April Fools Anniversary

All Right. First off, doesn't this date fit us for our wedding anniversary? I love it. We have two and usually we can use one to finagle being together for. Also I just love it. 8 years is a long time. And looking at these pictures. Can we say HELLO young ones. The first pictures is supposed to be out "mature" photo. That's our very most recent. Like last month. And the one with me in the white dress ... well that's when it all began. Da right. But the other two are before and after Kemper's Korea tour. About the middle er so. We look so young. Like we need to get checked if we can drive at night. And the fun thing is we were old by Mormon standards at getting married. Yup. I was not freshly turned 18/19 and Kemper was not 21. So we had some years of surviving on our own. Learning and knowing that our butt can pay our own electric bill. (Something I tell all youth I ever see. That is one thing everyone should learn first hand prior to marriage. Learn what it's like to know you can pay your own bills.) Any how we laugh all the time at how young looking we seem. It's great now that we're in our 30's and still look in our early 20's. Yippee!

I know I should say something sappy about how much we love each other and all the things we go through together but that's just what life is. I said I do to him on one day. And now each day we both choose to be married. Weddings are just once but it's real life that's hard. So we both show up and that's how I know he loves me. Look. He's still here. Ha. So am I.


So this is some of the fun we did for this year. Brenner's 6 and in 1st grade, Beckett is 1 and home, I'm home and pregos (7 weeks and not showing at all) but no one here knows, and Brian is in class and work. Just so you know what we're working with.

So the fun began early in the morning ... or at least a couple weeks before. We got these strips to put on our suitcases that say "property of Brian Kemper" and I thought they would be great on us. Ha ha ha. Yeah they were. I knew it would be too. We put them on early in the morning and Brian was laughing so hard.
1. Property of tags. Just explained.
2. Magic milk. I put three drops of food coloring on the bottom of the cereal bowl and cereal on top. Then when Brenner pored his own milk and started eating the milk changed colors. "Whoa!" He loved it.
3. Funny name tags / buttons. We walk to school with about 6 kids everyday from our circle and made up some buttons for everyone to wear. They all had so much fun picking them out.
4. Stitch pregnancy tummy. I stuck a stitch pillow under my shirt with the property sticker for the kid. It was so funny. You could see that it was too high, I wasn't yesterday, belted in the middle so bad. It was so funny. I see people and just say "Happy April fools." Then they'd laugh. But side note....I got severe nasty looks from people at school. I see these people 5 days a week twice a day and they just glared. Not the weird looks I was expecting but nasty looks. When I did catch their eye I'd say my line and then they'd get it and laugh. but that was rare. I was shocked. But that still didn't keep me from wearing it for the afternoon pick up.
5. Crazy lunch. Cupcake of meatloaf with mash potato frosting. Pound cake grilled cheese with icing cheese.
6. Broken furniture. We'd ordered a new bedroom set in January and one piece came two times broken and it had to be reshipped. I told Kemper it was again. He came home and it was there! Yeah.
7. Twins. My brother & his wife are expecting and they told Kemper it was twins and he bought it. He told me and I said no he's not it's April fools. My mom bought it so bad she started crying when he had to call back to tell her it was a joke. She was mad for about two days.
8. Change clocks. Move them ahead one hour. Tip: don't do it back or you'll get less sleep for work the next day but it's kinda fun to tell the kids the next day and enjoy the extra time.
9. Funny note to school about brother eating his homework. We just thought it would be funny. The teacher was good too. Said something like to be sure to feed the brother before you start the homework next time.
10. Beckett messages. This is what was at the front door when Kemper came home. We found these stickers and couldn't resist sharing it with dad.

I know I haven't posted in months. But there were times I could jot stuff down that I wanted to share and since I'm going to do the book thing at the end of this thing I want to update my "world". So I'm just being polite to tell you. Brace yourself baby. Random things are about to be posted. Not all of it in order or for any good reason I guess. But hey. That's like with amillion.

Whoa! What happened?

Okay so life is still rolling along here. I'm the new kangaroo. I have one little person that just has to be with me to save his life. That is unless Daddy is home. That is great. He also is a very demanding and high maintenance kind of kid. Don't know how I did that one other than being the kangaroo mama. So I am going to be royally messed up because the pouch is already getting filled again. Yep it's happened to me. We're pregnant. Now after the shock has faded away. (Actually lasting three full days of panic attacks and hyperventilating.) 3 weeks of complete denial and lesser shock. 11 weeks of hourly morning sickness 24/7. Before getting some SERIOUS meds to help me not have to be hospitalized. We are now 13 weeks along. Still shocked this baby has held on but I'm moving into excited (had to do with your head in the toilet/bag with a 1 year old trying to paint with it as you try to hurry to go pick up the 6 year old at school.)

Brian's a different story. He's been over the moon excited since he found out. Thrilled actually. But then again aren't all men excited when they hit the bulls eye? Brenner's also excited and wants it to be a girl. Asking what I'm making today for the baby and was excited and scared when I told him, "A tail." Then proceeded to see if he had one. The next week I told him, "I'm taking the tail off." "Oh that's good mom. No body really wants a tail. Thanks mom." I do what I can.

So I will have a 7, 1, and none year old at birth. Can you tell my math is off? I really was quite good at it math. There was a deployment in there but that's really not the reason for the gap. Now I'm stunned with what to do with two close in age. I guess I'll find out.

I'm following in the footsteps of some very smart women. (I'm actually not being sarcastic here. They're very intelligent.) So that is what is giving me the faith that I can do this because the proof is in their pudding. So a big shout out to the moms that have babies under a year apart. Or find out before the "baby" turns one. L.G., S.A., E.H., M.C., C.G., M.C.,S.M.,N.E., K.C., S.G., & many more I'm sure I'm forgetting. I left you some anonymity but you'll know who you are. I didn't want to "out" you in case you've been relocated and have gone under the radar.

But I must say that mainly there is one person in particular that inspires me. She would and had climbed many a stirrups in a paper gown to try and be in my shoes. Many a probe, poke, blood draw, chart, and time table. She is what is making me remember it's not about the nausea and fear of two in diapers. It's about the miracle that is happening inside. Thank you J.K.

obnoxiously cute

This week something amazing happened to me. Whellll sort of and sort of not.

I ruined dinner... that's the not....well the weavels in the rice really should get the credit for that one. They did after all have to climb to the top of the hot cream of chicken soup to show themselves before dieing. Yeah. Real gross. So after seeing that I made the Command discision that we were going out to eat. Off to Subway we go. Sitting there in the food court we all talk and laugh about regular day things. Just the same as we would at home. Minus the yelling to eat your food because after all at the food court you have this ginormous brightly colored apparatus beaconing small people to hurry and eat to come play. We should look into owning one of those. Anyhow. Brenner was off to play and Brian and I were just sitting there talking and Beckett was playing and eating some bread when a friend of ours walked up and said something weird. "Are you guys sooo cute all in love and together or what?!" Now we just looked at each other and smiled thinking that 1. we've been married too long to be that "lovey dovey" look and 2. her new husband is freshly deployed and she's heading for training from her little guys and missing her man(s) and 3. just an odd thing to hit you when eating Subway. Nothing against Subway but it's not a romantic or "Super special meal" type stuff.

But the thing is that I just can't stop thinking about it. I'm so lucky. Lucky that I've found this man in my life that I love and like and miss and want to be with. And frankly still want to be around. I think that is one of the most genuine feelings. Wanting to just "be" with a person. Like working on a project in the same room with the other person just to be near them. I'm lucky that after all these years He still loves me back. That I get to choose everyday to be married to him. And that he chooses back. Now mind you some times it's not the easy "roses and doves and cartoon hearts" choice but still it's the best choices I've ever made in my life. Everyday.

So I guess this girl that told us that was right. We are in love and it does show through to the rest of the world. I guess I do still look at Kemper and swoon. He does make my heart skip a beat. I can't wait to sit next to him on the couch, at the table, at church, in the car, or anywhere. I remember watching movies and you see the people fall in love and the music montague goes on and shows them over a couple of weeks falling in love or a couple of years living their lives in love and you think, 'Oh that would be so great." But I don't have any background music helping me out. I wish I did. But what I do have is a partner. Someone that holds me in the middle of the kitchen to show me he loves me. Even if he's still in his PT's. That's the music of our marriage. The give and take. The work. The sacrifices. The recognition of the effort of the other for you. For your beniefit. For no other reason that "I love you." Plain and simple.

So I said I was lucky to have him and now that I say these things that's a lie. I'm not lucky. What I am is blessed to be able to love this man and honored that loves me back. Intently, intensely, ferousiously, purposely, and quietly. I don't think that you can "find the love of you life." I think you love and your life happens together. I love my life. I love my family. I have all of this because a girl and a boy love each other.