This Is Dedicated To The One I LOVE

On May 25th, Seth and I will have been married 10 years. I still remember that day and the spirit I felt. To say I was terrified to get married would be an extreme understatement, but that day was full of love, joy and peace. Truly fruits of the spirit. If I told you my reasons for marrying him you'd be shocked, but one was because he liked to go to concerts. Not rock'n roll, I'm talking about symphony, ballets, theater. Probably a good thing, since I'm playing in one, and we have a daughter in ballet now. Some of my most favorite memories are attending plays at USU, staying up late reading and discussing novels I had to read for class, and now reading what I write. I realize now, most men aren't fine watching "Pride and Prejudice" with their wife more than once. Okay, now I've made him out to be a total pansy, let me say, he's a manly farmer who gets more mud on his boots in one day then I do in a year, and he drives a big truck. I got a cultured country bumpkin, definitely a rare breed. But I'm trying to produce them, if you know any girls who will be interested in the next fifteen to twenty years.

Anyway, over the last couple months I've been thinking about what a great guy I'm married to, and how I want to tell the world. And what better way to do it than spout praises from our blog? I worked on compiling some of "our songs." Which you should hear playing in the background while reading this. So, while I've been working so hard thinking about what I should do for him, he in turn has continued to spoil and support me in my endeavors. In April, Seth watched kids for 3 days so I could fly to Utah and attend a writer's conference. It was awesome, and I even won first place in their First Chapter's Contest. The whole time I was there I kept thinking about him and how very very lucky I am to have him. He supports me in developing my talents and only complains...minimally, we'll just say. ;)

Seriously, I married a great guy. He's kept his hair (so far) and figure, and still loves mine despite its ups and downs. I clean his dirty socks and make him food, but he comes in from work with a smile and a hug ready--and that seems like a harder job. I've seen him get up in the night with crying kids, read bedtime stories, comfort me when I'm leaning over the toilet, hold my hand when I'm giving birth, and even tell me I'm beautiful when I'm nine months pregnant. He's strong, inside and out, and I lean on him often for support. He's gentle and soft-spoken. He's firm in the gospel, and a great example to me and our family. The Lord knew I needed him to become who I needed to be. We need each other. It's not always easy, but things are often easier because we have each other. I just wanted to tell him early on this month how much he means to me. I love you, honey.

My Latest Projects

I've been working on our living room. I finally conquered the paint--or at least found peace with it. Here are some pictures of it before, I took when I did the Pride and Prejudice Birthday party last May.





We painted over the wood walls next to the stone fireplace, tore out the wood railing that bordered the living room, put in new lights, new curtains, and new furniture (which I got for a great deal--JC Penny Outlet in Reno--awesome store for furniture!)


And the results were...




After...Before...

I finally found some curtains I liked! They were shower curtains I found on clearance--but they work. My sister-in-law Sharon sent me some cool metal stars that looked like they could be used to hang on a Christmas tree. I threaded them through the holes on top then hung it up with them, then used some regular metal shower rod hooks to go in the unused holes.

I Hate Paint

My living room needs help. I thought I could save the day, but I can't. It needs paint. Someone who is daring, smart, with x-ray vision. I now have 3 gallons of paint in my possession, from 2 different stores, and they are all the exact same shade. I wanted something light brown, not white--heavens no. So, I picked one out, bought 2 gallons at Wal-mart. I spent all day priming the wood walls with white paint. When the moment came to finally add color, I couldn't see the difference between my "brown" and the white primer. Rats! So, the next day we made a trip to Reno. I stopped into the Home Depot. This time I decided to go for green. Calming green. I found a shade, the man mixed it, then dabbed some on the top.
"This will darken, right?"
"Of course."
Not.
I spread it on the walls as soon as we got home, I was so nervous. It was amazingly the exact same color. I was even going for daring this time! I literally sat down and wanted to cry.
So, when I say I need help, it's true. Someone please explain to me how in the world stupid paint works. Maybe it's like the "Emperor's New Clothes" and I'm supposed to just pretend it's the color I want. Whatever it is, I think I have the Midas touch, only everything I touch doesn't turn to gold--it turns to off-white. Ack!

New Blog

Hey, I'm trying to be better at this blogging thing. (Don't you love hearing an apology from me every time you read my posts?) But I decided I needed my own blog to write about...well, writing. I want this blog to be dedicated solely to my cute kids and hubby and all the amazing things our family does. I've taken a break from writing, but found I still need to write to relieve stress, so that's why I'm forming my own blog. Plus, learning to be a better writer is a real process for me and I'm amazed at how much I'm learning. I want a place I can record what I'm discovering. And who knows, it might even help others who are doing the same thing.

So, if you want to read me there it's writingrobbin.blogspot.com

I've been sick the last couple days, we all have colds here. So, I finally have taken the time to figure out how to get a cute background! I've also been messing with the music on the side. The internet is such a great place to waste time. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so much.

We've been remodeling lately, and it's been really fun for me to organize the house and make it look cute. I'm definitely going to post pictures. Seth's been working hard. Yesterday he climbed under the house to put up insulation. I know he was dreading it, so I'm so proud of him!

The kids are doing well. George has been very disfluent the last few weeks (stuttering again). So, I looked up some sites on the internet and started doing things like talking slowly, pausing in between words, getting down on his level and really listening and it's made a HUGE difference. Even when we're late and I'm stressed, I've tried to remain calm and positive. And the funny thing is I've been a lot happier! I really am more calm, and I feel like I'm communicating a lot more effectively.

Clara has become a princess-aholic. She wears dresses, heels, purses, necklaces, and dances while she works. Two really is a magical number!

Ch-Ch-Changes

So, Seth and I put our brains together and figured out some changes I've been wanting to do with our Blog. On the side menu you will notice an area currently called: My Miscellaneous Posts. I am using that to put things such as: "How We Became We," the discussion I wrote on "Motherhood," and something I'm really excited about--My Good Buys! I love to shop and get really good deals, so I'm dedicating that page to what I find, because sometimes you just want to tell someone, anyone, THE WORLD about the great deal you just got.
Also, another change. I might as well fess up. I've been writing. (Which is one reason I've been lax in writing for the Blog, along with symphony, cleaning up poop--oh, I said I wasn't going to mention that on my blog, dishes, etc. and so forth.) I have certain songs that really help me with my current project. It's easy for me to just click on our blog and listen to it. So, the random music at the side is for that. The list will most likely keep growing.
Anyway, thanks for reading and listening. This is Robbin, saying good-night and signing out.