Mommiedaze

Wednesdays for Wives: A Letter to my Husband

Happy 31st birthday Dear! Ahead of the times, I married a younger man before Ashton and Demi made it fashionable. Two years and nine days isn’t that much younger though, so don’t rub it in too much.

I am so happy to celebrate another birthday with you. I hope we are both still around to celebrate your 91st birthday together. By then we’ll probably be toasting Ensure shakes, reclining on our twin Craftmatic adjustable beds in the old folks’ home, instead of feting with brownies. I still can not understand after all these years why you don’t like cake, but if you want brownies instead, brownies you shall have. You always do go against the mainstream. One of the things I love about you. You are not a joiner. You follow your own convictions down a path that is uniquely yours.

I’ve been privileged to be along for the ride down that path. Sometimes I balk and want to turn back or take a different route. But you lead steadfastly on, taking us through this great adventure of life, and getting us safely and securely to our destination each time.

Three years ago another traveler joined the journey when our son was born. You are such a wonderful father. So gentle, so loving, so patient. You have patience that seem to go on forever when it comes to caring for our son. Long after I’ve reached the end of my rope, you are still calm and collected. And how I love to watch the two of you play together. The laughter, the joy, the smiles are priceless. Those moments are stored in my heart forever.

Come to think of it, the same qualities that make you a good father make you a good husband too. I know that sometimes I require a great deal of patience, because I have very little myself. Often I fire before I aim, but somehow you manage to doge the bullets and help me hit the target in the end.

Actually, you balance me out very well. You are also far more optimistic than I. When my glass is empty with a leak in the bottom, your glass is half full with a pitcher of refreshing ice water sitting next to it.  

And you make me laugh. The jokes, the teasing, the humor that we share. It makes life so fun. No matter how difficult times have been, I can not remember a day that we didn’t share a laugh over something together. Laughter is a healing balm for even the most difficult trials of this world.

Finally, I am so thankful to have a husband who knows Jesus and seeks to follow God’s will.

It is a cliche, said many times before, but you are my best friend. There is no one else I’d rather share all the times of my life with, good and bad, than you.

I don’t say these things to you nearly often enough. You are appreciated for all things you do for me and our family.

Happy Birthday.

I love you!

Babe

Have you told your husband how much he means to you recently? Let him know.

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Momma got a New Computer

Thank you to my wonderful husband who generously bought me a new laptop for my birthday - and Mother’s Day - and, well, this might quite possibly cover next Christmas too. (We never spend that kind of money on gifts.) I love it! It replaces my old one which was ancient in computer years. It was so slow. Then my son spilled water on the keyboard, frying it and forcing me to use an auxiliary keyboard. That sort of made my laptop into an immobile desktop. I’m now free to roam about the house and the backyard, and it’s so much faster, I feel like I’m flying through cyber-space!  

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Girl Talk: Birthdays, it’s a Numbers Game

Happy Birthday to Me

My Birthday is just days away.

I’m turning 33.

33. On paper it’s kind of a ho-hum number with all it’s soft round curves. It’s divisible only by itself and the numbers one, three and 11. 11 is another of one those boring numbers. One more than 10, but not quiet enough to equal a nice full dozen. 33 is three years beyond the milestone age of 30, but seven long years away from 40. Seven long years to wonder if I’ll feel old at 40, or if Oprah’s right and 40 really is the new 30.

33 isn’t filled with exciting new possibilities like 16, 18 and 21. It isn’t a day filled with laughter and poking fun at yourself because you’re over-the-hill like 40, 50 and 60. It isn’t a day to look forward to peaceful years of retirement like 65.  It isn’t a day when suddenly everyone sees you as wise like 70. It isn’t a day like 75 and all the birthdays after when you’re just happy to still be alive. It’s just… 33.

26 was the birthday that hit me hard. All my years growing up, 25 was, in my mind, the ideal age. I thought 25 was the age when everything all came together. 25 was pretty good, but it only lasted a year. So when 26 came around I was sad when I realized I’d never be my ideal age again.

It was also around my 26th birthday that I stopped being able to remember how old I was. Sometimes I have to really think about it. It takes some fuzzy math to come up with an answer. Am I 32? Maybe I’m already 33. I can’t remember. Lets see. I was born in 1975… 2008 minus 1975 is…, I was 18 when I graduated from high school in 1993 and my husband is two years younger than me, he’s 29 — no 30… I just turned 30 the spring after my son was born and he’s almost 3 1/2 so, um, 33, yes I’m going to be 33.

Surprisingly 30 wasn’t a difficult birthday for me at all. When I turned 30, I finally felt grown up. Like I was really an adult now. The carefree 20’s were behind me, and I was ready for real life and real responsibilities. I finally knew who I was and had enough wisdom and courage to be that person.

I’m holding on to 32 for a few more days. It sounds young the way the “oo” on the end of two rolls off the tounge. It looks young with the sharp corner and flashy straight line on the end of the 2. It says I’m still close enough to 29 to be hip and in-the-know.

It’s not that I’m afraid to get older. There’s enough hair color and Oil of Olay to stave off the physical aging process a few more years. Actually I owe a lot of my attitude about aging to my mother. I don’t remember ever hearing her lament about growing older or dreading an upcoming birthday. She’s never been embarrassed to tell anyone her age. I can’t recall her complaining about wrinkles or getting white hair. And the older she gets the younger that age seems. I once would have thought 61 was ancient. She’s anything but ancient. Age is a badge of honor to be worn proudly. All the scars, all the smiles, add up to a knowledge gained only from  life’s successes and failures. A knowledge to be revered and celebrated. And learned from.

33 will pass quietly, an uneventful birthday, another tick mark on the calendar. And I’ll be dreaming of 35. Now there’s a number. Bold and strong. Neatly divisible by seven sets of five. Halfway to 40. 35 says I’ve been around the block a few times and now I really know what I’m doing.

Here’s to one more year!

In the Pink

This website is about as girlie as you can get. It combines two of my favorite things, shoes and the color pink. That’s right ladies there is an on-line store that specializes exclusively in pink shoes. Who knew? With 1608 items to choose from, the Pink Shoe Center has everything from heels to sneakers. Shipping is free both ways, so if the shoe doesn’t fit, return it without any hassle.

Want to join in on some Girl Talk? Post about anything girlie on your blog, let’s keep it PG-13 at least, and link back to this post and enter your link in the Mr. Linky form below. Feel free to grab the Girl Talk button and use it on your blog. I post this once a week on Thursdays, usually in the afternoon when my son is sleeping. You can link up any time between now and next Wednesday.

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Check Out the Great Prizes at Connor’s Birthday Blog Bash

Little Connor over at Seven Dogs and a Baby is turning one year old (oh, I remember the day my son turned one. What a mix of emotions. Happy to leave bottles, burping and sleepless nights behind, but realizing he’d be all grown up and out of the house in what seemed like five more minutes.) and his mommy Angela is throwing a big Birthday Blog Bash! You don’t want to miss the chance to win the fabulous prizes valued at over $530. Stop by and give Connor your best wishes. Happy Birthday Connor!

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David Turns Three

We celebrated my son David’s third birthday yesterday.

He loved his cake. Cars is one of his favorite movies. He kept asking for it all afternoon and wanted to know when he could blow out the candles. The cake was chocolate on chocolate. When I ordered it they said, “Are you sure you want chocolate frosting on chocolate cake?” like it was a crazy request. Is there any other kind of cake? 

When it was finally time for the cake we had to convince him to put down his new toys and sit down so we could sing Happy Birthday, and he could blow out the candles. All that anticipation and then he didn’t even care about it anymore once he opened his presents.

After he blew out the candles he didn’t even eat his cake right away. He went back to playing with his new toys. Finally after his grandparents left he asked for a piece of cake, but I had to let him eat on the floor so he could keep playing. The towel is there to protect the carpet which is practically white. I don’t know why the original owners who built this house installed carpet that color. They could not have had any children or pets.

The aftermath of the cake. He mostly just ate the frosting, and as you can see most of it ended up on his hands and face.

Here David is opening one of his presents. It’s a toy laptop. We got it hoping he’d pound on it instead of the real one I use.

He has a future at Microsoft.

Here he is wearing his birthday crown. Our Cocker Spaniel Elizabeth is in the background. He has chocolate candy around his mouth. She’s hoping he’ll give her a piece of candy. He got the crown from his MOPS class that morning and wore it all day. He even wore it into WalMart when we went to pick up his cake. He was very proud of it.

It was a great day, and it was fun because it was the first birthday where he actually understood what was happening.

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Happy Birthday David

Three years ago to day our lives changed forever when you came into the world. You are smart, funny, loving, creative, mischievous, unique and so very special. What a gift God gave us when he made you just for us. You fill every day with joy and new surprises. It’s been a pleasure watching you grow from a tiny, helpless baby to an energetic, spirited little boy. We can’t wait to see what kind of young man you will become. We’re sure you’ll make us proud. We love you very much David.

Mommie and Daddie

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