Rhett and Doug had a date last night – Dessert with Dad at Rhett’s preschool.  The invitation said there would be the makings of ice cream sundaes and a craft for the kids and dads to do together.  Doug was more excited about the ice cream than the craft.  (“This will not end well unless we’re photoshopping something.”)  Turns out they had a great time and made a piece of art, to boot.

And now, a word from a guest writer.

Doug was trying to get a hold of me on iChat on Friday. And because I think I shouldn’t be the only one that has to read this, I will share with you now what transpired…

Doug: Oh no.
where are you?
Can you hear the computer?
Maybe you’re upstairs.
Or perhaps you have the speakers off.
Or you could be in the yard showing your mom the garden.
Or maybe you decided that it would be more fun for you, Rhett, Bagby and your mom to go to Mexico instead of going to Lyle Lovett with me.
You should know that if you are thinking about going to Mexico (and you haven’t left yet – perhaps you’re packing and that’s why you can’t hear the computer) that you should re-consider.
It’s a logistical nightmare really.
First of all – does your mom even have her passport? No way your crossing a border without one. Also, I don’t know what you’d do about Rhett.
I suppose you could bribe the border patrol…. but I assure you we have no money in our budget for bribing government officials.
Maybe our travel budget….
Not much of a bribe though really… like $15.
Then again, the dollar goes a lot further in Mexico than it does here, so you never know.
Why do you want to go to Mexico anyway?
Is that it?
Shopping?
That must be it… It’s because the dollar is stronger, and we could get all of our Christmas shopping done in one go, and it will only cost us like 100 bucks.
Plus 15 for bribing border patrol.
but definitely no more that $115.
Well – at this point, it seems pretty clear that you’ve gone Christmas shopping in Mexico with Buddy, your mom, and Bagby.
I guess I’ll go ahead and go to my meeting.
Just let me know when you get back.
Oh…. and FYI. Don’t buy pharmaceuticals. (It’s a Scam)
LOVE YOU!

Two years ago today, I said yes.

Let’s pause and let me do the math for you.  We got engaged on August 5, 2008.  Married on December 20, 2008.  Pregnant in April 2009 (surprise!).  And became parents on December 18, 2009.

Doug and I had taken a trip to San Francisco with my family to see my older sister get hitched.  After her wedding, the two of us took a day trip down to Carmel.  Well, no, not directly to Carmel.  Like proper educated Americans, we had to stop in Salinas at the John Steinbeck museum.  Then we moseyed down to Monterey, where again we paid homage to Mr. Steinbeck and took pictures on Cannery Row and in front of Doc’s Lab.  If this doesn’t sound like Greek to you, you and Doug may be fast friends.

We ate sushi in Monterey which beats Texas sushi any day.   Then we got in our rented Mustang convertible, like we owned the place, and drove down Route 1 to Big Sur.

The whole day I had wondered if maybe he might pop the question.  But because I was certain there was no ring box anywhere on his person, I had decided this wasn’t the day.   Coming back from Big Sur, we stopped on Carmel Valley Road to visit a winery.  We landed at Bernardus.  I’m dying to go back there.  We just had just enough time to do a tasting before they closed.

After they closed, we had a bit of time before we were ready for dinner.  So, we headed to Carmel Beach we found some big rocks we could prop ourselves up on and enjoy the sunset.

It was cloudy, but somehow there was just a ribbon of sunlight right below the clouds, and above the water on the horizon.  As the sun started to set, we realized we were about to see the most beautiful sunset we’d ever seen.  The pictures don’t come close to doing it justice.

Just before the sun dropped below the horizon, Doug told me to put my camera down and said “you don’t want to miss this.”  And he looked at me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  YES!

Afterwards, he informed me that he had dinner reservations for us at an Italian restaurant in the town (which was funny, because I had told him earlier in the day that I wanted Italian for dinner).  When we showed up, the hostess showed us to the table where my family had come to meet us for dinner!  It was such a perfect surprise.  We celebrated together and then made the drive back to San Francisco to our hotel.

Doug, I made a decision this day two years ago to spend the rest of my life with you.  We’ve had a crazy couple of years.  It’s seemed impossible at times.  But, there hasn’t been a single day that I’ve questioned that decision.  For the best days of our lives and the worst, I am in.  I’m so glad you asked.

Rhett got his first guitar lesson last night.  If we measured success by how much he wanted to put the guitar in his mouth, he was a pro.  And the handsome hunk on the left…if you want me to make me weak in the knees, just put a guitar in his hands.  Unbelievable.

Doug has been “Uncle Doug” for nineteen years.  Six months ago he became “Daddy.”  And it is perfect.  There is no good way to describe the kind of dad Doug has become, and is becoming today.  He is selfless, patient and so giving.  He goes to work everyday never complaining, so that we can stay home together.  He loves that boy like crazy.  And he’s already that parent whose conversations almost always go back to Rhett and how proud he is of him.  God is sharpening Doug everyday to be the man that he wants Rhett to be one day.  And really, there’s no other man on the planet that I would rather my son be like than him.

And a short video…