July 25, 2013 After a long day of work and late night of baking, at midnight I was captivated by “The Notebook” – a movie I’ve seen just once years ago. I see why people strongly resonate with the seemingly star-crossed lovers, who moved on to live physically separate but spiritually connected lives. Not only would they overcome seven years of separation and differing social backgrounds, but they chose to seek a passionate love despite their divergent personalities. Like many,…
Marriage requires Faith
December 3, 2012December 3, 2012 When my husband asked if he could volunteer with the nonprofit group, Team Rubicon, in Hurricane Sandy’s relief effort I was initially apprehensive. Firstly, handling a business and three tiny children on my own is already a tumultuous task. Secondly, I had a scheduled photo shoot with Sacramento Parent magazine and live television interview with Good Day Sacramento on the days he wanted to be gone. I didn’t want him to go – but I knew that…
Chasing the Fairytale
August 14, 2012August 13, 2012 No marriage is perfect. I haven’t witnessed one marriage that truly epitomizes the ideal marriage found in the fairytales I read when I was a little girl. As pretty and perfect many of the photos people post on Facebook appear to be, I know there is an underbelly behind those seamless smiles…a reality seeped with bitter altercations, indifferent opinions and uncompromising lifestyles. No two people are exactly the same, which makes sharing a life quite difficult for…
My hero.
May 7, 2012May 7, 2012 I knew I would marry a hero. I’ve always been drawn to inspirational men. Men who have a story. Men who have a passion… Men who want to make a difference. It’s Monday afternoon and my sweaty husband just came home from painting one of my parent’s care homes. Not because he was told – but because he volunteered. He does that often. He volunteers to take pictures for a family event, to barbeque at someone’s party…
Men are from Mars…
May 2, 2012May 1, 2012 On Saturday we attended a lecture of one of my favorite relationship authors, John Gray. He wrote the series of books, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” When I first read that book, I was sixteen years old and experiencing a break up with a person I dated for only two months. Reading about the differences between men and women were a revelation to me. At the time, I thought I was undergoing the rubber…
Our Life Bucket List.
February 10, 2012February 9, 2012 A few years ago David whimsically declared that he would take me to Paris one day for Valentine’s Day. Naturally I balked and concluded that it would happen ‘one day’ probably in our fifties. At that time we didn’t own a house. I didn’t have a steady income. Our family was beginning to expand and our savings were very minimal. So I decided to include that in our “Life Bucket List” which we wrote together for our…
The Languages of Love
November 30, 2011November 29, 2011 Several years ago, I read the book “The Five Love Languages” by Dr. Gary Chapman. It described how people give and receive love based upon their idea of what love is. For some it’s words of affirmation, for others, it can be receiving gifts or physical touch. For me, it’s acts of service and quality time. I love it when my husband and I take long, lone trips together and talk in the car. When we went…
Defining Freedom
April 27, 2011April 26, 2011 Late Friday evening, Nicholas started showing symptoms of the stomach flu. The entire night was spent soothing him and doing laundry. The very next day I felt like a zombie as we packed up the car to set up for my mom-me group’s Circus-themed Easter Party. Not only was the day mildly cold, but I felt sick, I had no sleep and I felt incredibly exhausted. While the park was soon surrounded by balloons, games, BBQ and…
A parents gift…
February 12, 2011February 11, 2011 David and I are leaving for Europe today. In approximately eight hours we will be flying to Spain where we will spend the next couple of weeks traveling to Italy, Greece, Turkey and more. It will be an amazing adventure with my husband, a welcomed vacation from the very busy life we exist in every day. My mother-in-law has flown in to help my mom watch the boys. I already emailed a detailed itinerary of our travel…
Our wedding day.
December 15, 2010December 6, 2010 On November 27, 2010 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, David and I exchanged vows to be life partners, spiritual soul mates and unconditional friends for the rest of our lives. As silly as that sounds in the 21st century, it’s the biggest goal of my lifetime a daily commitment we will work towards forever through good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live… Those words…