7

That would be the number of years Joel and I have been married as of yesterday. Although we were laughing and joking around by phone that we've probably only been together for about 6 1/2 of them, as he's been gone so much (ever the optimist, he told me that at least he's not military). So, how did we celebrate, you might ask?


Well, he had dessert with Jenny S, who's husband is also away during their 35th anniversary.

And me? Well, I celebrated by having power restored to our house after not having it for a couple of days (Liam takes after his Daddy and was praising Jesus that we still had a house-- we are all thankful, and continue to be prayerful for our dear friends in Illinois!), a clean fridge (the unfortunate result of our power outage)... and my water being shut off for most the day. I was going to go out for dinner with a couple of his coworkers (ironic, eh?), but my children had finally hit their breaking point from all the craziness and so we all just went to bed early.

They call it the 7-year itch... all I know is I'm itching for some normalcy back into our lives. :)


All whining aside, I am thankful to have been married to a godly man for the past seven years who showers me and my boys with love (even when he's not around), cares for those around him, whether medical patient or friend, and has weathered and survived all my emotions, helping transform me into a better person, by God's grace.

I may not have remembered a card (and actually needed to be reminded thrice that our anniversary was encroaching upon us), but I'm still so grateful...

... Happy (belated) Anniversary Joel Virkler!!

Book Review: Peace on Earth

Ever heard of Mary Engelbreit?

You have?! Well, once again... I hadn't.

She does have some nice artwork and lovely illustrations. She also came out with a new book, Peace on Earth: a Christmas Collection. It's a 40-page, illustrated collection of her favorite hymns and carols, quotes, poetry and short stories. It doesn't include anything about Santa, and all the selections are geared towards her theme of "peace on earth". I wasn't a fan however, as she seems to subtly imply that peace can come through the abilities of mankind, apart from Jesus Christ. Her illustrations of the Christ child also seem to include his mother, crowned with a halo.

For my full review, feel free to go here.

Autumn Gala 2013

Since Joel was already in town for his annual OITE testing, we figured we'd take advantage of our luck by going to Botsford's Autumn Gala. Once again, an attending (Dr. Faulkner, a trauma surgeon) was gracious enough to pay our $1,000/head (it benefited the Botsford Foundation) and we had a lovely evening of wonderful hors d'oeuvres and bellinis that eluded me, dinner with those fancy names you struggle to pronounce and an amazing dessert buffet. Oh, and good fellowship too. :)

This year, I didn't feel like shopping with three boys, so I cheated and bought a few dresses online and then let Joel pick out the one I should wear. And now that my mom is here to help, I can return the others! I borrowed gold shoes from Sarah, and was told I needed to have some type of necklace to help offset the black, so Lindsay let me borrow her costume jewelry! And Joel was extra thrilled that I straightened my hair for the first time in two years-- you know, special occasions ;)

Dr. Faulkner didn't like that he couldn't see my husband from across the round table. After a few phone calls back and forth, he finally just removed the centerpiece.

The three chiefs.

Funny story. Danya was dress shopping and found a similar dress at White House Black Market. She bought it and showed a picture to a few family and friends, including Joel that afternoon. He remarked that it was near identical to mine. Not wanting to be my twin, she found the ivory one lingering in her closet.

Table 38.

Lafayette/ Fort Wayne

I forgot that I never really posted these. We went to West Lafayette for a choir trip with our church and had soooo much fun staying with Paul and Miranda! Liam still talks about going back to see Trae. :)  Paul even graciously took our family photo for Christmas pictures (if you have moved or want to make sure you get one this year, let me know...). Don't worry though, we did get a more successful one then the pictures posted ;)  It is ironic however that my baby known for smiling did not grace us with a grin even once during the 31 takes.

Then, since I didn't want to drive back alone in the dark, I spent the night at the Stieglitz's with Joel.... really it was just an excuse for the boys to maybe get to ride a combine. And it worked. A bonus perk was that Tyler took Liam with him to deliver corn at the mill (Mommy's not allowed). And Daddy surprised us with Chick-fil-A, so Mommy was able to have it twice on her weekend trip!

For My Daddy

My mom has been out a week, and I haven't posted pictures. The unfortunate problem is, well, I haven't really taken any pictures, because I've taken advantage of her presence to hit up all my various health appointments and use her babysitting expertise while I made dinners with the Advocates and went to the Gala with Joel.

So thus far, this is really all I've got. And they aren't even good.

Sorry Daddy.

I will do better this week, I promise. :)

(Liam wanted to throw Nana a party, so the couple pictures below is them having a grand ol' time).