Make Love {A Verb}

Lately, I've been listening to podcasts by Andy Stanley. 

I wanted to share a few with you that I thought were especially good.

This first one is about finding forever love, and that is done by making love a verb instead of a noun.

Make love a verb.  Part one.  Part two.

Since the page link will change, the dates of the podcasts that I am specifically linking to are 5/19/11 and 6/1/11.

Both parts are phrased extremely well and introduce some concepts that many people haven't thought of.  If you're a Christian, or not, it's a good listen.  Let me know what you think!

The Mastermind

If you haven't read this post, go on and read it.  I'll wait.


Okay, now that we're on the same page, let's continue.
It was sunny, warm, Friday, June 10th.
As of 3:30, Carl and I had been together the entire day.
At 3:30, we arrived at a local pool where we were going to lounge around with my parents for a couple of hours.  Carl went to the men's room to change into his swim suit, and I went into the ladies' room.  The doors were directly across the hall from one another.  As we both opened our respective doors to go our respective ways, Carl made a face at me and told me that his stomach was hurting something terrible.  I told him I hope he felt better, and we went to the restrooms to change.
At 3:35, I had come out before Carl did, but I didn't think much of it since his stomach was hurting.  I figured he must've eaten something bad the day before.  I joined my parents outside by the pool and explained Carl's unfortunate situation.  My poor guy.
At 4:05, half an hour had passed when I was starting to get concerned.  I text messaged him but I didn't get a response.  I waited a few minutes and called him.  He said his stomach was starting to feel better and he would be out soon.
At 4:25, he still had not showed up outside.  Getting worried again, I called him.  He made me feel better when he said he had actually moved to the lobby in order to fix a customer's machine.  Something out of the ordinary had occurred with a customer's site, and so Carl was on the phone directing the customer how to correct the issue.  I informed my parents why he was missing out on the pool, and having to deal with work.
At 5:00, Carl finally emerged in his swimming trunks.

"Geeze, are you feeling better?" I asked.
"Yeah, I was working with a customer for a while."  He explained what the customer had to do, and told me she had finally calmed down after speaking with him for so long.

We swam in the warm water and bathed in the sun for another hour or so, but it was about time for us to leave.  We wanted to make sure we had enough time reserved for our dinner date.  My parents had packed a table in their car for us to bring to Austin's grandmother's house so that we would have a table for Austin's upcoming pool party.  So, after we had all dried off, Carl said he was going to go move the car to get closer to my parents' car.  I told him it was pointless because we were already parked side by side.  How much closer did he want to get?  Geeze.  Why did it feel like he was trying to get away from me so much today?  I chalked up Carl's oddness to me being paranoid.
We got out to the car, and I realized he had actually moved the car somewhat further away from my parents' car.  At this point, I was convinced he was just trying to be difficult and I was going to have to have a little talk with him later once we were alone.  I first addressed this issue to him when we were loading the the table into the car.

"You could've left the car next to my parents' car, ya know."
"I was thinking the table was longer so it would make more sense to just walk it across the way straight into our trunk." he answered.
"That's crazy, you should've left the car where it was."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Now, those of you who know Carl know how opposite of his typical behavior this was.  I couldn't figure out why things had been so awkward that day, but I chalked it up to just an odd day.  Everyone has them, so no big deal.  It wasn't until later that night when we had arrived at the Sweetwater Branch Inn that Carl confessed that when he had told me he was in the bathroom and dealing with a client, he was actually speeding across town to check in at Sweetwater Branch Inn.  You see, my sweet Carl wanted to surprise me so badly that he actually left the pool after convincing me he was sick and working with a client, to go all the way across town to check in between the required hours of 4:00 and 7:00pm.
He never ceases to amaze me.  And let me tell you how not easy of a task it was for Carl to escape my loving "wrath" for lack of a better word.  You see, for the entire week he was here, I was stuck to him like glue, rarely letting him out of my sight.  I'm pretty sure he learned how to do everything with just one hand, since I wouldn't let go of the other hand for an entire week.  Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating on that last line.
To my Carl, thank you for making our second anniversary one that I will never forget.  You are amazing.
To everyone else reading this, sorry for being so mushy.  I kept it as simple as possible so as to not scare you off.
"I remember well the day we wed, I can see that picture in my head...I still believe the words we said forever will ring true."

2 Years

Carl and I celebrated our two year anniversary this year.  It's so hard to believe it's already been two years!  (Might I add they were the most fun two years, ever?)

They say the first few years of a marriage are the hardest, so if that's what ours was, well the next several must be nothing short of amazing.

Since we would be apart of our actual anniversary, we decided to celebrate on the Friday night that Carl was in Gainesville.

Carl took me to one of our favorite restaurants, Ichiban.

Ichiban is a sushi restaurant, but it's a special place for us simply because we used to meet there when we first started dating.  I would take lunch breaks from my job and meet Carl at the restaurant.  On Tuesday and Thursday nights, when Carl used to work late, I would meet him there for supper.  It was our go-to place.  The waiters would all recognize us, the owners were familiar with us, it was just a great place to visit.

We enjoyed Ichiban at a new location that was recently opened, downtown Gainesville.  It was just as delicious as the 43rd Street location. 

Once we finished, we decided to walk around downtown a little bit.  We started heading for the car, and Carl stopped me, saying "Hey, let's go to Starbucks."

When we were dating, and even while we've been married, we've ended many a date night at Starbucks sipping Frappucinos and playing chess.  We started walking toward Starbucks and I could smell the coffee as we were getting closer.  Just as I was telling Carl how good the coffee smelled, I was heading for the door, and he decided to pull me away toward the Hippodrome. 

By golly, this man had bought us tickets to a play!  Wow!  He completely surprised me!  Neither of us had ever been to a play in the Hipp so we were both excited.  We watched Suds, a funny musical.  We had such a great time together.  Carl always surprises me, you'd think I would learn to expect this royal treatment that he always endows me with.  He treats me like a princess, and then some.  Forgive me for bragging a little bit, I just love this guy so stinkin' much!

Our night was wonderful.  After being apart for a month, it was so nice having a night of Carl all to myself.  No worrying about customers, no responsibilities (Carl's parents were keeping Austin and my parents were keeping Belle).  We just enjoyed each other's company without any worries.

We got in the car to head home, and low and behold, my sense of direction was once again messed up in downtown Gainesville.  I don't know why, but I never seem to have my bearings when I'm downtown.  Oh well, good thing Carl was driving.  All of the sudden, he started slowing down.  I chuckled to myself thinking "I knew we were going the wrong way!"  I had better bearings than I thought.  He pulled into a little driveway, and I was prepared to help him turn around in this busy area of Gainesville. 

I was preparing to point out a place where he could turn around, but I figured I should just keep my mouth shut.  Then, his bright lights when on.  He appeared to be looking for something.  There were parking signs in front of us, that directed, "Parking for Cornelia Room" and "Parking for Tea Rose Room."  What on earth? 

We "just so happened" to be at the Sweetwater Branch Inn, a Gainesville bed and breakfast. 

No. way.  There was just no way he could get us a room here without me knowing about it.

Well, guess what.  The man outdid himself, once again.  I gave him a confused look and he was beaming from ear to ear.  Why yes, my dear, you DID surprise and astound me.

We made our way into the quaint little bed and breakfast and ooh'd and awe'd at the Victorian decor.  It was gorgeous.

Isn't it lovely?

Then, to top things off, he sent me flowers on the day of our actual anniversary.

You spoil me, honey.

But I'm not complaining.  ;)

What an amazing two year anniversary.

Thank you my love.

Austin's 12th Birthday

Austin's maternal grandparents were very generous in allowing a group of 11 and 12 year old boys to come to their house for a pool party.  Austin turned twelve years old this year, man time is flying by!  He had just turned 8 when I met him.  These last four years have been a whirlwind of a time for us. 

The first week that Austin was in Florida, and the only week that Carl was in Florida, we celebrated Austin's birthday. 

In Florida, if you have a birthday party in the summer, there is one rule that is rarely broken: you either celebrate inside a house, or inside a pool.  There's no outdoor-summer-birthday parties in Florida.  It is too stinking hot otherwise.

By the way, that blue stuff on Austin's face?

Kids fun-screen.... I mean sun-screen.

On to the gifts!

As Austin gets bigger, his gifts get smaller (in size).

Look at this stack of gift cards!

Gift cards a plenty!

Thank goodness for the gift cards, which were mostly iTunes cards, so Austin can load up his iPod touch that Carl and I gave him for his birthday!

Mmm, and we had to celebrate his birthday with the town's colors...

Go Gators!

What a fun day it was!