One Week and Cleveland To Go

Wow, this has been a busy week. Missy and I have be kid-less all week so you'd think we would be wild'n out, but no, we have used this week to enjoy some quiet time and lazy evenings. On Monday we went out for a nice Anniversary dinner and Tuesday we started packing the basement, but mostly it has been chillin' out before the upcoming move.

Today marks one week before closing, and everything is still on track. I submitted what I hope is the final document to the mortgage lender today, and will be making a few phone calls this morning. My company agreed to pay for movers if I would cut my time off by 3 days, so I will only have 6 days off to build the office and get moved, but it will be worth it to have others move the bulk of the household contents, including our newly found free piano!

I am off to Cleveland, OH later today for our annual company meeting. Normally I would be looking forward to this trip, the guys I work with are crazy and a lot of fun, but I really just want this trip over. We have a lot to do to get ready for next week, but I suppose making time to throw back some Buds on Packy's dollar is not a bad idea either. I just wish my company was located in Las Vegas, Miami, New York, or someplace really cool. Cleveland is the taint of the USA, the ABC if you will, you know, the gouch. Detroit takes the cake for being the armpit.

There is definitely an air of optimism and hope around the house, and nobody is really dreading the hard work that is coming up. Just the opposite, we are all looking forward to it. Papaw (my dad) will be arriving next Thursday to help me with the basement construction, and Missy and I have already been to Menards to make the first round of purchases for the house. I suspect before my dad leaves my truck will be able to drive itself between Cross Plains and Menards :)

Happy First Anniversary Missy

Happy Anniversary Missy! It was one year ago today that we tied the knot and started our lives together. That is almost hard to believe, the time has gone by so quickly, and it seems like we have already been through a lot in this time.

We have a lot to be proud of and have accomplished a lot in this short time. While we have achieved our financial goals, our biggest accomplishment is the one that we seldom give ourselves credit for, even though we have at times had to work very hard at it. We have built a family, not just merged two of them.

I used to say 3/5 + 2/5 = 1, meaning Delaney, Haley and Me plus Halle and you make a family. It was goofy, I know, but it's also true. We truly have built a wonderful family out of two. It has not always been easy, and has certainly had its share of ups and downs, but that is true of every family. That is what family is.

We have had a wonderful first year together, but have also been tested with financial strains, a lost job, and a new one that takes a lot of my time and attention. And the most trying of all, the untimely death of Halle's father. Through the good and the bad, we have gotten closer and stronger.


You are a wonderful step-mom to Delaney and Haley, even when they know exactly what buttons to push. I know that I will never replace Gulli in Halle's heart and mind, and that is not my place nor desire, but she and I have also grown much closer. I can feel a strong and lasting relationship developing between us, and I love that. I love my role in our family and wouldn't change a thing.

My life is much better with you and Halle in it. There was a time, not that long ago, that I swore I would never get married again. I was down on marriage and enjoyed just being "me". You changed all of that. I can still be me, and be a good husband and father, at the same time. You bring that out in me, and I thank you for it. What I once saw as a choice, between a life of being tied down versus a lot more freedom, was never needed. There is no reason to choose when you can have both, and I have both.

You have been a wonderful wife, and I hope I have been a good husband to you as well.

I consider myself a very lucky man, and am looking forward to many more years sharing my life with you, most definitely my better half.

Happy 1st Anniversary Missy, I LOVE YOU!!!