Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of this special day, I wanted to repost the lovely words my husband wrote last year.

And now for something completely different

Valentine's Day, 2008

My wife is a little out of it after a long day with children. The late dinner we ate just took it right out of her. She's next to me on the couch, dressed to kill, and we're blogging.

I don't know why people say we're not like other families.

She assures me that we're only blogging for now. And that's reassuring for me, because hey, you buy a girl a nice dinner, bring her flowers, put the kids to bed, and then...homeschool blog? I dunno.

We're writing this (well, I am. She's making a valiant effort not to fall asleep on my shoulder) because although bad news travels fast, good news seems to go nowhere. It seems like doom and gloom is everywhere (you've all heard about the poor kids at Northern Illinois by now), but people often seem to keep their good news to themselves.

We're bucking the trend. We've got an announcement to make (hi, mom!) and we won't be silenced. I hope you're ready because here it is:

We've been married nearly ten years
- that's not it, wait for it -
and we're in love.

That's right. We're married and have two kids. We live in a little tiny baby pretend apartment with noisy litterbugs for neighbors. My car smells like puke. I made, like, $20,000 last year. Next year probably won't be a lot better.

And we're wildly, passionately in love.

DW (dear wife) just said, "I think you're right!" as I typed this, so that clinches it.

Maybe some time soon we'll go into how this came about, but for now we hope it's enough to know that somewhere out there are two people in love, making it work, fighting like cats and dogs sometimes, but in love.

Ewwww. Our poor kids.

Remember that part in Jerry McGuire when Rene Zellweger's character says "I love him for the man he wants to be, and the man he almost is"? Or something? Well, we've learned to love each other for the man and woman we are today.

So that's it. We now return to our regular programming.

Just thought you should know.

And you know what? It just keeps getting better!

And the name of the game is...Top Five!

*SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST*

We (Collin and Brittney) are teaming up to bring you a variation on our favorite game/get ta know ya activity: top five. We decided not only to post our answers, but to turn it into a quiz and post it for you to answer to let your friends, neighbors, and random visitors to know all about you. If you have a blog, post your answers and give us link. If you don't, put in your answers and post it in the comments.

Top five, here we go, list it! (Brittney's first, Collin's follow)

Top five places you could own a summer/winter home:
Gimmelwald (Switz.)
Paris
Oxford
Cherbourg (FR)
Italy (undisclosed location)

Paris
Nice
Mercer Island (WA)
Nightmute (AK)
London

Top five favorite actors/actresses:
James McAvoy
Christian Bale
Colin Firth
Russell Crowe
Liam Neeson

Grace Kelly
Humphrey Bogart
Christian Bale
Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie

Top five favorite musical performers:
U2
Norah Jones
Patty Griffin
Madeleine Peyroux
Jars of Clay

U2
The Bad Plus
Harry Connick, Jr.
Herbie Hancock
The Police

Top five five most re-read books:
A Severe Mercy - Van Aucken
A Charlotte Mason Companion - Andreola
Last Call - Powers
Last Child in the Woods - Louv
Honey for a Child's Heart - Hunt

Declare - Powers
The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Space Trilogy - Lewis
Father Brown stories - Chesterton
Treasure Island - Stevenson

Top five vices (tell the truth, now):
Well-trained Mind Message Board
Unspoken Message Board (like an unspoken prayer request)
Diet Coke
Arrested Development
Sweets

Adult Beverages of nearly any stripe
My wife
Pipe tobacco
Arrested Development
Coffee

Top five movies I'll watch anytime:
Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson)
The Prestige
Anne of Green Gables
Becoming Jane (but not the end)

Moulin Rouge
Insomnia
Ocean's Twelve
The Edge
The Dark Knight

Tag. You're it.

Separated At Birth

***WARNING...DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS SEE THIS!***

Asian Singer

Kuato from Total Recall

***I have to give Collin full credit for this one! He found the cd in the dumpster at our apartment and instantly thought of Kuato! Way to go, Honey!***

Rediscovering lost love

Some of my fondest memories from when I was younger had nature as a backdrop: canoeing down the Cedar River with my parents, spending Christmas on the beach in FL in '86, acting as a camp counselor for two summers in MI, and taking camping trips with Collin and our friends during the first part of our relationship in WA. Somewhere along the way I forgot how much I enjoy observing and experiencing nature. In spite of Collin's repeated attempts to get us outside, I have resisted this for years, with a few exceptions.

I am excited because I am now recapturing my enthusiasm for nature. I find myself looking for the next opportunity to get outside to enjoy walks, weather, wildlife-that is, until the 90 degree + temperatures hit. Here are a few of the activities that are helping us enjoy God's creation.

Backpacking trips through Western Europe. This picture was taken in the Swiss Alps.

When the weather is agreeable we have been going on many hikes.



We enjoy being around water skipping rocks, sinking "boats" (logs that we have launched), and listening to the waves lap up against the edge.



Collin taught the boys how to fish in the river near our apartment. They came back empty handed, but their faces were bright with smiles.


I really enjoy observing birds. This is new for me as I have never ever paid attention to birds in the past. I like watching them line up on our fence and wait their turn for a snack at our feeder. I love listening to them call to one another. The colors of their feathers are amazing. I hope to construct a bird habitat complete with nesting boxes, a bird bath, and several different types of feeders soon.

I am also learning to face a huge irrational fear of mine...

If it's been awhile since you have enjoyed your natural surroundings, I would encourage you to take a short walk in your neighborhood, breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds sing, and kick a rock or two.

And now for something completely different

Valentine's Day, 2008

My wife is a little out of it after a long day with children. The late dinner we ate just took it right out of her. She's next to me on the couch, dressed to kill, and we're blogging.

I don't know why people say we're not like other families.

She assures me that we're only blogging for now. And that's reassuring for me, because hey, you buy a girl a nice dinner, bring her flowers, put the kids to bed, and then...homeschool blog? I dunno.

We're writing this (well, I am. She's making a valiant effort not to fall asleep on my shoulder) because although bad news travels fast, good news seems to go nowhere. It seems like doom and gloom is everywhere (you've all heard about the poor kids at Northern Illinois by now), but people often seem to keep their good news to themselves.

We're bucking the trend. We've got an announcement to make (hi, mom!) and we won't be silenced. I hope you're ready because here it is:

We've been married nearly ten years
- that's not it, wait for it -
and we're in love.

That's right. We're married and have two kids. We live in a little tiny baby pretend apartment with noisy litterbugs for neighbors. My car smells like puke. I made, like, $20,000 last year. Next year probably won't be a lot better.

And we're wildly, passionately in love.

DW (dear wife) just said, "I think you're right!" as I typed this, so that clinches it.

Maybe some time soon we'll go into how this came about, but for now we hope it's enough to know that somewhere out there are two people in love, making it work, fighting like cats and dogs sometimes, but in love.

Ewwww. Our poor kids.

Remember that part in Jerry McGuire when Rene Zellweger's character says "I love him for the man he wants to be, and the man he almost is"? Or something? Well, we've learned to love each other for the man and woman we are today.

So that's it. We now return to our regular programming.

Just thought you should know.

Carpe Diem

January 25, 2008

I walked out my front door today and saw a body bag.

We live in a complex of one-story apartment buildings and our front door is separated from the building across by a 20 foot sidewalk. I could have taken 10 steps and touched the gurney the bag was on. It looked like a long, white garment bag made of some sort of thin plastic, with a zipper running down the full length of it. I instinctively knew it was a body bag by the contours of the shape inside. I recognized Wayne, who use to live there, holding a woman I assumed to be his girlfriend, trying to keep warm in the freezing temperatures. I invited them inside for hot chocolate and a warm place to wait. Wayne had recently moved out leaving David, a 57 year old veteran and diabetic, living in the apartment alone. As he sipped his hot chocolate, he told me he had come by to check on David and found him dead. The paramedics believed he had died three days earlier of a diabetic seizure.

After Wayne left, I continued to think about this man who had been dead for three days before anyone had known. I often saw him in passing but rarely spoke to him beyond a simple "hello". As time went on, I couldn't shake the feeling in some sense that I had failed as a neighbor. I wondered, not if I could have saved him, but if he would have been found sooner, had I been paying attention.

January 29, 2008

I answered a knock at my door to find a strange man standing there. It was David's 35 year old son. He told me his dad had just bought some home supplies and offered me the unopened items. He had come down from MI, where David's family, including his 81 year old mother, still lived. He had spoken with his father only by phone for the past 17 years. He had never met his daughter-in-law or three grand children.

As he talked, I was struck by this broken relationship that now had no chance to be mended. No reconciliation, only regret was possible.

Death was already on my mind as I had read earlier in the week, along with everyone else, about the death of Heath Ledger. That same day, Collin had learned the his grandmother had fallen ill and was expected to pass at anytime. A few days later, my dear friend learned her mother-in-law was told by doctors she only had a month to live.

All these events have driven home to me the importance of relationships: my relationship with my husband, with my family, with my friends, and even with my next door neighbor. I'm still not sure how I should respond, or even if a response is necessary. The only thing I do know for sure is to love the people around you and not to risk regret.


By: Collin and Brittney

What I Did With My Husband Last Night

Tonight Collin took me on a very special date. Part of what made it so magical was that we weren't celebrating anything in particular - this date was "just because". No, we didn't dine at a five-star restaurant, nor was it a night at the opera. We gulped down Wendy's value meals in the car and then we were off for some quality time on the firin' range.


So how does a 35 year old, homeschool mom, who has never handled a gun, end up in a parking lot full of pickup trucks outside a TN indoor shooting range? It begins a couple years ago...

Collin approached me with the idea of buying a hand gun for home defense. I was horrified at the thought of having a gun in the house. A half a dozen objections jumped to mind. I was terrified at the idea of having to use it, for one. Also, four curious little hands have explored most of the nooks and crannies in our house already. Finally, I had a severe case of general anxiety of the unknown. I decided not to press the issue, however, figuring it was one of Collin's wild hares.

To my dismay, he continued to talk to me about it in the months that followed. I found that he had given a lot of thought to all of the same questions that I had. I also found that he was willing to listen to my concerns and not just minimize them. I finally came to see things differently. The first fact that I came to grips with was that guns do not make us safe, nor do they guarantee that you will not be the victim of a violent crime. You can still be killed wearing a seatbelt.

The second realization I had was that the Bible does not call on us to be passive victims in every circumstance. When Jesus talks about "turning the other cheek", I don't believe He means I ought to let myself be raped or murdered. I don't know what to say to someone who would suggest that if a drugged-up felon breaks into my home and waves a knife around, and I'm not able to escape, that my Christian duty is just to let him have his way. Besides, you can own a gun and still choose not to use it, but you have given yourself the choice.

This issue takes on a whole new dimension for parents, because now I am not just making a choice whether to defend myself but whether to defend my children. Not owning a gun means severely limiting your ability to defend your family in a "home invasion" scenario. Collin, in particular, felt responsible to use any available means to ensure our safety. While it's conceivable that he might feel led not to defend himself in some situation, he can never imagine a situation where he would not be responsible to defend his family. And if he had to choose between the safety of his wife and sons and a criminal, he would choose the safety of his family.

I realized in the end that my ideas about guns had been shaped by mass media and that I hadn't come to my conclusions based on my own thought, experiences, and research. That's how I found myself on Wednesday night squeezing off shots from a .22 revolver (the .38 hurt all the way into my teeth!). I wasn't ready to fire at a man's silhouette, but I put those little .22 slugs as close to the center of the target as I could.



Epilogue...While we were at the range we ran into a member of our parish who herself had just purchased a handgun. She told us that a woman in our congregation had been murdered last month by her ex-boyfriend as a result of an ugly custody battle. It reminded me again of the need to be prepared to defend myself, particularly as a woman.

By: Collin and Brittney