Team Mueller

Grandpa's Funeral

2012-02-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

February 7, 2012

The day dawned misty and grey, grieving with us, as todaywas Grandpa’s funeral. Today was abitter day. Today was a sweet day.

Amazing Grace

2012-02-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

37/365:

I am sure grandpa would have gotten a kick out of tonight. Yep, he would have laughed his head off.

First off, there was a small flower dilemma. Each of Grandpa’s daughters had ordered oneof the three flower arrangements for tomorrow’s funeral. The girls all ordered from the same company,same person, same phone call, just used different credit card numbers to pay.

Problem #1: The flowers were supposed to arrive yesterday,on the first day of Grandpa’s viewing. They showed up late this evening, afterthe second day of viewing.

Problem #2: The first arrangement to arrive was beautiful(not the problem), but when the other two finally did arrive, they looked“anemic” (problem).

One would assume that all the arrangements for one event wouldbe fashioned by the same flower shop. However, the casket spray and one of the side arrangements was sent toone florist shop, while the third arrangement was sent to another shop.

What could we do?

“Sam’s is open for another hour…” We sped to Sam’s, snatched up all their whiteand red roses… then drove through Starbucks for a lil pick-me-up :)

With the two side spray’s transported into the kitchen, thegirls got right to work.

The before…

There was lots of disassembling, re-assigning, pointing andfoofing…

Till everyone was happy.

They should go into business, yes?

Secondly, there was a song dilemma. We simply could not find an agreeable versionof Amazing Grace… not quite sure why, I mean there are only a thousand versions, sung by thousands of musicians out there in cyberspace… We needed something that would be easy tosing along with, preferably one sung by a deep, manly voice, one that was nottoo slow, a version that was not too overdone…

An hour and a half into our search we desperately calledChelsea over to audition for us. Shesounded great, one problem: she definitely did not have that deep masculinevoice Grandma was looking for. We wereready to scratch the song entirely, as it was now approaching 1am, when Steven saved the day. Grandpa’s good friend Jimmy Jet had sung thesong and recorded his version onto a cassette tape that Grandpa had stashedaway. After fumbling around with thestereo (i.e. cassette player) for a bit, we had ourselves a suitable version ofAmazing Grace. Hooray!

Additionally, we got our answer as to why we couldn’t findthe “right” version of Amazing Grace two hours prior. When we flipped the tape over and pressedplay, the voice reverberating through the speakers was unmistakable.

It was Grandpa’s voice. An incredible, unexpected gift. A gift that transported us all back in time.

To the days when we would all dance around inthe living room, as he sat playing us a tune.

To before he was sick, when he could sing like there was notomorrow.

To the times before theencumberment of his oxygen equipment encroached upon his ability to do what heloved.

Us girls danced around tonight. To Grandpa's voice. Just like we did before. We sang along with his voice, “…hey, good looking, whatcha got cooking…” We laughed. We cried.

Yes, grandpa would have loved today with us.

But, in reality, he was in a better place. A place beyond our wildest dreams. I do not doubt that today Grandpa was singingout a more beautiful melody… completely unhindered… full of unspeakable joy.

February 5th

2012-02-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

36/365:

I couldn’t believe how long us girls stayed in bed thismorning…

Enjoying a sweet moment together, 4 generations of girlsgathered on grandma’s bed… gabbing, laughing, smiling…

Mom and I’s morning walk was much needed—the crisp, fresh air,the fellowship… lengthy strides to stretch out these old bones ;)

Even though we were bundled up under scarves, hats andmassive coats—which actually bore more of a resemblance to parkas—we could notescape that billowing OKC wind. Blanketedbeneath our eskimo suits, we were actually nice n’ toasty, the only exceptionbeing our uncovered faces—which felt the full force of that blustery, winter galewhistling across the plains like an icy shriek.

Today was the first day of Grandpa’s viewing. It was my grandparent’s house. I have never heard of a wake being held at ahouse before, but apparently this was the custom when my grandma was a littlegirl.

The evening brought about a full house, lots of family, lotsof friends, comfort food, story-telling, picture looking…

Grandpa's Guitar

2012-02-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

35/365:

I had Harper all to myself this morning :) We were the only two with no where to be…

We played and laughed and ate our breakfasts together :)

The afternoon held a trip to the cemetery for the last of the funeral preparations. It was a cold,cloudy, blowy day—the icy breeze hurling even the largest of tree branches inevery direction.

My grandfather gave me one of his guitars when I was alittle girl—a beautiful, old, acoustic, Yamaha guitar… it's beauty rivaled only bythe notes that aged guitar could sing out.

Without question, Grandpa’s guitar, broken in by years ofentertaining friends and family, could out-croon my newer prototypes any day ofthe week.

I learned how to play on that guitar. I wrote songs from that guitar.

I was too young to fully understand the beauty of thatguitar. Its beauty was different thanthat of the unscratched, gleaming wood of my second guitar. Grandpa’s exquisite guitar showcasedGrandpa’s love; its wood weathered from immeasurable use, as Grandpa’s melodiesbrought countless smiles to the faces of others… its body dinged, from beingpassed from family member to family member—each one of us, at one time oranother, have held that beautiful guitar over our knee… or pretended to be arockstar with it in our hands ;) Aflawless guitar from a beautiful man.

Tragically, I misplaced that guitar. I think it may have happened when I moved. I looked everywhere, called everyone… mayhave even accused a few people of stealing it, but no guitar was ever found…

Till tonight!

I walked through Grandma’s front door, just like I had theday before, but this time, BAM… there she was. I flew across the room and picked her up like the old friend she was…ran my fingers over the strings, strained to play a few chords… Hello oldfriend.

How did Grandpa’s guitar find its way home? How did it get here? My catapult of questions returned simply with puzzled gazes—not a single family member could come upwith an answer…

Guess it didn’t really matter, what did matter is that shewas really home; she was where sheshould be—by Grandpa’s side.

That beautiful old guitar now has a new, forever home. Steven graciously gifted me the guitar twodays later and she now has a place of honor in our house.

February 2, 2011

2012-02-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

33/365:

At 9:39pm Grandpa entered heaven.

Our deep loss was heavens gain. He will be missed by so many.

33-34/365:

Sister and I were able to get on the 7:35am departing flightfrom PHX the next morning. So I packedmy bags, jumped in the truck and began driving from California to Phoenix around 11pmThursday night.

I made a list of thankfuls… my own personal happiness listto get me through those last couple hours of driving…

*no traffic *coffee *a shooting star seen through the frontwindshield *my truck’s big, fast engine *good tunes to blaring through thespeakers *dance party in my car *more coffee *desert skyline *watermelonflavored suckers *camera phone *Arizona city lights against a black sky…

At 5pm PHX time, I pulled into sissy’s driveway. At 5:15ish ;) we set out for the airport.

I noticed the sunrise through the giant airport window.

A few hours later we arrived to 2 feet of snowin Denver.

Lots of flights were delayed and canceled. Our flight to OKC was not AND we got out of Denverjust before they closed down the airport entirely… * another one for thehappiness list

On the second leg sister and I had the entire back row ofthe plane to ourselves, room to stretch out :) *add another to the happinesslist

And Harper slept almost the entire time… add five more tothe happiness list

This was Harper’s first plane ride. She rocked it.

It was raining in OKC when we arrived, the clouds threateningmore than just a drizzle.

It was good to hug mom.

Starbucks was our first stop.

Then we joined the rest of the family at the funeralparlor.

So many decisions to be made.

Harper’s great grandma got to meet her for the firsttime. A healthy dose of joy amidst her unspeakable pain.

And then to Grandma B’s house we went :) Surprise… we’ll be here all week!

Grandma Bettye is also Harper’s great grandma. What a treat it was to watch them meet…grandma’s eyes sparkling, her smile incessant.

Climbing into bed, eyes finally able to close after 37 hoursof open… my last on the happiness list for today.

Her Example

2012-02-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

32/365:

It was just two days agothat Pastor Mike reminded us to make prayer a priority, especially when lifehurts…

"For theeyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." -2 Chronicles 16:9

Those who rely, cry out andlean on God will be STRONGLY supported.

This morning, before thesun was even up, mom called to tell me, through tears, that her dad, myGrandpa, was in ICU… his prognosis was not good.

Today she was my livingexample of clinging to God in the midst of pain. I listened as she recounted her last 12hours…

She got the call whileworking the concession stand at my youngest brother’s basketball game… by thetime she and dad left, it was too late to make the six hour drive back to herhometown. They got up early the nextmorning to leave, my dad woke up extremely sick—she had to go alone.

But, from her perspective, in her words, “I wasn’t alone. HEwas there with every passing mile. I wasable to cry out to Him without reservation… ”

And I listened as sherecounted a few of her favorite childhood memories of her dad:

—playing the guitar withher friends gathered round, the same song “just one more time…”

—her reflection of Grandpa’spriorities; he chose a simple life, his simplicity allowed him much opportunityto love people, opportunities Grandpa snatched right up. He exceeded at loving others; I mean reallyloving others. Everyone was hisfriend. He was never too busy for anyone. You could make his day by simplyenjoying a cool drink with him.

–he loved to laugh. He delighted in making others laugh... and he was good at it :)

–he was kind

I listened to hergratefulness for this man who was her dad, who raised her and her four siblingsthough he wasn’t their father by blood.

This was grandpa’s twelfthtime in the hospital over the last year. The family had discussed his final wishes… he just wanted “all his kidsto be there.”

Mom was on her way. She was 45 minutes away when her sistercalled and told her to hurry. I listenedas she counseled herself through the “what-ifs.”

When we hung up I followedher example. I begged the only One whocould do anything “to just let her get there in time.”

Today, I am thankful foranswered prayer.

God would have receivedglory if she had not made it there in time… I knew that, she knew that.

God would still be good ifshe had not been able to hold his hand one last time… I knew that, she knewthat.

But today, I am thankfulfor answered prayer.

Project 365, Days 30 & 31

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

30/365: Death by Chocolate

If you really examine thisrecipe, you’ll find that this is more a gathering of ingredients and a puttingthem back together for a most deliciousdessert. It’s one of my go torecipes when I want A.) a yummy desert that can be made beforehand B.) to looklike a super goddess of all things domestic without any effort.

Yup,Death by Chocolate is my girl… just dump and go… snatch out of the fridge laterand dig in :)

-1 Chocolate cake mix(make according to directions)

-2 large fat free collwhip

-7 Heath bars broken up

-3 sm instant chocolatepuddings

Make cake and letcoll. Cut cake into small pieces (I useonly ½ of cake and freeze the other ½ ). Layer in trifle bowl: cake, pudding, candy, whip cream. Repeat

31/365: RMG Fellowship Night

A good time was had by all. Many, many laughs were shared :)

Project 365, Days 28 & 29

2012-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

28/365:

A tremendous, sunny, warm,beautiful Saturday :) There was someprojecting going on in the front yard…

Matt’s homemade mortardispenser was tested. His knee-saving-contraptionworked like a charm.

There was a lovely picnicin the driveway and some sunshine basking.

Of course, there was atrip to Home Depot… one we took with the windows rolled down :)

There was ice-cream fordinner… and a belly ache to follow ;)

Beautiful day!

29/365:

A relaxing Sunday with my love. Church and an Olive Garden date :)

Project 365, Day 27

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

27/365:

I’ve gushed at you thatMatt is the greatest. I’ve sharedsnippets of how he makes my life much more wonderful. I’ve showed you that he really happens do itall… from hardwood floors to built-in cabinets, from brick inlays to countertops,from wainscoting to sinks, from tile to granite, from drywall to electrical fixtures,from cement to building furniture... you know I could continue like this formuch longer than you want to sit here and read this… ;) I’ve previously mentionedhere that he is a medical rep by day, and a tech-junkie-genius by night…

But you can also pen in “graphicnerd” on his resume.

He’s been helping me witha few graphic-y things around here… like our new blog format… and the settingup of the new Coastal Conquest blog… and our new photo stamp! Eerrmm, yes I did just say a photo stamp:)

You see, over the weekendI was dabbling on that lovely Pinterest site everyone raves about (read: not yet a member) and whatdyaknow… a few ofmy pictures from this very blog were floating about Pinterest land…

I did a little happy dance…then ran and told Matt that I needed aphoto stamp. My statement may haveproduced a few raised eyebrows from Best Husband Ever, but a few clicks later,viola—photo stamp success!

Project 365, Days 25 & 26

2012-02-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

25/365: Zuma & BFF

26/365: Master the Mundane

Can’t quiteremember the details of how Jean and I ended up in laughter over this emailthread, but it got me thinking…

At the end ofa recent email she said…

“PS I wonder if Matthewremembers the "eggie" song I used to sing to him? You shouldask him to sing it while you make eggs! :-) We pretty much had a song for everything. Lots of laughingwent with them.”

So I askedMatt to sing me the “eggie” song… I may have secretly recorded him… thenemailed this back to her…

Her reply…

“Oh my,didn't think he could be any more wonderful! What a memory. Thanksfor the smile.

Here isanother one Dad and I remembered,

"Hip,hip hooray for Matthew John Mueller, Matthew John Mueller ......" Doeshe remember???? :) Everything was a celebration inour house.”

Two thingsstood out to me… well three, if you count how sweet my husband is…

1. Wepretty much had a song for everything. Lots of laughing went with them.

2. Everythingwas a celebration in our house

It seems tome that much of life can be mundane and routine… Today I was reminded that a wise woman learnsto master the mundane; she learns the art of finding the simple and true joysin life. She is a blessing to herfamily.

What awonderful mother. What an incredible example.

Project 365, Day 24: Crazy College Days

2012-01-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

I’m back in school… No one is more surprised than me...

I never dreamt I would ever actually want to go back. I wouldn't quite describe myself as someonewho loves to learn, my husband is like that... he totally enjoyslearning...

None-the-less, a friend recommended a certainphotography professor at our local community college and I thought I'd try itout.

It was about a month ago that I filled out allthe enrollment hoopla…

When I was finally allowed to enroll in classes,the class I wanted was already full. Iam currently #1 on the waitlist. Theyemailed me the night before to say that I should still attend the firstmeeting.

That same night, I completely talked myself outof it... too busy... blah, blah, blah... "I'll do it next semester."

However today, an hour before the start of thefirst class period, I changed my mind, "I'm never going to be less busythan I am now..."

It was interesting to be back on a collegecampus. I noticed so many things I musthave overlooked in the past.

Additionally, I found that I actually wanted tolearn the subject matter... I wasn't there to just get the grade...

Next week I find out if I can actually get on theroster...

Anyways, back to my first day at MSJC... classwas obviously way better than I expected...

Fast-forward to end of class… I parked across the street (obviously becauseI have no parking pass).

Not more than ten feet from my car there is anambulance... a police officer... and someone being loaded into the back of theambulance... everything looked under control, so I hopped in my car. Guess I won't be making that illegal U-turntoday...

I pull into the first neighborhood on the left,it's lined with cars... there's a church parking lot on the right, I'll fliparound there.

Just as I'm about to pull back onto the neighborhoodstreet a black truck screeches to a stop, just inches in front from mytruck. The man in the driver’s seat ismotioning wildly for me to roll down my window. I can see that there is a lady sitting next to him and a kid in thebackseat. He proceeds to tell me that hecan get the massive dent out of my left rear panel (the one I put there overtwo years ago when I backed into the garage) for just $100.

I am always skeptical of this sort of thing,partial to the belief that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…

I begin to tell him, "No thanks, I’m good,it’s been there forever and that it doesn’t affect the way the truckdrives…" But before I’ve evencompleted my sentence, like a flash of lightening, this man has jumped out ofhis car, run the length of my truck, placed a big metal object onto my leftside panel and pulled backward.... Thesound of metal popping was unmistakable.

"Uuummm??? No he didn't..."

I can't make out anything from my passenger sidemirror... Without really thinking, I get out to survey the damage.

Amazing! The majority of the huge dent that was in my back panel was now gone…

He promises that he can get the rest out and evenbuff the scratches out… for just$100.00

My first thought was actually, "If I say no,is he going to re-kick in my panel?" My second thought being, "Whatever you just did looks awesome, I'mgood with it, and it didn't cost me a dime."

But I find myself saying, "How about “$50?”

He says, “$75.00… I’m trying to put food on thetable..."

To which I say, "Fifty bucks is pretty goodfor five minutes of work."

So he says, "Deal!"

Down the road we go.

He works on the dent in the parking lot of AutoZone,

I walk to the ATM…

He did do a good job and yes, he actually got thescratches out. !?!? Matt thought it wasa win for us :)

I wish I had a “before” pic… but clearly there was notime to snap one…

The left panel did have a massive dent that ranalmost the entire length of the panel…

But here’s all the damage that’s left from my run in with thegarage :)

Project 365, Days 18-23

2012-01-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

18/365:

Wednesday mornings are a treat for me. It’s my “late start” day… the only weekday my alarm isn’t juddering me awake by 5am.

I like early mornings, something about the quiet and still of it all.

I like sleep too… as such, I look forward to Wednesdays :)

This morning there was also leftover blueberry pancakes… just waiting to be smothered with fresh blueberries, brown sugar and my newfound luv, pumpkin butter…

19/365:

A fabulous lunch with myclosest friend!

I love our timestogether. I love who she is. I love her passion. I love who she is becoming.

I’m digging the latestquote that she sent me,

“Your theology will notalways move you in the direction of obedience because your use of theology isgoverned by the condition of your heart.” -Paul Tripp

So true.

PS. CPK has a new yummy Roasted Vegetable Salad…nirvana!

20/365:

Romans 6 study! Laughing at Matt’s hand motions. Searching the Word of God together. Encouraging each other to pursue Christharder.

21/365:

We awoke to a grey, drizzlymorning. I quite enjoy it when those sortsof mornings fall on a Saturday… mostly because I am able to snuggle up underthe covers with my love for an extra hour or so :)

I also woke up sick… musthave been those late hours partying with our Romans 6 crew that did me in…. ;)

At any rate, today was aproductive sick day. I spent a largepart of the day taking our 2011 blog and formatting it into a digitalscrapbook. Jan-June 2011 is now readyfor print… still have July-Dec to go…

As each January rollsaround, undertaking our yearly family scrapbook feels like a bit daunting (thoughthe process is neither hard nor complicated); I have to remind myself that it’sso fun to enjoy the results.

22/365:

A low-key kind of weekend. Not my favorite, but needed.

P.S. Matt ♥’s grapefruits…

23/365: Let’smake February the new January…

I used to find myself,amidst the craziness of December, saying (to myself), “Self, just get throughDecember, in January the madness will letup and it’ll be occasion for abreather…”

But now I say (to myself),“Self, enjoy December in all its wonderful craziness, because January will comeand it’s craziness is not nearly as fun (or as important).”

January means goodbyingwith the Christmas tree, taking down the Christmas sparkles… it means “operationsimplify” is in effect around here, it means full schedules start up again…plus there are those pesky new year’s resolutions one must simultaneously keep amongstfull schedules restarting, there’s taxes to get in order and last year’sscrapbook to be formatted…. It seems Januaryjust got here and it’s already almost over. While it’s ok to anticipate the next season (or month), one thing I haveobviously yet to learn: how to livefully (abundantly) in this moment…

Project 365, Day 17

2012-01-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

17/365: HappyValentine’s Day to Me :)

Today I went to thedentist.

I’m thankful to beable to go to the dentist.

There was a time inour lives when we couldn’t afford it.

As I left the dentistoffice, with a glowing report and a steaming cup of pumpkin flavored coffee inhand, the sun had finally emerged triumphant over lingering rain clouds. In case you haven’t quite noticed, I reallydo ♥ beautiful, sunshiny days.

The road home forcesme to drive by one of my favorite home décor stores.

I drove past the firstentrance… “There’s nothing that I need…”

Coming up on thesecond entrance… “Oh, ok, I’ll just run in and have a quick look…”

When I’m in theshopping mood, I quite enjoy it… slowly perusing up and down the store’saisles, searching its shelves for unique treasures…

I was about to go homeempty handed when I saw her.

Hello “Black Beauty…”

Do you want to comehome with me? Yes, I think you very muchdo…

The price tag wasreasonable, but it wasn’t exactly a bargain…

I have to really like something to pay fair marketvalue for it. Normally I don’t settlefor anything less than a great deal…

But “Black Beauty” hadmy name written all over it.

I snapped a picturewith my camera phone, emailed it over to Matt, typed, “Can I get this forValentine’s day?” into the subject line and awaited his response…

I shopped some more…there were actually two “Black Beauties” in the store.

Three minutes later Ifound myself standing in front of “Black Beauty” again. Admiring. Waiting.

Another lady walkedby, “If you like it you should get it, I just saw the other one being carriedup to the front.”

She was right.

I hadn’t even noticedbefore, but there was only ONE “Black Beauty” left.

I knew I could alwaysreturn it if Matt didn’t like it… or rather if he didn’t like me enough to buy me this most perfect Valentine’s day gift… totallyjoking about that last part ;)

My phone told me I hadan email.

“Yep, not even gonnaask how much.”

So without furtherado, allow me to introduce you to our new “Black Beauty.”

This canvass is a bitoutside of the box for me—who is addicted to coastal, beachy, laid-back décor style... but somehow it fits. I grew up riding horses; the second horse Iowned was all black like this one... maybe that's why it fits...

Project 365, Day 16

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

16/365: Latte Heaven

I ♥ coffee. You already know this, yes?

If you ♥ coffee too, allow me to make a suggestion… It may just turn your morning coffee intolatte heaven.

Especially if you’reone who really ♥’s a good latte with foam…

I will be your new BFFfor sharing my new secret with you.

I stumbled upon thislil latte-heaven-making-contraption while returning a Christmas present. Matt and I were wandering through the store,searching for something to spend our store credit on and we stumbled upon whatis now our new Keurig One Touch Milk Frother.

I was a bit skepticalat first… didn’t think she would quite live up to all the promises on herpackaging. I googled her; she didn’t getraving reviews, but I brought her home anyway.

Ok, actually, Mattbrought her home, but I found her…

Excellent decision!

I ♥ her!!!

Though I will admit,latte-heaven-making-contraption hasn’t been with us very long, she’s doing aphenomenal job. Here’s too that perfectlyheated, fluffy foam... and to an excellent start to today :)

Project 365, Days 14-15

2012-01-20T06:30:00.000-08:00

14/365:

The weatherman says ourbeautiful summer-weather-in-January is ending and normal SoCal winter weatheris to resume tomorrow. It seems I shouldsneak my bike out for a late afternoon ride.

So glad I did.

Wine country wasincredible.

Observing how bright raysof sun gleamed down, lighting up the vineyards… turning distant mountainsdeeper shades of green…

Inhaling the mixedfragrance of sweet fruit trees in bloom and the woodsy scent of fires burning…

15/365: CoastalConquest

I was told that the mostbeautiful region of the California coast stretches from San Francisco to SantaMonica…

Not sure if it’s true, butit gave me an idea…

Bike it! As in, with an actual bicycle… ;)

And thus, the idea wastransferred to the bucket list.

This summer, Lord-willing,it’s getting crossed off.

Tonight, Matt and I met upwith another crazy couple who are also gearing up for this ride. By that I mean: Chuck and I will be riding ourbikes… our spouses are both opting to take in the beauty of the golden coastatop wheels they don’t have to pedal.

We had an absolutelywonderful time, with Chuck and Barbie, planning out this summer’s coastalconquest route. It was fun to get toknow them. They’ve shared a lifetime ofadventure; Matt and I sat intrigued, listening to just a few of their crazy,fun memories together… I’m sure we didn’t even scratch the surface…

At 66 (years old), Chuckand ready to conquer the coast with me, need I say more? What a pair he and I will make out there onPCH…

Hesays we should name our ride “beauty and the beast…” ;)

Project 365, Days 8-13

2012-01-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

8/365:

I so enjoyed today.

Its January here, buttoday felt like more like a perfect summer’s day. And so, after church, our afternoon lunch anda movie date, quickly became lunch and a lovely afternoon walk.

Red Lobster was delish! The company, my absolute favorite. The conversation, wonderful. Our walk, refreshing.

I’ve said it a thousandtimes before, I’m sure you will hear it again, it’s so true… Matt makes lifesweeter.

9/365:

You know what it’s like whenyou work hard at something and it pays off… that was Matt today. He came home, after his winning workpresentation, with a huge smile on his face—all chipper and dapper looking. Well yes… he is always dapper looking…

10/365:

RMG. Full house. Friends. New faces.

Studying James 2:14-26, themost important theology in all of James.

“What use is it, mybrethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works, can that faith savehim?” (James 2:14)

11/365:

After a late dinner athome we nestled together our two office chairs and listened to an introduction message to Roman’s 6.

12/365:

Not much went my versionof “right” today. As I was running outthe door to teach spin class this morning, my protein shake explodede-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e… all over my white hoodie, the sink, the fridge, thecountertop, the floor…

How can it be possible forits projectile to splash that far in every direction?

After spin, Costco forgotto inform me to pick up the memory cards I paid for at the special merchandisepickup counter and I left without my cards…

Just the inconveniences oflife I guess.

The best part of my day =a sweet, unprovoked text from my awesome husband in the midst,

“I love you! Thank you for being my life and being soincredible, miss you!”

He made my day

I’m glad for the littlethings in life that are actually big things…

13/365:

Morning coffee with myclosest friend.

We sit down with steamingmugs of Starbucks one minute, look up a minute later and somehow 4 hours havesped by…

Project 365, Days 1-7

2012-01-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

1/365

Our front porch is stillvery much a work in progress… one we haven’t gotten back around to… Life andother stuff (good stuff) took over…

But in the meantime,here’s what happens on our new front deck. Just what we were planning to happen out here :)

2/365

Matt had the day off :)

I had so much todo—Christmas decorations to pack, an entire house to clean, mail that had beensitting for a week, paperwork to attend to…

He wanted me to join himon his errands.

There was a battle goingon at first. He doesn’t need me to go with. We’ve already spent an entire, wonderfulmorning together. I should get my work done.

But I didn’t. Instead, we talked the whole way there andback. We had fun running errands. Ilaughed at him as he ran around Home Depot like a kid in a candy store. He treated me to my favorite drink from myfavorite coffee shop.

The other stuff eventuallygot done… it always does.

3/365

2011 UFC Champs here:) With our victory came a flat screenTV. Yesterday we returned it, thenupgraded to a 55” LCD.

My husband happens to be amedical rep by day and a tech-junkie-genius by night. Here he is working his magic to upgrade ourwireless signal so that we can be cord free. Because our technology must be pretty… my rule.

4/365

I spent ALL day in thecomputer chair… paperwork, taxes, bill paying, paperwork, retirement accounts,filing, calculating, paperwork, charts, Quickbooks, emails, paperwork…

Till evening came, Idimmed the lights… took a beat and hit the yoga mat :)

5/365: DisasterAverted!

Matt couldn’t find hiswallet… AGAIN! He tends to lose it everyother year or so… I tend to lose mycool…

We looked everywhere.

Just as we were about tocall the credit card companies, he checked the truck a second time. There it was, caught on the inset of the passenger side door…

Thankful :)

6/365

Our impromptu dinner atthe parent’s house spun itself out into a most lovely evening together.

There was steak andcrab. Excellent conversation. An Auntie Anne’s pretzel experiment. Please laugh at our beautiful pretzel “creations…”

The boys cleaned theirguns till well past our bedtimes. Themanly smell of Hoppe’s lingering about on our drive home.

Matt and I agree, lifetastes a lil bit sweeter at the parent’s house… when we’re just along for theride… with two people we love and trust and genuinely enjoy.

7/365

The weather has been glorious here in SoCal!

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

All week, I stared out my open window and toldmyself I would stop, get out there and enjoy it…

Never happened.

Guess my to-do list was just too long… Icouldn’t stop…

Correction, I didn’t stop. I chose not to stop…

Today, however, I did :)

Just got out there…stretched my legs, felt the sunshine on my skin, walked the doggie.

Fabulous!

12.30: Till Next Time

2012-01-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot to show you which team placed LAST in our UFC competition…

UFC Rules: This lovely lil loser trophy (see trophy on the left) must be prominently displayed somewhere about the residence of the losing team.

You already know that the winner plaque currently resides with US! :)

Now take your final guess as to who took home the loser trophy…

Eeerrmmm… it was none other than…

G-Force!

If you live in KC feel free to verify that this trophy has been prominently displayed about their residence ;)

In all seriousness, these two are the heart of our family. They are my heroes. He is our fearless leader—passionate, simple, hardworking, genuine, trustworthy, diligent, strong, unwavering, wise, funny, insightful, humble, courageous…

She is love personified—kind, compassionate, a servant, gentle, quiet in spirit, faithful, joyful, never without hope, patient…

When I grow up I want to be like them.

Goodbye my dear family. I love you. I already miss you. The house is too quiet without you. I am grateful for our time together. Grateful for answered prayers. Grateful for each one of you :)

12.29: Christmas Vacation Comes To A Close

2012-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

There’s something special about childhood.

And today, as she actually came with us on our morning walk, my sister was reminiscing about how our childhood was “the greatest!”

I completely agree. It was.

We had the best childhood.

This Christmas reminded me A LOT of those days.

Playing together. Laughing together. Being silly together. Sitting around the dinner table together. Fellowshipping together…

And in the words of our dear friend Jason, “This Christmas is one I will remember for many years to come.”

Tonight was our last night all together. What did we do? We kept on celebrating...

Tomorrow our dear brother turns 25… So tonight, with all of us together, we had a lil birthday celebration!

Such an honor to celebrate with Derek. I ♥ this guy. We all do!

Like his dad, he’s a visionary… I could fill a book with all his wicked good ideas…

When he smiles, he really smiles.

He’s not the type to wear his heart on his sleeve…

With him, you have to look much harder… you must be patient…

And he will surprise you.

He is handsome.

He is strong.

At 25, Derek’s race has already taken him many places in life, some good, some not.

At 25, he’s working hard, dreaming big.

At 25, he’s asking hard questions… GOOD questions.

At 25, he’s still my little brother, and I’m so proud to be his sister.

12.28: UFC Finale

2012-01-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

Today was the final day of UFC 2011, our first ever Ultimate Family Competition!

With three teams tied for first place, and three competitions still to go, UFC1 was still anyone’s game!!!

We sure did go out with a bang. All three of today’s contests literally came down to the wire.

I wish you could have been there… felt the excitement, the nervous tension, heard the cheering, seen the victory dances, the high fives…

Today was a THRILLING day.

Today was a FUN day.

Today was a GREAT day.

And it all started off with a round of mini golf.

At the 9^th hole G-Force and Mr. & Mrs. Claws were tied for FIRST.

But just a mere 5 strokes behind them, Mojo Mueller and Team Cougar were tied for SECOND.

Mojo Mueller and Team Cougar made up lost ground over the next seven holes and, with two holes to go, all four teams were within 2 strokes of each other.

Excitement was in the air.

Scores were calculated and recalculated as each team figured and refigured the score they would need to win.

Here we are at hole #17.

We all kinda choked...

And at the 18^th hole we had a tie.

G-Force vs. Mr. & Mrs. Claws

And then… appearing out of nowhere, because they thought they did stand a chance after their first 9 holes…

3’s Company!

Three way tie friends! Sudden death it was. We marched our entire entourage back to the first hole to settle the score. With everyone looking on...

Here’s how it went down:

Dad = 2, Mom = 4; G-Force => 7

Matt = 3, Me = 3; Mr. & Mrs. Claws => 6

Meg steps up and scores a 2!?!, Jeff seals in the victory with a HOLE IN ONE!!!!

3’s Company wins with a cumulative score of 3!!! Say What?!?

Ok, they totally deserved that win!

Our second UFC competition of the day featured a Home Run Hitting Contest. We thought the Rothinators had this one in the bag, seeing as they both played competitive baseball…

Rules: Everyone gets 5 hits. Homeruns are not counted against your 5 hits. Strikes are not counted against your 5 hits. Foul balls are not counted against your 5 hits.

Easy enough, 5 hits for you, 5 hits for your partner, total up you homeruns and see who wins!

The Rothinators and G-Force were tied for second place, each had 4 home runs.

Team Cougar was leading the pack with a total of 5 home runs.

Sidenote: It took each team about a total of 8 minutes to complete their turn.

Then Matt steps up to the plate. Mind you Mr. and Mrs. Claws were never considered a threat, neither of us ever played baseball. Want to see just an itty-bitty snippet of Matt’s 20minutes at bat?

I think he may have popped a rib.

He was sore 2 whole days later.

But!!!!

Babe Ruth struck out more than any other player.

And all Matt’s effort was not in vain. When he did connect, that ball flew.

He hit 6 homers all by himself!

I added five more and we had the very decisive victory!

One competition left folks. A friendly competition of Gestures (If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s kinda like Charades on crack.)

Thanks to Tamra’s winning performance, it looked like Team Cougar had this one in the bag.

Their score was almost double that of the team in second place. Want to see them in action? I think you very much do ;)

What happened next was kind of a blur. I remember that 3’s Company needed 8 points to tie Team Cougar, and 9 points to steal the victory win here. If they did get the 9 points then we would have a two way tie overall for UFC1.

Currently, Mr. & Mrs. Claws was the only team with two victories on the board. 3’s Company already had one victory, but needed one more win in order to challenge us for the BIG win.

So did they bring in an unheard of nine points?

Unbelievably, YES, they did!!!

The clock was ticking and they boys had to get up early for work the next day, but we still needed a final winner. So how did we settle the score?

How about a good old fashioned coin toss? Yes, we know/understand/realize this was a bit of a lame way to end it, but it was all we could come up with at the time. So coin toss it was.

Chris flipped the quarter up in the air.

Megan calls it, “tails!”

The quarter bounced on the floor and spun round and round…

Till it finally landed flat on the ground… George Washington looking back at us… “Heads!”

And so, with that, Mr. & Mrs. Claws are our new UFC 2011 Champions!

I’ll admit it, I kept the quarter :)

Well that's it from UFC1. Hope you enjoyed sharing in our lil adventure, we sure enjoyed every moment of it!

12.27: UFC Part Three

2012-01-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

Our mornings consisted mainly of the following:

Coffee. Each other. Morning walks. Sunny skies. Harper’s white fuzzy beanie against her long black lashes. Laughter. Eggs and pumpkin pie ;) Crisp air. Card games. Zuma ♥. Lazing around. Golf. More coffee.

This afternoon the thermometer read 75 :)

Not a cloud in the sky…

Carpe Diem people.

We settled on a lil outdoor mall shopping adventure. We had exactly two hours to spend our new-found Christmas money from the parents.

Seize the day we did, running out to the car at the very last minute while toting packages from every available limb.

Dinnertime meant that EVERYONE was back together :)

And after dinner was what I considered my favorite part of the day. We’d circle up in the great room to discuss what is truly most important.
Tonight’s topic was the greatest gift ever given.

WOWed again by what our Savior has done for us.
The Gospel never gets old.
That precious time was quite easily the BEST part of our evenings together.

Now back to the UFC J

Today’s event = Wii archery!

Chris and Jean started us off strong.

The many faces of concentration...

Some behind the scenes strategy...

Very intense...

Matt gave Mr. & Mrs. Claws the edge needed to weasel into first.

The Rothinators were the last team to go and had the opportunity to place first for a very big second win…

So close, but no cigar…

Mr & Mrs. Claws took home the victory win.

Ok, so yes, we own the game; yes we picked the competitions but we’ve honestly only played it once before… Eerrmm no whining about it or your team loses points… jk…

Tonight also seemed like a good time to unwrap and break out Just Dance 3. That we did, till midnight!

Check back tomorrow. Our final day of UFC featured 3 hair-raising competitions.

12.26: UFC Part Two

2012-01-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

The California weather was extravagantly lovely. Mom and I took full advantage with an extra-long morning walk. Enjoying the clear blue skies… delightful rays of sun—all sunshiny and warm.

Our sweet time together, just mom and me :)

I confess—I ate stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie for breakfast. I sure did. SO good :)

The weather was exquisite. Incredible. Beautiful. Splendid. Actually, the weather was quite perfect all week long. We were blessed to have such a week. Like being given the most gorgeous present.

Today we spent the afternoon snapping a few family photos. More pics to come, but for now, I give you a few shots of “3’s company.”

We LOVE this family. They are precious to us. Young, so full of life. Eager, to serve, to love. They are easy to please. Easy to love. They are a testimony that God works miracles. Their story is not mine to share, but their love story absolutely rocks-my-socks-off.

Oh and dear-beloved-Harper-girl, you don’t know this yet… but as soon as you’re old enough, Matt & I will be stealing you away each summer for as long a time as your parents can stand it. Hope your looking forward to it as much as we are... I just may have already planned out your first stay with us... ;)

After pictures, after taking up the entire back corner of Chilis…

We then returned to our regular programming and got our game faces on! Ready for tonight’s friendly BOWLING contest!

Talk about some tough competition!

Chris was packing so much power that he completely ripped his shirt down the side… He was also so in “the zone” that he didn’t even notice his shirt had split in two till it was pointed out to him.

Jason was literally “smashing it,” approaching the lane at such intense speeds that his legs couldn’t quite keep up and his whole body would smash to the floor. It happened more than once folks.

At the end of round one the Rothinators were in the lead.

Followed by none other than Grannylicious?!? Say what?!?

Granny’s strategy was really working for her…

But after two fierce rounds of competition it was the Rothinators that took home the gold. They bowled out of their minds. No one could touch them.

Who came in last? Don’t ask. But it couldn’t have been Matt and me…

12.25: Christmas Day ♥

2012-01-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

We anticipated a beautiful day together. Laughter & blessings. It was just that and more. Blessings upon blessings.

A precious gift I will forever treasure.

Together with Matt’s family. Together with my family. Close family, old friends, new friends; all together for this long-anticipated celebration.

Together at Sunday morning service, worshiping our Savior

Together exchanging gifts around the twinkling tree

Together in the kitchen

Together around the dinner table

Together with mugs of coffee and slices of pumpkin pie

Together circled round in the living room to discuss “What it means to KNOW God”

Together praising our Savior for who He is

Together trying to articulate His incomprehensible love

Together rejoicing that this incomprehensible God has made a way for us to KNOW Him

To say that today was a very special day is an understatement

Today, for me, was one for the highlight reel

And then, without further ado, (enter theme music) it was time to “Let the Games Begin!”

UFC1 was all at once underway. Official contender introductions were made. The grand prize revealed (a 40'' flat screen TV). Winner and loser trophies were brought out and prominently displayed.

Jason had previously sent in his “warm-up” video. We played it on the projector for all to see :)

Have I told you yet that tonight was completely full of laughter? I’m not sure if I ever stopped smiling.

To kick-off round one of our lil 3-day competition, UFC 1 brought to us The Newlywed Game!

Each couple was put on the spot, answering a series of questions about their teammate. Lots of great stories were shared. Even MORE laughter was had :)

Can you guess who won?

In dramatic fashion it all came down to 2 teams who had tied for first place. Facing off in a sudden death match to settle tonight’s score, it was…

Grannylicious Vs. Mr. & Mrs. Claws

Sienna & Grandma (who live in different states) Vs. Matt and Me (who have been married for 6 years)

Final guesses people...

Emerging victorious it was none other than:

Grannylicious!!!

(Go granny, go granny, go!)

It was I who choked in the sudden-death face off… in the drama and excitement of it all! I had 2 answers written down on the paper. One of my answers was, in fact, right. But it seems I chose the wrong one.

What a wonderful CHRISTmas day!

12.24: They're Here!

2012-01-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

It’s Christmas Eve and my heart is so full. Our stockings are hung. The tree is shining bright. Our family arrived safe and sound! All feels as it should be.

12.24: Mueller Family Christmas

2012-01-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

I must tell you that I ♥ being apart of this family. They are gold.

I also ♥ their Christmas Day tradition of a late morning breakfast, complete with all the fancy trimmings. It has become "our" tradition too, one we always look forward too.

We added a chair to our table this year. Woo Woo! Love her!

These two are THE GREATEST! Like I said before, I ♥ being apart of this family!

Watch out Santa's... this is what could happen to you if you run into my other mother. She makes me laugh.

We found this next gift for Jean eight months ago. Last Christmas there was much laughter over the "Poo-lar-bear" present she bought Chris. Now she has her own version :)

Oh, the many faces of Cali... She was apparently not happy that someone was else was sitting on her comfy couch spot.

Thank you parents for a lovely Christmas morning!!!

Daily Tide 12.23: UFC Christmas {the prelude}

2011-12-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

This Christmas is going to be extraordinary...

Very. Very. Special!!!

For a lot of reasons...

Reason #1. Because we will be celebrating our Savior :)

Reason #2. Matt's family & my family & a few close friends will ALL be here...

All together for Christmas...

We're beyond excited!

Want to see a snippet of our "Christmas" email that Matt sent out to our family...

Ready?

Good.

Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for the main family event of the year!!! Introducing to you today: UFC 1!!!

Our inaugural ULTIMATE FAMILY COMPETITION will be coming to you live December 25^th from California’s own inland empire.

Featuring five rounds of fierce competition in the UFC’s light to heavyweight division and 16 warriors paired into 8 ferocious teams…"

There you have it.... our UFC Christmas prelude :)
The teams each sent in their own team name...
Do you wanna meet our contenders?

Can you guess which one belongs to Matt & I?

Ok, I'll give you a hint... Matt did NOT grown up with Santa Claus... I, however, very much did...

I remember finding out this little, unknownst to me, fact while gathered around his parent's dinner table...
Pretty sure I did not have time to catch/alter/mask the apparent confusion that played across my face...
Oh, the horror of it... No Santa Claus???

Six years later, we have yet to resolve if Santa Claus will one day visit our kiddos...
But we do have lots of happy memories as we playfully banter over the issue...
& every year my mom buys Matt something Santa Claus... :)

So have you guessed which team name belongs to us?
Yes, I think you have...

In the spirit of our first ever combined Mueller/Rothaus Christmas...
And in honor of two becoming one, with a lil playful rivalry to boot; this Christmas Matt and I =
Mr. & Mrs. CLAWS!!!

The family arrives in two short days! And, pretty sure you already know this but, we can't wait!
Yes, we are anticipating the upcoming games, the fun that is sure to be had...
We're looking forward to moments of laughing so hard it hurts and lots of yummy food...

But this year also, more than any other year,
Will be about savoring the REAL meaning of Christmas.
This year is about being together...
Creating memories...
About enjoying Him and each other!

Hope you are doing the same.
Have a very BLESSED Christmas my friends!

Daily Tide 12.22: Christmas Twinkles :)

2011-12-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

I ♥ me some holiday lights. Feels a lil bit like magic :)

Daily Tide 12.21: Good (Enough)

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Four
Days
Till
Christmas!?!

We're finishing up the last of our Christmas "pre-game" around here (more on that soon)...
But we've also made the decision to not get caught up in the needless pursuit of a magazine-cover-perfect-Christmas... in that ever-elusive, joy-killing notion of perfection.
Instead, we are doing what we can. Working with what we've got. And remembering WHY we do this.

Yes, I could spend tonight out running around looking for that perfect Christmas tree topper I have yet to come across...
OR
I could settle for good enough and enjoy this gift of an evening with my wonderful husband...

I choose him :)

Here's to working with what you've got...
& to remembering to keep the important things important...

Daily Tide 12.20: Christmas Countdown

2011-12-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

Happy five days till Christmas! We're eagerly counting down the days, anticipating our family's long-awaited arrival :)

Today was round TWO of grocery shopping...

Wish you could've seen the pile I toted home from Costco yesterday...

Daily Tide12.19: Matt & Me :)

2011-12-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

It was a great week.

Indulging in

anniversary festivities,

in six days of anniversary festivities…

Spoiling ourselves with lingering lounges under piles of covers

while the rain pours down outside…

In unhurried conversation

Reminiscing a few favorite memories together

We are blessed…

Beyond measure, in fact…

It feels like we’ve already shared a lifetime of insanely amazing times together…

in piles of adventure…

We’ve visited beautiful places, taken incredible vacations…

We’ve loved fiercely.

Six years together has given us a lot to be thankful for…

At the same time, it feels like just yesterday I was putting on that white wedding dress…

& running up the walkway to see him…

If a highlight reel from my life was played,

that moment would be on it.

I could not wait to marry Matt…

I knew the best days of my life were in front of us…

Becoming Mrs. Matthew Mueller marked one of my life’s greatest and most blessed adventures…

I knew six years ago that Matt was the one...

I had a thousand reasons why…

I knew that I loved him…

But perhaps I was too young, or perhaps too crazy in love, to really see how really amazing he is…

I tried explaining this to him this past week…

That he has rocked my world…

Made my life better…

Made me better…

That life with him is better than I ever thought it would be…

That he’s given me a million more reasons to add to my list of why…

I love him…

He is easy to love…

Perfect for me

I love him more today…

That will be true today, tomorrow and the next…

Daily Tide 12.11: Brick Porch... Day Four

2011-12-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

Almost time for my favorite part... bricks are all down and the porch is almost ready for a lil front porch foofing :) I'm thinking a couple white adirondacks, potted plants and a place to put my coffee in the morning...

Daily Tide 12.10: Brick Porch... Day Three

2011-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday the weather was just lovely. Exactly what Danielle believes a southern California winter should be... upper 60's & sunny :) Lovely. The sunshine had me eager to put my elf hat on; to get our there with my amazing husband and help finish what will be a splendid brick porch.

We made quite the dent in our stack of bricks... But whatever will we do with the leftovers... hhhmmm... the possibilities :)

We made lots of progress...

And then, with 3 feet left to go, we ran out of mortar... :/
Isn't that how projects go? You can see the finish line... you're almost there... then... you run out of that last necessary bit of supply and are forced to stop... You look at the clock and immediately start calculating if you have enough time to rush to Lowes, checkout, rush home, mix and finish before the sun sets...
It happens to us all the time...

Daily Tide 12.8: Friends :)

2011-12-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

The brisk December air is here. This morning I could see my breath hesitate in the air before me...

I'm mainly a summer-is-the-greatest kind of girl, but oh how I do love me some snuggling under a gargantuan pile of warm, fleecy blankets :)

I also love the holiday festivities... especially getting together with friends and family over steaming mugs cider!

Last Thursday a few sweet friends and I did just that. We drank cider. Talked. DIY'ed ornaments. Talked some more. Ate the yummiest mocha pie. And talked some more...

So FUN!

Daily Tide 12.12: SIX Years Together :)

2011-12-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

Six years ago today, I could not wait to marry this man!!!

All I wanted was to be Mrs. Matt Mueller...

The last six years have been the best six years of my life :)

Daily Tide 12.4: Brick Porch... Day Two

2011-12-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

Like his method of brick transport? Smart man...

Daily Tide 12.3: Brick Porch... Day One

2011-12-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

This project = all Matt...

It was his idea (genius) to add brick to our front porch...

It was at his suggestion we headed out to the brick yard...

He's the one out there working in the cold...

And the result (which I'm confident will be beautiful) will be because of all his hard work...

Either I'm rubbing off on him...

or...

He knows me well, loves me A LOT and is spoiling me before my parents come for Christmas...

Trust me, it's the latter of the two...

Daily Tide 12.3: Date Day :)

2011-12-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

These are the kinds of things that tend to happen when Matt and I go out on a date... we come home with things like this...

And, instead of talking over dessert, we talk, as we empty out the back of the truck brick-by-brick...

12.2: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas :)

2011-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

Things are getting a little sparkly around here...

a lil Christmassy...

We're getting ready for a houseful of our favorite people...

Excitement is in the air...

Especially when we think about the promise of having our ENTIRE family together for Christmas...

Our Christmas tree is all sparkled up!

Ornaments have been added to just about everything that doesn't move...

And sparkle... I ♥ me some sparkle...

I ♥ ♥ ♥ fresh fir... especially if draped over anything white...

and white poinsettia's...

Stockings are a hanging :)

And, because two wasn't enough...

Frosty has made his appearance...

And presents wait under the tree... tis better to give than receive... :)

Shimmery candle holders are scattered about...

I ♥ this lil Charley Brown tree! It was Matt and I's very first Christmas tree, currently decorated with a few of our childhood ornaments... I ♥ it!... Errm, did I mention; I ♥ it!

More sparkle was sprinkled about... for extra good measure...

I ♥ those wonderful, Christmassy scents :)

Our Christmas table will be packed this year :) Hence the very simple, easy tablescape...

Lights have been strewn about... giving a few things we already luv that special Christmas glow...

Soon it will be Christmas day!

Daily Tide 12.1: Pacific Beach

2011-12-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

I ♥ living near the beach. I am thankful to have been blessed to live in this incomparable country...

For me, the beach evokes a sense of calm... an occasion to slow down... to think... to rest... to remember...

The beach never ceases to impress me with its grandeur and apparent magnificence...

And leaves me awestruck and overwhelmed by the grandeur and apparent magnificence of the One who spoke it into existence...

So, are you ready for a lil beach love my friends?

To be assulted by a blast of light, air, brightness, blueness, water, space, scents, wind...

Today it was warm next to the waves of Pacific Beach... much warmer than it had been up in the windy valley...

A beautiful day :)

Enjoy!

Luvin the whole Christmas tree on the pier thing...

Daily Tide 11.28: Twenty Eight

2011-12-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

My husband is the GREATEST!
He's awesome... seriously awesome.
He brings so much to my world.
He brings love, wisdom, joy, calm, adventure, faith, kindness, encouragement, care, safety, goodness, laughter, patience, lightheartedness, stability, fun, direction, compassion, generosity, passion, understanding, sincerity, loyalty, hope, belief... to name a few...

I could never express in words how much I love this guy! I could never quite capture how wonderful he is or all the reasons I love him in a short paragraph, or two, or a thousand...
But I can tell you...

Life with him is better.
Life with him is better than I ever dreamed it could be.
Not because of me, but because of him-because of who he is, because of who the Lord has made him...

I can tell you Matt has an incredible heart. That he is my greatest blessing this side of heaven. I can tell you that he is perfect for me in every way. That he serves me selflessly, that he loves me unconditionally.

I can tell you that I ♥ him more today.
That will be true today, tomorrow, and the next day...

Today is my husband's 28th birthday :)
Even though it means partying with his family, eating his favorite foods and opening lots of presents, Matt is NOT a fan of celebrating those increasing birthday digits...

Dan and Bre bought him a birthday balloon to help with his annual "I'm-another-year-older-birthday-depression-syndrome..."

Daily Tide 11.24: Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

"I will be glad and rejoice in Thee." -Psalm 9:2

We will be glad and rejoice: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord? Do not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice IN THEE. That last word is the... soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, ay, every drop of their fullness in Him. Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favor us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day, we may be glad and rejoice in Thee.

-Charles Spurgeon

We are thankful.

Matt and I have much in our lives to be thankful for. We are beyond blessed. To list our life's million blessings would take a lifetime.

But the thing we are most thankful for is to be found "in Thee"

Not because of anything we have done. But by HIS amazing grace.

Our thanksgiving celebration was a bit different this year; our delicious Thanksgiving feast taking place at the San Diego Zoo... (Is anyone else chuckling at the irony?... Turkey Day at the Zoo...)

Different, but just as sweet.

Sweet because we were together with dear family. Sweet because it was a beautiful southern California day.

The food was "mmm...." scrumptious! After lunch we kinda wanted to join this guy...

Lots of animals were out...

And we also received quite the treat...

This lil Kudu was just born. Here he is five minutes new. It was remarkable to watch him take his very first steps!
His first hour of life was full of a lot of attempts... and zero success.

We waited for about an hour...

Till this happened...

A sweet lil miracle :)

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Oh!... before I go, I must show you the souvenir we brought home...

I may have changed the last line ;)

and appropriately placed it next Matt's computer monitor...

He got a good laugh out of it :)

Daily Tide 11.21: Mueller Family & The Wild Animal Park

2011-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

wedding weekend

wonderful whirlwind

it came.

it went.

it was good.

so good :)

Last Monday, with wedding lights dismantled and decorations (mostly/sort of/kind of) packed away, the Mueller family headed out to visit San Diego's Wild Animal Park. We have a fun family. I'm so grateful for my family, for fun, for laughs, for the crazy.

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day :)

Lots of animals were seen...

LOTS of fun was (clearly) had...

And now my friends, since Christmas is officially 25 days away, I leave you with the Cheetah run :)

Daily Tide 11.19: Harper at 2 Months ♥

2011-11-30T15:37:00.000-08:00

oh my goodness, how I love this girl...

I love everything about her... seriously.

she makes the best lil faces...
I totally see her dad in this next one :)

Mom, sister and our most precious niece came in town for the wedding...
Our time together flew by much too fast...

Matt and I had THE BEST time just hanging with them :)

Daily Tide 11.19: Mr & Mrs. Dan Mueller

2011-11-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

It was a very, very special day!

The ceremony was incredible...the venue absolutely beautiful...

Here are a few snapshots from my camera, taken by my friend Sienna...

Bre looked stunning... radiant... absolutely beautiful... It has been an incredible privilege for me to watch the Lord dress her up and make her beautiful from the inside out... true beauty... Her Savior he has clothed her with a gentle and quiet spirit... He has adorned her with joy and love and grace...

Dan's first look at his beautiful bride...

How is it that the old man jumped the highest... ?!?

Scan through the next two pictures quickly... these two will have to find a place in my house soon...

It was FREEZING in the field... here we are trying to hide in the boys jackets...

Bridal party...

Ceremony...

First kiss as husband and wife :)

God is SO GOOD... today is a special reminder of His great love and goodness :)

My prayer for you marriage as you begin your life as husband and wife, is that you love for each other would be defined and motivated by an overwhelming gratitude of how God has loved you... That as you celebrate the grace of the Savior, you would willingly, sacrificially, and unconditionally desire to give your spouse what God has already given you. My prayer is that you both, together, grasp how wide and long, how high and deep, is the love of Christ; because we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

I love you guys! Congratulations!

Daily Tide 11.17: Wedding Rehearsal

2011-11-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

Daily Tide 11.12: T-1 Week :)

2011-11-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Wedding day is almost here :)

Matt and I absolutely love these two!

We can't believe that in 3 short days we will be celebrating with them as they exchange vows and join their lives in Christ!

Peter described marriage as "the grace of life" (1Peter 3:7)...

SO TRUE... No one has brought more joy/blessing/love/kindness/goodness to my life than Matt.

I'm sure they will find this to be true of their marriage as well :)

Daily Tide 11.9: Sunsets & Racehorses...

2011-11-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

I love my husband... tremendously...

God has given him unbelievable wisdom in leading me...

Matt teaches me many things...

And he loves this race horse enough to show her there's a better way...

He reminds me that it is good to not be constantly running at a pace that results in injury...

He reminds me to play... to relax... to stop striving...

This racehorse tends to chomp at the bit, thinking of everything that "needs" to get done, making her thousand lists, and believing I'm the one to do it...

My husband reminds me that is simply NOT true...

"Cease striving and know that I am God...." Psalm 46:10 (NASB)

"Be still and know that I am God..." Psalm 26:10 (ESV)

I admittedly like many things...

But only ONE thing is important.

I have a lot to learn...

Here's to tethering the racehorse inside...

And to taking in a-m-a-z-i-n-g sunsets with my love...

P.S.
Yes, these are pics of the sunsets that inspired us to paint the hallway grey, which resulted in a second trip to the home improvement store to purchase more paint, which resulted in the installation of Mr. Beautiful black granite kitchen sink, followed by a return to our grey paint as we set ourselves about painting both the master and the office, which set us about deep cleaning the place-vents, air filters, windows, blinds, screens etc... oh, and since we were at it, why not just go ahead and put the extra brick in the garage to use and add brick to the space above our hall cabinets...

Now you understand why he calls me a racehorse...

Daily Tide 11.8: Bring on the Holidays

2011-11-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

I have a confession...I've never cleaned the outside of my windows...

Probably because we have yet to invest in our backyard... which means there's no reason for me to gaze out my windows back there...

But it was getting harder to overlook the accumulated affect of four years of dust, dirt, water spots, etc...

So I did it!

I scrubbed all my screens, windows and sills...

Scrubbed the inside of the windows too...

And the blinds...

Actually, I hand dusted each individual blind with a soapy rag...

Which got me into deep clean mode...

So air filters were changed, vents dusted, light fixtures disassembled and washed, recessed lighting was cleaned, walls were dusted, baseboards wiped down...

And with this, we conclude our lil "project" season...

Temporarily suspending any and all projects for a while...

We are looking forward to the upcoming wedding and holiday season. Ready to soak up lots of extra hours with family and friends :)

Daily Tide 11.6: More Brick ♥

2011-11-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

We had some leftover brick from our latest dining room project sitting unused in the garage...

Matt put it to good use this past weekend...

Enriching this lil cabinet nook in the hallway...

Daily Tide 11.5: We still got it :)

2011-11-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

Back in our Arizona days we had 2 doggies...

You have already met Ms.Zuma...

She has affectionately been deemed the "crack dog..."

She runs around like a crazy wind up toy...

Always deliriously happy with life...

Matt hand-picked our Zuma-girl way back in the day while we were still dating...

She's seriously the greatest.

We did have another dog.

He was an american stafforshire terrier.

We picked him up from the pound and named him Mac, because he was kinda like the mac daddy of canines...

He was one strong dude, built like a monster truck...

He had a literal six-pack that bulged out from the nape of his neck and ran down his back...

Whenever we took him anywhere we were always asked what we were feeding him...

We told them "doggie steroids"...

He was a good dog, fiercely loyal, pretty chill...

In AZ we lived about a mile from Matt's parents...

And Matt had this crazy idea that he would teach Zuma and Mac to pull us on the our long-boards...

It worked :)

It became our primary mode of transportation to their house...

We'd strap them up in harnesses and set them off...

It didn't take them long to learn the route...

And they'd inevitably start racing each other, picking up more and more speed...

Matt and I just held on for the ride...

Good times :)

Though Mac is no longer with us (he kept biting other dogs, cost us lots of $ and had to go back to the shelter) and we've all put on another five years...

But it looks like we still got it!

Daily Tide 11.4: Going Grey Part Three

2011-11-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of our new color pallet "inspiration" on our last evening walk...

Will show you those shots soon...

But today we finally put down our grey paint brush...

At least for a while...

The jury is still out on whether or not to give the entry/living room/kitchen a dose of our new soft grey therapy...

I'm thinking it would flow quite nicely with our white, travertine floor tiles in those rooms...

But I'm also wondering if this "grey is the new tan" phase will pass...

Matt has repeated the phrase, "Danielle, we are NOT repainting our entire house every four years..." on more than one occasion recently...

Errm... I suppose that means I better really like this grey color we are splashing up everywhere...

So far so good... :)

Right now the hubby and I really digging the grey...

Hence the "Part Three" grey office treatment...

The office now sports one bold dark grey wall and four other light grey walls...

We think this color combination drifts together much better than the previous blue/tan combination...

And, because I always enjoy a quick before and after...

Here's two shots of the before...

Yep, we like the after...

I have also just realized that Matt has put the surfboard into its rack facing the "wrong" direction... I'm off to make it face the "right way"... ;) ... j/k

Daily Tide 10.29: Fall Festival

2011-11-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

For the past few years our church has rocked an autumn event we call the Fall Festival. There's lots to do, but my favorite part, hands-down, is simply being with my favorite people....

My second favorite part = sampling endless bowls of chili from the chili cook-off tent :)

Daily Tide 11.2: Going Grey... Part Two

2011-11-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

We've been going grey around here (too cheesy?... sorry, couldn't resist)...

Our last trip to Huntington reminded me to get out with my love and "just be"...

Nightly walks around the neighborhood have resulted...

And the sunsets... oh my...

Inspiring...

Motivating me to try a whole new color palette on the walls...

We went a tad bit darker in the master...

More like the steely, dark, whopper kind of clouds...

Similar to what was before...

But oh, so much better :)

And we didn't stop there...

We call this next lil area "the library"...

And today it got a few horizonal grey stripes :)

And an old chalkboard got a quick coastal, seashell treatment...

One more room is still left on the going grey docket...
But we're not thinking about all that additional edging and rolling right now...
Nope...
Just being in the moment...
And right now, this is making me smile :)

Daily Tide 10.23: Mr. Beautiful

2011-11-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Something wonderful did happen on our last trip to Lowes :)

Can you spot him in the picture below?

I will confess that I have dreamt, coveted, nigh-on begged for a new kitchen sink...

But the one that came with the house was perfectly fine...

Though I am not quite sure I understand the thought behind stainless steel sinks...

Because water does not do stainless steel any favors...

My friends will testify that I actually dried out my sink after each use because, even though I wasn't a fan of this old boy, I did my due diligence to keep him nice and shiny...

And so, while waiting for our paint to be mixed, Matt and I zigzagged up and down the home improvement aisles...
Matt has heard my pining for a new sink...
He has even dried out the ole stainless steel sink a few thousand times himself...
Let just take a peak shall we?
Hello Mr. Beautiful Black Granite Sink that makes my heart pitter-patter...

"Matt, it could be my birthday present?!?"
"You already got lots of birthday presents..."
"That's because you keep giving them to me early... This one can really be for my birthday..."
"I've heard that before... how many birthday presents have you gotten this year...I've lost count..."
"Puh-lease..."
"This is your real last birthday present my love"

Matt was smiling as he put the big black box in our basket.
I was smiling bigger :)

And so, the next afternoon, it was out with the old and in with the new...

Our friends stopped by that afternoon, I got distracted and forgot to take more pictures of the progress... to busy talking, laughing, eating pizza, and watching Matt do his thing...
He's so sexy when he's in the zone, doing his thing...

Another successfully completed DIY by Matt :)

I love you Mr. Beautiful Black Granite Sink.

Thank you best hubby ever. It's my favorite birthday present!

Daily Tide 10.22: Going Grey... Part One

2011-11-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Last night the sunset sky was breathtaking...

And its puffy grey clouds sort of inspired me...

Particularly, the feathery silver-grey clouds that seemed to fade out in wispy strands...

Grey just might be my new favorite color :)

We are digging the soft shimmery quality to this grey...

And the way it makes the white trim pop :)

In fact, we liked it so much so, that two more rooms got the same treatment...

And I must tell you...
On our trip to pick up more paint something wonderful happened...
It came home with us in a big black box...
Guesses anyone?
Not to worry, I'll show you in my next post :)

Daily Tide 10.16: Huntington Beach

2011-10-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

It’s Monday morning here and I have that lovely glow from a weekend that I really enjoyed.

Sunday the hubby and I spent a beautiful day beachside… just my love and I… enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation :)

Taking in a stunning ocean view atop our oversized beach towels… we decided (yet again) that we need to “just be” a bit more often…

Truth be told, our jot to Huntington Beach was not exactly in the weekend plan…

Saturday morning was enveloped by oodles of FUN bridal shower hullabaloo…

A festivity that did not quite grab Matt’s interest… and thus, after a goodbye kiss, I heard the roar of the motorcycle setting off down the road…

His buddy lives in Huntington…

I believe they quite enjoyed their day… surfing/boogie boarding the days 7ft. swells… watching the FL state football game… eating FOURTEEN In & Out burgers (you did not misread that, 14 burgers disappeared between the four of them)…

Matt told me he’d be home by 7. Around 7:20 I answered call from Matt’s phone, “Hi Babe…”

“Hi Danielle, this is Doctor Ted G… Matt left about an hour and a half ago…”

I braced myself for what was next, thinking Matt must have wrecked the motorcycle. Already planning to run out the door, jump in the truck and race to the hospital.

“Matt left his phone here; we just saw it on the counter…”

Goodness gracious…phew… praise the Lord… “Yep, sounds like Matt…”

When I heard the garage door a few minutes later I was so thankful Matt made it home in one piece that being mad never even crossed my mind. There’s a hidden lesson in that for me, yes?

So Sunday came and we made a day of it, packed up the beach gear and headed to pick up Matt’s “crack-berry….”

Turned out to be a lovely day.

I happen to luv October days by the shore… summer crowds have retreated like fickle friends, leaving lengthy stretches of sand to true beach lovers…

A lovely day to get away…
Filled with lots of sunshine…
Admiring just how wonderful the colors of the ocean are…
With the love of my life...
He kept skooching over to share my beach towel, though his was perfectly fine…
Not saying I minded…
Didn’t mind one bit actually…

10.15: She's Almost Breanna Mueller :)

2011-10-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

I just ♥ Bre :)

I can't wait for her to marry my brother in exactly 31 days...

I ♥ that SOON we will "officially" be sisters...

we were already sisters...

but soon there will be a legal document to prove it :)

It was FUN to celebrate with this girl as she is about to become Mrs. Breanna Mueller!

I've been searching for an opportunity to make these DIY pom-poms...

Super easy, anyone can do it. They are made with tissue paper... just google it...

And there were sparkly diamonds scattered about...

You know he's awesome...
But did you know he is this awesome?
He iced the cupcakes so I could get some last minute phoofying done :)

These two are the BEST of FRIENDS...

So thankful to all who came to celebrate :)

So how well does the groom know the bride? How well does the bride know the groom?
Out of 30 total questions they answered 21 questions the same. By my calculations that's 70%. They get a C-
Luv you two :)

We are excited that God has led two lives to take one path ♥

Daily Tide 10.10: PPO Healthcare in Action

2011-10-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Matt says real men don't pay to go to the doctor...

(not quite sure about his logic)

Notice the fumes from the dry ice in the next picture...

yep, that's Matt and his DIY healthcare plan...

Daily Tide 10.9: Take Two

2011-10-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Matt was NOT digging the previous progress of the hall gallery wall...

at all...

"too eclectic," "lacking uniformity," "clashing colors," "bad spacing," "curvy posters..."

it kinda drove him crazy...

so today... we fixed it :)

Daily Tide 10.8: Clearance

2011-10-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Spotted these beauties on clearance at our local Bed Bath & Beyond...

the curtain-rods were also on clearance...

not on "sale"... but better... on "clearance" :)

Need I more of an excuse to indulge in purdy, airy curtains that dangle just right onto hardwood floors?

Daily Tide 10.6: DIY ♥

2011-10-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

My sweet sister let me steal this idea from her house...

I'm thinking this lil DIY will get a lot of use over the years...

It was super-easy...

3 wooden boards + 2 paint colors + 1 stencil + a few clips

& VOILA'

Daily Tide 10.4: Autumn Porch

2011-10-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

We were gone a lot this summer...

All three of my houseplants died :(

I blame ~~Matt who must not have followed the directions I left for him while I was away~~ summer adventures...

Matt teases me about bringing new houseplants home; he tells me I have a black-thumb...

But anywho...

Now it's fall :)

Which made it the perfect time to purchase some new, more-relevant autumn plants...

Currently, they seem to be quite happy on the front porch...