Anniversary

I wasn't thinking this week or I would have already written a really romantic post about how much I've more than loved being married to Marcel! It hasn't been done yet and we have big plans for the day. Maybe it will come when I load the pictures from our activities either tomorrow or Tuesday, but either way: I couldn't have asked for a better year being Mrs. Marcel Bailey!

May 30, 2009

Priceless

Are there any words for a picture like this?

All in a hard day of work (oh, and Marcel's artistic photographs)

Facebook Reminders

Every morning when I wake up and am eating cereal, I get on the computer and get caught up on some info before the baby gets dropped off. I check my email, some coupon blogs, and even facebook. This is what I found this morning. Don't mind the birthdays, but I guess facebook thought I might have forgotten about this very big day. I hadn't, but I'm glad facebook always has my back! Now I guess I'll never know if Marcel remembers our anniversary or if he just has to rely on facebook :) Just kidding, Marcel is really good about our big dates, and is already counting down to my birthday, only because I'll be 25 which means "you're practically 50!"

sorry for the poor photo

it is from my phone which was the only way I knew to get a picture

4 years

It was on May 22nd, 2006 that Marcel and I started dating. We didn't know it on that day, but once we had decided that we were "officially" dating, we both agreed that May 22nd would be our anniversary. In early stages of wedding planning, so early in fact that we weren't actually engaged, we talked about getting married on that day so that we'd have the same anniversary for forever, but other things prevented that from happening: like my step-sister's high school graduation and the small fact that Marcel would be graduating from Pacific the next day.

I have read that to keep passion and excitement in your marriage, you should celebrate all of the milestones: first date, dating anniversary, date of your first kiss, etc, and while I like that idea it's hard to put into practice when our 2 anniversaries are just 8 days apart. I did however hope that the day would never fall from my brain. I was nearly unsuccessful in that. It was 11:30pm and Marcel & I were in bed, him trying to sleep and me wide awake, because I'd rather be talking (Emily and I used to do the same thing, go to bed more tired than we could imagine yet still stay up talking for hours) when I realized it has now been 4 years that we've been together. We talked about the early, pre-dating days. How Marcel saw me as a challenge because of my shyness, because I seemed far from interested in him yet somewhat intrigued by him. Turns out he could read me even back then because I really tried to not like him because he seemed to be so far from the guy I had been waiting for, but really did like him!

Our 4 years have been a roller coaster like should be expected, but I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the ride! And now we're just 1 week away from our more official anniversary, the one the marks our time spent as husband & wife, the one that means more to me than anything, even sacrificing the memory of our dating-date if that's what it comes to!

There are a few earlier pictures of us in our dating years, but this is the oldest one I have on my computer. Marcel took me to the airport for my trip back to Idaho on my first summer of staying in Forest Grove.

July 9, 2006

A Fun Series

Quite a few days ago, Marcel and I randomly took some pictures. I don't remember why but Marcel was having the hardest time smiling in them. He had the cheesiest smiles possible. Normally, I don't post pictures that didn't turn out very well, but this whole series is pretty fun!

I really like this last one because it was the one in which we sort of gave up hope in getting a good picture that day. Plus, I think my hair looks pretty cute here. It is getting so long, I love it. I just hope that I don't start to hate it in the summer and end up chopping it all off!

UPDATE: Before I posted this, I had text Marcel and asked him why he couldn't smile, but he couldn't remember. Once he got home and we were both talking about how funny it was for him to try to smile, we remembered: he was suffering from a very bad case of allergies that left him not feeling very well and with a very poorly behaved nose!

Random Updates

A random post with random pictures I've taken so far this month...

May 1st, I saw this outside the window while I was doing the dishes. It was a complete double rainbow! I had never seen 2 full rainbows like that. It was beautiful and it almost made doing the dishes worth it. I have recently decided that doing the dishes is my most detested chore of them all, and I do just about all of them. I decided even before starting to watch baby at my house, that if doing the chores allowed Marcel time to focus on his homework during the evenings after working all day, it is what I should do. It seems to be really working for us (he finished his first semester with a 4.0), and it makes it even more special when he surprises me by doing something I was expecting to have to do later.

I admit it: I am fully on the couponing bandwagon! I love it ;) I read coupon blogs a few times everyday, and always get signed up for samples to be mailed to my house. I now have a little box for all of them and am excited to use them for various things. This was the last trip I took a picture of. I was at Albertson's (with doublers), Walgreens and Target. I spent $14.07, which is more than I like to spend in a trip, but just the 4 body washes should have been $12! I love that it has sort of become my hobby, which sounds funny, but it does keep me occupied!

One day, Marcel got home from teaching and took baby into help him play drums. I thought it was so cute and had to take a picture. I think the look on her face just about says it all even though she seemed to actually be enjoying herself. Her mom was just saying the other day how I'm going to see all her "firsts" and wanted to have a video camera here, so now I'm trying to take pictures/videos to give them. This will definitely be in there!

I love the decoration you see there...I made it for Marcel in October 2007 on one of his old drum-heads. That was just about the time we had started FAEA: Forever And Ever Always, which I still use to sign all the cards/notes/emails I send him!

We got this a few days ago from Marcel's little brother, Snoh, who just turned 5 years old. He'll be starting kindergarten in the fall, but already has a great grasp on his letters! I love his "R" :) And we did get a little laugh out of "I like you"


And again, with baby. I had her on the blanket while I was doing the dishes and she made it under the chair on her back and loved the tab on the zipper of Marcel's jacket. When it was time for me to eat lunch, I moved her back to the blanket and a few seconds later she had rolled back over to play with his jacket. She seemed a little frustrated that she got there on her stomach and wasn't able to play with it again. No worries, though, because she had managed to bring a toy along on her journey. Next thing I knew she was asleep! It was a big milestone for us. Before this nap she had just recently sleeping out of the swing and still only fell asleep while being fed a bottle. And the blanket is all bunched up because she discovered it was light enough to pull on to bring the toys that I purposely put out of her reach close enough to play with. Pretty darn cute, this little girl is! It isn't working as birth control for me, like my aunt just asked me a few days ago, in fact it really leaves me with desire to be a mom, but for now this is as close as I'm getting!

I Just Have To Brag

Marcel is at school right now, sitting in his first class of a new semester. He's not particularly thrilled to learn about "language & literacy" but I know he'll do just fine...

Now on to why I'm posting:
Last Thursday I had just gotten into bed as Marcel was getting home from school. He was so excited about something, it was kinda strange! But he pulled out some papers to show me. They were the two ruberics for his big projects in his last class of first semester. I wish I had a scanner to put the pictures up, but I don't so I'll suffice to just typing her notes:

PROJECT 1: Teach a lesson from your specialty
*The lesson you chose to teach is the BEST I've ever seen. Well done sir!

PROJECT 2: Lesson-planning toolkits--binders of information regarding your specialty that will be used to make lesson plans
*Marcel, not even sure where to begin. These two portfolios are an excellent representation of where your knowledge, heart & passion stem. You seek collaborative support...I noted many entries pulled from a variety of sources. Excellent that's what teaching is. You have a gift. You also have a very firm foundation that defines a clear framework to be taken into your teaching field. Marcel, I am pleased and impressed by your work. Please do not take offense to this next sentence, as it is intended as a praise: You shine tremendously in the big things--teaching and culminating projects. You have a transparency that is second to none. You also gave your wife credit for helping?! :) Well take her on a cofee date. She is a gem! Marcel, I commend you on exemplary toolkits :)

I helped only by lending my awesome hole-punching abilities and designing front covers for his binders so that they were better than just listing his name! And he did take me out on a coffee date, only because we have a gift card still from Christmas, otherwise it would have been out of our budget!

One more thing, I think he is still waiting on the final grade from the class where he received that AWESOME feedback, but if he gets an "A" like I'm expecting he will, he will have finished first semester with a 4.0! To be working full-time and still doing so great at school is hard work. I'm so proud of everything he is accomplishing!

Also, he has his student teaching placements. He'll start November 1st in a Vallivue district elementary school which is mostly observation and some teaching, and after that he'll be at a Nampa district high school for his main teaching of a band. We're both very excited for that to start and for his graduation in about a year, the date is yet to be determined!