10 Things About Us

Some bloggers I follow have been posting lists so readers can quickly get to know them.  I've been thinking of what 10 things about us I might share and finally have my list together.  Enjoy getting to know us a bit more!

1. Rich fell for me.... literally!

I was new in town and went to the ice rink on Thursday night with the goal of making friends.  As I stepped onto the ice, a handsome man was attempting to hockey stop on his way off the ice.  He fell. At my feet.  LIterally.  He mumbled a "Hi", jumped up, and skated away.  It took another month, each of us attending Thursday night adult skate, before he asked for my number.

2. Rich is a morning person; I'm a night owl.

We've struggled with this since that fall on the ice.  When he's ready to call it a day, I'm just getting started.  

3. We are opposite in many other ways too!

He's a doer, I'm a thinker.  He looks on the bright side, I see doom and gloom.  He is flexible, I like consistency......

4. Our first real date was playing with Legos.

After that month of skating and talking in circles, he asked for my phone number.  We went to a Lego display of American landmark buildings.  We sat in the children's area and made our own creations.  The next weekend, we went back again, taking his two little boys from his first marriage.  I fell in love with all three of them very quickly.

5. We enjoy recreating living spaces.

I specifically don't say, "We enjoy rehabbing houses together" because every house we've worked on we've lived in it at the same time.  So we "recreate our living spaces."  We've finished a basement into a home, added a second story on a little bungalow, added a room addition on a sprawling ranch, and countless other smaller do-it-yourself projects. like gutting a kitchen.  Which ended up not being so small with seven mouths to feed! We've learned to live in transition.

6. We have a Gatorade jar that holds our "get-away" cash.

We add our loose change to an empty orange plastic Gatorade-powder jar each day.  We keep it under our bed. When we get $100, we arrange for everyone's needs to be met, and sneak away for a night in a hotel, or two nights camping.  This habit has saved our marriage. 

7. We truly enjoy spending time together. 

So I know how to set a window and he knows how to cut a piece of scrapbook paper.  

8. We have to work at good communication.

Daily.  Getting what's in our hearts into our conversations is still a challenge for us.  We've sought counseling a few times in our marriage to work on this issue which is another thing that has saved our marriage.

9. Our dream vacation is to visit missionary friends in Nepal.

Maybe someday that orange plastic jar will allow it. We pray often that they stay there a bit longer.

10. We both crave accountability, but not from each other.

We've learned the hard way that we can't be everything to the other.  Having friends, as a couple and as individuals, enriches our lives and our faith walks.