March 22, 2003 Craig and I were 'sentenced to LIFE' in a Del Rio, TX court room. 8 years and two children later, we are in love, healthy and thriving....
(Please note the terrible res, sorry, PAS was all we had in those days!)
Our beautiful cake! Sure would like to have a piece right about NOW!!!
And on February 21, 2004 we had our larger more traditional wedding. Which one do we celebrate, you ask?
Well, we sorta just combine them and either celebrate in Feb. or March, which ever one is more convenient for us that year.
A few things maybe you'd like to know about us:
We met in Del Rio, TX in 2002 where he was in pilot training and I was a Lifeguard.
Made the Border Eagle... YESSSS!!!!
Catching a quick break while teaching Lifeguard Cert classes!!
Why this is OUR song?
Because after every one of our dates, as Craig was taking me home, this song would play religiously at the same time and at the time it was my favorite song and I knew it was the perfect song for us!! It still gives me chills listening to it today!!
He is From Georgia and a graduate of the University Of Georgia. Go DAWGS!!!
Picture taken with UGA VI? and terrible res again, due to PAS!!!
By practice field!!
We (I because of Craig) are addicted to UGA football!!!
Lets play "Where's Pollock" #47?? Can you spot him?? I can!!
Two happy loves birds!! GO DAWGS!!
He is in the Air Force and he is a Pilot!! I love my PILOT!!
The day he got his WINGS.
Oh yeah, that's him flying the tanker!!
I am a TEXAS girl!!
You can take the Girl outta Texas but you can't take the Texas outta the Girl!
BLUEBONNETS!!!!
My passion is Photography!!!
(the next two photos were taking by my fabulous friend, fellow photographer and mentor Manda Koolis of Mandolin Productions. You can view her amazing photos at www.mandolinproductions.com)
I have a thriving photography business now and LOVE every minute of it!!! www.mytlcphotography.com
Manda also designed my logo for me. Her graphic design work is Ah-Ma-ZING!!!
In 2006 we were BLESSED with our first child Taylor Brynn. She has been a delight in our life and is one of the most loving, compassionate little beings I have ever known. (no.. not biased or anything)
June 2006
4 yrs 2011
Then in 2007, (17 mos later) God Blessed us with our Landon Lane. He is our "curiosity kills a cat" kid which drives us bonkers, but I like to think it's just because he's highly intelligent.
November 2007
3 yrs 2011
They both have changed our lives tremendously and though we have some interesting and trying times, I wouldn't change it for the world!!!
It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in the movie theater watching "Insomnia" on our first date! 8 years later, and am truly a lucky girl. I am looking forward to many more wonderful years for Craig and I and for our family!!
If there's one thing that you could take away from this blog about the life we've created in our 8 years of marriage is:
(photos by Manda Koolis on Mandolin Productions)
We don't have it all TOGETHER, but TOGETHER.. we have it ALL!!!
Live, Laugh, Love and ALWAYS be YOU!! Here's to many more years of LOVE, Happy Anniversary, Honey! I LOVE YOU!! Cheers--TLC
I am 100% positive my 1,000 lbs vacuum is going OUT!!! Super bummed because with a choc lab, a cat, two kids and WHITE (of all colors, not my choice) carpet, I NEED a vacuum. After rolling my vacuum today over pieces of fuzz and hair(just gross) about 30 times, so sure at some point, one of the angles would catch it... it didn't. (sigh) AND after crawling all over the floor using my hand held dirt devil that I've had for over 6 years.... it's TIME!!!!
So I am adding this to my Vision Board/Bucket List (will post about that soon!)
Oh yeah, a DYSON!!! I know, it's silly to add a vacuum to one's dream list, but yah know, with a price tag on that thing... it's been a dream of mine for a LONG time!!! If you have one of these, feel free to leave comments on how much you love it, I know yah do!! If you don't own one, feel free to join me in dreaming of one day sucking up grossness off your floor with this awesome machine!! One day it could happen?!?!
And - I thought I'd share a picture of these little guys I found at a local specialty shop. They were just too cute to pass up!!!
At some point duty will be calling for our family as it does for all the other military families out there and now that we have children, it will take a whole lot of prayer, strength and patience to get through it. We are ready for the challenge and I have planned alot of activities for T&L and for myself to keep us busy while Daddy is at work.
I had the idea of creating a message jar that will include massages from daddy for each day he will be away. Everyday, we will decide what time of day we will draw a message from the jar that daddy has hand written and read it. That way the kids will know that daddy is thinking about them and they will hear familiar words from Daddy. While he was away in training last Summer, we tried the "Kiss from Daddy" where we filled a jar with Hershey Kisses. While receiving a "Kiss" from daddy was fun each day, it quickly got old as the kids really didn't want to eat them. That's a good thing right? But we still needed a count down for their excitement and for my own sanity!! So THIS idea will be perfect because for one, it's a little more healthier (I guess), and for two it's personalized from Daddy's heart!! #3 BONUS, as the messages start to deplete, we are one day closer to Daddy's homecoming. AND when we read his LAST message, he'll be HOME!!!! We'll be soooo happy when that message day arrives!!!!
T&L's Nana Nana sent this super cute book for us too and I highly recommend it to any families out there who have loved ones who are called to duty. We have "The Night Before Christmas" read by Nana Nana in GA and one read by Nana in TX and the kids really enjoy hearing their voices read them a story!!! So I know that they will certainly love being read to every night by Daddy with this book "All the ways I Love You." You can find out more about it HEREhttp://www.hallmark.com/online/in-stores/recordable-storybooks/
I don't know if I am physically and mentally prepared for when his duty trip arises, but one thing I DO know is that I have God, my family, and friends. And I am certain that our Message Jar and our Recordable Story book will provide the assurance of Daddy's love for our kids!!
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!! We support you, appreciate you and most of all we LOVE you!! FREEDOM isn't FREE!!!
Live, Laugh, Love and ALWAYS be YOU!!!! Cheers-- TLC
I think that just photos will speak for themselves for this one but I will say that we had a great time and I'm so glad we had alot of options for keeping the kids occupied!!!
These two fishies truly LOVE swimming. I cannot wait until they can swim on their own. We'll be working on that ALOT this Summer!!
Suffice to say that Chuck E Cheese was a BIG hit!!! Always is!! We made it through that week in Iowa, had lots of fun, but were sure glad to get back home to our own beds!
We had two other family members ecstatic about everything being back to normal.
He had immediate dibs on L's sleeping bad that was propped on our unpacked suitcases!
Oakley was glad to be home, but I know he surely enjoyed his vacation with his friend Ernie!!
