Happy Birthday My Love!

You know, he’s special.  He really is.  That he's SO handsome goes without saying.  And I’m not just saying that cause I’m his wife…although I will admit it does play into it – how could it not?

This man is one of those really good ones…the kind you can always count on to come through…unless of course you want pictures hung on the wall.  He’ll still come through, just two months later. J

He has an uncanny ability to cut through the crap and see the essentials.  He can always find the best route from A to B.  He’s amazing with our kids.  A beautiful blend of disciple and fun.  Strictness and Goofiness. 

He loves nothing better than to spoil me or the kids by giving an extravagant gift out of nowhere.  And by extravagant, that could mean a slurpee for H on a Tuesday.   Or a diamond tennis bracelet for me on Valentines.  He’s a giver. 

He is always looking for ways to make my life easier.  He’s always the first to suggest takeout when I’m feeling tired.   And still makes me feel appreciated.

He’s fabulous.   He doesn’t typically care to sing for many people, but for M, well he gives a great rendition of Old MacDonald at bedtime.

This man is mine.  He’s my life partner.  My partner in crime.  The one who makes me laugh so hard my cheeks ache and I pee a little.  He’s there right beside me through thick and thin.  And I’m there with him.

It’s his birthday today.  He only gets one every four years, so this one is special.  And Lord do I love him. 

Thank you, babes, for making my life so much better by being in it.   Thank you for your hard work and the way you take care of our family.  Thank you for your impressions and your jokes.  For your listening and your understanding.  Thank you for being you.  You’re the best. 

Happy 8^th Birthday.  ♥

Laugh it Up

Yesterday both Aven and I got to have two good laughs at each other’s expense – it started when we both got home. 

Aven had picked up the mail and in it was a wedding invitation.

“Hey Honey!  Guess what!  We totally just got an invite to a wedding of two people we don’t even know!!  Do you know an ….Ashlee…something?”  He asks holding up the wedding invitation to me.

I take a look at the wedding invitation and no, I didn’t know the Ashlee….but the second name did catch my attention…it was the same as ours.  “Ummm honey, don’t you have a cousin Benjamin??” 

He takes a look at the wedding invitation again.  “I have a cousin BEN” he says defensively. 

Umm….  And that’s when I doubled over laughing.

Totally ruined his plan to crash a wedding of two strangers. 

But he did get his revenge later on in the evening when we were talking about the gym I’ve been going too and how if I had the time it would be nice to go to a cardio class followed by a weight class.  Two whole hours at the gym.

“Yeah!” I pipe up “And then half an hour in the infrared sauna!” 

Aven starts smiling bigger and bigger.  “Infrared??” he asks. 

“Yeah, Infrared.” I repeat, mystified. 

Apparently, it’s said Infra-red.   Not in-frared.

And that’s when he doubled over laughing.

Commuter Club

When you’re on the same route at the same time every day you start to notice familiar cars around you.  The commuters who have the same route and schedule as you.  At least I do.  I shouldn’t be so presumptuous about you!   J

I have identified about 5 – 6 cars that I see on a regular basis and I call us ‘The Commuter Club’ cause I’m a bit strange like that. 

There’s the light blue newer model Yaris Sedan with the Fairy Sticker on the back window.  This car caught my attention mostly because of my surprise at the dude driving it.  I don’t know if any of you do this, but when I come up on a car I try to make an educated guess about who the driver might be based on the colour and model of the car and the driving habits.  I swear to you, I had this one pegged as a Caucasian, late twenties woman.  Haha.  I had the Caucasian part right. 

Then there’s the maroon G5 with the aftermarket tail pipe who makes risky moves to try to get ahead and tries to step on the gas as much as possible just to hear the sound of the engine.  It’s funny because more often than not, I always catch up to him.  He’s the kind that does a lot of tailgating and lane changes but really doesn’t get ahead.  One time I saw him scoot up the right hand turning lane but then go straight through the intersection in order to get ahead of a big truck.  Those kinds of moves leave me shaking my head in wonder. 

I haven’t seen her lately, but there used to be this lime green Sprint with a shiny oval sticker on her bumper.  It was a happy face and I thought it said “I Like You” on it.  I can tell you, I thought to myself, “This must be a really nice person – I bet she has lots of friends.  So friendly.  She doesn’t even know me but she likes me!”  I got warm fuzzies – I really did.   The next time I saw her, a few days later, she was pulling up to a red light so I decided to change lanes to be behind her so I could get some more warm fuzzies looking at this lovely ‘I Like You’ Sticker.  Imagine my disappointment when I got a closer look and saw that it actually said ‘I Hate You’.  I was unreasonably hurt by that.  I don’t know why – I really took it personally.  I’m glad I don’t see her very much.

Then there’s the silver Honda Odyssey driver who is a SPEED – DEMON!  She’s a skilled race – van drivin’ mama!  Her van is pretty much exactly like yours, Heather….  K 

Just kidding.  I saw this driver and it definitely wasn’t you – not that you would ever drive like that!

I wonder what these drivers think of me…I am fairly speedy, I’ll admit that….But I do like to think I’m a smart driver – no unnecessary lane changes, etc.  I’m not a risky driver, either – I’ve got too much at stake to be a dangerous driver.    

I can be a bit pushy at times, though, I will admit.  Especially if there’s a toodle-er in the fast lane. 

New Church?

I am a member of a really great church.  I love pretty much everything about it – I love the people that go there.  I love the messages on Sunday Morning.  I love the music.   I love the acceptance that happens there.  I love that the church has a ‘real-world’ mentality, taking practical steps to help and reach out to those in need.  There is just one tiny thing that I don’t love and that is that there are no kids the same age as H.  Consequently she’s not really making real friends there.  She doesn’t really like to go to Sunday School – she’d rather stay with the adults in the service and draw or hang out with M in the nursery.  And I don’t love that at all.  And its important enough to me that she have friends in church that I decided we should maybe stick a toe out to see if there’s a church that’s a better fit for all of us.  It’s all fine and good if all my needs are being met, but what about my kids?  Their needs need to be met as well.

So, I decided we would try a new church.  We went to the local one that’s held at H’s elementary school.  It’s non-denominational and very community-oriented. 

I know I’m biased because the music is so amazing at my church, but truly, it’s incredibly difficult to get a good sound in a school gymnasium. 

The kids were welcomed.  That part was awesome.  H was in a Sunday School with about 15 kids all her same age.  The did cool crafts and had circle and snacks and it seemed very amazing.  She had a really good time. 

M actually was willing to stay in the Pre-school by himself because there were so many fun toys and kids to play with. 

I really felt like a fish out of water, though.  This church had such a different feel than my home church.  I missed my church.

Bad luck it was the 5 year anniversary of this church so there was no real message just a litany of all the changed lives since the inception of this church.  It sounds like this should be really inspiring but to be honest, it wasn’t.  About five people went up to talk about their ‘changed lives’ and not one of them mentioned God doing a work in their lives it was all about how volunteering and service to the church had turned them around.  And that may be true, but they could just as easily volunteer at their local food bank for the same results.  I don’t know, maybe I was looking with an extra cynical eye, but it all just sat a bit funny with me. 

When the church let out, I collected the kids and asked “Well, are we coming back here next week?”  NO!  was the resounding reply.  They wanted to go back to our regular church. 

Me too.

Then on Wednesday a card came in the mail.  It was from the new church thanking me for attending last Sunday and they had included a $5 Starbucks Gift Card.  Well, I get what they’re trying to do:  be hospitable and all that.  But it felt like they were trying to buy my membership a little.  And if I felt weird before, now I really did.   That kind of stuff just really puts me off. 

So we’re sticking with our church – and who knows, maybe more families with kids Hope’s age will start coming.  

And we won’t have to use Starbucks Cards to bribe them to stay.