3 Thankfulnesses in 1 Post

Well, since I haven’t blogged for 2 days I guess that means that I owe you 3 things I’m thankful for. I do want to mention that the things I’m thankful for are in no particular order of importance. They are just things that come to my mind that day to be thankful for.

Wednesday: I was thankful for the Virginia State Bar. Why, because Joe was officially sworn in! It was actually pretty anti-climactic. Grammy Janet and I left early Wednesday morning to meet Joe in Richmond at 10 am. We got there around 9:45 and I changed Ella into her dress in the car (that morning I basically woke her up, changed her diaper and put her in the car in her jammies, so I had to put her in something else before the ceremony), then we went inside to wait for Joe who arrived a few minutes later. CUA put on a breakfast for all Alumni being sworn in, so it was great to connect with some of Joe’s law school friends we haven’t seen in awhile.

After breakfast we went to the auditorium and listened in on a short orientation they had for the new attorney’s. The swearing in ceremony began at 12:30. There were 1300 people being sworn in and they called each and every name…yes, every one. It took forever! Ella has perfect timing because about 2 minutes after they called Joe’s name and he stood up so I could snap a few pictures, Ella fell asleep. She slept like this through the entire ceremony (doggie was blocking the light).

After calling all the names they asked all the new attorney’s to stand and raise their right hand. They all took the oath together, and that was it. The ceremony was over. Like I said, very anti-climactic. In fact, when it was all over Joe said that he felt kind of bad for making us come all the way to Richmond just for that. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Thursday: I was thankful for a good car that runs well and has good brakes…even if they did cost us a pretty penny. This is relevant because Tuesday after I voted I was in charge of taking our minivan to the shop to get an oil change and get the brakes checks. I haven’t done this since Joe and I got married (I’m not a big fan of taking care of car business) so it was a big deal that I was handling it. I had called ahead of time and made an appointment and they told me it would take about an hour. So Janet and I decided to drop the car off and spend an hour walking around Del Ray (a nice little area with a bunch of cute shops). Well, it took a bit longer to check the brakes and we ended up walking around Del Ray for 3 ½ hours! Ella fell asleep in her stroller and Janet and I were exhausted. But in the end we were very thankful because on our trip to Richmond the next morning we had a safe vehicle to travel in, and yesterday that safe vehicle took us all around Williamsburg, Richmond, took us to the Bass Pro Shop (am I a good wife or what!) and safely got us back home. Even more, I’m thankful that God has provided the finances to pay for these repairs so that we can keep our van safe.

Friday: Today I am thankful for my Mother-in-law, Janet. She is an incredible woman who I’ve had the privilege of spending the last 4 days with alone and without the interference of her son. She was game for anything and didn’t complain about walking around Del Ray for 3 ½ hours, or about sitting in the back of the minivan so she could be easily accessible to wipe Ella’s runny nose. She didn’t even complain about walking around the Cracker Barrel store for over an hour so that Ella could get some exercise before we put her back in her carseat.

My MIL (mother-in-law) has overcome a lot and come out on top. In a nutshell, her husband of 24 years (or around that…I'm estimating) was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had been a SAHM for 20 years and went out and got a job to support the family while also caring for her ailing husband. Throughout the 4 years of his illness she kept the family together and strong, and when he passed away Janet was the rock that kept everyone going. She has mothered 8 of the most incredible people I have ever met, and each and every one of her kids has a college degree, holds a respectable job and is a wonderful contributor to society. Personally I think that’s incredible and tells a lot about the character that was exemplified in their house. She is the grandmother to 10 (almost 11…Joe’s sister is expecting) grandkids and makes each one of them feel like they are her absolute favorite.

To top it off, she raised one of the most incredible men I know and for that I am eternally grateful!

Rock the Vote

I know that today should be my day to be thankful for Ella, but I’m reserving her for another day…just know that I am definitely thankful for her.

Today I am thankful for the United States of America, freedom, and our right to vote.

This afternoon I left Ella and Grammy Janet at home and went to the elementary school down the street to cast my vote (Grammy voted absentee a few weeks ago). What a privilege it is to live in America where we can cast our votes freely!

This will be a short post because I really don’t want to get into politics. I just hope that each of you got out and voted on this election. Being married to a man who lost an election by just 16 votes has shown me just how important it is that each and every person vote because your vote DOES matter!

Countdown to Thankfulness

I have several facebook friends who do this thing during the month of November where each day they share something they’re thankful for. It is, afterall, the month of Thanksgiving. So, I am going to attempt a “countdown to thankfulness,” where I will post one thing I’m thankful for every day. It should be easy, right?

So today is pretty obvious. Today I’m thankful for Joe.

I met Joe on a blind date. My friend, Sara, had met a man who worked with her then boyfriend, Rob, and she and Rob decided that this guy and I would be a perfect match. When she was telling me about him she said, “You’ll like him. He goes to church…and not just on Christmas and Easter…he goes every Sunday!” I figured that was a good start, so I agreed to meet him.

A few weeks later we were both invited to a dinner party at her house. My friend, Mariah, met me outside and she and I walked in together. She is the one who officially introduced me to Joe. My first impression was that he was really cute and had the biggest smile. Mariah says that she saw the sparks flying the moment our eyes met. Oddly enough, Sara needed everyone else to help her in the kitchen, but when I went in to help it was too crowded and she told me and Joe to just wait in the living room. We had a great conversation throughout the night.

After dinner Sara and Rob decided it would be a great idea to play “Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition.” I was nervous because I’m not very good at Trivial Pursuit and I’m not very in touch with pop culture. If it were the 80’s edition I would be all over it, but not so much for “pop culture.” Joe and I were paired up as a team and as the game progressed it became very clear that he knew as much about pop culture as I did, thus we paid very little attention to the game and actually got yelled at by the other people for talking too much.

Needless to say, things went well that night and when Joe walked me out to my car he asked me if I’d like to go out again sometime. This was where it all fell apart. You see, I’m a dork…a BIG dork. I could have said something savvy and cool like, “Sure, why don’t you give me a call sometime” then slipped him my business card. Nope. Instead I went into dork mode and blurted out, “I’m free on Friday!” I might as well have put an “I like you” neon sign on my forehead! Little did I know that Joe had ANOTHER DATE on Friday! He beat around the bush and I tried to eat my words, and I think I just gave him my card with my email and cell number and told him just to call or email me when he had time.

It wasn't really love at first sight for me. It was definitely interest at first sight and I definitely thought he was cute, but I wouldn't say "love." However, when I got in my car to go home that night I knew I had just met the man I was going to marry. It sounds weird, I know, but it’s true. It wasn’t all romantic like in the movies. It was very matter of fact. Like God was saying, “Hey Katie…FYI, that’s him.”

Luckily Joe was ok with my dorkiness (and as I have come to learn, he’s a rather big dork himself), and he was willing to take me out again…and again…and again. We dated for 7 months and were engaged for 5 months. We had our blind date on August 3, 2004 and on August 6, 2005 we got married.

Joe is the best husband I could have asked for and the best father a little girl could ever want. He loves Ella and I more than anything, and we know it! He is an incredible provider and makes sure that we are well taken care of. He’s happy to do the jobs around the house that I don’t want to do, and thanks me endlessly for the jobs I do that he doesn’t want to.

My love for Joe deepened when Ella was born and every day he would go to the hospital with his bible in hand and he would read to her over and over John 10:10 “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” One day when the doctors were making rounds, one of them looked at Joe’s t-shirt that said “Rookie Dad” and he said, “Not anymore…you’re not a rookie anymore.” Joe was holding us all together, and the doctor knew it.

I could go on and on about all that I’m thankful for when it comes to Joe. He’s just an all around great guy and I’m so lucky that he chose to spend his life with me.