A little note from the desk of Mikael

Ever feel like this? Some days I do. Especially the days in December. December is nuts. I love it. I hate it. I need to get used to it. I get the last two weeks off of work which is WONDERFUL, but fitting all four weeks of work into the first two weeks isn't much fun. But it does create for some funny little "oops" moments. Like today, I woke up early for an early morning visit, and to get into the office early to get some things done. Well, I don't function well in the morning. It isn't until late in the afternoon when I glance up into my rear view mirror that is notice how terribly I had applied my make up in the wee hours of the morning! One eye looks ok, but my left eye looks like I let a toddler try and trace the outline of my eye with a black marker! I tried to lick my finger and and smudge it smoother, but I think I ended up just rubbing it completely off. I am sure my face looks lop-sided, but I am too scared to look. Luckily there isn't anyone I am too worried about impressing today. So the One Eyed Make Up monster over here is going to sit back down and work on reports #3,4,and 5 of the day. Husband, if you are reading this, I will need a hand massage and "you look beautiful!" at some point today.

Hello World

Yes, we are still alive. I know I have been WAY overdue to write a new post, but whenever I think I will sit down and write a new one, I always come to the conclusion it will be lame, or I just get too lazy. So here is a little pre-New Years resolution: I, Mikael Webb Squire (yes, I still keep adding that Webb. It just feels a little weird without it still. Like when you go to the grocery store for 4 things, and you walk out with 3 of the things you neded and 15 other things that caught your eye. Then you keep realizing how much you use that one thing you forgot to grab while getting the 15 other way cooler things. That's pretty much my maiden name right now. Tangent over.) Ok, Where were we? Oh yeah, I, MWS, promise to blog more and document even the not so exciting things, even when I would rather curl up with a pickle and watch an episode of 30 Rock. And Yes, Mom, Ronnie loves me even with my blankey and pickle fetish. I knew there was a prince charming out there who would love my weird ways. Lately I have been cutting out snowflakes and finding the cutest holiday decor the dollar store has to offer to make this little place of ours full of Christmas cheer. You might be surprised what great things the dollar store has! I will post pics as soon as I can figure out how to from this silly iPad. Ronnie will be the "entertainment" at my work Christmas party tomorrow and I can't wait to show him off. He will be giving us a little pep talk on getting through difficult times and how to motivate others and be a support for them. I think he will be a hit. I love every little thing about him. Even the endless amount of military documentaries he somehow finds on Netflix.

These Boots Were Made For Walking

***a couple items of business before this post starts... No this is not the post by Ronnie we have all been waiting for. He said he would write it a couple weeks ago and email it to me, but my inbox is still empty (hint hint R) **** This could very possibly turn out to be a long post but I promise it is a quality one Ok, sorry, onto the meat and potatoes It is no mystery that I have a thing for going on walks. (And when I say walks, I mean walks. Not jogs or runs. I despise those.) I am sure I posted about my love for walks on my last blog, but I feel it is a subject worth revisiting. You see, this post has been sitting in my "to post" list and tumbling around in my head for quite some time now, but I hadn't done it yet. Well, here I am, wide awake at 5 am, thinking about it. I think this is the time Ronnie usually gets up to go to the bathroom and then comes back and snuggles back into me, helping me doze back to sleep. I am on my first trip away from him. Suddenly the queen sized bed that was way too small for two just yesterday has quickly become way too empty for me. In a few hours, my sister Chelsey will come wake me up (like the good old days from college breaks home) and we will walk around the neighborhood. Wen will comment on yards, house paint colors, and eventually dive into deeper topics, and most likely end the walk with a laugh that leaves my belly aching. I think I love walks so much because they are always a time of bonding. Whether it be with my best friend/next door neighbor to kindergarten everyday, with new found friends through the streets of Jerusalem, or with the sisters I have grown up idolizing, long walks always were the medium for connections made far deeper than most. Now, you might be thinking to yourself "So how is it that you ended up marrying a man that can't exactly take you on a long walk?" Well, to answer that, let me back up a little bit. My calling in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs (*Ronnie does not fit in this category to me) became pretty clear to me early on in life and was the motivating factor for choosing a degree in Early Childhood Special Education at BYU Idaho. I think it was here that the Lord started preparing me for the man I would one day marry. As I learned about strategies for providing quality services for young children with special needs, it changed how I viewed a lot of things. You see, the best thing I could do for a child with special needs was help them succeed by making an accommodation, or doing things a little differently than usual, but find success in the end. I learned that every person learns and does things is such unique and different ways. My education helped me to be ADAPTABLE. Well, that, and being #7 of 8 kids and the girl that was smooshed between all the boys. You learn to be pretty adaptable when you grow up with that many strong personalities under one roof. Phase two of Ronnie prep academy of life: I remember that towards the end of college, I became fascinated with The Resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it effects are so often over looked. When I did a semester in Jerusalem, The Garden Tomb was my favorite spot and I visited it probably twice as much as I visited The Garden of Gethsemane. It was there that I began to have an understanding and respect for the knowledge I have that Christ was resurrected. In my faith, we believe that Christ atoned for our sins so that we may repent and do good works in order to save our spirits or souls. But, Christ was resurrected and we all receive that gift freely so that one day our bodies will be perfected, or whole again, and our spirits can be reunited with our bodies. Just like Him, we too can live again! You see, without the resurrection, even the Atonement would be void. Since meeting Ronnie, my testimony of the Resurrection has only deepened and made my love for him even more eternal. I am so proud of all his accomplishments and am happy to do things a little differently with him. I consider the walk from our house to our car much more rewarding that the longst walk I could take with anyone else on Earth. I really don't think of his injury much, and when I do, I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the Resurrection and the hope it can bring to all of us. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the apostle Elder Oaks : "The assurance of resurrection gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life. Because of the resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!" What wonderful news! Doesn't it make you excited? One day, my "emotional deficiencies" won't need chocolate. And best/worst of all, Ronnie will not only go on a nice long walk with me, he will probably turn into a nice, long run.

Sweatin With the Oldies

We did it. We crashed water aerobics and in turn, it kicked our trash. Who knew? Ronnie and I joined in on the arm pumping, water splashing, hip stregthening fun and I woke up the next morning with sore arms. We are going again tonight and I am bringing a of couple work friends with me. You know what is my favorite part of pool work outs? No, not the naked bums struttin around the locker room. The Hot Tub! I love to stew and we always seem to meet an interesting character or two. I have had so much fun going to the pool with Ronnie and I need to make him sit down and write a post about all the "helpful" people we have been coming across lately. I dont want to give anything away so I will stop there, but let's just say it will be an entertaining post indeed.

Water Logged

Boots Gets A Bench

After I graduated college, my parents got me a bedroom set to help me start my life as an independent woman. I have loved my bedroom furniture and it has moved with me twice now. Ronnie has less of a love for our bed than I do because it is so dang tall. Putting on his "boots" and shoes requires him to sit and sitting on the edge of our bed was a teetering trick. After weeks of struggling, we asked his good friend David Grant to make us a custom bench to make Ronnie's life a little easier. I was going to do a beautiful post on how much we love our bench and how great it is, but I will just direct you to his site so you can check it out for yourself and hear it from David. Thanks David! And don't think this will be the last thing we have you making for us!

Boots gets a new boot

We had an interesting weekend. Ronnie broke his foot! It's just a teeny tiny fracture, but it has caused quite a stink. Here are the details:

CAUSE: Ronnie and I decided to go to the temple for our Friday night date. I hopped in the shower first because...I am a girl. I need a head start. After I was finished with my shower, it was Ronnie's turn. He put his hand on the wall to help balance while he stepped in but my piping hot shower left the walls all slippery. Down he went and we are pretty sure his foot smashed in to the toilet. He seemed fine for the first little bit. He even got back up and showered and walked back into our room, but when he tried to stand up to get dressed, it was a no go. I wanted to go get his foot checked right then, but he said it might be just a jammed toe and we should wait a day.

EFFECT: Since Ronnie's back injury, his body has adapted a funny little way of telling him something is wrong since he may not be able to feel it so well. His legs twitch...errr...spasm would be more like it. It isn't fun, and it can be very tiring. When we went to bed that night, his leg went into action and wouldn't stop. No amount of asprin, icy hot, or rubbing his legs would stop it. So at about midnight we went to the ER. A few x-rays and a whole lot of waiting later, the prognosis was a Pseudo Jones Fracture. A lot less worrisome than a REAL Jones fracture apparently, but enough to put his body into fits. We left with a prescription for pain killers a muscle relaxer to get his leg to calm down. They worked for a couple hours,but by the middle of Saturday, we knew we needed to get a different prescription because no matter how many, or how often he took the pills, his leg kept seizing up. So off to urgent care we went. 20 minutes later we had a new prescription and so far so good.

Thanks to our friends and family that have called, texted, and come by to check on Ronnie. He is bummed about being back in the wheel chair for a bit, but it is nice to know he will heal quickly and be back to walking soon.

A big Thank You to Ronnie's sister Shauna for bringing him dinner while I was babysitting on Saturday night!

WARNING: mooshy gooshy- lovey dovey, Newly wed talk below

Believe it or not, I really do try and resist spilling my love all over the floor for everyone else to slop through, but just enjoy with me for a moment. For all of you who are married, reminece, and all who are working on it, here is what I find irresistible about love.
Suddenly, all the things you enjoyed doing before, become even more enjoyable. Let's take cooking for example( and let's try to enjoy it before it becomes a chore when little mouths are added to the picture). Today I picked up shrimp at the store! I rarely eat shrimp after that one time in Mexico we won't talk about. But today, as I passed the meat counter, I saw it and soon found myself asking for a half pound because I knew Ronnie would like it. And now I am giddy as I experiment with shrimp tacos, hoping he can taste the love I cooked in with the lemon and garlic. I enjoyed cooking before I got married, but now it is so much more fulfilling because I have someone else to cook for.

And I am sure he used to really enjoy doing dishes before we got married and now it is so much for fulfilling for him ....

Maybe my logic doesn't apply to every situation, but here is what I am positive of 100% of the time. I feel absolutely complete because I get him forever ( and he even said I could die first). Right when I think I have hit the max on how much I can love him, he makes me laugh and it suddenly multiplies by 10!
Ronnie, you are the peanut butter to my...well everything. And maybe forget this post on the days I serve you ramen or Mac and cheese.

Our First Post

I have had a few people asking me when I would start blogging again, so I thought now would be a good time to get my rear in gear and reveal the new blog. There is still a lot of work to be done and neither one of us is as tech savvy as we should be (Ronnie just got his first smart phone and his whole world has changed). After much debate on what to write the first post about, I came to the conclusion there really isn't much to write about! I am sure there are a million things I could blabber on about, but I am just happy to know that our first month and 1/2 of marriage has mostly been the day-to-day, lovey dovey, unpacking presents, and back to work- stuff you all probably don't want to hear about.

I am sure some want to see wedding pictures but you are just going to have to wait. Our photographer is trying to get them published, so keep your fingers crossed and maybe you will see us somewhere is cyberspace more well known than this blog.

But until then... feel free to stop by and see what Ronnie and I are up to. I wish I had a bottle of champagne to smash on the side of a ship to celebrate our official "launch" but a Dr. Pepper will have to do.