Spousimony

{Inspired by this post/story}

I know my love and marriage is true and wonderful. Aaron is just a great guy. Really. Here a few bragging points:



• He makes Mother's Day special every year (starting when we were dating!)
• He proposed so sweetly for our civil marriage and got on one knee again to ask me to be sealed to him
• He is the best father EVER, and he loves taking care of Kai when I'm running around at night
• He supports me in all my crazy ideas and endeavours. Example - he is teaching a partner yoga workshop with me next weekend!
• He's taken care of me twice with a nasty stomach virus without complaint
• He's open-minded and loving to everyone
• His mind is amazing!
• He returns calls, texts, and emails as soon as he can
• He is like an 11 on the hotness scale
• He is humble, wants to do the right thing, and has great faith in the Savior
• He shares the chores, often doing a majority of them
• He's a little hipster, little West Coast, pretty manly, really cool Mormon



Sending Aaron all my love. Mwah!

Who are those loonies?

Ahhhh, yes. I know them.

Pics taken by Shallyse, our talented ward photographer (also took our maternity and newborn photos) at the 2011 Fancy Dance, a fundraiser for our church youth.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E

...An oft heard quote among our circles. I found this post from The Mother Huddle blog (which I love):

Displayed on a shelf in the entry way of my mother’s home is a book entitled To A Child Love Is Spelled T-I-M-E. I have often thought about that statement and how much truth it holds. It’s easy for us to say “I love you” but those three words, devoid of action and the gift of our quality time, are simply that—just words. As we celebrate this season of sentiment and affection, let us show our littlest valentines just how special they really are.

40 simple ways to show your child love

1. Take them to a movie they want to see.
2. Go on a treasure hunt (collect all the loose change around the house/car) together and then make a trip to the arcade with your findings.
3. Take a long nature walk together, at their pace. Let them lead the conversation.
4. Find qualities about them that you genuinely love, and compliment them in front of others.
5. Frame a photo of the two of you, and display it in their room.
6. Put a few Hershey’s Hugs in one of their coat pockets, and Kisses in the other.
7. Play a game with them.
8. Let them win.
9. Make bath time special. Add lots of bubbles, colored soaps, maybe you could purchase a new tub toy or let them play with things found around the house. I let my kids play with things like colanders and funnels from the kitchen—they love it. Don’t forget to warm the towel!
10. Send them a handmade card in the mail with a coupon to go get ice cream with you.
11. Gather all the home movies that feature them as the “star” and have a movie night complete with popcorn and treats.
12. Using blankets and chairs, or a card table, build a clubhouse together and have a picnic inside.
13. Read “I love you” books together.
14. Let them stay up past their bedtime with you and watch cartoon classics together.
15. Do a chore that is normally reserved for them.
16. Tuck an encouraging note inside their lunchbox.
17. Give them your full attention.
18. Tell them some of the ways they make you happy.
19. Make them laugh.
20. Laugh with them.
21. Make their favorite treat to welcome them home from school with.
22. Show them your joy when they arrive.
23. Ask for hugs and kisses.
24. Listen, and let them make their own decisions whenever possible.
25. Make them a coupon book filled with things they’d enjoy doing, or things they’d like to get out of doing.
26. Take a day off from everything: work, household duties, technology, etc. and focus entirely on them.
27. Cook together.
28. Write them a poem using the initials of their name.
29. Decorate their room for no reason.
30. Create a sign that lavishes them with praise.
31. Kidnap them from school and take them out for lunch.
32. Make home a fun place to be.
33. Make a treasure box from an old shoe box, fill it with “gold” (chocolate coins) and make an official looking treasure map with clues for them to locate the hidden treasure with.
34. Go to the store and let them pick out all the ingredients to make banana splits. Make and eat them together.
35. Wrap up in a warm blanket together and take turns making up stories to tell each other.
36. Make a list of things you love about them and put it on their pillow before bedtime.
37. Talk about what they did in their day at dinnertime.
38. Sit down together and write a list of fun activities to do in a day. Write each idea on small slips of paper, roll up the papers and stick them inside balloons. Blow up all the balloons and then pop one balloon at a time until you’ve completed all the activities.
39. Play back rub/tickle games—ie; Spider crawling up your back…
40. Make a CD with all their favorite tunes and have a dance party.

A Broken Man

Last of my catch-up posts-

Aaron broke his leg!!!

He was playing in Turkey Bowl #3, caught the ball, cut, turned his ankle, which then broke his fibula clear through. Yikes! He spent a few hours in urgent care and then was put into a temporary splint. He was too swollen to cast, so he has been in an airboot ever since the accident last month.

It has been challenging, to say the least, for all of us. Aaron gets pretty frustrated with his situation (always having to elevate, using crutches, tripping over things, etc). I have had to do the vast majority of the housework (feeding, cooking, cleaning, etc) and take care of both of my boys. Aaron has adapted well to the crutches by now and he has become more self-sufficient. The timing was pretty poor with me going back to work, but we did get help from Mom and Dad P, thank goodness!

On the other hand, there have been laughable-it's-so-bad situations to come out of this. Example - we had booked a weekend vacation to Williamsburg following the break, which we couldn't reschedule. We went, with a rented wheelchair for Aaron, and found out 99% of the historic buildings don't have wheelchair access! Once we hopped over to Jamestown, however, we had full access to a Rascal. That baby was fast. I never thought I'd see the day...

2 Wonderful Years

Or 4 years, counting all the pre-wedding dating...

4 years ago, Becoming friends at the FBI Acad., 2006














3 years ago, Ryan/Whit's Wedding, 2007
















2 years ago, Our Wedding, 2008
















1 year ago, Brazilian Amazon, 2009












Talking to Baby, 2010












Aaron and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary last Monday. To be fair, we were too busy to celebrate - we put it off until Saturday. Then Saturday, I was too busy to celebrate, so we put it off until this upcoming weekend. We'll have a date soon, I promise!

These last two years have been absolutely wonderful - with all the love, growth, bickering, companionship, and passion combined. I am madly in love with my husband. Plus he's super hot.

When we moved aside work on Saturday to eat Thai takeout over a couple of candles (the improvisation since the date got cancelled), we discussed good memories from the last year. For both of us, the pregnancy has filled this past year with some awesome moments - deciding to start a family, finding out it worked, seeing the first and second ultrasounds, feeling the first kick, folding all the super-cute yellow onsies. It's made our love for each other and our capacity to add another life to our home bloom.

Happy Anniversary Love!

A Mother's Love

Mother's Love

Her love is like
an island in life's ocean,
vast and wide
A peaceful, quiet shelter
From the wind, the rain, the tide.
'Tis bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the West,
By tender Counsel on the South
And on the East by Rest.
Above it like a beacon light
Shine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;
And thro' the changing scenes of life
I find a haven there.

Author Unknown

I have been richly blessed by the love and example of my mother, my mother-in-law, and the many women (mothers and one-day-mothers-to-be) who have impacted my life. Mother's Day provides a time to celebrate that. I am so grateful to all of you!

At the Towers' house, Mother's Day was once again wonderful. This is an area where Aaron really earns points. He has given me something for Mother's Day since we started dating, to honor my potential to be a mother and the nuturing qualities women have, mothers or not. This year, Aaron bought me a beautiful potted hydrangea and an attachment parenting book. We took a picnic out of our fav spot in Raleigh, and he worked on our garden all weekend long in his free time. Of course, his card was great too - he always wins me over with his sweet cards! How did I get such a perfect companion....

One Year Sealed!

Last Sunday (4/11/10) marked one year since Aaron and I were sealed for eternity. One year ago, we headed up the Washington, DC to make an eternal committment to one another in the DC LDS Temple. It was a very special day for us, which we were fortunate to share with family and friends. The sealer (priest authorized to perform the ordinance) mentioned angels were there watching over the event - this was really special.

It has been a truly wonderful year, filled with lots of joy. I couldn't ask for a sweeter, more thoughtful, or more balancing companion and spouse. Aaron and my eternal committment to each other and temple covenants really deepened our relationship; our perspective on family changed for the better. And, our little Baby Towers will be directly affected - our children will be "born into the covenant" and will be sealed to us eternally. It brings peace to know that our family can be together into the next life, even if we are separated in this earthly life for a while.

We celebrated the one year with homemade Chicken Parmigiana, homemade raspberry NY Cheesecake, going to serve at the Apex, NC Temple, and having dinner with our local Mormon missionaries (who were instrumental in helping me on my spiritual journey with my faith, and thus, the temple). It was fabulous.

Some of you may be thinking, "Wait, you guys got married in July, and I was there!" Yes, you are totally correct. We got married for "time" in July 2008 - a typical wedding where we committed to be together "till death does us part". We were not yet ready to enter into a temple, or eternal marriage at that time (I needed to take temple preparatory classes, make specific lifestyle changes, and be a member of the LDS church for a year first). When that time came and those changes were made, we went to the temple and made a deeper committment. This eternal marriage can last beyond "till death does us part" if we live and keep our temple covenants, which is really amazing.

If you are interested, here is a short video (3 min) about Mormon temples. Here is another.

You're Mine, Valentine

One word - IRRESISTIBLE

My husband is so dreamy. This is one of my absolute favorites pictures of him - he is tan and holding a lot of money. Enough said.

When I first met Aaron I thought, "What a great smile" and "Way out of my league". Fast-forward 6 months later, we are dating and learning about this whole new side of each other. The more I learned and continue to learn on a daily basis, the more I think "Yep, definitely way out of my league". Now, that goes not only for his dashing good looks, but for his warm heart, his faith and devotion to the gospel, the love he has for his family, his natural knack with kids (good thing right about now, eh?), his humor, and his amazing constantly-working mind.

Some folks say that Valentine's Day is not for married folks, but I disagree. It's a day with extra moments I get to savor him, be grateful for him, and show him that I love him more than he'll ever know.