I hope he is this willing when he gets older!

Another good week in the life of a Bush! Thursday was my birthday and cards, phone calls, emails and myspace comments made me feel very loved- Thank You. Gary surprised me by having flowers delivered to the house- ILOVETHEM so much! He also surprised me by taking me out on a real date! Friday Gary's parents took us out for Mexican to celebrate again- YUM! Then Saturday we got to go to Josh's house for the big OSU game which I actually watched ALL of! It was really fun to get another night out right away! Tyler stayed with the Bush's and they tell me he was good. Today I got to go shopping with my girl Lori and we had a great great time! She always makes me feel a little less lonely! Gary's new job is going very well and he's SO much less stressed. I think a combination of increased salary and being more comforable in our neighborhood helps a great deal. I wanted to let you know that we have this site set up so that you can leave us comments and let us know you read. You don't have to have a blogger account to do this so give it a try. If it doesn't work let me know so I can fix it. I also want to say that today especially, our hearts are with those whose lives were changed forever when they lost someone on September 11, 2001 or in the war that has followed. I cannot belive it's been five years. I cannot belive that days go by without me thinking of it... and yet there are those around the world who barely can go an hour without thinking of it. Our hearts weep for you.

Unsupervised Ravioli Lunch- Nuff Said

We had another wonderful and FULL weekend! Friday night I don't even remember what we did now because it seems so long ago...I'm sure it included eating fast food of some sort because Gary got the biggest paycheck we've ever gotten in our lives. :) Saturday we slept in!!! Tyler slept until 9 and so did I but Gary only slept in until 8. He's on a working man's schedule now. Then we got the car loaded up and drove down to the "Cabbage" to spend the day with Gary's parents. Tyler did really well considering it rained most of the day and he was inside a lot. Gary's mom, as usual, fed us to overflowing with great food and we just got to spend some time as a family. I also got to start the book I've been wanting to read- another novel- and really enjoyed it. We decided to drive home that night so we could go to church Sunday and we did. Nothing makes me more homesick for our old town than church. I think that only in church do I face with absolute certainty that we are here now and not going back. I do too much comparing our old church to this one we visited. It was a good service though and we had communion. I've always loved communion Sunday. After that we went to Applebees for lunch and I had the quesadilla burger. Oh My Gosh. That was the best burger EVER! Then we went to Big Lots where I got a bookshelf for 10$ to put Tylers toys on and then back to the cabin/cottage/cabbage. Josh and Lia (or Lea) were there with a bunch of friends, and also some other family and friends came for the cook out and we got to go out in the boat! Poor Tyler has to wear this life vest that is coast guard approved and it is horrible. He can't even reach his hand around the thing to his face to eat or drink, he can hardly see anything and can't climb very well. He gets very frustrated and, like me, when frustrated, he's not easy to be around. We went home again at Tyler's bedtime and Monday gary went to work while Tyler and I played. THEN Gary took me to the MALL!!!!!! I got two tops- one at Anne Taylor, one at learner and paid around $15 TOTAL including tax. Shopping is my best sport. Then we went to my mom's for dinner with my family and it was so fun! I got a candle and book from my mom for my birthday and got to visit with my grandma and great-aunt a lot. My mom's cooking is so good. It's no surprise I don't feel good today with all that eating I did this weekend! Today is the first day of school for Gary. He's been working a month to get all the computers ready and I pray he has a wonderful day!

Just had to get on and say GO BUCKEYES!!!! We had Tyler in his #7 Ginn Jersey today and he looked so cute!! Now those Fighting Irish better get it together and pull out a win!

So I have been reading a book about marriage lately and I have really learned a lot from it already! It's called The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman. He's the guy who wrote the love languages book and I actually like this one better so far. It's a little harder to get through, but i've taken several pages of notes already! In my studies of marriage in the bible, biblical principles and especially this book I'm learning that just because my parent's marriage failed, does not mean mine has to. It's true that my example of a Godly marriage was flawed, but everyones is. I'm learning that when I see something wrong and Gary doesn't, that still means I need to do the work necessary to be the best wife I can be. Right now that means identifying where I've failed Gary as a wife, confessing those things to him, and allowing him to really forgive me and move on. I don't have to live in guilt nor does he want me to. And vice versa. I need to really forgive Gary and move on. One thing I don't do well is start fresh every day. Here are some quotes I wrote down. Winter season- "What brings a marriage here? Rigidity- the unwillingness to consider the other person's perspective and to work toward meaningful compromise." This season comes not because of what happens in life, but 'by the manner in which a couple responds to those difficulties.' I'm going to work hard to stay out of this season! Fall- It takes both partners to move from fall into spring (the season of growth and hope). It takes only one to get it into winter. I've got to be strong and do the work so that I don't pull Gary down with me. One strategy he discusses involves forgivness- "remember, forgivenes is not a feeling. It is a decision to lift the penalty for past failures and declare the spouce pardoned. Forgiveness does not mean that you will never think of the event again, nor does it mean that you will never feel the pain that accompaines the memory. Forgivness does mean that you will no longer hold that failure or hurt against your spouse." What if your partner won't forgive you? You forgive them anway- for every single thing they have done. "Following Biblical strategies is the most powerful way to influence a nonparticipating spouse." "The goal of marriage is that husbands and wives voluntarily serve each other, helping each other reach thier potential for God and promoting good in the world." Some good stuff huh? The best part is, Gary and I are in a place where we can talk about these things and I WANT to forgive him. I WANT him to reach his potential and I WANT to do all the work we need to on our marriage even with everything else going on in our lives. I DON"T WANT to wait until our kids are grown and out of the house to turn to Gary and realize I don't even know him. I don't strive for these things because of my fear we will end up like my parents, it's because of the Hope I have and the knowledge that we CHOOSE TOGETHER a different path.