"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

   I know, I know...I did promise that I would post more frequently, but we've been busy going through our day to day, and somehow time has just gotten away from me. Whomever said that the days are long but the years are short, was right on the money. Lately, I've been feeling like I did when I was teaching, as I would excitedly prepare for the new year with anticipation, while I would desperately try to clench onto those last days of summer. Where has the summer gone?
 
 Brief update on Hunter...
  We are so over cast #3. Two and a half months is more than long enough for a little man to be in a cast in the summer months. I can tell that he's starting to itch, as he keeps pulling at his undershirt. He is starting to smell a little like a stinky foot, not to mention that it is still pretty tight on his little tummy. Lucky for us, we are in Dallas and Hunter will be the new owner of cast #4 in about 12 hours. Yay for a bath and a new cast!
  Hunter was down to 25 degrees in this last cast. Please pray that he receives good correction in cast #4. Little Man will be two on September 7th and research has shown that little nuggets get the best correction prior to age two. I will post an update later in the week when we have a better idea of his progress.
 
 While most of my posts thus far have been related to Hunterman, today I want to brag on my husband. If you've never met my partner in crime, he is husband, father, son, and friend. James is kind-hearted, intelligent, and lovingly sarcastic, while being a wonderful provider, faithful listener, and fervent supporter of my dreams and ambitions. He makes me laugh and is the type of person that has never met a stranger. He has the admired characteristics of several men that I have held dear to my heart: my maternal grandfather-Ansel Holmstrom, my dad-Ron Schlabach, my step-dad-Mike Litterst, and the husband of one of my close friends-Bill Farney.
I couldn't have chosen better myself ;) Praise God for divine design!
  In November, we will have been married five years and have been together for seven years. It seems like the blink of an eye, although he might tell you it feels a lot longer. Ha!
Some people would say that we are still in the honeymoon stage. Several people have told us to wait until we are married 10+ or 15+ years and we will be tired of one another and be glad when we have some much anticipated time away from one another. Honestly, I hope that is not the case. Over the last year, James has worked from his home office, with some speckled travel. This may be too much togetherness for some, but we have enjoyed it and truly miss each other when we aren't together, even if it's for one day.
  At the beginning of last week, James left for China on a business trip and to be nice/politically correct, however you'd like to label it, the trip the was, in short, a comedy of errors. I won't go into all of the ridiculous details, but let's just say he's glad to be back in the U.S. He was flying standby and tried to leave China beginning late last Thursday evening to return home. The poor guy didn't catch a flight home until Saturday morning our time (Saturday evening in China), which put him flying into Dallas around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. I told him that I would meet him in Dallas, as we would be making our way here Monday, today, for casting and he chose to fly to Austin yesterday morning to meet us. He slept in the airport Saturday night and caught what he thought would be a 30 minute flight from Dallas to Austin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning. After a power outage, mechanical delay, and thunderstorm delay, that 30 minute flight became a 2+ hour delayed flight. He finally made it to Austin about 11:30 Sunday morning. I may be getting soft or it could have been all of the pregnancy hormones, but watching Hunter spot his daddy coming down the escalator and begin grinning from ear to ear made me tear up. When James got off the plane he told me that he missed us so much otherwise he would have just let us meet him Monday. How sweet is that?! I have to say, Hunter and I are pretty lucky.
   Recently, James, Hunter, and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of one of my former athletes, Kelsey Kniffin. Beautiful wedding, handsome groom, and gorgeous bride. While we had never met her groom before that night, the ceremony was such that James and I left feeling like we had known him for years. It was obvious by that way that Michael looked at Kelsey that he completely adores her. You can only wish for your children, athletes, and loved ones that they find a person to walk through life with that truly compliments them. No, I didn't say completes. I don't swoon over the quote from Jerry Maguire, "You complete me", because I believe each person in a partnership or marriage, should be a complete person within themselves. We are blessed by the people that the Lord chooses to perfectly pair us with to compliment our lives.
  James and I are hardly at a milestone in our marriage where I should give marital advice. Maybe another 10+ years when we know everything there is to know and are tired of each other.
Just kidding ;) As a former English teacher and quote fanatic, I will share this poem that sums up my sentiments.

"The Art of Marriage"

By Wilferd A. Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.

A good marriage must be created.

In the art of marriage the little things are the big things..

It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;

The courtship should not end with the honeymoon,

It should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude 

or duty of sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation 

and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, 

understanding, and a sense of humor.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship where the independence is equal, 

dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

While it would be a wonderful blessing to be married to your spouse for 50+ years, in this crazy little thing called love, it's not the number of years but the time in those years spent together.