babies 'n things

over the weekend i had the awesome honor of throwing a baby shower for one of my very best friends in this whole wide world.

natalie and i met on the first day college, in our dorm.  she was in the 3rd floor bathroom of millikan hall and i was only on her floor to meet up with a girl i had fallen down the stairs with earlier that day.  there's a story there, but only the ending matters.  on my way to see this other new friend, i made a quick stop in the bathroom and that's where i found natalie.  

so, it was fate basically.  i was meant to run into that girl on the stairs which is the only reason i then ran into my natalie.  there are so few truly genuine, naturally funny and effortlessly drama-free chicks in the world.  she is one of them and i feel incredibly lucky to have found her.  the world should feel equally lucky that she and her adorable husband are reproducing. 

  

there were four of us that were inseparable all through college.  you name it, we did it together and i have boxes of photos from the days of developing film to prove it.   and to this day, we all remain the best of of friends.  sure, we get older, busier and meet new friends, but these girls have and always will be some of the people who know me best and who some of my favorite memories were made alongside.  the three of them hosted my baby shower almost 10 years ago, and so to get to do this together again was pretty amazing.

i love these girls.  and i love that we could be together for this. 

now that we all have kids of our own, i just wonder if any of them will ever believe us when we tell them how flippin' cool we were are.

ps - can you believe that cake?!

the lighter side of syria

several weeks ago, we headed up to omaha for a little family reunion type of affair.  my grandpa, on my mom's side, was born in the US, but his parents (my great grandparents if you are following along) were from syria.  every summer, and usually on easter, there is a pretty massive syrian dinner that commences.  in light of recent events, i thought a few uplifting photographs representing a little taste of syria, were in order.  so put on your stretchy pants and see who can fill their plate the tallest, this is the 2013 syrian family picnic.

see entire album HERE. 

a garage razing

we're going to pretend that the garage is already pretty much done, because what fun would a final shot be if we didn't get to detail the process?  i have held off on posting about it because evan really wanted to walk you through the build (inch by inch...) but since he has devoted every moment of free time to getting this thing up, with the help of some of our bestest friends and fam, we've been pretty scarce in the play-by-play.

so here are a few pictures of the first few days and the first few steps...

stay tuned.  lots of shirtless boys on top of buildings coming up....

third grade

when this day rolls around each year, i view it the same way.  1.  i can't believe it is happening.  2. where did the time go?  and 3. i am not at all prepared for this so soon.  same story different year.  today is alex's first day of the 3rd grade.  she is an inch and a half taller.  two shoe sizes bigger.  and can see 100% better than last year.

i on the other hand am exactly as i have been in each of the previous years: completely overwhelmed, excited, a little bit sad and very, very hopeful.

the good news is, even though she started at the big campus this year, she wasn't completely humiliated by having her parents walk her inside and take pictures of her - a thought that kept me awake for much of last night.

this is my baby.  my dreamer.  my animal lover.  my butterfly catcher.  my artist and my world. and now, she is my third grader as well. sigh.

two years

i never thought i would get married.  it's not that i didn't want to, or didn't love the idea of it, it's just that it was never something i could wrap my head fully around.

i was stubborn about it.  i knew exactly what it would take to be happy, and frankly i didn't think the type of person i had in mind existed.  i wanted to be picky - no, not picky - precise!  it would have to be someone who understood that life is short, love is important and a marriage is a choice you make every time you wake up.

i never knew anyone like that or knew where or how to find them.  i was convinced my expectations were too high.  too unreasonable.  too much.

i didn't just want a husband, i wanted a partner, a soulmate, a friend.  he would be someone to navigate life with, to laugh with, to cry with and grow old with.

he would have to love dancing at weddings. to the slow songs. the fast songs and the last song.
he would have to hold hands. hold a conversation.  hold my heart and hold our family together.
he would like to take walks after dinner and drink coffee with the paper on sundays.
he would believe in love. in marriage. in parenting and in me.
he would love his mom and treat everyone with respect.
he would like to go places.  eat things.  travel the world and stay close to home.
he would never meet a person he didn't like.
he would be fair.  honest. responsible and hilarious.
he would have some life experiences and be appreciative of mine.
he would have to know what it's like to get it wrong, and then understand what it takes to get it right.
he would understand what i had been through and we would go through everything else together.
he would know how to build things - like a bookshelf. like character. and a home.
he would love my daughter - not just accept her - but love her dearly, help her grow, engage in her life, her school, her interests and teach her things i had never even thought to do.
he would call her every night if he was on the road.  tell her he loved her.  was proud of her and couldn't wait to see her soon.
he would miss us.
appreciate us.
love us.
and complete us.
he would make me thankful.  a believer.  and a better person through and through.

i never thought i would get married because i never imagined i would find someone like him.

until one day, i did.

happy second anniversary to the man who is everything i never knew was possible and continues to exceed my expectations each and every day.

groundbreaking

it is finally here!  we are breaking ground on the new garage/backyard construction today!

more play-by-plays to come, to be sure.