You who? You there?

I have not abandoned the blogging ship! Please excuse me for the hiatus these past two weeks, but I am without a computer. New one is ordered and set to arrive in another two weeks. Till then what shall I do during my little HG's nap time? How will I occupy myself?

Reading Southern Living magazine.
Reading my Bible.
Reading two books at once.
Cleaning house.
Napping.
Giving myself a pedicure.

Hmmm, maybe I should take a computer hiatus more often? When was the last time you put away your computer or phone during nap time (or down time)? Try it and let me know what blessings you find to do.

TGIF: Thank God it's Friday!

Ready for a restful weekend at home with hubby? Me too! After a long, slightly grueling week (HG's fussiness, boredom, chilly gray days), I'm pumped it's Friday.

Praying this for our weekend:

"Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace."

John Greenland Whittier

Amen.

Surprise {Valentine}

How have we been celebrating Valentine's week around here in the H Household?

Monday:

Surprise! Hubby's favorite beverage of choice in the fridge. And yes, we always drink responsibly. No ifs, ands, or buts. 

Tuesday:

A valentine's day heart hidden inside his laptop with the following equation,

9x-7i>3(3x-7u), solve for i

Hubby solved it correctly (although he did rewrite the equation on a white sheet of paper, who would have thought it would be embarrassing for a grown man to have a girly heart made out of construction paper on his office desk?). His prize for efforts? Being greeted with freshly baked nachos and instructions to sit on the couch, relax, and watch TV as soon as he got home from work.

Wednesday: 

Photos coming soon, but it included HG's teeny tiny footprints in the shape of a heart with a note that says "Daddy, I love you to pieces," and a mason jar filled with reese's pieces. Thank you pinterest.

Thursday: 

Weber Style 6445 Professional-Grade Stainless-Steel 3-Piece Barbeque Tool Set, thank you amazon.com

We finalized our negotiation contracts for purchasing Our First House on Monday. Yahoo! I thought hubby would appreciate this as a valentine's celebration/housewarming gift. I so love finding ways to mark special occasions!

How have you been celebrating?

Our First Date

A number of days passed between our introduction on the volleyball courts and our first date on South Beach. The Farmer pursued me slowly but surely and I tried my hardest not to trip over my feet in my excitement. Introductions turned into Facebook friends, turned into Facebook emails, turned into the Farmer taking a surprise work trip to Boston and asking me for my number so I could recommend places to sight see. Somewhere in an earlier email I mentioned to him that I spent time growing up in Boston. What I forgot to mention in that email was that I was only 5 years old then.

 Did I email him back and confess to him that my only memories of Boston were of ice skating and reading Arthur books at the library? No, surely not! I called my mom and asked her to tell me all about sight seeing in Boston.

Our first phone called turned into more phone calls, turned into me inviting him out to lunch when I got impatient with him for not asking me out yet. FOOT IN MOUTH MOMENT. Eek, how unattractive! Note to my daughters- always let the guy you are interested in pursue you. There is something beautiful and mysterious about a young woman who doesn't flaunt her beauty or chase after a guy. God created men to be the pursuers, so let him do his job. If he is the right man for you, then he will love the Lord and love seeking after you. I was fortunate that your dad put the kibosh on my over eagerness soon after our first date, but I wish he never had to in the first place.

And my asking him out to lunch turned into him inviting me out to dinner on South Beach. I wore a sweet white dress top and jeans. He wore a white stripped button down. He was, and still is, so handsome. We didn't kiss. We didn't hold hands. We didn't even hug goodnight. What we did do was talk. And walk up and down the street searching for gelato. And share an evening stroll on the beach. I wiggled my toes in the water and he laughed and refused to take off his dress shoes. 

I remember returning home with the largest, giddiest blush on my cheeks and smile on my face. This guy was a keeper, and somehow he had taken an interest in me!

Our Meet Cute

Mommy, how did you meet daddy? I can just hear my little HG saying that in five years. In honor of Valentine's week (much more exciting than one measly day) I thought it'd be fun to share stories of my sweet Farmer and I. To my precious HG and all the tiny littles yet to come - this one is for you! Always remember, I love your daddy through and through! (Every Valentine's week deserves a cheesy poem)

It was a sunny Florida evening when the Farmer and I first met on the University of Miami's sand volleyball courts. I remember seeing him for the first time and thinking that he was cute, but probably too old to be interested in a young undergraduate like myself. We were on opposite teams. When our court rotations placed us across the net from one another I remember sticking my hand underneath the divide and introducing myself with a smirky smile. The Farmer remembers introducing himself first, but I have my doubts. I was always a bit too forward. After a quick name exchange we learned we had something in common, Midwestern roots. Interest perked. A cute guy from the Midwest living in Miami, FL. Could it be true? I then learned he grew up on a farm. Interest perked more. I always romanticized about being a country girl. And that was pretty much it for the evening. Other than one comment of "my toe is broke like a joke" that's all he said to me the rest of the night. I was smitten and he was reserved. How funny to think that in just 14 months we would be walking down the aisle together, no longer two but one.

Minor note: We ended up on the same volleyball court after one of the Farmer's best friends met me (and another girl friend of mine) at multichurch outreach event. According to some, he thought we were pretty and so he invited us to join a weekly game of volleyball that he and his friend's played every Monday evening. In all honestly, I was extremely intimidated to go at first. This friend of the Farmers appeared to be in his later twenties and I assumed that all his friends would most likely be around the same age. They were all working professionals. I was only twenty. Despite feeling young and slightly foolish, I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and take a risk. Praise God for that!