Take Ten

Ten years and ten days. That's how long I've had the blessing of marriage. When you add the five years before we said, "I do," Josh and I have been together for almost half our lives. What a journey it's been. Meeting during our undergraduate years at the University of Georgia meant supporting each other through graduations, first jobs, medical school, another graduation and eventually residency. By the time we celebrated our fourth anniversary, we had claimed our third mutual address. Later that year, we took the leap into the incredible world of parenting. And, suddenly five more years vanished and we've found a community to call home. I certainly had no idea ten years ago that I'd soon be a mother to two boys, much less living in a place called Habersham. Looking back on ten years, I might have guessed we'd buy our first home and start a family, but I couldn't have imagined the fantastic joy that would grow each day married to my best friend. So thankful for the blessing that he is each and every moment. I love you more than words can say, and I'm humbled to be on this journey with you by my side. Thank you for loving me!

Three Five

We spent the weekend celebrating my incredible hubby and his 35th birthday. Last year, Jack was a little excited about Daddy's birthday and exactly how we would celebrate. So, I'm learning everyone's birthday must be a big deal at our house, and that includes Daddy. So, on Thursday I got to work on Josh's favorite cake, which is a simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting. After my recent venture into cake baking for Sam's birthday, I decided I could make my own frosting, which turned out pretty darn tasty. Well, a simple cake won't do as far as Jack's concerned. He's four, so the question for weeks was, "Daddy, what kind of cake are you going to have?" Last year, we made him a cake with the General Lee on it. Lately, Josh and Jack have enjoyed watching Star Wars together so I decided on a Star Wars cake.

I picked out a couple of toys to decorate the cake, that would then be re-purposed as toys afterwards...genius, right? I told Jack which characters I had found to grace the cake, but that we were going to keep it a secret. About 5 minutes after I told him, he said, "Daddy, how would you like a Star Wars party?" Josh said, "That would be great. Was it supposed to be a secret?" Jack said, "Well, I'm not telling you WHO is on the cake!"

We were glad to have Josh's mom and dad join us Friday night to celebrate. Everyone enjoyed the cake, and Jack enjoyed helping blow out the candles and open presents.

On Saturday, we met up with my parents and brother and sister-in-law and Josh's sister and brother-in-law for dinner in Atlanta. Josh had the idea to eat at Fogo de Chao. A Brazillian steak-house, Fogo is a meat-lover's paradise. Of our party of 12, only two people had ever dined there. So, we were all excited about the experience. The little guys did surprisingly well. Sam is a steak guy, so he was golden. It was great fun celebrating all together and in such a fun place.

My Valentine

Just a quick shout out to my valentine. I hope you know how much I love you. How much I appreciate you. It is not just for the big things, although loving me, taking care of me and providing for our family is huge! I also appreciate the little things...

...like how when you were out of clean undershirts Monday morning, you didn't say a word. Instead you slipped a silly Dukes of Hazard tee (the boys & I gave you for Christmas) on under your sweater before leaving for work this morning.

...like how you always call on your way home from work and ask if I need you to pick up anything, which I rarely take you up on, because I can't bear to keep you away from your haven or delay you any further from seeing the two boys whose faces light up like firecrackers when Daddy walks in the door.

...like how you always kiss me goodbye in the morning, even though I'm almost always still in the bed mostly asleep (oh, how real school will change that soon enough).

...like how you brag to your friends (or anyone else) that will listen about how I know more about Georgia football than you do (even if it's not exactly true.)

Many (probably too many) moments pass without me saying or expressing how much I love you, but I hope that you know how much you mean to me. Thanks for being my valentine. I love you!

Merry merry

It was an incredibly merry Christmas at the Garrett household. I'd like to upload a bunch of wonderful photos from our celebrations with family this weekend, but I'm in full recovery mode already. I'm busy trying to sort through the cardboard jungle, organize all the new toy instruction guides, downsize the enormous baked goods/sweets collection that has accumulated over the last several days, prepare for one more set of visitors and host a post-production party. So, for now, you'll just have to trust me when I say it was a very merry Christmas for us. Hope the same was true for you and yours!

Oh, and almost forgot to mention a visit to see Daddy at the ER tonight, and unfortunately it was not for mere fun! Jack took a tumble and went flying towrds the ground, but the first thing to hit was his face on the corner of the keyboard tray of the computer desk. Thankfully, a little glue is all Josh thought it needed, and Jack was incredibly brave and didn't cry at all while Dad preformed his magic.

Shout Out

The other day I found myself thinking about how incredibly blessed I am to have such a wonderful best friend in my sweet husband. Yes, he works incredibly hard, but I'm continually amazed at his ability to balance all the responsibilities and stresses without any complaining or attempts to claim martyrdom. He doesn't typically walk in the door at 5, but I can usually expect to see him by 5:45 on most days. Last Friday, he got home at 7, and then grilled steaks for the two of us to eat for dinner. After all, that had been the plan earlier. I offered an alternative, but he refused and happily headed to the grill. Of course, one might say since leftovers were the alternative...it wasn't really a choice now was it? I know he wasn't happy to be arriving home a mere 90 minutes before bedtime for the boys, but he didn't show it.

I go through phases/cycles when I'm sure I can be pretty frustrating to live with. These can often cycle along with whatever stage the boys are going through. Is it a particularly difficult phase? Maybe it's a day that Sam is refusing to use any word other than 'no.' Perhaps Jack has determined that 12 minutes in his room is a sufficient rest time. So, when Daddy walks in the door to basically "save the day," I'm typically thrilled to see him. Other times I can be frustrated at how long it has taken for him to get home or that the boys go into berserk-er mode when Dad gets home. I can get super irritated when he has to turn around and walk back out the door 30 minutes later for a meeting. I like to think that I've gotten a little better at not getting so frustrated at having to share my best friend. But even if some nights we only get a couple of hours together, just like on Friday night, he is giving us his best. On days when I'm spent, I'm ready to check out about the time dinner rolls around. I'm sure he feels the same way, but he walks in the door and gives us his all. We don't get leftovers. He leaves all that other stuff behind. He carries the weight of so many responsibilities, but wouldn't dare think of having us see that load.

I guess I just wanted him to know that I know not just how hard he works, but that I know he strives to give his family his best each and every moment. So, here's a little shout out to my husband. Thanks for putting up with me when I'm not so good at sharing you. I know my frustrations don't make it any easier for you. I hope I've done better at being your encourager and cheerleader rather than a nagger, because I'm definitely your biggest fan! I love you!

Game Day

On Saturdays in the fall we make the trek down to Athens to watch the Bulldogs play. Cheering for our alma mater is something Josh & I have always enjoyed doing together. Thankfully, my mom usually watches the boys for us. Last Saturday we had a couple of extra tickets and both the weather forecast and opponent looked favorable for an easy viewing...so, I talked Josh into taking Jack with us to the game. I think he had fun, but I also think he was pretty bored about 65 percent of the time. All in all, I'm glad we took him. It will probably be a while before he goes back, and I'm not sure he'll really be asking to go back anytime soon. He asked if we could go home after the first quarter. The sun was pretty bright, and he was a little farther from the action than at the Raider games on Friday nights.

First things first, we had to get rid of Pop's extra tickets. Here Uncle John is teaching Jack the fine art of scalping tickets.

All ready for kickoff!

I guess when the dawgs score 59 points in the first 3 quarters, you shouldn't expect too much more action in the 4th quarter. But that doesn't stop a true fan from claiming the 4th for his team!

Big Apple Scrapbook

I shared some reflections about 9/11 this weekend and posted a small snippet of a scrapbook I put together following mine and Josh's trip to New York that July of 2001. Here are a few more pages from the specific day we visited WTC. Ignore the attention to detail, stickers, etc. Obviously this was before I had kids.



Scrapbook cover sketch pays tribute to a NYC skyline that once was




How can you not?



From atop the pedestal at the Statue of Liberty. Who knew that skyline would change so dramatically in 2 short months?



We waited for about 45 minutes to ride to the "Top of the World." Well worth it.





And what else would two sweethearts do while touring lower Manhattan? Pose with the Heisman...obviously!




And, of course, finish the day at the Empire State Building and get engaged...ho hum!

 Basically, just an average summer Sunday touring New York City...nothing to see here, folks.

29...again

So, last week I celebrated the third anniversary of my 29th birthday. Yep, that magic 32. I like to think I'm pretty low maintenance and pretty non-demanding when it comes to birthday celebrations. But since my husband had plans to spend most of his weekend with an old friend from residency and their fathers at the PGA Championships in Atlanta, I think he felt like my birthday would be overshadowed by the arrival of our houseguests. So, I had a few exciting and unexpected surprises.

The boys and I joined friends for swimming, and Andrea (one of my sweetest girlfriends) brought a chocolate chip cookie cake for us to share. The kids took delight in singing and the sweet stuff was the perfect motivation to get the kids out of the water and ready for naps! Thanks, girls!

Soon after we arrived home, the doorbell rang. Jack and I answered the door to find flowers! Josh (and the boys) had sent a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers. A lot of girls say that flowers are a waste of money or they die too quickly, but I think they have such a way of brightening your day! I always loved getting flowers delivered when I was working in an office setting, since it lets your coworkers know you have an incredible hubby! Well, now, my boys know they have an incredibly thoughtful daddy!

With company arriving at some point that evening, we had planned on staying in. I was perfectly fine with a fun night at home as long as I didn't have to cook. I figured we'd just warm up leftovers. But Josh had other plans. He brought home a caterer! Yes, I heard another voice when he walked in from work and discovered a stranger in my kitchen. A stranger who could cook! We enjoyed fresh spinach salad with homemade dressing, chicken florentine, wild rice, asparagus and a yummy white chocolate mousse pie. And, she cleaned up too!! It was such a treat to spend time enjoying the boys and catching up while someone else prepared our dinner. Josh seemed pretty tickled that he'd managed to surprise me. I love surprises, and he sure pulled off a pretty good one!

On Saturday, I met several girlfriends to see The Help. It was full of laughter, a few tears and stuck pretty close to the incredibly gripping book. Afterwards we stuck with the sixties theme and had dinner and shakes at Fenders, a local diner. After serving as hostess to a few extra it was nice to get a break from the duties at Hotel Garrett for a few hours. Thirty-two aint so bad, in fact it's been one of the best birthdays ever.

back in the swing

Even though it's still in the 90s most days, summer is drawing to an end and school begins very soon. With the arrival of school comes the start to our new session of Community Bible Study. I'm super excited about our study on the book of Luke. Our 30+ week study on Genesis last year was such a blessing.

Our group meets on Monday nights, which can be somewhat of a challenge. You see, Josh works in the emergency room every. monday. night. He usually checks in around 7:30. Bible study begins at 7. Childcare is not typically provided. I was so thankful when God lead a very sweet high schooler from the neighborhood to our family. Every Monday night she walked over to our house to watch the boys while I attended CBS. It was a great fit for us. The boys love her, and after I weaned Sam, she would even put him to bed for me each week.

Unfortunately, it made for a rather hectic Monday night schedule. Josh usually arrived home to a nearly finished dinner, which was typically something easy and super fast. We'd have about an hour to eat, spend time together and get him off to work just before the sitter arrived. Needless to say, our Monday nights have been so much more leisurely this summer. Dinner can wait until 6:00! The boys have more time to play with daddy...although it makes goodbye harder with no talk of an arriving sitter.

So, as much as I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things next week when our CBS kicks off, I know it will be a return to our crazy and hectic Monday nights. Thankfully, God has always rewarded me and blessed me with my participation in CBS. It has always felt worth it to be there, and not just for the adult conversation, although that helps. I'm excited to see what He has in store for me this year. I'm ready to embrace the insanity that will be my Monday nights.

Eight

Today marks eight years of marriage for me and my beau. If our relationship were a child, it would be entering the teens this year. Yep, we've been together for 13 years.

In the last eight years (and the five before that), regular date nights at hip eateries have morphed into lunch dates at places that have kid's meals. Just a couple of weeks ago, I felt a bit curent as we waited in line on a Friday night for a movie premiere...but our stubs read 'Cars 2,' and we had a thrilled three-year-old bouncing around in line with us.

When you've been together this long you buy each other the same exact anniversary gift and reveal it to one another the day before your anniversary.

A lot has changed in 13 years, like our zip code (about 3 times). Much has changed since that day we said, "I do" eight years ago...but I think we'd both agree there's so much more to love about each other and the life we're building together. I love you, Josh!

Wedding Weekend

This weekend we journeyed back to Chattanooga for the wedding of Josh's cousin, Ryan and his lovely bride Julie. We were also able to spend more time with Josh's uncle who is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. At certain moments, the wedding was bittersweet knowing the father of the groom was unable to attend because of his current residence on the hospice wing of Memorial Hospital. Join me in praying that his pain is eased and those around him comforted.


Birthday Princess & her summer sipper

 We also managed a small belated birthday celebration for Josh's sister, Kristy. She is such a funny gal, and so much fun to celebrate. When I was expecting Jack a few years ago, my mom bought a couple of little gifts for after our ultrasound. Once we learned we were having a Jack instead of a Jill, the mini tiara my mom had purchased from a friend's jewelry store was set to be returned. Josh's sister objected and insisted on buying the tiara for herself! For the past three years, she has adorned herself with the mini tiara on her birthday. I was overjoyed to see her slip it on after we arrived at lunch Saturday afternoon.

"They call this a challenge?"

Speaking of lunch, we dined at Cheeburger Cheeburger, which has one incredible burger. The menu lists a burger called "The Pounder," which is nearly $11 and weighs in at 20 ounces before being grilled. If you finish the pounder, you get embarrassed/recognized with a photo on a Wall of Fame in the restaurant. Of course, Josh loves a challenge. So, of course he jumped on the opportunity to defeat a food challenge. I was so proud...

Waiting for the fun to begin

The wedding was so lovely, and the weather was perfection for an outdoor gathering by the lake. Ryan and Julie wanted all their neices, nephews and cousins to participate in the ceremony with a parade of sorts. The smaller ones rode in wagons and strollers, while the older kids pushed and pulled. Jack and Sam did pretty well, especially since we were working off limited naptime for Sam and zero napt for Jack.

And they're off...

Somehow they made it by the cupcakes without incidence

But, Jack gave the chocolate cakes an EYE-full!

You can see more of the fun in my May picasa album.

What A Catch

After seeing them at Wal-Mart recently, Jack started asked for a fishing pole. We told him that you have to be a big boy to get a fishing pole and he had to give up having a paci in his bed at night. After a few nights of almost agreeing, but then deciding, "I'm not bigger yet," he finally did it. So, the next day he got a fishing pole. He picked out Spider-man. He marched around the house with it for days, while I reminded him not to put it in Sam's face and to watch where he was swinging that thing.

Thankfully just a few days later on Saturday afternoon the weather and our schedules cooperated and we headed out to try out that Spider-man rod. Josh did most of the casting, and Jack was the official "reeler." I didn't have any hopes of catching anything and was already prepared to have to explain to Jack that you don't always catch something. I was sure this would be our last trip to the pond for a while. Well, on their third cast, Jack reeled in his first catch. He was surprised and excited.

Two casts later, he landed an even bigger fish. He even touched them, but seemed the most excited about watching them swim away. We didn't get too many more bites, which thoroughly confused Jack who was obviously thinking this fishing stuff is easy! Overall, it was a great success, and we're already looking forward to a return trip.

Birthday Week

I should've posted this earlier, but we've spent the last week or so celebrating Josh's birthday. Yep, he's 34 years old this year. So glad to have someone older and wiser as my spouse, but mostly just older! Here's how we celebrated our favorite guy/daddy.

There had been a lot of build up about dad's approaching birthday. Jack knew his birthday was Wednesday. So, that morning I told him it was Wednesday. He yelled, "It's Daddy's Birthday!" Later, the boys and I picked Josh up at his office to take him to lunch. Jack promptly suggested, "Let's go to the jumpy place!" Since that's where all the best parties seem to take place. So, he reluctantly agreed to settle for the local mexican restaurant. Afterwards, we returned to his office where his coworkers had a cake waiting. When we left Jack gave Josh a hug and said somewhat disappointingly, "I had fun at...your...birthday party, daddy."

Later at church, a precious friend brought a delicious homemade cake complete with candles for Josh. Jack was terribly excited. Then, after a slight delay, Josh arrived home from choir practice to find Jack and I waiting up with a birthday card and gift, both hand selected by Jack.

We continued our celebration on Saturday with Josh's family. We enjoyed a great early dinner at Maggiano's, complete with tiramasu, creme brulee and a homemade birthday cake. It was a dessert smorgasbord!

I regret I didn't make the time to post on your actual birthday, Josh, but we hope you had a great one and hope you know how special you are! We love you so much, and are so blessed and grateful to have you as my hubby and our daddy!

Love, Laura, Jack & Sam

Nice it is!

So, it's Valentine's Day, and I feel like I've eaten sweets all day long. And it took every ounce of restraint to keep from eating a slice of leftover birthday cake when I got home from bible study tonight. While contemplating what sort of sweet tribute to blog for my valentine this evening, I was reminded of a song that we enjoyed during our courtship.

I'm sure you're familiar with the song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys. Well, I'm more than familiar with it. The song was basically my mantra for a particularly tough span of time during our dating years. After dating for two years, Josh moved nearly two hours away to Augusta to attend medical school while I stayed behind to finish my senior year (and a half...but who's counting) at UGA. Long distance relationships are a lot of work, but add in a medical student who is studying most waking hours of the day and the typical requirements of senior classes, and you have a recipe for limited time together. We worked to find as much time in our schedules to see each other. Usually once every two or three weeks, I would venture to Augusta for the weekend or he would make the trek to Athens (especially during football season). To say the Sunday afternoon goodbyes were tough for me would be an understatement. The Beach Boys ballad seemed to be the only song to appropriately capture my feelings.

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long.
And wouldn't it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong.

You know it's gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up, in the morning when the day is new.
And after having spent the day together, hold each other close the whole night through...

We could be married, then we'd be happy.

I remembered the other day how much that song meant to me during that difficult time. It also made me think about the fact that now that all those things I was waiting on and wishing for to hurry up and get here, are now a reality. And, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't appreciate them as much as I should. I'm glad I got  that reminder. I not only have my forever valentine, but I get to fall asleep beside him and then wake up beside him for the rest of my life. Not only could we be married, but we are. And, we're happy. And, nice it is!

I love you, Josh!

VIPs

For those of you that might have seen my husband or his truck at base camp for the filming of the movie  currently taking place in our sleepy community (or at least heard he was there), I thought I'd fill you in on what he's been up to. Several weeks back a friend contacted him about the fact that a movie production company was looking for a local physician to service the needs of their cast while in town filiming scenes for an upcoming movie. He agreed to be available. Filming has been taking place for a few weeks now, and he had gotten no call. We almost thought maybe they had found someone else. Well, on Monday and then again on Tuesday, he got called to the set to see a few of the actors. Most of them were familiar to him and somewhat famous actors but none were the actor or even this actor. Although, he tells me he did have a brief brush with Ms. Anniston as she was kindly asking about the well being of one of her castmates.

Despite his time with the Hollywood crowd, the biggest VIP he's treating this week may very well be his first born. Jack spiked a fever Tuesday afternoon and was a pitiful sight. A few other symptoms arose and today we got our first dose of antibiotics to treat what looks like strep. Hoping he doesn't share his ailments with anyone else in the house. He seems to be taking it pretty well, especially since it means watching lots of Toy Story and drinking lots of OJ.

the little things...

Sam is quickly creeping up on the five month mark. I would say in Jack's first five months of life, I probably caught him & Josh cuddled up napping/watching tv no fewer than two dozen times (and at least half of those I ran to get the camera).

These days Josh's time at home is typically monopolized by big brother and leaves little opportunity for baby siestas on daddy's chest. Josh's afternoon off is on Tuesdays, and he often uses it to catch some zzzzz to make up for the all-nighter he pulls in the ER on Mondays. Well, since Monday was our anniversary, he took the night off...smart guy, huh? So, he wasn't sleepy on Tuesday afternoon...but when Jack took his nap as usual it looks like Sam found the best spot in the house...cuddling with daddy!

Seven

Yesterday marked seven years of marriage for me and Josh. I can't decide if I can't believe it's been seven years or if it's more unbelievable that's it has only been seven years. Since we dated about five years before we married, it's hard to remember a time when we weren't together and a part of each others' lives. But, I don't remember life being this sweet, fulfilling, exciting, funny and complete. Thanks for making me so happy! Love you, Josh!

Celebrating Dads

I find that communicating true thanks can be difficult. On Father’s Day, I have a few folks to be incredibly thankful for. The first would be my husband. Those that know him would describe him as smart, funny, outgoing and kind. He’s truly excels at whatever he puts his mind to. He must really have his mind on this fathering business, because it is a true joy to see him blossoming as a daddy to Jack and Sam. Thank you for all that you do on a daily basis (there is much too much to name) for our family. We treasure you and honor you on not just this day, but every other one as well!

I’m also thankful for my own father. He was an incredible example of faith and purposeful living growing up and still is. He’s a truth seeker, and the kind of guy folks go to for perspective. I guess he’s most widely known as a writer or journalist, but his best material is the story he writes each and every day with his actions.

I’m thankful as well for my father-in-law. Neither Josh nor I would be the parents we are without the solid upbringing and outpouring of love and support we received growing up. Thank for living as an example to your family!

And because it’s Father’s Day, I feel the inclination to give thanks for my heavenly father and my faith, in general. It’s not something I blog about a lot, but I am a child of His, and how wonderful that is! So, today and every day, I should give thanks!

For Anyone Else

Would he accept grimy handprints, goldfish crumbs and snot on his nice white golf shirt for anyone else?

Would he gladly surrender his last bite of M&M Blizzard for anyone else?

Thanks for being such a great dad! Big thanks for taking such great care of me yesterday evening and making sure that (despite the fact mom wasn't eating) no one went hungry. Would he do all this for anyone else?

Of course...he would! Just look at me!

A Plain Old Great Day

Well, Sunday started off far from "great," but it sure finished strong. Josh was showering, Sam was fed and I was pretty much completely dressed and ready for church (things were great and on schedule for me to arrive early to teach a preschool Sunday School class this week), when I went upstairs to get Jack up and dressed. I was greeted with a bit of a mess. Seems our big guy had a bit of an upset stomach during the night.

Of course, my mind immediately recalled a crying spell heard over the monitor sometime around 3:30 that I pretty much ignored thinking he'd go back to sleep...which he did. Now, I felt like a complete failure for having ignored my sweet son's pleas for help. My poor child had called for me and eventually gave up. I had disappointed him. Thankfully my husband reassured me that I had not in fact scarred our son for life and that I was a fantastic mommy. He also volunteered to stay home with the boys.

So, I drove off to church still feeling the heavy burden of mommy guilt. But, as four-year-olds arrived one after another, I was met with smiling faces and eager hearts. I sat in on the beginning of the service to watch the graduate recognition and the sweet slideshow that preceded. I cried for the second time that morning. After a dash to Ingles for Gatorade, I arrived home to find three happy boys. Jack had even had a bit to eat with no incident.

I fixed a quick lunch and then everyone took a nap. Mine was interrupted by a hungry three-month-old, but I quickly got him satisfied and back to dream land. Naps are so much more satisfying when the whole house is indulging! Jack awoke still feeling good. So after a bath, we headed to church for his end-of-the-year preschool celebration and program. As you can see his part was very minor, but fun nonetheless.


What better way to celebrate the end of the year than a trip to McDonald's, right? We finished our night out with a stop at the park. I have the incredible opportunity to spend many days with Jack and Sam at the park, usually with good friends alongside us. It is a rare opportunity to get to enjoy the park with daddy too. Jack took advantage by taking his first ever pass on the monkey bars...and it wasn't his last.