240/365: HIS Grace

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee:  Be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Matt has been gone for two weeks now, fifteen days actually…

(but if my post weren't so far behind, and actually up to date the above sentence would read, "Matt has been gone for four weeks today, thirty days actually,")
not fun.  not one bit.

I miss him

his lightheartedness. his laughter. his strength. his confidence.  his determination.  his leadership.  his fun.  his wisdom.  his steadfastness.  his faith.

I confess there have been moments where I thought I couldn’t do all this, “shoring up the house” thing without him…

& though it’s just been me here, in this California house,

I am not alone…

Is 54:5 “For you husband is your Maker whose name is the Lord…”

HE is taking care of me.  Protecting me.  Providing for me.

HIS lovingkindness overwhelms me…

è in countless answered prayers

è in His daily words to me, so timely, so sweet

& in other ways that I did not ask for, but He sent anyways to encourage and strengthen me… for, “indeed the Lord will give what is good,” (Ps 85:12) because His love is that amazing!

è in a neighbor bringing me a fresh bag of piping hot popcorn, because our microwave is packed

è in an email... in a card...

è in garage sale breakfasts with mom, so I didn’t have to sit there alone

è in a neighbor mowing our lawn, though I told him I could do it…

è in a homemade chicken dish from a lady I’ve never met

è in a goodbye party with spin friends

è in an impromptu tea with Suzie

è in a wedding rehearsal dinner

è in chipotle bowls at the parents

è in the bank teller having my exact phone charger (out of how many cell phone models out there??? and no, I do not have an iphone, that'd be too easy) so that we could access the details from my email that would allow us to complete the wire transfer and close on our HI house on schedule

è in the fact that my mom arrives in Cali in three days (can’t wait)

è in His Word (I already said that, yes I know, but I really should type it five more times…)

Last Weekend

77/365: Saturday {ramble alert}

pouring rain and gusty winds stirred me awake afore my alarm ever had the chance…

I’m a fan of raining mornings…
I quite like them…

he made me smile this morning when he sent me this picture…

because we’ve been there, in Westwood, together, once before…
“just friends” at the time…

but were the Mister and I ever really just friends?
I think not…
you could call it whatever you like…
but from day one, we were drawn, like magnets, to each other…

still are…

so today, as he was there on business, this picture made me smile…

it was one of the first places we ever went together…

my first and only memory of boba…
he bought me a drink and I, unknowingly, took a sip…
some slimy chunk came up the straw and I about puked it up all over the table…

a memory to smile at…
oh and yes, I'm ready for the Mister to be back home this evening…

this morning’s pounding rain did, finally, reduce itself to a drizzle…
& I seized the day’s one and only opportunity to squeeze in a late morning run…
quite rewarding…
fresh, crisp air…
the smell of fire burning in the neighbor’s chimneys…
fascinated by the colors of a rainy day…
the way stormy weather manufactures brilliant contrast…
wet tarmac and soaked tree trunks,
juxtaposed against soft white flowers in bloom…
wispy, grey clouds moving quickly, just about the tree tops,
striking immovable, sodden foothills of deep green…

and then :) the Mister was home (insert happy dance)
a present for me in tow…

does he know me, or does he know me???

78/365: a Sunday in the life

awaking to the sound of rain on the roof
Mark 3
lovely lunch date with my man
item scored off the pottery barn clearance shelf
John Carter Imax 3d
musical art--we moved the infamous black beauty to a more prominent location & added these guys to the master bedroom

& there you have it, a Sunday in the life...

Daily Tide12.19: Matt & Me :)

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 12.12: SIX Years Together :)

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 11.28: Twenty Eight

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 10.16: Huntington Beach

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…

Daily Tide 9.24 Part 2: Loved

Matt was in Texas on a business trip when I returned from Arizona :(

But I did find this on my pillow!!! ♥

Daily Tide 7.13 = Flowers from my Love

I ♥ stargazer lilies

I ♥ ♥ ♥ my sweet, thoughtful husband

Daily Tide 5.21 = ♥ Saturdays

When he's home she just stares after him with those puppy-dog-eyes...

Daily Tide 3.1 = Crazy Love ♥

This is the very FIRST computer that we have ever purchased… mostly due to the fact that we’ve graciously been given computers our friends no longer wanted… and also, in part, because Matt was always able to reformat them and make them work for us (genius) J

Can you guess what Matt did the second the shiny black computer came out of the box…

Oh yea, he unscrews the panel and starts pulling parts out of “the precious” (said exactly like Golem)…

Um… ???

Matt love, we just bought that…

Like, paid actual $ for that…

Not watching, it’ll make me crazy…

(that is, of course until I had to document this event)

Twenty minutes later… but of course… it’s running at lightning speed…

LOVE him…

Even if he's doing something a crazy person would do...

Crazy love J

Daily Tide 2.22 = From Your Valentine

My husband luvs technology...

Me?

I just wanted Photoshop to run faster...

I mean the idea was to work on photos, not patience...

and thus, our valentines day present to each other arrived today

hello shiny new computer :)

Check out Zuma in the background; she's thinking I'm crazy for taking a picture of a cardboard box...

Daily Tide 1.7 = ♥ 5 Years Together

The ring Matt surprised me with as a anniversary present came in from being resized! I thought it appropriate to stage the newbie with: Matt's purity ring; which he had sized to fit me and gave to me on our wedding day (in back), as well as the bridal set! Our five years together = the BEST five years of my life :)