The Beauchamp FamilyYes, we really are this geeky…

So, today is Valentine’s Day. Tom and I’s first date was in December of 1991 and we got married in 1993. It’s 2010. No, really. It is. I checked. Cuz… yeah.

I won’t tell the whole sorted story (no, I wasn’t pregnant, that came 7 years later) but we got married the day after I turned 18 and a few days later got on a plane and moved from South Carolina to Hawaii. How my mother didn’t smack me and tell me I was the stupidest child on the face of the planet… well… I don’t know. Obviously, it wasn’t a mistake, but I think back to how badly it could have turned out. I mean, I was a kid, he is just a few years older than me. WHAT were we thinking? Oh yeah, we were in looovvvveeee… *laugh* And yes, we were. Yes, we are. But still… I wonder…

I am the luckiest woman I know though. All these years later, and we’re still together, still in love – moreso I think, still write silly little notes (although instead of paging 143, I text it to him now and then), we still argue (never about big stuff like, always little stuff – like brands of mustard – you’d think we would have figured this out by now, right?), we still laugh, we still cry…

But I also look back over the past 17 years in awe. How much our lives have changed, how things morphed several times over the years. We went from being nearly dirt poor living in Hawaii, to being pretty well DINKs living in Hawaii, to being happily living DINKs living in Austin, to having two of the most beautiful and wonderful children in the entire world, to… well, where we are today. And everything in between. I remember his face when I told him I was pregnant (no screaming “but you were on the pill!”) the first time. I remember supporting him through the closure of his business and him supporting me through the treacherous growth of mine.

I remember my mom telling me when I was kid that I am so darn independent. She’s right, but I’m also very dependent on my husband, who really has been through everything with me. In some weird way, we kind of grew up together. I mean, I was 18, he was 21 when we got hitched. We made some really stupid mistakes, but we managed to get out of them together. We made some really wise decisions (and let me take credit for them) *laughing*

My point? I do look back all those years ago and wonder… what would be different if I hadn’t decided to get married? Would we still be together? Would we have grown apart? Can you even have a relationship that spans 6000 miles? I honestly don’t know. We were probably too immature to have made it work, if I’m being honest. I don’t regret even a second of it though. Tom is the love of my life and I don’t know what I’d do without him.

To you, Tom, thank you. Thank you for being persistent (3 months just to get a date!). Thank you for making me feel special, for making me feel like I am the most important thing in your world, and for making me laugh (gosh, I hate this part!). Thank you for sharing in our own little weird private jokes, for always being there when I need a shoulder, for always chipping in when I think I may be on my last ounce of sanity, and for always supporting my weird “yeah, let’s do this!” ideas. Thank you for picking up the slack when I drop it, for fixing things when I break them, and for laughing with me when we both screw up. Thank you for being you, for who you were, for who you are and for who you will become. I promise I’ll be right there with you for the rest of our lives.

(okay and to make a sappy post even more sappy, I thought about tacking on Have I Told You Lately That I Love You by Rod Stewart since that was closer to 1993, but Stand By Me… well, always makes me think of my hubby)

(Oh, and this is a good version of Stand By Me too. Love John Lennon’s version and this video is so well put together, check it out)

We spent Christmas with my mother in South Carolina. On Christmas Eve, just as the kids were getting ready to go to bed, we hear someone walk through the door… Santa was early! Oh no! But never fear, he just came to bring them one little thing each before getting back on his reindeer. He did come back though!

(thanks, Jamie, for being such a good sport)

Happy MLK Day. I wasn’t alive in 1963 when this amazing man gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, but listening to it, you cannot help but feel inspired.

This speech was given 5 years before he was assassinated. I think about it and it’s been 46 years since he gave that speech. Today we have a black man as the President of the United States. Change is slow, there’s no arguing about it, but it does give me hope for the future.

I’m a white woman, so I don’t pretend to understand the struggles. I grew up in the lowcountry of South Carolina where, unfortunately, I still see the racial issues are in full effect. In fact, someone said something totally inappropriate and so very rude when we were there that Tom and I were just appalled. You just don’t make racial slurs to someone you’ve just met. It really hurt my heart to hear that it still goes on.

I guess I live with my head in the sand. I moved to Hawaii when I was 18 and now live in Austin (where there are some issues, but it’s nothing compared to where I grew up). I don’t know why I’m always shocked when I go visit my mom and someone says something I consider offensive. I guess I keep hoping that things have changed.

I guess the point of this post is to ask everyone… before you say something, think. I don’t like it when people make fat jokes (cuz, well, I’m fat). My husband doesn’t like it when people make really nasty comments about smokers (he quit – again – he struggles – although this time I think he’s kicked it long-term). You can offend people, not just because of the color of their skin, but in other ways too. I remember someone asking a Japanese friend of mine where the best Korean restaurant was “because you people know about that stuff”. Oy.

Having said that, I think you can be too sensitive sometimes. It’s okay to ask your best Hispanic friend for her tried and true fajita marinade. It’s also okay when she asks me how the heck to make homemade tortillas. *laughing*

So today, Mr. Martin Luther King Jr, I thank you for your speech, for all you did for the civil rights movement. I think you helped bring about change, not only for the African-American folks, but in general too. Tolerance is one thing, but acceptance… that’s where we should all strive to be.

Disclaimer: I’m sure not all of the lowcountry has racial issues, perhaps I just notice it more or perhaps it’s just the people I know. *laughing*

From our vacation to visit my mother and sisters in South Carolina:

Tom and my mother were in the front seats of the van. My sister, Marcy, and I were in the middle seat. Jamie and Cassie were in the very back seat. My mother hates going around the sweeping curves on the freeway exits, they make her dizzy. My sister and I, of course, always try to make her pee herself. It’s a tradition. So Tom is driving like 5 miles per hour, Mom has her eyes squeezed shut and Marcy and I are screaming “OMG, we’re going off the edge” and “Oh god, really, Tom, you gotta pay attention”. Yes, we are evil. Yes, I’m 12.

When all the laughter dies down and Mom has stopped having her heart attack, we hear Jamie pipe up from the backseat, “Wow, I didn’t know grown-ups could have so much fun too.”

After we got to where we were going, we parked while Tom ran into to get whatever it was and we were talking about how we tricked mom to get on a ride at Myrtle Beach a few years ago.  It was one of those motion rides. This one was one going through a mine shaft. We  had convinced mom that it was no big deal and we got her in there and buckled her in. I remember her asking why she needed a buckle if it didn’t move a lot (we told her it rocked like a rocking chair). I told her, “Oh mom, you know – they are just scared of lawsuits and everything”. Of course, the woman is insane so she believed me. We were cracking up because Mom was TICKED at us when she came out of that ride. The whole time, she had her eyes squeezed shut, holding on for dear life and well, being pissed off at us. She got off of that ride and told us all off. We tried to get her to go on the other ride (it was as 2 for 1 deal), but amazingly enough her ticket went unused.  (now, I wonder where the kids were that day… I’m pretty sure they were with us *laughing* I just can’t remember)

… and then we hear Jamie pipe up from the backseat, “Granny? … I didn’t know my Mom was so crazy!”

My mother, of course, told him he had a lot to learn about his momma. Oh boy. Methinks the kid was paying too much attention, he learned a lot about how to torture your elders

Love ya mom… and no, I’m still not sorry about the Myrtle Beach thing… because… well, because it was the funniest thing EVER.

The kids wrote letters to Santa and then decided to visit family out-of-state, so I called and left a message for him to call us back – and he DID! Cassie was so excited that she nearly peed her pants talking to him. She was SO NERVOUS too. I mean. Santa. Called. Her.

It was all very exciting and she got to tell him that we wouldn’t be at home that year and told him where. But she also had decided that the robot dog she wanted (that hasn’t been made since 2002 – just sayin’) – she didn’t want it anymore and instead wanted a cool robotic penguin named Penbo. Santa said he would certainly try. I hope be comes through!

But last week… OMG! We got letters postmarked from the North Pole! Santa wrote to Cassie and Rudolph wrote to Jamie. And he mentioned the phone call, so we know he knows now. A VERY good thing, indeed! Wanna see? (click to see a bigger picture)

(and yes, Jamie knows, but he is playing along and doing a stellar job – thank to UWriteSanta.com – they rocked!)

In Cassie’s class they published a book for Thanksgiving. They had first drafts, revisions, a cover, it was laminated, the works. I love her teacher and (more importantly) Cassie adores her. This was such a cute project for her and she learned about what it takes to publish a book and the right way to go about doing it. It was kind of impressive actually.

This is what her book says:
“I’m thankful for Leo because he always makes me happy. I’m thankful for food because I can never starve. I’m thankful for Julie because if I’m sad she licks me and makes me happy. I’m thankful for Mom because she is always making sure I am safe. I’m thankful for Dad because when I need something he comes to me. I’m thankful for water because I do always have something to drink. Have a good Thanksgiving.”

I’m trying to not be offended that the dogs got first billing (and that Jamie didn’t even get a mention, poor kid). *laugh* But you can tell she put a lot of effort and thought into it and it really was sweet. And the whole tone is *so* Cassie, ya know?

Here’s her handiwork (click to see a bigger one, of course!) – the cover, page 1 and page 2

We ended up doing two houses for Thanksgiving this year. I generally don’t like doing that, it wasn’t too bad, but maybe next year we do lunch somewhere and then dessert somewhere else, too much food. But, now we can visit my mother guilt-free.

As I mentioned last week, Jamie taught me how to play chess on Thanksgiving day (he’s in the chess club so I figured I should learn already). He did a great job. But he also managed to get 2 other games in.

The first with cousin Jonathan (who was a super good sport) – and yes, Jamie is cool enough to carry off sunglasses and chess, why do you ask?

And another with his grandfather (who they call PawPaw)

We also got a photo of all of the grandkids on one side with the great grandmother:

So, Thanksgiving down… Christmas to go!

Tom’s cousin brought her horse to Thanksgiving (hey, it’s in the sticks, it’s okay!). Cassie LOVES horseback riding and had the best time. Look at this smile! She talked the Aunt into taking her again when her turn was technically over. *laugh*

We try to do something fun each Thanksgiving, make a silly dessert or whatever… this year, we made turkey cupcakes! The kids were able to do them all by themselves (I did ice them though) – so the decorating was ALL them. Fun!

And the finished project:

This year is going to be a little leaner than most with the trip to my mother’s and everything, so I’m again combining business and personal and just doing one greeting card and just sending a small token gift to clients. I know they will be fine with it and ultimately, I really need to go see my mother this year so that takes precedence. So, here’s a preview of the card (I think it turned out cute if I do say so myself)