Here’s a story from our early days – before wedding rings and babies – that set a precedent for all the days to come. In fact, our kids laughed aloud because not much has changed between the two of us over the years. I still have big, beautiful, romantic ideas and Ryan still grounds them in reality and brings them to life.
I tell the story, “Balloon Dart Painting,” on my new podcast, Expect Something Beautiful. (It’s one of my favorites so far!)
Fun Fact: In the episode, I say that we used a funnel to get the paint into the balloons, but Ryan just reminded me that the funnel didn’t work and he literally siphoned the paint into the balloons with his mouth. Yup. He sucked up the paint into a straw and I’d watch the paint move up the straw and tell him when to stop just in time for him not to ingest any (See, he DOES need me!). He filled those balloons one straw-full at a time just like a good daddy robin feeding his baby birds. Now, that’s love.
To listen, just click on one of the balloons below…


“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 13:34