When Matt Jones proposed to me down on one knee on the old pedestrian bridge spanning the Arkansas River, I didn’t immediately say yes. The night was pitch black, and the old bridge had no lighting, so my surprise exclamation wasn’t “yes”. Instead, he asked his beautifully romantic question, opened the ring box, and I said, “A light!” We still laugh about it. The jewelers had added a light to the tiny ring box, and it completely stole the show. Of course, I followed our laughter with an emphatic “yes.” But twenty-two happily married years later, and the lights are …

In any DIY project, there comes a point where you are terrified to take the next step. And let me tell you, cutting carpet is terrifying. But if you want to build a built-in bookcase, there’s simply no way around it. You’re forced to fully commit to the project all the way to the finish line, and there is a strong possibility that you might end up with a total mess. Fortunately, Matt was the brave one willing to tackle the carpet. First, he removed the trim from the wall behind the bookshelves and used a hacksaw to cut the …

Six-and-a-half years ago, we were living with my parents, and desperate to find a home of our own. Our starter home had sold immediately, and the home we hoped to buy had gone to another family. It was a really challenging time for me personally. But after months of searching, we found the home we had been waiting to find. As I stood in the backyard, giddy with relief and joy and every emotion, our realtor begged me to play it cool. I knew I was going to fail completely, so I let him do the talking, kept my mouth …