I totally dropped the ball.

I think I last blogged a few months ago, and still didn't finish posting about our Idaho trip. Since then our whole world has changed.

The boy's and I married John on September 20th. It was a very beautiful, simple, intimate wedding with a small audience. John and I really wanted a small wedding, something very simple and intimate. A wedding that wouldn't get crazy and out of hand. We had only 50 of our family and some friends (really only high school friends) in my parents backyard. Very nontraditional and informal. Family sat at tables while John and the boy's and I stood between two trees and expressed our love for each other. It was better than we could have imagined or planned. And best of all, it wasn't about us. It was about God's unfailing faithfulness in our lives. To take two broken individuals, two individuals who, despite our desires had failed marriages. God took that brokenness, and after proper healing and refining God allowed us to find each other. It really doesn't get any better than that. Well....it will and I'll let you know about that 20 years from now.

That was a whirlwind, but an unforgettable one at that. 
John and I visited the wine country for our honeymoon. Napa was beautiful. 

 

 We went wine tasting of course and came back with more wine than we know what to do with.

 This picture is my favorite from all our honeymoon pics, and as you know I took a lot! Vineyards have come to have such a greater meaning to me than just its association with wine. It's the beauty that lies within the vineyard; the planting, the pruning, the growth, the time, the nurturing it takes to produce this beauty. I inhaled the beauty as we drove through acres of vineyards. 

Since then, we've been very involved with family. As some of you know Johns dad suffered a stroke the weekend before our wedding and my mom was diagnosed with cancer the weekend after our wedding. So our joy was sandwiched between some heavy duty life changing events. Johns dad is doing better, and thanks be to God didn't have any major deficits. My mom had surgery and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Life is happening and I am so glad I have a strong loving man by my side to experience it with. 

It's only been a couple months and slowly we have settled in our home here in Corona. We are very happy in our new neighborhood. K and J enjoy having kids next door to play with and we live close to a park that the boys love.

I do have to admit, being a wife and mother have exhausted me. The boy's were just babies when I became a single mom. Now, with growing boys and a husband, I do laundry daily, make three meals, pack lunches, do dry cleaning trips, maintain a home and still manage to look half decent by the end of the day. I have no living plants though, and that's NO lie. The boy's have adjusted well and call the weekend that I'm at work and they're with John "Dad's day". It's a day that they get to do fun boy stuff while mom's working hard. The boy's have enjoyed jumping into our beds in the morning only to cuddle John. They have adjusted well to sharing me, or so I'd like to think, I think they've  adjusted well to sharing John with me (hahaha!). We are still a family forming, day by day we become more tolerant, patient with one another and grow in love. 

Here are some odd and end pics I've taken over that past couple months. 

 Ta-Ta for now!

Idaho Vacation Part 1

I'm not sure if I've ever looked more forward to any other vacation then this past vacation of nine days to Idaho. For many different reasons this was a very exciting vacation; the boy's and John's family met for the first time, the boy's experienced the beautiful nature in Idaho, and it was our first family trip (unofficially). The pictures alone display the beauty and fun we had in Idaho. I know we'll always go back because we'll have family there, but I'm hoping to one day we go and end up calling it home. A girl can dream, a girl can pray and God can answer.

 

The boy's all hit it off very well. You would have never knew this was the first time they met their new cousin.

The rest tells its own story....



Mr. McGowan showing J how to cast a fishing pole for his first fishing trip.

Coeur d'Alene Lake

Back at McGowan Acres.....

This is John's favorite lake 'Round Lake'. It is now OUR favorite lake. The serenity and peace of this lake is indescribable.

The colors in these pictures are amazing!

One of my favorite pictures! My F-A-M-I-L-Y!

A hike around Round Lake. Two miles of beauty and no complaints from the boys.

This is one precious picture. I love seeing the boy's being boys. Fishing poles and tackle boxes headed to the river.

K's not too fond of the worms.

*Note the rod bending, he's got a fish!

 

And there it is! Look at K's face.

 The boys have never been fishing before, this was a whole new experience for them. John was so patient and so good with the boys, I seriously couldn't have asked for a better soon to be husband and father to my sons.

  J's face is priceless. A boy's first fish!

 

And then....he caught two more.

 J was very, very upset that John cut his fish and threw them back in the river. The last fish put him in tears and J sobbed and sobbed on John's lap till he threw up. And yes, John's smiling.

 

 Stay tuned for part II and III to come......