Respose to "The Chiara's: Established..."

Last Sunday Joe wanted to surprise me with a note. He wanted to be clever in its delivery so he posted it on our blog. He knows that I usually check the computer while I'm brushing my teeth before bed. Well, the letter was up for a few hours but he didn't mean for anyone to see it but me. I didn't think anyone did see it, but a few people have asked what happened to Joe's side of the love story. He doesn't typically do the romantic, sentimental thing, and I am always just so embarrassed over everything that we just didn't even think to keep it up. But,,since some people asked, here, for a short time (before I take it down again) is Joe's side of falling in love...I love this man!

Jamie is in the other room and doesn't know that I am adding to the blog but I thought I would take this opportunity to talk a little about the Chiara's.

Back in the summer of 2000 after Jamie and I had met and then she had gone home for the summer we would spend hours on the phone together. My phone bill (this was before I had a cell phone) for the month was $186. During this time I was finishing my last course at BYU and trying to get ready to go to medical school. However, meeting Jamie had completely altered my plans. Beginning about 1-2 weeks after Jamie left I was completely unable to relax. The simple thought of leaving to go to medical school brought such dread and anxiety that I couldn't sleep and would lie awake for hours at night.

I think from the very beginning of my sleepless nights I knew that leaving Jamie was the reason for my anxiety but I had refused to admit it to myself. Gradually, I began to admit that I could see myself marrying Jamie. Now you must know that I made fun of people who thought such things after only knowing someone for 2 weeks so this was a very serious admission. After admitting to myself that she was the reason I couldn't sleep things actually became worse. I was a completely sleep-deprived, anxious wreck. The simple thought of starting medical school made me ill.

One night in the middle of the night, while I lay there awake and considering my options, I said to myself that I had never met anyone I thought I could marry in my entire life. If I didn't at least make some effort to see if Jamie were the one I would always regret it. In that moment I decided that in the morning I would call to see what it would take to gain a deferment from medical school for 1 year. In the very instant I decided to inquire about a deferment all of the anxiety I had been feeling for weeks left me and I was at peace and I knew that I had made the right decision. As you all now know, the rest is history.

What many of you don't know and what Jamie might not realize is that the girl I fell in love with back then is not the girl I am married to today. Jamie has changed more in these seven years than she knows or is willing to admit to herself and it has all been for the better. That is not to say that she had lots of room to improve because she didn't. But she has grown and improved anyway. I'm glad I caught her when I did because the Jamie of today is out of my league and I wouldn't stand a chance.

We went to St. Louis and while we were out there she started to go to school to finish her degree. She selected a major and minor she was interested in and excelled. She went from a girl who refused to drive to working and going to night classes in St. Louis in the winter. She developed an independence and self assurance that has never left her and makes her so much fun to be around and with. It allows her to use and develop all of these talents that she has that you can see every day. She is an outstanding, loving mother who has two daughters that completely adore her with good reason. I really can't tell you all of the wonderful qualities I see in her.

Not only has she grown and developed in these ways but she really has become more beautiful. I know lots of people say that about their spouses, but honestly, you should compare pictures. She really has become more beautiful. I'm telling you I'm glad I caught her before she fully blossomed and it dawned on her just how beautiful she is.

Lastly, Jamie really is my very best friend. Being at home with Jamie and the girls, or spending time on a Saturday with her is the very most enjoyable time of my week. I always thought that with time we would grow a little more distant but I was wrong. I am closer to her and more dependent on her with each passing year. I really love her more now than I did when we were married and am a better person because of her. That decision I made in the summer of 2000 is the very best single decision of my entire life. It still brings peace to my soul when I think about it.

Joe

The Aftermath

Joe's back in Seattle, we won't see him until Friday night. My house is a mess. My refrigerator is empty. I'm exhausted from just fighting the return lines at the mall. But my children are quiet. No, they're not asleep, they are just totally mesmerised with their new things. Lucky me!

Gabriella woke me up at 5:30 this morning wanting to play with her new kitchen. I was able to get her to lay back down. As I was drifting off to sleep again I heard her whisper her version of Star light, Star Bright. This is what she said:

Star bright, star bright,

Can't you see the stars so bright?

Star bright, star bright.

I wish to make a wish tonight.

I wish it was Christmas every day.

I too wish that it were Christmas everyday, so I would never have to face the 26th of December. What a sad day it is. I look at our Christmas decorations and am no longer excited for Christmas morning, just overwhelmed at the thought of packing it all up again. My tree is practically stabbing me when I walk past it is so dry and dead. Besides the huge mess everywhere, my house is still and bare. It looks so lonely after the presents are opened, the tree gets thrown away, and all the lights get unplugged. And, my Christmas station on TV is now Country music!

With our anniversary, Christmas Eve, and Christmas all in a row, I feel like I need something special to do on the 26th to ease my way back into reality. It just can't be all over so suddenly. Does anyone do anything special on the 26th besides sip left over egg nog, shop with crazy people, or de-christmasfy the house? I now relate to my Grandpa fully who at any date throughout the year, knows exactly how many more days until Christmas. All I can say right now is, let the count down begin, 364 more days until Christmas. I can't wait!

The Chiara's: Established...

December 23, 2000. Today is our anniversary. Seven years! I thought it only appropriate to share how the Chiara family came to be. A lot of you know the story, but I've never written it down, so for posterity, here goes...

It was April, near finals of my Sophomore year at BYU. A bunch of girls from the softball team went to a friend's house. She introduced us to a group of guys who came over. I remember spotting Joe immediately. He was the quiet guy that stood by the kitchen, far from the middle of every one and everything. He wasn't the shy kind of quiet though, more the confident, cool, James Dean sort of quiet. He wasn't in the thick of things demanding attention from everyone, but he had certainly captured mine. We never spoke and I forgot his name.

About a week later at BYU's Spring Fling we ran into the same group of guys. I remember saying to him that we had met before, but I couldn't remember his name. He told me again, and again I forgot it.

Finally, a few days later the semester was over. We had to stay in Provo for another two weeks to finish out the softball season. We were there for two weeks, with only a 4 hour practice each day and two weekends full of games. Most of the days were filled with lots of time. The first day, the same group of girls decided to go to Salt Lake to see the "Testaments". We met at my friends house where she had asked some guys to join us. I ran inside to get her, and as I was coming in, he was coming out. Crap! What's that guys name again? Joe, my friend reminded me it was Joe. How could I forget?

Finally, after truly meeting him, it took mere seconds for me to know I liked him. He was charming. Good looking. Buff- he had to be as Fight Club champ ;). He was hilarious. We joke now, that really he just has 4 or 5 really really good stories, that he's mastered the telling of and rotates them to win over crowds. We joke about it, but it's true. I've heard those stories so many times, but they make me and everyone laugh every time, so I still think he's hilarious.

He simply blew me away. I had never met someone who captured my attention so quickly and so fully. We were always in a big group, but he could only ever remember my name. If you know Joe, he's terrible with names, so knowing what I know now I am flattered beyond belief. The next day, we all hung out again. This time, he caught my eye and winked at me. Winked for no reason. Just winked at me. My stomach filled with butterflies. He swears he has never winked at anyone ever, just me that one night. How lucky am I? Major points Joe, major points.

The rest of the two weeks were filled with him, every second I wasn't practicing or playing and he wasn't pretending to finish his last Spring class for graduation. Then it was time for me to head back to California for the summer. Ironically, he was coming to California six weeks later to enjoy the rest of the summer with his friends before heading off to medical school in August. To our surprise his friends and I only lived 20 minutes from each other.

I have never experienced time move slower. For six weeks, we talked on the phone for hours and hours. My parents made me pay the phone bill that month and a half. It was outrageous! I really liked him, but I was 19 and he was leaving for St. Louis. I wasn't expecting any of it. During those long phone conversations he told me he had decided to defer going to medical school and put it off a year while he saved money and took a break. He had gone to school, gone on a mission, and then finished school and was just burned out. I believed him, that being sick of school was the reason. Little naive me.

Finally he came to California. I was so anxious to see him. To see what two short weeks of getting to know each other in person, and six long weeks of getting to know each other not in person meant. I knew it would only take a second to know. All I had to do was open the front door and either there was going to be something there, or there wasn't. That made me anxious for weeks before he came. Once that day came, I opened my front door and the butterflies came fluttering back. I knew exactly what that meant.

The rest is pretty much history. We spent the summer falling in love. That's pretty cheesy, but it was just that simple. Perfectly simple. We went back to Provo, were engaged in September and sealed in the San Diego Temple on December 23, 2000.

Obvious to every one but me, I was the reason he deferred medical school. Good thing I didn't know, my little 19 year old self would have headed for the hills. His family planned an intervention before he wrote his letter of deferment to try to get him to still go. I guess they didn't know the real reason and were worried he was never going to go. He just knew, long before I did, that if he left for school, we wouldn't be here together now. I am so grateful that 4 weeks into our "relationship", he was in tune enough to make such a critical decision. He took a leap of faith that changed our lives. That is pretty powerful!

Right now I am happier than I ever thought possible. I married the best guy. I am so blessed and so in love. I still get butterflies when he winks at me. I can't believe it's only been 7 years. It feels like Joe's been in my life all along. We're perfect for each other and I only imagine life getting better and better with each passing year!

I love you Joe, Happy Anniversary!

Shhh, It's A Secret

I just can't hardly wait for Christmas. Finally, I have a little one old enough to be excited about trees, stockings, presents and Santa-well not so much Santa, but everything else for sure! I have been gearing up for Christmas since August, so not typical of me to be on top of things like that. I have had the girls Christmas done since October. I did however have one little thing left to do. One present I am looking forward to giving Gabriella the most. A cradle for her baby. Ever since I found this amazing 1965 cradle at a Thrift store for $1.75, yes, you read that right, a $1.75, I have been itching for Christmas. I finally talked Joe into painting it for me and at last, tonight I made a doll blanket. She is going to love it. She loves playing with her babies more than anything. Plus, my mom and I found the cutest dolls this summer that they will just love! I normally don't post pictures of my projects, because I'm embarrassed (another confession-I'm so easily embarrassed) but I realized something tonight as I was sewing. Jamie sewing=Jamie not eating! So please, any sewing project ideas out there, send them my way! I'm going to need them come January 1st!

P.S. Thanks mom for the 30 second tutorial over the phone on how to do a ruffle edge! I love ruffles now and think I'm hooked!

How often do you get asked....

For treats? Over here it starts at about 7:45 am., and I probably get asked upwards near 150 times a day. But really, how can you say no when everyone is bringing over such yummy treats. And really, who can say no, when this is the face of thanks you get. It's impossible!

It is starting to get out of hand though. So here I document a New Year's Resolution, so you all can hold me to it. It's one I make every year, and fail to keep past Super Bowl Sunday. No more treats after 8:00 pm..I would love to say 7:00, but that hasn't worked in the past, so 8:00 it is. Pathetic, I know! I have no will power! You all know I love a good snacky treat after the girls go to bed, and with Joe being gone, I've found plenty of chocolatey, fatty friends to keep me company.

But for now, I plan to enjoy the holiday season and keep my friends around 13 more days. Here's my very best friend...many of you have asked for this little guy, so enjoy!


Peanut Butter Balls

***I have removed this recipe to preserve its secretiveness. If you are interested in getting it, you'll have to ask me personally. It's the family rules. Sorry***

Take good care of my friend and share with the little ones, you know they love treats too!

December 8, 2004-A Great Day To Be Born

3 years have gone by since my Gabs first entered this world! How quickly time flies. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Truthfully though, I remember very little specifics. Luckily, in my sleep deprived, crazy, new mother condition, Joe and I wrote down some of our feelings of that day..."The whole time I was pushing, I was thinking how excited I was to become your mom! You did come only after 15 minutes of pushing. 3:57 pm, 8 lbs. 9 ounces, 20 1/4 inches long. You were perfect. Dad and I were overcome with emotion, it was amazing. To finally hold you after carrying you for 9 months was a miracle. I felt so close to you! I told everyone while I was pregnant that you were a hilarious little girl...you just had such personality. And as soon as I saw you, I knew I was right. You are such a blessing. I still can't believe we have such a blessing in our lives. I had no idea I would love you the way that I do. You mean everything to me."

Some of what Joe wrote: "I was standing next to your mother taking pictures and video. I recall her asking if I wanted to hold you and I recall the nurses asking me different questions but I could only answer with head gestures. The emotions were so close to the surface that I was unable to speak. From the very second I saw the top of you head I loved you. I instantly loved you with a love different and stronger than any I had or could have ever felt previously. Later that day as we were moving from the labor and delivery ward to the recovery and nursery I got to push you in the bassinet. The nurse kept saying how I was a "beaming father." I honestly could feel that I was beaming. I was so happy at that moment and so proud."

It's amazing, 3 years later, to read about those feelings. I do remember so clearly, it's overwhelming! Those emotions of having a brand new baby in your arms are so special.

Well, we decided to celebrate this joyous 3rd birthday with a polka dot party. We had polka dots everywhere. Hats, banners, hanging decor, birthday tree decorations, suckers, aprons. Gabriella and her little girl ftiends played bingo, decorated sugar cookies, played musical polka dots, played ring around the rosies, opened presents and had ice cream and cake. I know Gabriella had the best time, and asks often when her birthday is again. Luckily, she has to wait an entire year...because I can't imagine another year gone by and my baby turning 4!

Hooray and Finally

Hooray! We got our computer back! Thank you, thank you, thank you to our genius friend for fixing it for us! We owe you!

And finally....

Pig tails! Hooray for that too!

What We Want For Christmas...

According to Gabriella.

I have never asked Gabriella what she wants for Christmas. We've never discussed wanting or getting Christmas presents. I'm not even sure she understands that she's "suppose" to ask Santa for presents. I think she just thinks that Santa represents Christmas time and is just a big, jolly, guy running around handing out candy canes and saying HO HO HO.

Well tonight we were in the car listening to Christmas music. The song on was Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You. Gabriella said "I always wanted a doll for Christmas" I said that sounded like a good idea and that she should ask Santa for a doll.

She asked me what I was going to ask Santa for. I told her I didn't know and what she thought I should ask for. She said, "Um, I think you want a car." Ohh, a car, yes, that would be great. Next she asked what daddy wanted for Christmas. I again told her I didn't know and asked what she thought daddy would like from Santa. "Daddy wants a boat for Christmas" Where did she get that idea? Next came Gwen. She said that Gwen wanted a star to put on the Christmas tree. How sweet is that?

Somehow she thinks I need a car, Joe needs a boat, Gwen needs a star, and she needs a doll. Does that sound right to you? What a funny girl.

Stupid Computer

The girls and I got back from a week in Arizona last Wednesday. We had such a great time. I was so excited to download my pictures onto the computer, but it didn't work. So I turned off the computer to "re-boot" it, isn't that what you're suppose to do when things don't work? Well, I turned it off and the stupid thing hasn't been able to turn back on ever since.
I realize I can hardly function without a computer. Thank goodness for a great friend who let me print the rest of my Christmas cards at her house today, and thank goodness for a library so I could check my e-mail, and thank goodness for my husband who finally got home so I could use his lap top and finally BLOG!
So, here I sit posting with no pictures...boring! Hopefully we'll get our problem fixed soon, or a new computer, because I can't live without a computer, and I can't post without pictures!
I have so much to share. Gabs turned 3 on Saturday and I'm dying to post pictures. I hope to soon. Hopefully real soon!