october 30

october 30th was a good day.  i took the adorables to aldi after dropping off maxer at school.  after the groceries were unpacked and lunch was served, bear bear and i did a spooky skeleton project involving construction paper and noodles.  then i made some chicken noodle casserole, fruit pizza and peanut butter brownies for the fam.  brad worked rather late in the pig coop fixing a heater, but was able to join us for the delicious dinner.  as the night was gray and chilly, we spent the latter portion of the evening telling scary stories in the fort the boys made behind the couch.  (brad started it off with a story about a camel named max, a donkey named weston and a beautiful princess named ayla.  then the boys told stories that strarted the same way.  not so scary as they were adorable)

once the babes were all tucked for the night, brad and i picked up a bit and then enjoyed the warmth of the down comforter we brought down from the storage room upstairs.

october 30th held beauty and peace and contentment.  

only because of another october 30th eight years ago.  that day i went to class, wrote some papers, spent some time on looking my best, and met the man who forever changed my life.

october 30th marked eight years since brad and i's blind date.  i was living with the schoonvelds at the time and they persuaded me to join them and their friends for dinner at tgi fridays to meet their friend's brother.  i felt a bit obligated as i was living with them free of charge, but i respected their opinion so i agreed. 

when 7 rolled in i opened their front door to reveal a dashingly handsome farmer with a big and loud red truck.  not knowing how to respond, i gave brad a tour of the schoonveld's home and started talking about anything and everything.  i remember complimenting brad on his truck, and telling him his beard worked for him.  o embarassing.  the night was super fun and culminated in me asking brad if he would call if i gave him my number.  poor man did not have a chance to say practically anything as is evidenced by the fact that i offered my number before he could ask. 

for all the awkwardness of that night, there was some profound goodness.  after knowing of each other for only 5 months, brad proposed.  3 months later we were wed. 

and throughout my day,
as i repeatedly set up the princess bowling set for my son and daughter to knock down,
as i attempted the first french braid in ayla jo's hair,
as i picked up my grinning kindergartener from school,
as i stopped in at my soon to be neighbor's house,
as i cleaned up our dinner dishes,
i sent silent prayers of thanksgiving for the blind date that brought me here.

and as i fell asleep, i had the same feelings of blissful anticipation as i did october 30th 8 years ago. 

thank you brad for making my life so exciting and loving and awesome.
thank you jesus, for uniting us for always.