Was That The Garage Door ?

This picture is from nearly a year ago,
but I love his smile in it!  :)

Without fail, my "little guy" (Spencer) runs to the door to greet me whenever I come home from work.  He has even woken up from a nap when he hears the garage door open, seemingly just to smile and say "Up-pa, up-pa" so I can lift him for a hug.  I simply love this!

Today's Song Of The Day is titled "Unconditionally" and is performed by Katy Perry.  I heard the song many months ago and was sure it would be a big hit ... but it seems to have been overshadowed by the popularity of her song "Roar" (which is a great song, don't get me wrong).  That's too bad, because this song is applicable to so many scenarios.  But lately I think about my children's unconditional love for me, and mine for them, when I hear this song.

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5 - How Long Did You Date ?

From the Facebook post little known facts about Josh Case Sr:

5 - I proposed to my wife less than 2 months after we first met.

Here's the deets:
We met (at a church dance) on December 17th, 1997.
We were engaged to be married on February 15th, 1998.

Basically from that first night we met I was 99% convinced I was going to marry her.  Oddly enough, it still took a while before I kissed her (I'm a shy "first kiss" kind of guy).  Also of note, I would have actually proposed to her sooner but she was in Europe for the 3 weeks right beforehand.

I mention this because the world will tell you that there is a certain timeframe you should adhere to when considering marriage.  Even I had a goal, written in my missionary journal, to NOT get married or even date anyone seriously for the first year after my mission.  I did not achieve that goal (returned from my mission on November 5th, 1997; Karen and I were sealed for time and all eternity on May 2nd, 1998) ... BUT ... I would argue that 15+ years of a wonderful marriage later proves my "there is no set timetable" point.

I would caution though, that marriage is a LOT of work and so you'd better do your homework before you make such a monumental commitment.  You'd better make sure your future spouse is willing to work at the marriage with you.  To this day, I am convinced that Karen and I squeezed a year or more of typical dating and courtship activities into those 5 1/2 months from first meeting to eternal marriage in the Denver Temple.  And we still work at our marriage every singly day!


Song Of The Day:
Sometimes you just know and that was the case with my sweet wife Karen.  In a much lesser way, you can also just know the first time you hear a song that you LOVE IT.  That was the case with "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry.  I have probably already listened to it over 100 times and I just like it more each and every time.  Lyrically.  The melody and harmony.  The thumping drum beats.  If you haven't heard it already I really hope you like it!

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Where Do They Disappear To ?

At the Case Place (our home filled with 9 people, the vast majority of which are not even close to adulthood yet) we seem to have very few major problems.  But we seem to have hundreds of tiny issues, some of which seem to be a constant source of stress (mostly for those two people in the home who ARE adults already!)

Herewith are the Top 5 "Seriously?!" Scenarios:
5.  Socks and shoes (and toys, of course) everywhere
4.  Absence of kleenex, toilet paper, napkins, or paper towels
3.  Lights left on in rooms with no one there
     (prior blog post on this one ... click here if you missed it)
2.  Used cups on every counter-like area in and around the kitchen (many with some form of liquid still in them ... is that chocolate milk?  eek!)

And finally ...

1.  No fingernail clippers to be found ... ever!

I, personally, have purchased at least four sets of fingernail clippers, in just the past year.  Not a single one of them is anywhere to be found in our home.  Not in the "junk drawer."  Not on the ledge that is higher than all but two of our kids can reach.  Not on top of the curio cabinet (which stands 6-feet tall).  Not in the computer desk drawer.  And certainly not in the fingernail clipper kit, which in and of itself came with three different clipper sets!

I have no explanation ... except, maybe, aliens!

Song Of The Day:
Yeah.  I am basically blaming aliens so I can tie this post into the song of the day.  It's "E.T." by Katy Perry.  I've always liked the song and heard it a week ago on the radio ... and I've been trying to think of a post that would allow me to use it.  Yeah, I know it's a stretch.  Oh well.

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