File
this one under “better late than never.” I have been remiss of late in
posting here. It seems all I have time to do is post my weekly guest
series on my good friend’s photography blog. If you are planning on
getting photos taken for any reason, jump over to Rebekah’s photo blog and see my photo-tastic outfit
options. The last three weeks I’ve been focusing on what couples should
wear for engagement photos.

Speaking of couples…

Lately,
I have been loving this lovely series by graphic designer and
letterpress artist/blogger Amanda Jane Jones. Titled, My Better Half,
it’s a little peek into the lives of ordinary (extraordinary, really)
couples. It is so interesting to read about these people that I don’t
know and learn what makes them tick, what makes their relationships
work.

Since
my parents recently celebrated their 36th anniversary, I decided I
would dedicate this couple-centric post to them and do my own version of
my better half featuring them. (Without Amanda’s great graphics, I’m afraid.)

Philip & Malinda: The Early Years

Dad/Philip:
1. My dad is the guy you go to if you want to know anything.
2.
He also has the uncanny knack of finding people he knows wherever he
is. On family vacations, trips to the store, a dinner outing, you can
expect him to run into someone he knows (and still remembers from high school!).
3. Has a great love for music that started in his adolescence, and he still plays it too loud.

Mom/Malinda:
1. Loves paper & tags of all kinds and collects them. Throw away a cool-looking tag off a new shirt and you are dead to her.
2.
Still wants to do everything she planned to do “when she grows up.”
This probably has something to do with why she is always in a library.
3.
Had a dream when she was younger that she was the lucky winner of a
coveted grand prize: a brand new baby. She went on to have 4 children.

Mom & Dad Christmas 2010

How they met:
The
version of the story I’ve always grown up hearing goes like this: Dad
was stationed in my mother’s hometown of Killeen, TX. Some friends set
them up on a blind date that went just okay. Flash forward to when my
mom is at church and sees this cute guy and asks her friend, “Who is
that?” Imagine her surprise when her friend told her, “that’s the guy you
went on a date with the other night!” And as they say, the rest is
history. Happy (belated) anniversary mom and dad!