My Husband is an 80 Year Old Man

03/19/2012

Not really. But Jason will definitely make a cute old man some day. He often wears slip on shoes and cardigan sweaters so he already has the look down. For his birthday last year, I got him a tobacco pipe smoking kit, so now he’s taken the old man style one step further. At the estate sale Saturday where we got the sofa, Jason also picked up a couple more pipes. After a good cleaning, they’re as good as new. Or apparently, better than new since an old pipe already has a good carbon cake built up on the insides of the bowl. Something like that. All I know is, I enjoy sitting down-wind of it. And I think Jason is pretty darn handsome, too.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Weekend in the Smokies

10/19/2011

Sorry for disappearing for a few days. Plates are spinning around here. Still. (And Merry-Go-Rounds.) Instead of formulating a thoughtful blog post, here is a recap of our weekend. Thursday afternoon Jason and Precious picked me up from work, we dropped off Lucy at his parent’s house, and we headed over to Pigeon Forge, TN where we stayed until Sunday night. Jason was playing a marathon weekend with Guy Penrod at Dollywood—3 concerts a day for 3 days in a row—and all the wives and children came along. There were 6 families in our party; 12 adults and 18 kids…most of which are Guy’s. They are such a fun and sweet bunch of people. Precious was definitely the center of attention through most of the weekend with everyone oohing and ahhing about how beautiful and easy-going she is. Seriously, she was a travel champ! One of Guy’s sons said, “I hope I have a baby just like her when I’m older” and insisted that she was THE most beautiful baby in the world. Another one of his boys said, “I can’t wait until I have my own baby someday,” while he was feeding her a bottle for me. She got so much love this weekend.

We also ate lot of good food. Uncle Guy got to snuggle Precious to sleep before the food came out at Cracker Barrel one night.

The shows at Dollywood were fun. Precious and I watched about half of them. Sometimes she watched, sometimes she slept on my lap, and sometimes she napped down in the dressing room.

We watched one of the shows from backstage while she was sleeping in a Moby wrap.

Speaking of Moby wrap, Jason was talked into trying it on while we were walking around going on rides. We got a pretty cute family picture of the three of us… I wish I could show you the whole picture. Maybe someday.

Speaking of someday… please continue praying about Precious’ situation. We are still uncertain about whether or not we will be given the first choice of adoption for her. There is someone else in the picture who is not legally kin but has a relationship with two of Precious’ half siblings. We’re basically competing with her—which is awkward—and we won’t know more until we have another team meeting and then ultimately a judge makes a decision…in a couple months? Then the earliest the adoption would be finalized would be in March or April. Either way she will be going to a good place but we’re crazy about her and would hate to let her go. Not without a fight, you can be sure.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Jason

09/16/2011

My love. My husband. My best friend.

What a year this has been.

You traveled the world by plane, tour bus and van.

Played on stages big and small.

I saw you on TV and in a magazine.

Your quiet confidence was never boastful

…except maybe about all the good food you ate on the road.

This year we became parents but not in the way we had expected.

Or planned. But an idea was planted in my heart and it grew.

I strategically brought up the need for foster parents in the US.

I secretly prayed that God would open your heart to this crazy idea.

You jumped in with both feet.

We sat through long, boring classes together.

Homework, physicals, blood tests, home studies.

You painted the bedroom and assembled IKEA furniture with me,

And then let me go hog-wild with the rest of the kids room design.

You were right by my side through every step.

Praying with me, for me, for yourself and for our future kids.

In July I got the phone call that changed everything.

You were in Norway but I knew what you would have said to this one.

The next morning you met your first daughter through Skype.

I watched you fall in love with her, grinning from ear to ear.

It was the first time I had seen her smile and say hi in her first 12 hours.

Three days later we picked you up from the airport.

It was getting late but you wanted to take your little girl to the park.

You pushed her on the swing and chased her through the grass.

As I stood back to observe and take photos, I was witnessing a transformation.

You became a daddy right before my eyes.

In your strong arms she felt safe immediately.

She was stand-offish with some new people but never with you.

You taught her what a father’s love looks like; what Daddy means.

And I fell in love with you all over again.

We taught her how to kiss. It took 2 weeks and several demonstrations.

I’ll never forget when you called me at work at say,

“Guess what I got?”

A kiss! Her first kiss was reserved for her daddy.

I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

On September 1st we walked into a courthouse carrying our first baby girl.

And walked out without her.

We clung to each other as we went down the steps and crossed the street.

I’m not sure who was holding up who as we tried to hold back the tears a little longer.

Then we cried together.

This past year has been wonderfully difficult and full of joy. A beautiful mess.

You have grown so much as a man.

I am endlessly proud of who you are,

And thankful to call you my husband.

Happy 29th, Jason.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Where have you been?

11/12/2010

Sorry for my absence this week. Aside from my day job I’ve been soaking up lots of Jason time: going out for dates, meeting up with friends, taking a day trip to IKEA, working on landscaping projects in the dark, entertaining new friends at our home, watching shooting stars from a hot tub on a cool night … we’ve been been busy, y’all!

Where have YOU been this week?

Bonus phone photo this week: Lucy sticking her tongue out at me after I gave her a bath and a haircut.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Good-Looking (and Yummy) Ice Cream Cake

10/25/2010

Jason’s birthday was back on September 16th and I decided to give him a mini surprise by making homemade ice cream cake and taking it to our small group to celebrate. (Small group = Jason, me and three other families from our church that get together once every 2 weeks to hang out, encourage each other, pray for each other, etc.) I’ve made homemade ice cream cake a few times before but it always turned out kind of … ugly. I mean, you can’t go wrong with the taste but it has never looked anything like the $15-25 store-bought kind.

This year I was googling recipes that use ice cream sandwiches because they make the ice cream step a lot easier. I found this Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake recipe from Kraft that uses just five ingredients: ice cream sandwiches, oreos, cool whip, fudge, and jello pudding mix. It was pretty simple and it turned out really pretty!

Once the cool whip on the outside started to thaw it started to get pretty messy but the slices turned out pretty good looking. Most importantly, everyone thought it was D-to-the-licious and the birthday boy was very appreciative.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Man Gifts: Greenhouse & Smoker

09/28/2010

I’m having [another] crazy busy week between work & freelance. Blah, blah, blah, everyone is busy… I know! I’m sorry for the lame excuse for light blogging. Here are a couple of quick photos of some new things around the ol’ mid-century modern ranch.

My parents and I bought Jason a greenhouse a couple weeks ago. He was quite surprised to see it out on the back patio when we woke up on his birthday. It’s out in the yard now ready to over-winter some of Jason’s tender tropicals.

This was like a birthday present from God for Jason. He’s been wanting a smoker for years but they’re pretty expensive ($150-250 for a big one like this) and no one ever seems to sell used ones on craigslist. We were riding our bikes home from a coffee shop run a few days after J’s bday and guess what our neighbors were selling at their yard sale? For $20! It needs cleaned up/fixed up but Jason can’t wait to use it… rack of ribs, smoked salmon, jerky …

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Happy Birthday to my Best Friend!

09/16/2010

My favorite person in the world, my dearest husband Jason, turns 28 today! Happy birthday, Love! This has been a great year, hasn’t it? I’m looking forward to the next year of your life and I feel so blessed to be your wife. It’s my great privilege to walk along side you, laugh with you, cry with you, sweat with you, get splinters with you and have slumber parties in the living room every weekend (staying up too late watching 30 Rock, eating pizza and drinking root beer floats) with you. You are my heart!

This picture of you is, hands down, my favorite from this year. A boyish side of you came alive while we were in Naples. I loved watching you explore the beach looking for sea creatures and the way you lit up when you found those conch shells. You are creative, adventurous, strong, gentle, thoughtful, patient, caring, passionate, smart and faithful. I love everything about you!

Here’s to many more vacations to warm sunny places and the dream of a mid-century beach house in Naples!

Happy birthday, Jason!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Where’s Jason?

08/24/2010

Last Wednesday Jason returned home from a 3 week trip to Sweden, Norway, Amsterdam and Faroe Islands. You wouldn’t know by these pictures but he was actually there as a guitarist with a country band. They had a good amount of time off to explore which is a rare treat on this kind of tour.

A few days into the trip Jason started channeling some Where’s Waldo? every time his buddy Jonathan’s camera was pointed at him.

I thought it was sweet – like he was waving to me! I missed him a lot so I would stalk Jonathan’s facebook everyday waiting for the almost-daily photo uploads which meant they were back to their hotel and Jason would be on Skype soon.

It is SO good to have my husband back!

I’ve said this before but it proved even truer after 3 weeks. Without times of separation we would never experience the immeasurable joy of being reunited—one of the greatest feelings God created.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

07/30/2010

I’m CRAZY about this guy! I’ve seen this “guitar face” a lot in the past week while Jason was preparing for a big gig.

Did you notice I got a new phone? It has a much better camera than my old RAZR.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Seven

06/14/2010

Seven years. Today is Jason’s and my 7th wedding anniversary. Something feels significant about this one. I’m not sure why. Maybe because of the 7 year itch. Maybe the Biblical significance of the number 7.

We decided to celebrate yesterday (thank God because I’m actually sick today–which is why I’m posting so late.) I didn’t have my camera so sorry, no pictures. We had a romanic date – a picnic dinner (Buca di Beppo ToGo) at the park while listening to the Nashville Symphony.

[Warning … much sappiness to follow:]

I feel very blessed to be Jason’s wife. He’s an incredible man—thoughtful, sensitive, hard-working, talented, funny, handsome, creative, loving, faithful, sweet, protective, optimistic, passionate. On top of all that he loves to garden, cook and keep a clean house (don’t be jealous!). And of course, we share a love of mid-century modern design and vintage collectibles which means we get to enjoy our hobby together.

Jason, thank you for being my husband. I love you more than anything in the world! This has been quite a year…

I loved being with you as you stepped faithfully into the world of being a fully self-employed musician. It’s been a great time of stretching and learning to trust God completely. He has never let us down. I loved being able to encourage you and pray you through that transition.

I loved watching you become proud “Uncle” Jason when our closest friends had babies. I loved witnessing your heart melt over and over again each time you held little Ben or Mikaelyn. I know you’ll make an awesome daddy and seeing you in that “uncle” role makes me so look forward to that day!

You hate this picture with the rainbow umbrella but I think you look sexy! I loved having you by my side through way-too-many social engagements and family get-togethers this year. Do you ever wish we could just sneak off and be alone for a few weeks? (Seriously, though, we love all of our friends and family!)

I loved hunting through estate sales, thrift stores, antique stores and yard sales with you searching out diamonds in the rough. We found a lot of good ones this year!

I loved working on our master bathroom renovation with you. (OK, I didn’t love every part of it, but I’m glad we did it ourselves and I think we make a pretty awesome team.) I appreciate how hard you worked, often spending several more hours after I gave up and went to bed. It was always a nice surprise to wake up and check out how much progress was made overnight.

I loved working in the garden with you … but mostly watching you work in the garden. But thanks for teaching me how to love and take care for plants, for making our yard beautiful and for accepting requests to plant whatever I want — raspberries, daisies, blueberries, zinnia etc. — even though you do 95% of the work.

I loved how you dropped everything during and after the flood so you could focus all your energy on helping our friends. I loved how you never once complained about how tired you were or your lose of income and work time. You are a good friend and I love that about you.

I loved watching you play guitar on stage, at church, at home and even by the campfire. (And I love how you stand on your toes when you sing!) I loved watching you change into a supporting role of lead guitarist, producer and engineer whenever necessary to help grow the careers of other musicians. I love your heart to serve others and your humility to honor others above yourself.


Obviously, I could go on and on about how much I love you and how much I love being your wife and the great privilege it is to be by your side through this life. Thank you for seven wonderful years. I’m looking forward to the next 70!

PS. Also, thank you for being the designated meat griller, spider killer and jar opener. You’re my hero! And, I’m glad I’ll always be the wife of your youth. 😉

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Posted by mahlbrandt

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