Love & Injury: A date night for the memory books

     On Friday February 11th 2011, I had a 11:30pm indoor soccer game, yes I said 11:30 PM. :) I played on a co-ed team with some folks from my work.  This, however, was a very special game to me.  This game, Angela was going to be there, and I was very excited to see my Angel watching.... :) Every guy wants to show off for his girlfriend every once in awhile right? And I was ready.... or so I thought.

     Fast forward, 10 minutes into the game... I had been fighting a older softball injury on my left achilles tendon... when tonight, it decided to rupture once again. This time, in a more grand fashion. Unknown to us at the time, my achilles had torn almost 70% of the way.  Needless to say, it was quite painful, and I was helped off the field.  Angela was waiting in the dugout with a bag of ice and those amazing crystal eyes. :) 

     After my stubborness subsided to allot of pain, and Angelas requests to go to the hospital,  she pulled the truck out to the front of the soccer complex and with the help of her and a co-worker and we were off to St. Lukes Meridian emergency room! :) Tonight would actually be a fun night together. When we got the the hospital, Angela ran in and got me a wheel chair and wheeled me in.  We discovered we had quite a wait before they would see us... Anj made a comment about "why do they call it an emergency room, if were just going to wait around" ... I suggested we call around town for better accomodations :)  We sat in the lobby, we laughed, watched Brian Reegan on youtube, and I even tried to get her to grab a wheelchair and race me. 

    They eventually they got us into an ER room, where we waited once again for the occasional "pop in" from a nurse, wristband boy, and utimately the resident doc.  We laughed and played more, Anj even wrote a note to the doctor on the dry erase board ...hehehehe It was late and I could see Anj was getting tired. She jumped up on the gurnie with me and we rested.  It was awesome, we talked, and joked and just loved & enjoyed each other, and it illustrated to me, how amazing the love we have is.  Even, with all the chaos around us, with painful injuries, the waiting, the late hours, when we get to focus on one another, the pains subside, my heart is light and nothing else seemed to matter...xoxoxo

    We finally got to leave at 3am Saturday morning. And I will remember that night as an amazing date with an Angel :)  Thank you  Angela....for being there. 

 Jim runs fast. He'd be at one side of the soccer field, then all of a sudden he would be at the other end, and I'd be like, "How'd he get there?" Then he wasn't running anymore. He was writhing in pain. I knew it had to be his achilles. And I knew it wouldn't be good. But I didn't know how much fun we could have in the ER.

If you've never listened to Brian Regan's comedy routine about the Emergency Room, you've got to check it out here. It gave us something to joke about the whole night. Though the doctors didn't always get our jokes. And the nurse wasn't amused to find us having so much fun that we didn't here her call Jim's name in the waiting room...

Jim has quite the threshold for pain. Then the drugs made him a whole lot happier. And loopier. (He didn't post all the pictures I took of him. Tee-hee.) I feel bad for the work that healing is going to involve, but if you're going to rupture a ligament, this is definitely the way to do it. Get well soon, baby.
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Yes the pain drugs were rather nice :) I wasnt going to post this but here you go beautiful xoxoxox >>>>>Yikes! ;P  

A Strong Lineage

Yesterday I got to meet Jim's grandparents. They live at an old folk's home and might not be with us much longer. Grandpa Strong showed me pictures from when he first fell in love with his wife. Grandma Strong was shocked to find that Jim wasn't still a little boy and living in Hawaii. She also spoke of a cattle sale tomorrow and had Jim check out the window to see if she'd left clothes on the line. The part that touched me is when she told Jim how blessed he was to have a wife like me and a daughter like Caitlin. He started to explain that his wife left years ago, but then let it drop. We are blessed. And though Grandma may think that she still lives in Iowa instead of Idaho, she knows love when she sees it.

I'm glad I got a chance to meet the Strongs. Not only was it sweet to see Jim love on them, but it was a great reminder of the important things in life. Our lives are short and never follow the plans we  make, but no matter our story, we can find something to be thankful for today. And I am oh so thankful for Jim in my life--no matter how he got here.

Not Rain Nor Snow nor Blizzard can stop us ...xoxo

No matter how our plans may sometimes not go as we envisioned :) The time I spend with Angela and all the kids always turns out to be amazing and always better then we planned.  Case in point.... We had been planning for a fun day on the hills of bogus basin, tubing with the kids. Everything seemed to be set against us that day, from missing some church service, shortage of gear, shortage of tickets, and shortage of time...Sounds like a rough day huh? It wasnt at all....

Time spent with Angela always has a way of being easy and fun, no matter the obstacles...the day ended with smiles....a smiling wet little Lauren with ice chunks in her hair, a smiling Jordan while his mom planted one on his cheek...a dizzying spin down the hill into a whirl of blinding snow...and ending in an awesome christmas light show.

Nothing ever seems like work when were together sweetie.... :)

My Birthdate

For my birthday Jim and I went on our first ever dinner and movie date. He's just way more creative than the average guy. Let's see...we've gone to a Hawks game, Bronco football game, hot air balloon show in the park, snow tubing, comedy show, Rock to Read, Story Story night, Christmas parties, shopping, coffee shops, our kids' sports games, pumpkin patch, Winter Garden-a-Glow, and more. And he couldn't even do a normal restaurant. We went to Kyotos where our chef was flipping eggs in the air and setting things on fire. I'd never been before, so that was really fun. I even caught a shrimp in my mouth that the chef catapulted my way.

The movie was great too. We practically had the whole theater to ourselves. And when I mentioned that I hadn't blown out any birthday candles that day, he said, "I'll be right back," and took off. When he returned he had a lighter he held over a cup of dips ice cream for me to blow out after he sang the birthday song.


The coolest thing had to be returning home and realizing that there was a lunar eclipse going on. We sat in the truck watching the shadow of the earth hide the moon and talking late into the night. It did seem that the eclipse moved rather slowly, and I was like, "I think time has stopped." Which I wouldn't mind. Time always seems to fly by too fast when Jim and I are together.

Thank you, Jim, for a fabulous Birthdate.

33 Years ago on this day, God created the woman who would change my life forever, a woman who is so beautiful, so loving and caring. Someone I, until the summer of 2010, I didnt believe existed.  My girl,  that was too good to be true.  But I know that through God, there is no such thing as too good to be true.  His love for us, is beyond measure, so I know that the gift of love that He has given us is easily way good and very very true.  Then 33 years ago...... God broke that mold.  Angela sweetheart, it may have been your birthday sweetie, but the gift felt like it was mine..... Happy Birthday honey, I look forward to many many more beautiful... :)

I think it needs to be said, that this was the night that I wanted to tell you something very very special.....but well leave our readers guessing :) Love you....

The Three Mischevious Bears....



You put in the coins,
Ill pull the handle :)

Nobody can tell were bears......right

In October of 2010, I took a trip to Reno Nevada for a softball tournament. Although we had fun, I remember feeling very torn between really wanting to be there playing ball and really wishing I was back home in Boise with Angela. :)  I was excited because I knew she would be waiting for me beyond the security gates when I arrived home....something I wasnt accustom too.



The night before we were flying out I wanted to get something to bring home to Lauren, Caitlyn & Jordan and I knew they loved their stuffed animals. So I went on the hunt to find a game at Circus Circus I was bound to do somewhat well at....softball throwing at milk bottles, how fitting was that? After an hour or so of throwing, I had achieved my goal...The Three Mischievious Bears. I was excited to give them to the kids. I thought it would be fun to "text" a story to Angela discribing the bears "adventures" in the Casino. I figured Steve (the rabbit) couldnt be the ONLY mischievious animal in the stuffed community. :) It went a little something like this....



Riding back to the Hotel



Those three ran me in circles all night, from sneaking away and disguising themselves to play KENO, to throwing slots at the Silver Legacy :) Those three certainly got into allot of trouble. . . . but even a hard night of playing at the Casino would catch up with them.  I caught them, got them in the car and back to the hotel for a good nights rest.  I woke them early and got them ready for the flight home to Boise.  I wouldnt dare pack them in my luggage, I mean that could be hazardous right? And there were lots of lives to think about on that plane :P  So I took them onboard with me, to keep a close eye on them :) They eventually met their future life long friend Steve Meuser who would show them the finer points of being a Mischievious stuffed animal....

With my new friends on my back, I walked off the plane and couldnt walk fast enough to the security gates....there I saw Angela, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen....I could breathe again, I was home...xoxo

This was a crazy weekend for me. I was coordinating the Booktoberfest event. The cool part was that since I worked all weekend I got to take Monday off to pick Jim up and meet his cubs. The teddy bears stole my heart. As did their adorable owner. 

Bench Pressing Our Babies

Last night Jim had a little party to celebrate his daughter Kristina's 17th birthday. His older daughter Ashley joined us as well, and our girls got along beautifully. The highlight for me (apart from the dancing dog) was when Jim got down on the floor to see if he could still bench press Ashley the way he used to. Lauren and Caitlin got a turn as well, which reminded me of the times my dad used to bench press me. I was wearing a skirt last night so I didn't join in, but maybe I'll have him try to lift me one of these days. For now here is a picture of our little dumbbells.

Raising Eyebrows

So I meet Jim at a BBQ. We talk until 1AM. He gives me two hugs goodbye. Then he asks my best friend for my phone number, texts me once, and...that is it for quite some time.

Over a month later he finally says he wants to take me out. I'm a little excited. So I go in to get my eyebrows waxed at the spa where my best friend has just started working. One of the owners shapes my brows and overhears me tell Charla that Jim asked me out. So when I go to pay, the owner comes up to the front desk and says, "A Mr. Jim Strong called and said he's going to cover Angela's eyebrow wax."

My intelligent response? "Nuh-uh."

So the owner confesses he had conspired with Charla on the faux phone call. And that he actually knew Jim from coaching Jim's daughter in soccer. Whew!

But then I have to admit to Jim that I was momentarily worried he didn't want to be seen in public with me and my bushy eyebrows. We get a good laugh out of it.

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I can remember that night of the BBQ, being nervous. So nervous in fact, I parked accidentally in the neighbors drive way and actually walked through their backyard before realzing the bbq was next door.  hehe. When I came into the kitchen I looked at the end of the island and I saw a site that litterally made me skip a breath. It was Angela helping prepare food for the BBQ.  I had finally gotten to meet her!  We talked for hours it seemed in front of the fire pit.  She sat to my left, I remember because my neck was sore from turning my head to face her all night... :) I couldnt tell you what else was happening around us, music I think...it didnt matter to me, because I just wanted to learn more about this amazing girl....We migrated to the back patio furniture and talked more. I felt like a teenager, nervous, all smiles, star struck, and sometimes a loss for words.  It was a night I didnt want to end.

When we parted I hugged her twice, and in a happy delirium left. I had never felt that strong of a connection with anyone. How easy she was to talk to, how incredibly beautiful she was, how much we had in common, from interests, family, relationships to our beliefs and faith in God. I was more than a little taken......and that scared me.  Could that first encounter be, too good to be true?

I did call Char, my friend from high school and Angelas best friend. She knew how elated I was and I remember telling her that Angela was such a an amazing woman, and yes asked for Angelas phone number.  I so wanted to ask her out sooner, but also wanted to be slow and cautious.

A girl like Angela, is worth waiting a lifetime for, and I didnt want this to be a single bright light, but rather a strong and steady flame. ;o)

Oh and I am always honored and privledged to be seen in public with her, unibrow or not. :o)