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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Three !?!?!?!

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I can remember my Mama always telling me, "When you get to be a Mama you'll understand!" I totally get it! Being a Mama is the hardest and yet most rewarding job on Earth! There are days {lots of days!} I think I'm going to pull my hair out and still all it takes is a sweet little kiss, or a tender little hug with "I love you Mama", or "Thanks Mama!" and I melt into a big fat puddle! I stayed up last night until 1:00 a.m. {the time John Luke was born} thinking back on that day---night---days! Amazingly after all that pain, the most vivid memory is how in that very moment I felt different. From the very instant he came into this world, I was a new person. I thought differently. I loved differently. I prayed differently. I even looked differently! {Ha,Ha!} I live in a different world! Consumed with my children and what is best for them. And crazy enough, I love that! My children melt my heart in less than a blink and I know they always will! I am blessed beyond measure! Thank you, Jesus!

Three whole years ago my sweet man {JuJu--the name he has given himself} was born. He arrived at 1:00 a.m., weighed 8lbs.6ozs. & 21 1/2 inches long.
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He had an amazing head full of dark hair, and a very mishapen head. {Which worried his daddy tremendously!}
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He was completely perfect and very much welcomed by me, his extremely exhausted Mama!
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And his daddy was super proud!
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Now he is sweet, caring, fun-loving, super funny, entirely too bossy, beautiful, generous, shy {sometimes}, hard-headed, determined, and silly! He keeps us laughing! He's John Luke. And I L-O-V-E him more than I could have ever imagined possible!
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Good Morning Birthday Boy!
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Party at "church-school" as he calls it---MDO...
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We love you John Luke! Happy Birthday!!!

**Please stop growing up so fast!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

"Can we go to the beach, Mama?"

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The beach was totally fantastic! The weather was better than you could dream and the water was beautiful! John Luke enjoyed every minute! He was constantly asking if we could go to the beach. "Are we going to the beach, Mama?" "Can we go to the beach, Mama?" I would say, "Yep, we're going to the beach." And he would say, "WooHoo!" I think this year was my favorite yet!
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A big thanks to Pa for letting us crash his party at the fantastic Hilton! {He was having some kind of class for work there all week, & invited us to come play while he studied.}
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"Mother, will you get a picture of John Luke jumping off the side of the pool?"
"Sure."

Take 1:
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Missed it.

Take 2:
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Not quite.

Take 3:
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Missed it again.

Take 4:
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Got it!

John surprised all of us, and came down a day early to play!
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Allie Beth & Nan did a lot of this...
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Thankfully, John & I got a night to ourselves Thursday and enjoyed dinner together at a restaurant in the hotel. Let me just say we will never be dining there again. And it's not because of the food, but more like the prices on the menu!!! Oh My Goodness!!! Anyway, the food actually was very tasty, and the time together was more than awesome! Thank you Mama and Mamy for keeping our munchkins!
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We missed you Mamy K!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Happy 4 years!

**Our anniversary is not officially until Thursday, April, 22nd, but we are leaving for the beach, and I wanted to make sure I had this done so he could see!

I, John, take thee, Beth, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do us part, according to God's Holy ordinance.
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I, Beth, take thee, John, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do us part, according to God's Holy ordinance.

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Our Oneness Covenant:

We believe God created marriage to be holy, to exemplify the glorious, eternal marriage between His Son and His church.
We believe our marriage is a sacred and lifelong covenant.
We believe God calls us to pursue unconditional love for each other as modeled by His promise never to leave or forsake us.
Therefore, we the undersigned, pledge to fulfill our marriage vows and pursue oneness. We further pledge to bring glory to God through our sacred permanent marriage, and by calling others to fulfill their marriage vows. We agree to joyfully receive each other as God's perfect gift.



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"Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away."
Song of Solomon 8:7

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And then we went to the closest place to heaven here on this earth...
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HAWAII! OH, to be there now!!!

I think, no, I know, when I said "I Do" I was expecting a fairytale story, filled with romance, roses, and nothin' but fun! The only problem is I didn't marry Mr. Romantic. I married John --- God's perfect gift to me. He isn't romantic in the least bit, but he is caring, tenderhearted, forgiving, and he loves me. And I know he loves me. Which makes it even better! He isn't perfect, but oh my, neither am I! We don't have a perfect life, but God didn't promise us one. We argue, get hurt feelings, forget to say I'm sorry, and we've {I've} been known to get really, really mad. We make mistakes. We mess up. We don't always make the best decision. We lose focus, and time slips by. But, God didn't create perfect people. Thankfully He did create perfect grace and He shows us a whole lot of it! Therefore, we can show each other the same! I thank God for John! He is my best friend. He is supportive and hard-working. He is faithful and committed. He puts his family's needs first. He is an outstanding father. And just for a bonus, he is very good lookin'! {OR "hexy" as John Luke says!} And I am very proud of him! Now after 4 years, 2 beautiful babies, 2 moves, bills, cancer, bad moods, short tempers, and just plain life , we have/are learning a lot, but most of all, we still love one another! We made a promise, and we intend to keep it! Not that we don't want to. It just keeps us grounded. I once read that "A promise means no excuses. It was built into your wedding vows. You promised to love and cherish your mate "for better for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part." That was your first married promise, and it was not conditional. It had no term limits or expiration date. It was meant to remain in effect from that moment until one or both of you leave this earth for the kingdom of heaven. That promise was meant to provide a solid base of security for your marriage. Whatever happens, you have promised to love your husband or your wife. It doesn't matter whether you get upset with each other. It doesn't matter if you get bored with the routine. It doesn't matter if the money you expected is not there. It doesn't matter if either of you loses your attractivenss, turns grumpy, sour, or uncommunicative, gets a debilitating illness, or falls into deep depression. You will love him. You will cherish her. You promised. And that promise gives your marriage security." Gary Smalley
I L-O-V-E John, and he L-O-V-E-S ME! I wouldn't change a thing about the promise I made on April 22, 2006 @ 6:00 p.m.! And by God's grace, we'll face the future, wide-eyed, side-by-side, holding hands!

I love you, John! Happy, Happy Anniversary!

I can't wait for Thursday! Me and you all alone! Oh my!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Spring+Sunshine = Projects @ The Colvin's

Project #1
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The boss giving directions...
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It's a new, improved, upsized sandbox!
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We don't get dirty a bit...
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Some furry friends came to check us out & offer their furry advice...
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Then some less furry friends stopped by to check us out...
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We took a very short break to make cupcakes. But instead of making cupcakes we {John Luke & myself} ate the entire batch of dough! YUMMMMMM!
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Then I found a little flower thief...
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It's coming along...just a few more additions made by 'John the Builder' and she'll be good to go!
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Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! We {John} should get lots more accomplished around here tomorrow! I can't wait to see what's next!!!