dimensions of a custom built-in couch, figures out how to make storage work under the couch for the cushions, rigs up a proper draining system for the trough beds, wrapping everything in cedar, etc....
I learn so much from him with every new project. If my life depended on it, I would not be able to figure things out like he does. Sometimes he would just sit and think for an hour or more on one angle and how that angle would affect everything else. My favorite part of this process is when I would get him a piece of paper for the pencil behind his ear and after sitting for all that time, he would get up and make it all come together. I'd look at the paper expecting that he would have all these dimensions written down and maybe some doodles but there'd literally be one number written, that's it!
And on the very last day of school, true to his word, Jordan stopped working. There is still some work to be done but for now, he is done because he is going to keep his promise. And it is awesome!! I am so happy with how it turned out! With such comfortable weather this summer, we have dined out there often, it's home to my Sunday afternoon naps, birthday parties and gatherings with friends, snuggles, and even slow dances on date night! We have a stereo system hooked up, the lights, and the shade... it's perfect!!
I'm amazed by Jordan, not just his carpentry skills but by his dedication to projects and to us! Here is the (almost!) finished product:
We knew we wanted a lot of seating and seating that allows for lounging. And we wanted it all to look natural and integrated, something that wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb on our house. We found cushions that we liked from Target and we built the sofa around them, knowing that they are a standard size that can be replaced if necessary. We used cedar to prevent rotting. The hardest part for Jordan was building the sofa... getting the angles right and also incorporating a trough to go around back for some foliage. You can't see it of course, but the inside of the trough has cut-outs for drainage and the underside of that is built on a slope where it can drain and water out of another concealed hole. I love the attention to details, too!
A simple detail but perfect: the way he trimmed the arm of the sofa:)
Jordan also made some waterproof storage for all of these cushions and it's built in right below. I like that the sofa looks nice even without cushions.
And of course, some 'before' and 'progress' pictures:)
our garden became the workshop.
Over the entirety of fall and winter, Jordan filled up every nook and cranny of free time trying to finish up a side job as fast as he could. His hard work earned us some extra moolah and instead of putting it all away, he announced that he wanted to spend some. Understandably so!! I wanted him to have a tangible reward for his time away from us and his hard work as well. So I affirmed that he could and should do as he pleases with his earnings.
Something else you quickly realize about Jordan is that he is a bright-eyed boy in an man's body! And that means he loves toys! So I'm thinking that he's going to buy some awesome toy of some sort, maybe a radio-control airplane or a larger drone, a cool Lego model....! But he decides he is going to do something with the money that'll be a treat for us all.
He decides he's going to transform our deck!
Something we all can enjoy. Something that'll bring family and friends together. Something that he's going to have to work at once again. But isn't that selfless of him? He decides to treat us all which involves more countless hours of work for him. I hope our kids learn from him that hard work creates something that lasts, a character trait that is lost on our 'instant-gratification' prone culture today.
So he immediately gets to work! It's early spring. We plan out as much as we can while we wait for the snow to melt off the deck. And as soon as the last puddle seeps through the deck boards, we work. And work, and work. And the kids work too. We spend hours and hours all spring long. When it gets dark, I bring the kids inside and put them to bed, they have school in the morning. But Jordan continues to work while it's still dark. Using his chop box til 10:30 at night (probably to our neighbors' indignation! Sorry neighbors, we're both from the country and we like to pretend that you are a mile away. PS: we never heard any complaints!) Jordan had promised the girls that he wouldn't do any work for anyone the entire summer and that he would be done working on the deck by the last day of school.
The old deck boards came off, the deck was lowered and properly anchored to the ground, new deck boards are put on, beams are placed overhead for the pergola. In 65 mph winds, those heavy beams were lifted overhead by Jordan and myself on an afternoon where Jordan was dismissed early due to treacherous outdoor working conditions (but here we are on the tallest rungs of each of our ladders with a very heavy beam overhead. (Scariest day of my life = this marriage can make it through anything!)) Anyways, Jordan calculates the complicated details and dimensions of a custom built-in couch, figures out how to make storage work under the couch for the cushions, rigs up a proper draining system for the trough beds, wrapping everything in cedar, etc....
I learn so much from him with every new project. If my life depended on it, I would not be able to figure things out like he does. Sometimes he would just sit and think for an hour or more on one angle and how that angle would affect everything else. My favorite part of this process is when I would get him a piece of paper for the pencil behind his ear and after sitting for all that time, he would get up and make it all come together. I'd look at the paper expecting that he would have all these dimensions written down and maybe some doodles but there'd literally be one number written, that's it!
And on the very last day of school, true to his word, Jordan stopped working. There is still some work to be done but for now, he is done because he is going to keep his promise. And it is awesome!! I am so happy with how it turned out! With such comfortable weather this summer, we have dined out there often, it's home to my Sunday afternoon naps, birthday parties and gatherings with friends, snuggles, and even slow dances on date night! We have a stereo system hooked up, the lights, and the shade... it's perfect!!
I'm amazed by Jordan, not just his carpentry skills but by his dedication to projects and to us! Here is the (almost!) finished product:
Jordan also made some waterproof storage for all of these cushions and it's built in right below. I like that the sofa looks nice even without cushions.
And of course, some 'before' and 'progress' pictures:)
Monday, June 30, 2014
june 2014
The kids have definitely been enjoying their summer! We've done a lot and yet there have been many days that we have done nothing at all :) The days are long; the kids wake up between 7:30 and 8:30 (which means I get some amazing alone time each morning!) and the neighborhood seems to wake up around 9:30 or 10. And that means that either the kids are gone until lunch time or the entire neighborhood is in our yard all morning. They seem to bounce around. This has been the best year yet with some new neighbor kids, Jacob & Levi ('the boys' is how we refer to them!) and Cadence & Gage (Charlie's 'brother'!). Charlie and Gage are the same age and are always together. They take little bike rides between each other's houses like little old men. They're both so mellow and easy going!
Our first week off from school, Natalie had track camp. She did really well at everything and it was actually a little too easy for her but still a good experience and she learned some new things. A chilly start to summer break though.
The second week off, the kids attended VBS at Borculo CRC. They had an absolute blast! It was Charlie's first 'school' experience and he thought it was a pretty big deal! They sang really well at the Sunday program. I love it when my kids wholeheartedly participate because I remember that I didn't like to draw attention to myself when I was their age. But by my lack of participation, I actually drew more attention!
We celebrated Father's Day as well. We have so much to be thankful for. Jordan is just the best! What other dad goes through the trouble to make his family (and the neighbor kids!) Harry Potter's Butterbeer? I love that Jordan is still a big kid himself. He reads Harry Potter with the kids at bedtime, he shares the remote and watches cartoons - our family's favorite cartoon is 'My Little Pony', Jordan's and mine included! Jordan is what you would call a 'brony' (a male fan of 'My Little Pony'); Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie are his favorites :) He plays and cuddles and spoils and disciplines and hugs and loves our children and I am so thankful for him!!
Charlie learned to ride a bike without training wheels this month! And he's put on 100 miles since. Ok, maybe not that much but he does 3 and 4 mile bike rides with the family, no sweat. That boy is strong. He has abs of steel, a 6-pack like none other! He's been riding his balance bike down our hill for a long time so it only took a few minutes with his training wheels off and he was all over the place. He was so proud and all of the neighbor kids were cheering for him. Gage also learned to ride without so it's the cutest thing seeing these little boys pedaling as fast as they can! Jordan found a dirt bike (or roller scooter as Charlie calls all motorcycles!) and though it's a little big for Charlie, he rides it because he knows he's the envy of all of his peers!
And to wrap up June, Natalie turned 7!! Whoa! She seems to get taller everyday! And more mature! She still loves to act like an animal occasionally! She still loves Merida from Brave (which is what her birthday party theme was). She loves her cousins (Briella is her best friend and she loves it when we have Anna from White Hall stay with us) and she has many neighborhood friends. She loves to be with me during the day and do whatever I'm doing. Which usually means that we're in the garden together or the kitchen. I am going to miss that when summer in through. Natalie has such a heart for others. I'm thankful for her everyday!
Our first week off from school, Natalie had track camp. She did really well at everything and it was actually a little too easy for her but still a good experience and she learned some new things. A chilly start to summer break though.
We celebrated Father's Day as well. We have so much to be thankful for. Jordan is just the best! What other dad goes through the trouble to make his family (and the neighbor kids!) Harry Potter's Butterbeer? I love that Jordan is still a big kid himself. He reads Harry Potter with the kids at bedtime, he shares the remote and watches cartoons - our family's favorite cartoon is 'My Little Pony', Jordan's and mine included! Jordan is what you would call a 'brony' (a male fan of 'My Little Pony'); Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie are his favorites :) He plays and cuddles and spoils and disciplines and hugs and loves our children and I am so thankful for him!!
Charlie learned to ride a bike without training wheels this month! And he's put on 100 miles since. Ok, maybe not that much but he does 3 and 4 mile bike rides with the family, no sweat. That boy is strong. He has abs of steel, a 6-pack like none other! He's been riding his balance bike down our hill for a long time so it only took a few minutes with his training wheels off and he was all over the place. He was so proud and all of the neighbor kids were cheering for him. Gage also learned to ride without so it's the cutest thing seeing these little boys pedaling as fast as they can! Jordan found a dirt bike (or roller scooter as Charlie calls all motorcycles!) and though it's a little big for Charlie, he rides it because he knows he's the envy of all of his peers!
And to wrap up June, Natalie turned 7!! Whoa! She seems to get taller everyday! And more mature! She still loves to act like an animal occasionally! She still loves Merida from Brave (which is what her birthday party theme was). She loves her cousins (Briella is her best friend and she loves it when we have Anna from White Hall stay with us) and she has many neighborhood friends. She loves to be with me during the day and do whatever I'm doing. Which usually means that we're in the garden together or the kitchen. I am going to miss that when summer in through. Natalie has such a heart for others. I'm thankful for her everyday!
Allergies and strawberries
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