Dating...

This year is the year of intentional dating. Being just the two of us, we pretty much have freedom to go out whenever we want, planned or spontaneous...and we often do run out spur of the moment to catch a movie or grab a bite to eat. And as fun as it is, sometimes it doesn't exactly feel like a "date night." So we decided that 2012 would be the year of "dating on purpose." In other words, making plans for our date nights.

We even started keeping a date night journal, and love looking back and laughing over a particular night or remembering a new fun outing.

For example, Derek wrote on January 21st:
"Beauty & the Beast in 3D. Alissa cried. Too sweet."

And I wrote on February 10th:
"Delicious Thai food in a non-shady restaurant in Tacoma - favorite ever! Then a couple's massage down the street. Perfect day!"

It has been wonderful! We've even ventured out to Seattle for a couple of said dates...




We both love this girl! She is so funny - great night!

Then, just this past Monday we had tickets to see this show...


On our way, we stopped and had a delicious dinner at a new restaurant.


It was a fabulous night!


And then there are date nights that are just quiet nights at home...

...like heart-shaped pizza and flowers on Valentine's Day, (by candlelight of course), love it! My hubby is so sweet!


Looking forward to many more nights of intentionally dating this man! =)

Snowmageddon 2012 - What I forgot to show you...oops!

I was looking through my list of blog posts today when I noticed this little guy never got published and was just sitting as a "draft." I felt terrible that you never got to see the rest of our Snowmageddon back in January. I certainly don't want you to miss out, so here it is!

Our beautiful backyard


View from our balcony


Gorgeous frosted evergreens


Derek's truck won't be going anywhere today...


There are tennis courts under there somewhere, I promise.








Poor lady. Derek and I had just started our snow walk when we saw her. My husband has the BEST heart for serving people!


This is the normally busy road in front of our apartment.


Love this tree!


The walk home...


Woohoo for snow days!!


Then all the fun quickly vanished when all of the snow turned to ice overnight...



...beautiful to look at, not so pretty on the roads and not so wonderful when it causes power outages for days. Yikes! Thankfully, we only lost power for a few hours. Whew...

Finally, it all melted away enough and we were able to venture out for the one thing worth venturing out for...

GROCERIES!!

So now you know that we survived Snowmageddon/Icemageddon 2012 in Washington. We've had some CRAZY weather so far...rain, sunshine, snow, & hail all in the same day for the last couple of weeks. Hurry up spring, we're ready for you!

Who Needs Blue Bell?

Oh dear me, was my sweet tooth in hyper mode last night. Typically, when I'm craving something sweet, it is NOT chocolate. It's either ice cream or something fruity...usually lemon or strawberry flavored. And we didn't have a thing to satisfy it in this house. Bummer.

But then the Lord heard my cry and whaddya know? He sent down manna from heaven! Just kidding =) But seriously, we did get about 10 inches of this...


Snow!!

So what do you do with 10 inches of snow all around you? You make snow cream of course!

So I went outside and gathered up a bowl of pure, WHITE snow! No yellow stuff for this girl, ha!


See? Told you it was white.




Bring in the other key players...milk, sugar, & vanilla.


Mix 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, & 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until the sugar dissolves.


Then slowly add the snow to your mixture while constantly stirring. (About 4-5 cups of snow total). Stir until it thickens up just like ice cream.


Sprinkle...


...and enjoy!

Yum!! Better than good ol' Blue Bell...almost. =)

I loved it so much that I went right back outside and gathered up another large bowl of snow to put in the freezer for later on tonight when I'm sure that sweet tooth will return. =)

Blessed

My family has never really been into the whole "picture taking" thing. Oh sure, there are tons of pictures of me and my little sister, but we were never really into documenting much in photographs until two things happened...(1) I moved to Washington and (2) Dad got sick.

Now we try to get pictures every time we're together...at least one family photo anyway. =)

I was looking back over our last few shots together and I had alot of thoughts, but the loudest thought of all was thinking about how blessed we are to be together, all of us. I am so very thankful for that - more thankful that I have ever been in my entire life.

Time with my family is so very precious to me and I cherish every single moment, no matter how big or small. That is one blessing that living so far away has brought to us, we cherish each other even more. Although I miss them terribly and there will always be tears at the airport, and I will always wish they were here with me, there is definitely truth to the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Here are our family pictures from the last couple of years. You will definitely notice how much my Dad has changed and how the cancer aged him so rapidly. I am praying everyday and remaining confident that God is going to heal him, that this disease will be cured and taken away forever. I believe it. It is my heart's greatest desire. It's what I blow out my candles every year wishing. It's what I wish when an eyelash falls out and you hold it between your finger and your thumb. It's what I think about every time I see the clock turn 11:11. Silly, right? Not to this girl. It reminds me to "Pray without ceasing."

I love my family so much. I am blessed to belong to them. Blessed indeed.

Thanksgiving 2009


Summer 2010


Christmas 2010


Summer 2011


Christmas 2011


And yes, my sweet husband is aware that he is wearing the same shirt in both the first photograph and the last, he pointed it out himself. He says he's going to retire it, ha! I guess we'll see in the next photo. :)

A Two-Horse Open Sleigh, Hey!

Jingle bells,
Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way.
Oh what fun it is to ride
On a one horse open sleigh.

I've never really known if it is actually fun to ride on a one horse open sleigh...until yesterday!

My birthday present from my sweetheart was a trip to the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington complete with a sleigh ride and everything!

Our very own sleigh!


One of our beautiful horses, Darlene.


And here's the seat just for us!


Here we go!!


It turned out to be a two-horse open sleigh, but that's okay. I'll just have to sing the lyrics a little bit differently from now on. =)


Not a problem.


So excited!


And we're off!
Dashing through the snow...












It was such fun! When our sleigh ride was over, we went inside this rustic tent to warm up with some hot cider and cocoa and hover around the fire...perfect.



Then we went into the heart of Leavenworth to enjoy the Christmas festivities.

Charming, isn't it?










We went inside this store and sure enough, the name of the store held true - it was "My Favorite Place." We purchased a few of my new favorite things there.


Then it was time to gather around town square for the Christmas tree lighting.



Oooo...look at all the pretty lights!


And it didn't stop there, they lit up the entire town.











And now, here are one of those "new favorite things" we purchased today.

Don't you just love it? I sure do and even more, I love the person that I will always keep falling in love with. I am a blessed girl to be married to Derek Thomas. He sure does make my heart happy. Thanks for making my birthday a super special one - I love you!!