Michelle + Scott

Over the weekend, we went to my cousin  Michelle's wedding. My 4th "cousin's wedding" I've attended thus far, and the most marvelous to date. 

These two are just the kindness, most sweetest people. A great reminder that it's always worth holding out for the one who will put you first. Beautiful things will happen when you do.

We first "heard" of Scott {who we somehow jokingly referred to as Steve} during our Milwaukee trip to another cousin's wedding. Michelle was just gushing over this new guy. Then we met him at Ezra's second birthday shin-dig and could see firsthand what the hype was all about. :) They both stayed later at my parents after the rest of the guests left and Scott was so genuine. We could tell right away that he was a keeper.

And now here we are celebrating them! 

The wedding was small, simple, and so gorgeous. I loved the cozy feel and the flowers were amazing.

Every girl should sport a giant flower that's bigger than your own head at some point in life, right?! Check.

{It's so nice to clean up every once and awhile. In an attempt to copy an up-do from pinterest, I learned that W is very hairspray savvy. He even learned how to put in a bobby pin or two.}

Besides all the cute little details at the reception, I also loved that they served J. Lohr wine!!! The wine I fell in love with during our Cambria trips. Scott happens to work there, so I'm hoping for some future discounts. ;) Right, Michelle?! They are big winos so the theme was threaded throughout the reception.

Her dad's speech was the sweetest ever. I definitely teared up several times. He even brought a few favorite show-and-tell items from her childhood--her elephant slippers and bike bell.

Such a joyful night! I'm so excited for Michelle and Scott as they start this wild, crazy and adventurous journey of marriage together! We're only five and a half years in, but I have learned that it grows and strengthens you in ways you could have never foreseen on your wedding day. Here's to living out your wonderful story that God has already written for the both of you. Love you guys!!!!

Birthdays

This year, our birthdays fell on Wednesdays. For my big 3-0, we went downtown for a date night. We celebrated the night before with my parents during family dinner. 

The following week, the boys and I made W a birthday cake and dinner. We kept it simple.

It was Theo's first time baking with us. He's a fan.

This past family dinner was W's turn. He got to pick the menu.

And this weekend, we head out of town to celebrate together, yet again. Because 3-0 could really be considered a big deal. And because I'm in need of a getaway. I love it when birthday celebrations last longer than just the day. ;) HUGE thanks to gap + gma for enjoying your grandsons this weekend!

Celebrating 5 Years

{attempting to catch-up before something big happens..like a baby arriving. hopefully, we'll be up to date soon and back to regularly scheduled blogging. Ha!}

This year was a fabulous anniversary year! On our actual anniversary, we swapped gifts {of wood, since we follow the traditional gift list.} and went to eat at a lovely place downtown {read: it pays to hold on to gift certificates until you can actually use them}. 

Then the first weekend of this month, we headed into the city for a combined anni/babymoon getaway. We've been wanting to see the Lion King for.ever. I'd seen it when I was in 8th grade on Broadway with my parents and remember how AMAZING it was. So, we splurged and got great seats a few rows back from the stage. Worth.every.penny. And then some. 

Beyond the performance, we ate great food, napped, and enjoyed the simple pleasure of just being the "two of us" {+ baby in utero, of course}. It was absolutely marvelous and I'm glad we sneaked it in before she comes.  Count down has definitely started!

Showering with Love

Hop over to Newlywife to check out the fun, lavender-filled shower we threw for my sweet friend, Lindsay! Who's getting married THIS month! YAY!

Craft Date Night

Okay, I know. I'm head deep in craft posts lately. And I love it. I really do. I was in such a dry spell during W's tax season and subsequent lay-off that I'm really embracing my motivation and just going with it. I thoroughly love the recent projects I've done, the monthly contributor news, the girls' craft night and a future craft night. I also got some really fun and exciting news that I hope to share soon. So I'm up to my ears in crafts. And that makes my heart happy.

William had a recent "aha!"-totally-awesome idea for our stay-dates {time we set aside for just us when we're at home}. We both have some strong interests that we talk about with each other and will often dabble in. But most of the time we're just shoulder-to-shoulder. I'm crafting, he's listening to podcasts about gun safety. I'm researching my next project while he's cleaning his fire-arm at the same table. In child development speak: we're parallel-playing. Nothing wrong with that. A few weeks ago, he came up with the brilliant idea of setting aside some weeknights to do some face-to-face time while doing one hobby together. We're not only interacting but we're also learning more about the others' passions. That man of mine!

We started with a craft. :) I gathered some supplies for a basic project that I was wanting to add to our master bedroom. I figured it was a great start...it including maps and all. That caters to a man, right?! Once the kids were down, we got to crafting. 

Supplies:

-Maps {free from AAA}

-Three picture Frame {clearance from Marshall's}

-Cricut

-Scrapbook paper {gray, light blue, and red}

 -Glue dots {or glue stick}

-Scissors 

-Pencil

Steps:

-I used the cricut to get a heart for tracing as well as the labels: "Met", "Married", "Live" and the little arrows

-W located our "spots" on the map then traced the hearts with pencil and cut them out

-I introduced W to glue dots while placing the arrows to mark our spots {he didn't love them but gave them a valiant effort}

-We glued the maps and labels to the gray background paper

-Put it all into the frame

And got this final product! :)

 

Now it's his turn to cook up our next activity!

Brown Paper Packages

...all tied up with string. These are a few of my favorite things!

Cooked up something fun for this Valentine's with the help of this. W gets to open a small treat every hour at 14 past the hour during his full day at work. And yes, his goodies are in way girly wrapping. One of them even has a polka-dot ribbon. ;) I put all his little gifts in a giant basket and even included a red felt puffy conversation heart that said "Love U". Total cheese!

We usually don't do anything too out of the ordinary for love day. Don't really exchange gifts. Last year, it was a delicious dinner made by W. This year, he's working a 10 hour day. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to do a little something extra for him. Just small gifts: candy, small random items that he'll like, a new shirt, a new toy for him and E to play with, and a few gift cards with small amounts to some of his favorite places.

Doing anything special with the one you love?

Four Years of Us

FOUR years

{taken just four years ago...right before our wedding}

THREE jobs

{black tie, t & d, and now ssf}

TWO boys

ONE full life

Happy anniversary to my hot hubby! I'm so thankful you made me your wife four years ago. On to the next 46.... :)

{anybody else notice that W changes his hair style as much as I do?? ;)}

Reason #708,534 Why He's So Great

...Taking care of this gigantic pile of clean clothes so I don't have to...

{Threw Theo in there just for size comparison. ;)}

50 Years In the Making

This weekend we got the privilege to celebrate Wes and Diane Wolford's 50th Wedding Anniversary. This couple has been pretty pivotal in my up bringing: they've known me since I was six and Diane has been an amazing mentor to my mom. In fact, the Wolfords are who God used to bring my mom and I to church way back when and as a result, to having a personal relationship with Jesus. Pretty cool, huh? So our current Swenson legacy-building is directly tied to the legacy that the Wolfords have created these past 50 years. 

It was our *very* first time we needed to get a 'real' babysitter for E because my parents also attended the celebration. We've have a friend come over a few times before but it was always after E was asleep for the night. So, it was the first time he got to play, be fed, and be put down for nap by someone other than family-- and thankfully, it all went off without a hitch.

It was such a joy to celebrate these two love birds with close friends and their family. Their two children, Eric and Allison, 'MC'd an amazing program that was hosted at Wente Vineyards {the place W proposed to me almost 4 years ago!}.

Some of our 'young and fun' table with my mom and Daniel {Allison's husband}. The others are Wes and Diane's niece, nephews and their families.

Throughout the afternoon, there was musical entertainment and the retelling of the last 50 years. That meant Wes and Diane's children and grandchildren retold their love story from the day they met until today. It was hilarious, tear-jerking, and beautiful. Threaded throughout the story, different people came up to share special stories about this special couple. Mom was one such person and she did wonderfully! Actually, phenomenally considering how much she loathes public speaking. ;)

Such a blessing to see how two people have been so faithful for 50 years.

Faithful to their marriage.

Faithful to each other.

Faithful to their God.

Faithful to their kids, grandkids and extended family.

Faithful to their friends.

It was truly beautiful and inspiring.

The union of two people becomes a union of many, many people. This one marriage has impacted and affected many others in a positive, life-giving way. They are fantastic role models that we are blessed to have!

The two love birds.

Reaching 50 years with W is most definitely on our 'bucket list'. Sometimes, I think we should just walk around in bubble wrap to ensure that it'll happen. I pray that God allows us both to be on this earth to celebrate our Golden Anniversary. Because death will be the only thing that separate us-- we may still be in our honeymoon phase, but I'm absolutely certain of that. Only 46.5 years left until we can celebrate...me with my orthopedic shoes and W with his unsightly nose and ear hair.

Happy 3 Years

to my one and only!! Seriously, the best three years of my life!

One of my favorite days!

Dearest Lover,

Thank you for helping to carry the heavy load that life sometimes brings.

Thank you for being so talented.

Thank you for being sweet in temptingly hard situations.

For making our life magical, regardless of what we have.

For committing to infinity and forever.

For making me laugh even when I'm sad or mad.

And for still being so hot, I can't keep my hands off you.

For loving life and being so goofy with me.

And thank you for being so tender and kind. For looking out for my best.

I love being your wife and getting to do life with you!! Even now when I think about our pairing, I'm blown away that God could design someone so perfectly matched for me. You are like no other that I know of. I'm so excitedly hopeful of the legacy we get to build together and the years to come.

I pray we get to grow so very old together.
And not just because I know you're great with diapers. ;)

With all that I am,
Me

Stocking Stuffers

Because our anniversary, E's birthday and Christmas are all within 2 weeks of each other, W & I decided to just stuff each other's stockings {speaking of which, I need to finish! eek!} for Christmas. We've gone pretty good in years past with both sweet, silly, and practical gifts. Here's what we've given in the years since we've known each other. 

Dating Year: earrings & tickets to a Charlie Brown Musical

Wedding Year: Long pearl necklace {favorite!} & a laptop computer (major discount from our computer-geek friend)

1st Year: Anthro headband and purple Hobo wallet {fav#2} & much needed Clarks shoes, Firefly series on DVD {fav past tv show}, Serenity {tv show made into movie}

Last Year: cookbook holder with splash-guard & undies and the best adult footed with butt-flap pjs ever {his fav!}

So I'm on the hunt for fun & creative stuffers. I think I may have found some potentials...

Eyeglasses straw

Whiskey Aftershave

Gold Gun Cufflinks

Firefly buttons {his fav. tv show..that's been canceled for awhile} W says "Shiny" all.the.time.

And because Ezra will be ONE next month, this little customized cutie may just have to be an additional purchase!

Wool Felt Crown

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?!

Another Day, Another Wedding

We went to a beautiful outdoor wedding yesterday at the Palmdale Estates. Originally part of Mission San Jose garden, this place was stunning & apparently a nunnery. Thankfully, the weather had cooled down enough to enjoy the outdoors. 

My favorite baby girl was there.

I really love going to weddings already married. I get to take my date home with me. It's just such a great reminder of the covenant we made 2.5 years ago. And to see how much we've grown since our wedding and to remember those jitters & butterflies from our big day. We love any excuse to celebrate marriage & family!

The bride looked absolutely gorgeous!

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Tony Santoro

(last three photos courtesy D.Bowen)