Seven 8/9/10

7 years ago Dan and I got married. This year we celebrate our 7th anniversary on 8/9/10, get it 7,8,9,10. Yeah we're dorks we've been looking forward to this anniversary for a while. We had big plans to go to Hawaii but then we moved and those plans are on hold. So instead our BIG plans involve a trip to the fair (and a morning at the DMV). But we'll be together and that's what really matters, and I know we'll still have a great time because we always have a great time together. So happy 7 years Dan. I love you and I love having fun with you!Ummm honestly I have NO idea why we are looking at our wedding cake that way. Apparently it was confusing us in some way... I dunno!

Friday Flashback

This precious little boy was almost 2 when this picture was taken on June 24, 2007. We were at our church's annual Church in the Park event on what was, if I remember correctly, a not quite so warm summer day. Just look at Jonathan. The cute baby chub, the wild, curly baby hair, he's still more of a baby in this picture than a little boy. Now he's 4 and 1/2, that baby chub is long gone, now he's lean as can be (he takes after his dad), and he's definitely all little boy. Where on earth did the last 2 and 1/2 years go?

Swings

My dad is a very handy man. His dad, my Papaw, built houses for a living and as soon as he was old enough my dad was out there by his side helping him. So when I was born it was only natural to my dad that he would build things for me. When I turned 5 he built me my very own swing-set. In my opinion it was the best swing-set in the neighborhood.

My swing-set had a slide. two swings, a trapeze, and a teeter-totter. I spent hours out playing on the swing-set. I'd create dance routines and the neighbor girls and I would put on performances for our families. My dad would give us "high pulls" and on occasion we would jump off the swings. We would also swing as high as we could and see who could kick their shoes the furthest.

As you can see our lawn took quite the beating for all our swinging and playing but my parents never complained. I grew up imagining I was in the circus or off having some great adventure and that was all that mattered to them.

Of couse, as always happens, I got older and no longer used the swing-set as much. The trapeze rusted and the swings cracked from exposure to extreme cold. The slide went to a good home and there the swing-set sat, an empty frame.

Until yesterday...

Yesterday morning Jonathan got curious and asked what "that thing" was. Immediately after my dad told him that it had been a swing-set Jonathan asked if he could swing. So we went to the home improvement store where we found a swing for Jonathan and a baby swing for Jason. I was also pleasently surprised to find a trapeze.



And so the torch was passed to the next generation. Something tells me Jonathan and Jason are going to enjoy the best swing-set on the block!

The Red Line

I was three years old when, at my mom's suggestion, my dad and my uncle put a red line down at each end of our driveway. The street I grew up on was by no means a busy street but there was a fair share of traffic and being the first house on the street it all passed by our house. I liked liked to ride my trike right up to the edge of the street and it made my mom really nervous. Her solution was a red line at each end of the driveway showing me exactly how far I was allowed to go. I knew going past the line meant trouble and I was careful to stay on my side of the line. Even the neighbor girls knew going past the red line at my house would mean no playing in the front yard. Then I grew up. I got a bike and the driveway no longer contained my adventures. I was trusted to ride closer to the street and eventually up and down the street. And with each passing year the red line faded a little more. Soon the red line was completely gone and the only way to know where it had been was to look for the crack in the driveway that it had followed.

Now with Jonathan being 4, having a trike of his own, and wanting to play outside the red line has once again become necessary. So Sunday night my dad took Jonathan out and showed him where the red line would go, painted the red line down, and told Jonathan the rule of the red line.
And now the red line is back on the driveway, as bright as it was when it was first painted in 1985, marking the boundaries for a new generation.

Five and a half years

Five and a half years ago I walked arm in arm with my dad down that aisle toward my best friend. I can close my eyes and still see you grinning ear to ear as my dad placed my hand in yours. The memories from that day are forever in my minds eye. I remember tripping up the stairs to the platform and not being able to get my candle out to light our unity candle. I remember Adam telling us exactly how long our 1st kiss was (12 seconds) and practically running up the aisle with you at the end of the ceremony.

We've had our ups and downs but I can't imagine anyone better to weather the storms of life with than you. You know how to make me smile just when I need it the most and how to calm me down when I think the world is ending. We have two wonderful boys who bring joy to each and every day. I'm so blessed to have you.

I love you, Dan!

Love,
Angel

Flashback

It's amazing how music can transport you back to another time and place. Right now I'm listening to The Nylons. Old school, yes. Fantastic and amazing, yes. When I was in high school I spent a lot of time hanging out with two boys who were two years older than me. I can't even being to tell you how much these two meant to me then and how much they still mean to me now. They are the brothers I never had and I love them so much. As part of band we ushered for local concerts. If we weren't interested in the concert we would just hang out in the lobby of stairs and the boys would sing. They sang a lot of things but one of the things I remember them singing was The Nylons. And now as I listen to The Nylons I can see us hanging out in that stairwell and the boys singing.

Eric Whitacre's Ghost Train Triptych is another song that really takes me back. We played the 1st movement of it my freshman year of high school at The Pacific Basin Music Festival in Hawaii. These same two boys were in band with me and on that trip. Listening to this song takes me back to that time and place where we got a standing ovation from a packed house and all three judges. It was amazing. One of the boys and I also spent a lot of time together listening to this song and driving around Fairbanks. Wonderful memories.

Another song that reminds me of these two boys is Johan de Meij's Symphony No.1 The Lord of the Rings: I Gandalf (The Wizard). This piece was inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of Rings trilogy but was composed long before the movies came about. Anyway each year the senior class gets to pick a song that the band will play at graduation. It's the last time the seniors get to play with the group and it's kind of a big deal. This was the song that the class of 1998 chose to play at graduation. One of the boys was a tuba player and the other was a percussionist so in the set up of our band they were close to each other. I remember during graduation looking over and seeing the boys and starting to cry knowing this was the last time I would ever be in band with them. I can still close my eyes and see CS playing the timpani drum at the end of the song. CS if you are reading this I totally love you and can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Congratulations on making it this far. Now I pose the question to y'all: what songs take you back in time and where do they take you?