37 Years.

My mom and dad will celebrate 37 years of marriage tomorrow. Thirty.seven.years.  Wow.

They met when mom was visiting Texas for a missions trip and my dad was the handyman at the church she was staying at.  Mom plopped down on the bed and it broke (how embarrassing,  right?), my dad came to fix it. With some help from my aunts (dad's sisters), mom and dad had their first date - roller skating with a group. Dad's sisters, mom, and her friend, and my dad. Thus began a really long courtship. I mean, I think it was pretty long since they met when mom was ... well, I won't mention any actual numbers, but it seems to me it took around 3 years before the big day.

During this courtship they wrote letters, sent messages on cassette tape, my dad came to visit mom, even moving into the apartments across the street from my grandparents house!

Finally... finally they got hitched.

But something wad missing.  The one thing that would make their lives complete...

They had me when they were living in Texas.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been for mom to have a newborn and not have her mom there for support.  I can't count the number of times grandma has wanted a "squeeze" and ended up with a gang of kids downstairs, leaving me free to do laundry or dishes without having to stop every couple of minutes to settle a dispute or cheer up a fussy baby.

And dad is there and ready to jump in with help to figure out car trouble, give horsey rides, handmake birthday pinatas (pink unicorn - with a matching stick - so cute I didn't want anyone to break it!) or take Katie to school or to awana club or for dinner at McDonald's and play time at the play center.

So I can't imagine how tough it was for them with a new baby. And though I'm sure dad's family helped out, it wouldn't have been the same as being near her mom.

Eventually we moved back north and have been here ever since.  It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Dad's adjusted pretty well to the extremely cold temps and on those really cold days I wonder what life would've been like if we had stayed in Texas. Warm sun, no snow, aahhhh.  But we didn't. Nope. Cold winters for the win!

Anyway, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

37 years ain't nothing to shake a stick at.  Even a very pretty decorative pink pinata breaking stick.

Jackson.

UPDATED to fix picture size. Why didn't anyone tell me the pictures were huge and not actually viewable on the screen!

I've posted a few pics of Jack. He's the only one of my kids who stays still enough for me to get a pic on my phone. Jake always seems like he's seconds away from rushing off and Katie is so busy with VERY IMPORTANT THINGS that she doesn't have a lot of time to smile for pics.
So that leaves Jack.
For now, he's stuck with me.

Jack is FOUR MONTHS OLD.

Are you as shocked as I am that these 4 months passed so quickly?
It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was recovering from my csection. In pain and exhausted from many late night feedings.
And now here we are. A slightly more rested mommy and a smiley, happy baby who loves to watch his big brother and big sister play.
He just had his 4 month checkup and he's a whopping 16.5 lbs, 25" long, and his head circumference is 45 cm. (They had to measure that three times. I think that measurement puts him in the 90th percentile, or the "giant melon head" club.)
He sleeps well, naps well, eats well, and can do it all while the other kids are making lots (and lots) of noise.
Katie and Jake are so gentle around him and I can't wait until they can play together. The three of them are going to be a force to be reckoned with.
It's not ALWAYS party time with these kiddos. Laundry seems to multiply, bath time is very long times three, and meal time can be challenging, but I wouldn't change any of it.
Well, unless I could make time stop... that would be helpful when it comes to dinner time, getting ready to go somewhere, and any time I need to sneak in a caramel apple (my new addiction).
But. Nothing else. No other changes.
Really. 
Really? 
Yes, really.