Keeping the homefires...

...burning, or at bay. This weekend Cliff had a 4 day break from school. It was our chance to reconnect and relax. Unfortunately, both vehicles (older than 10 years) needed repairs. So Cliff spent most of his time either getting the cars in safe repair or at the doctor's office getting a much needed health check up. Good news is his health is better than last time he went in. There really is no bad news; just something I am embarrassed to write about. My van had been acting strange lately and I told Cliff about it. I needed to get some front end work done. We didn't have the money (well we did but we ate it...lol) to take it somewhere. Cliff was waiting for his break to look at it. He had driven it and thought it was a tie rod end needing repair. Wednesday afternoon when his break started he jacked up my van and found a bolt that had broken off around the tire turning device. It has half on and keeping me/us from near death. So, I am so grateful for that bolt and my husband! It is fixed now but a next time we won't wait to look into something like that. Cliff had to go to a junk yard to get a replacement. He spends a lot of time there getting parts. My sister, Heidi, was not happy when I told her I could have died in a fiery crash.

One reason I am focusing on Cliff here is because our 13th wedding anniversary is on Tuesday! Happy Anniversary, honey! And I want to give myself a pat on the back too. Ya see, it takes a lot to hold a marriage together. Sometimes I don't think about how lucky I am to have such a devoted husband and father to my (our) boys. And I don't know if he sees how lucky he is (well maybe he does). I have been working really hard to keep the homefires burning. My focus over the past year or more now has been creating a home environment that is joyful for all. It takes a lot of effort. When he is home I try to make it a safe place for him to hang his hat. A happy place for us all. I want him to feel cared about. I think I must be doing something right because he seems to like it here. Before my efforts he wanted to be anyplace, but here. And that was a horrible thing to realize. A home is more than the food and environment. It is the atmosphere and tone. It is the little things like a hug and smile when he comes home. It is making time for time alone together. It is taking care of myself physically and mentally so I am not a drag to be around. That last one took me awhile to get. But it has paid off for myself and others in ways I never expected. I still have a long way to go before I am who I want to be. But for now I am proud of my accomplishments.

Another thing I am excited about is how we will celebrate our special day! Since we were married in October and love Halloween, we are going to a haunted house (low scare) tonight as a family. On Tuesday we may find our way on a date, but we'll see.

It has been such a sweet surprise to see how far we've come after so many years! We've actually been together over 18 years now. And the past year has been the best. With a desire and will a marriage can overcome any obstacle. We're living proof.

Here's to hot homefires for all!

Cheers,
Heather
xoxox

(I just had to include those funny faces of Camden! Cliff has a soft spot for both boys, but Camden is such a treat for us all. He loves to make funny faces for us. The fire photo is of the boys playing with snakes--the ones at 4th of July).