Happy Anniversary!

Today makes SIX years of marriage to my best friend and love of my life!

This guy and I?  Have been through life together.  And I do mean Life.  From the age of 15, we’ve grown up together, graduated college, got married, moved 3 times and had two children in our six short years.  We’ve been through the ups and downs, highs and lows, deaths and weddings and births.  We’ve done infertility, miscarriage, complicated pregnancy and NICU baby.  Check, check and check.  Our marriage has been put to the test, and we have persevered.  He is truly my best friend and I am so thankful for him.

July 1999.  Both 15 years old.




Engagement pictures.  October 2006.


Wedding Day, July 14, 2007.


April 8, 2009.  Waiting on our first princess.


He is such a hard worker to provide for our family.  He has a terrible shift and drives a long way each day in order to provide and not move me away from my family.  He is an amazing daddy to our girls.  He’s smoking hot.  More so now than at age 15. HAHA! 


I am so very thankful God put us together.  I love him with my whole heart and would be lost without him!  I love you baby!

Here’s to MANY more!!

Can you say “Conviction”???

This morning we started off a little slow.   Pictures and swimming will wear some people out! HA!

Apparently someone woke up in the middle of the night, and daddy can’t resist cuddling with his girls :)  So I woke up to these twinkies…


Momma and these two played until the sleepy heads woke up!


Then we headed to church.  The message was amazing and extremely convicting.  Not that I like to feel convicted.  I’m not a fan of squirming in my seat because I think the pastor has some direct link to God and knows all of my shortcomings, and then decides to call me out in front of the whole congregation.  OK. He may not have done that, but it certainly felt like it.

One of his opening questions/points of the sermon was this?

“If you were to pull one of your children aside, and ask them who/what mommy and daddy loved the most, what would they say?”
Let that marinate in your brain for a minute.

Like, WHOA.  I immediately started scrambling through all of the things Mia may say, and God wasn’t on the top of the list.  Mom.FAIL.  WOW.

Reality check.

How am I supposed to get her to love God above all else, if she doesn’t see her daddy and I doing that?  So I asked Dave what he thought her answer may be and he said “She’s gonna say her.”

When we picked her up from her class, I asked her.  “Mia, what does mommy and daddy love the MOST?” She replied “ME!”
I am certainly comforted to know that she is secure in our love for her, but I little disappointed in myself for not showing her who we should really love the MOST.
I can’t sit here and lie and say “Oh, I love God way more than my kids” because that would just not be accurate.  This is a hard hard pill to swallow.  It is so hard because my kids are here.  I see them and love on them every day.  Physically.  And although I know, deep down that they are not MINE, He gave them to me to bring up to know and love Him, it is still SO hard to put anything above them.  It has to be a constant desire.  I can not just simmer, as a Christian.  I need to be ACTIVELY searching Him and loving Him.  The One who gave me these beautiful gifts.  And it is HARD.

God never said it would be easy, I understand that.  But we humans, Christians, tend to seek the easy road, the comfortable journey.  Forget about Him when the road is easy and then seek Him out when the going gets tough.  I am talking to myself.

Does anyone else struggle with this?  Does your faith go through peaks and valleys?

Such a great, eye-opening Sunday.

He had many other, gut wrenching points, but I’ll just leave you with that question.

“If you pulled one of your children aside, asked them who/what mommy and daddy loved the most, what would they say?”

If you would like to see the rest of the sermon, you can view it here

The day we brought her home

Today marked the 4 year anniversary of bringing our first baby home from her 17 day stay in the NICU.  I know I blog about this every year, but honestly, this day was better than her actual birth day.  Every year, I feel the need to celebrate her on this day.  Her NICU stay was so scary and every day was full of uncertainties, but my girl?  Is a survivor and a true fighter!  It was a rough first year, but every day was worth it.  she is nothing short of amazing.  I could fall to me knees and praise and thank God every day for allowing her to stay on earth with me, but it would never be enough.  We are truly blessed with this little lady in our lives.

My first lady who made life worth living…


The day we brought her home we went to Sapporo’s (sushi restaurant) to celebrate, so that is what has become tradition to do every year. So much fun and yummy food!


Getting a picture of her requires lots of bribery!


Thank you Lord for this special little girl!

One liners

Like a tweet, or a Facebook status update.  **Except more than 140 characters.**
Since I am on a Social media fast, that is what this post will consist of.  All of the one liners that I usually tweet or put on Facebook.
Ready?  Here we go.

So, I think my girls are in love.  And I kind of love that.




My smallest child is now sleeping about 6-9 hours at night!!  And when she does get up, I lay her in bed beside me and she nurses right back to sleep for a couple hours!
Yes, little lady, that is how I feel about that too…



Mia has been acting like a dog lately.  Like, an Academy Award type of acting.  Mia-dog sits, lays, shakes, stays and fetches (better than our real dog, actually).  Recently, she took her performance to a whole new Jennifer Lawrence level.  She crawled over to the real dog bowl, put her face in it, and lapped up the slobbery-backwash-dog saliva filled water.  And she didn’t even get any money.


Poppy came over to visit the other day and I caught him cuddling and dancing with Finley.  He was dancing to “Believe” by Brooks and Dunn.  My heart melted.
Crappy pictures from my iPhone, to capture the moment.  He had no idea I was sneaking pictures ;)

And then I got out my camera…



I’ve been working out, doing boot camp/cross fit type of exercise.  It is hardcore and intense and I feel like I may die while doing it, but?  I LOVE IT!  I have been doing it for about 2 weeks and have already lost 4lbs!!  I also have gained some battle wounds.  Bruised knees from burpees and callused/blistered hands from pull ups (no I can’t do a pull up, YET!), kettle bells and tire swings.

“She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.”  Proverbs 31:17

One of the workouts…

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore, honor God with your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19

Lord, I am trying!
Speaking of exercising, our friends Dana and Brandon, are the ones who got us started on this type of exercise.  They have been doing it for a year and have seen major progress in their strength and bodies.  Although I curse them throughout the workout, I love them afterwards ;)  HA!

Mia’s 4th, FOURTH, birthday party is this Saturday.  What the what?  How am I even old enough to have a FOUR year old?  My baby is getting so big, old.  However, she can be EIGHTY FOUR, and still be my baby girl!

Finley 6 week pictures

Can I just start this post with a warning? 
The following are pictures of gorgeous children. I know I am their mother, and maybe I am biased, but God was really showing off when He made them :)  I am amazed that I get to call them my daughters.  I am more thankful than I can express and more blessed than I deserve.



























I tear up just looking at these beautiful girls that are mine.  How did I ever get so worthy of having them call me mommy?!
My heart is so full.

A grocery date :)

My mom came over to watch the girls so Dave and I could go to the grocery.  Alone. 


I know it seems silly, but we were SO excited to have a little date day, even if it was just to the grocery!  We walked in with our arms around each other, instead of our arms wrangling children, talked and laughed and flirted ;)  I love my kids more than anything, but it’s nice to have some alone time with your spouse!  It’s the little things.

And I love it.  Love him.

We’ve reached double digits! THIRTEEN YEARS!

Today marks 13, (THIRTEEN, DO YOU HEAR ME?) years that Dave and I have been together.
It was after school had dismissed.  We were in the gym, him waiting to go to track practice and me softball practice, and the flirting was relentless.  We were just kids.  Freshman in high school who had major crushes on each other! HA!  We got a moment away from friends and he nervously asked me to be his girlfriend.  I was so embarrassed (the maturity factor wasn’t quite there! LOL) and I couldn’t say anything but laugh.  Then I started ranting about how I “knew” he was going to do this, blah blah blah.  He stopped me mid sentence and said “Well??”
I followed up with a big fat YES! and the rest is history.


“Ordinary?  No, I really don’t think so. Not a love this true.
Common destiny, we were meant to be, Me and You!

Like a perfect scene, from a movie screen, were a dream come true.
Suited perfectly, for eternity, Me and You!

Every day, I need you even more.  And the night time too. 
There’s no way I could ever let you go, even if I wanted to.

Every day I live, I try my best to give, all I have to you.
I thank the stars above, that we share this love, Me and You.

Every day, I need you even more.  And the night time too.
There’s no way I could ever let you go, even if I wanted to.

Ordinary? No, I really don’t think so…
Just a precious few ever make it last and get as lucky as
Me and You


David Huff, I am so so in love with you. You are my best friend and my soul mate.  There is no one in this world I would rather go through the seasons of life with.  Forever and Ever.
I am so blessed and my heart is full.  I have found the one whom my heart loves.