Catching up

I've been blog hopping with the Ultimate Blog Party, but now I have to say I'm a bit pooped with it all! Not because there are bad blogs, just MANY blogs to see and check out! It's been fun, but I'm also in a time of needing to balance* this whole internet + real life thing. I mean, the kids, they hafta eat I hear. However, Hunny has been brilliant in this hellish interim time that I've been sick, so I've been lying low and being a little more still than normal this past week in vain hopes of getting better. [Insert imaginary whine HERE about how much I hate being sick. Because surely an adult woman doesn't complain, especially when she's being taken care of hand and foot?!?]
*Regarding balance: Hunny said something today that I thought was quite profound. We were discussing a blog post I'd read that asked for tips on keeping communication alive in marriage while during the parenting-of-littles stage, and I asked him what advice he'd give. He basically said something to the tune of "yeah, communicating is really important," but then he referenced something I said in another bout of me complaining a conversation about needing to find balance. He said it's not actually about finding balance (apparently, it's over-rated anyway), but rather, it's about finding the happy median. Hmmm..... that makes so much more sense when I think about that. We are in a season of two-under-two-with-one-on-the-way, and there are days (and weeks) that I feel completely overwhelmed with just the everdayness of it all: the laundry that never ceases, the kitchen that won't clean itself, and of course trying to maintain some semblance of peace and order in the home. I've felt pulled and pitted, always thinking in terms of "can't," "not yet," or even "won't" when I need to be thinking in terms of what I CAN do now, which is finding a place that is "good enough" for NOW and be in the moment. I was talking the other day to a friend about being intentional, and I really need to think (and pray!) more about how I can be intentional in each of my relationships right now.
Which brings me to why I'm posting tonight at 11:30 pm. :) I was mindlessly browsing through some Montessori blogs tonight (hello-I cleaned up my Internet sidebar and re-found all these awesome sites!) and this one caught my attention. The idea of making an activity box of things for Bear and I (and even Bunkin) to do together is BRILLIANT, I say! Why did I never think of this before? So often I muddle through my day, admittedly spending way too much time on the computer, and at the end I'm left wondering what the heck I even did all day, let alone how did I spend quality time with Bear. This is why I was even perusing my Montessori blogs; I was looking for age-appropriate activities to start incorporating into our days as well as begin honing in on some ways we can apply a little Montessori-inspired activities for home preschool. The making of our Activity Box is going to be an activity itself, but some of the other ideas that I pulled from that list are:
(disclaimer: I'll paste permalinks later; I'm just trying to get this info down, but most of them are on her list)
-tissue paper candle holder
-bird seed pine cone treats
-stamps/nature stamping
-petting zoo visit or feed the ducks or pet store
-make wool felt balls
-marbleized paper
-dye white flowers
-draw with washable markers and spray with a water bottle
-bake
-glue cotton balls to paper plates
-make ziploc icecream
-make playdough
I'll also put in some Montessori activities for more structured playtime, and of course I'll add those as I read more. Bear is such a routine kid that I think once he gets used to activity time, he'll love it so much. We've never really done this at home, and I'm very excited. I've just got to figure out how to occupy Bunkin while we do some of the not-so-appropriate for his age activities.
Ok, it's officially midnight, and I actually need to be awake early in the morning. Sigh. I'll post more about our activity box and fix the permalinks later. For now, though, I'm going to be praying through being intentional and trying to complain less!

Happy Anniversary Post, Part II

Now that you know where Hunny and I started, I found a pretty amazing post (at the blog Simple Marriage.. I've only browsed around a little while, but I'm already a fan of this well-written and encouraging blog) talking about what the writer loves about being married. I thought I'd take his great list and tell you how Hunny fits that mold.

Companionship Hunny, I know you think B is my other half, and she is.. in so many ways. But the truth is so are you. I'm a triplet for a reason: I understand thirds!! :) You are just the perfect fit for me, and you are truly a perfect companion for me.
Love I can't say it any better than the original romantic: Song of Solomon 8:6 "Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away."
Laughter I've already said I love the sound of Hunny's laughter, but I also think the fact that we daily laugh WITH one another has been huge for us.
Connection You seem to have an uncanny ability to read my mind, and you and I have a connection that I've only ever had with one other person (B!).
Shared adventure Oh, boy! Have we ever been on an adventure called parenting! We've probably made more mistakes, laughed harder, and been comrades more in raising kids than any other aspect of our relationship.
Passion I love your passion, and the passion we share with one another. This is probably one of the areas that we show more of our differences in, and I think that adds such a fun element to who we are together.
Friendship Aside from B you are my best friend. I don't know anyone else as well as I know you, and I KNOW you know me better than anyone else.
Deep conversations AND Simple conversations (I combined these two from his list) I love that we talk. I love that when dating I noticed how we'd rather talk all night long than have it end on us. I love that we still talk into the night. I love that words are our way of communicating.
Hearing someone say “I love you” I love it when you tell me completely spontaneously that you love me. It's just a notch above hearing Bear say "Yuy you!"
Knowing the little quirks of another human being Umm, you have LOTS of quirks! I probably have more, though! :) I love your quirks. It makes me feel like I know you really well.
Co-parenting our children This one has been hit on sort of, but I never imagined that parenting could be as hard and beautiful as it is. I'm so grateful and blessed that you are the co-producer of our kids (because, goodness, we make some pretty ones!) and so thrilled that you get to share in all the not-so-fun things like nighttimes, early mornings, dirty diapers, and spit-up. But you also revel in the amazing things like playtime, naptime, and cuddletime.
Being authentic This is a phrase that is borderline too church for me, but I get it. Authenticity is really, really hard. It is a hard job to day in day out be real with a person, even if you share that space with them! However, it is precisely this level of willingness to bare ourselves to each other that allows trust and love to deepen.
All the inside jokes between us This is an easy one. But if I share them here, then they won't just be between us anymore!! Again, it just speaks to our ease with one another and a level of awareness and intimacy that can be playful.
Memories of past experiences together Well, as you know, this is one of my favorite past-times with you. I love remembering things we did when we dated and pre-kids. I love remembering trips we've taken, conversations we've had, and little unimportant details. (The funny thing is, you seem to think my memory is highly selective!!)
Watching football together, or any sports for that matter I actually really love this one. I never thought I'd enjoy watching sports, but your passion and enthusiasm were addicting, and now I'm proud to join the ranks of the Hogs and Gunners, or the Black Cats :)
Someone to challenge me to be a better woman And you do challenge me.. to be a better mommy, better wife, and better partner.
Good make out sessions To keep this PG I'll just leave it at that.


I edited the list to suit my needs, and there is a lot more I could probably say, but suffice it to say I love you, and Happy Anniversary!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Anniversary Post, Part I

Our anniversary isn't until tomorrow, but I found something neat that I wanted to do for that, but still wanted to share how Hunny and I met for those of you who don't already know! I still think it's a great story!!
In summer of 2004 I had just moved back to Memphis after a few years in Atlanta, and I was swearing off men, trying to figure out my place in my old group of girlfriends, and in a different spiritual place as I was truly branching out on my own after living within the shelter of my spiritual mom. I had originally planned to join the Air Force as a last-resort attempt to get out of Atlanta but not move back home, but things didn't work out (long story), and so Memphis it was. I got a job with The Ugly Mug, a coffee shop I'd volunteered for in college. This was a little different, though, because they had set up a kiosk at the FedEx Forum downtown as opposed to a little coffee shop in midtown. The Mug also had begun handling catering orders, and my manager N would often do those. One evening I got a call saying that I should not go downtown but instead "out east" to the Agricenter for a catering job--I was excited because instead of waking up at 5, I could sleep in til 7! Or so I thought... At 3:30 that morning I got a knock on my door and two uniformed police officers were at the door asking if I owned a "___" vehicle, to which I warily answered "yes." (Y'all probably already know where this is headed, eh?) Sure enough, my car had been broken into, glass shattered all over the street and my car seat. The crazy thing, though, is I wasn't mad. At all. You'd have to really know me to know why that is so weird, but I attribute it all to a conversation I'd had with God the night before, and my attitude that morning was "bring it on!" I will admit to being a little uncomfortable when one of the cops hands me a bag I usually kept in my glove compartment for my perusal to see if anything was missing from it. The remaining items: sanitary napkins in all their bright pink glory and a tube of chapstick. On my way to work later that morning I was distracted with how I was going to get all the glass out of my butt car seat and how much it would cost to replace, and by the way, how did one go about finding this information out without a brother, father, or boyfriend on hand? Upon my arrival at the Agricenter I looked for the booth I was supposed to be working and my boss who was supposed to show me how to use the portable machines, and it began to rain. Again, I didn't get mad, I just laughed! I searched everywhere for something I could use to block my window, and finally just asked a random guy if he had any trash bags I could put in my window. This man helps me and even tapes it all up, and we discover that he worked for the company that had hired my company for catering! His name was Johnny. As I'm making coffee for the various guests at the trade show, in walks Hunny (although he wasn't yet Hunny!). We meet and greet one another, and ... I kid you not... I was immediately drawn to the way he looked at me... or in me, rather... he looked right into my eyes and it was like he knew me. At one point, Johnny asked why I had a UPC code on my wrist (click here for a visual), and Hunny immediately piped up, "That's not a UPC code; it's Hebrew." I was duly impressed. After that we pretty much didn't stop talking and I went home telling everyone I'd met my future husband. Of course, while at the trade show, I let them know that I worked downtown at the FedEx Forum. Did I mention that Johnny and Hunny's company cleaned the floors at said FedEx Forum and just happened to find time in their busy day the next day to see me? And I told them that while it had continued to rain, my car got wetter and wetter and stinkier and stinkier, and since they cleaned floors, could they by chance clean car carpets/upholstery too? Sure! So I visited their office, Hunny made sure the guys did a great job cleaning my car while I sat in his office and knit as we talked and talked and talked.
We began exchanging emails and it was over. Hunny and I have so much in common and are cut from the same cloth. I just love how ordained everything was and how we met not on our own terms at all.
I'm so glad I met you, Hunny, and that you asked me to marry you! It's been a whirlwind at times, but I've loved every step of the way!

Happy Birthday Hunny!!

Today is my beautiful husband's birthday (he's getting old, y'all!), and I am so excited that God saw fit to bring us together, because, truly, Hunny is perfect for me. In fact, he even mentioned that himself on Sunday when we were driving around after the daily java run. Hunny likes to meander when he drives... take back roads, roads-that-aren't-even-roads, and in general drive where there is sure to be no other traffic. Anyway, so we were driving through a business park and I said, "Let's play a game; guess that business!" Now most of you might be bored to tears at the suggestion, or just think I'm a loon, and that's ok, but Hunny lit up like a Christmas tree (is it too late to use Christmas references?). These are the kinds of silly things he and I do, and have fun! I've mentioned before that I should share the story of how we met... and guess what? I'm going to do just that, but next week (for our anniversary). Today is all about him.

34 Things I love about my Hunny:

-He's tall
-He's got green eyes
-He's smart
-He lets me win sometimes.. maybe all the time
-He gives the best back massages
-He sings to me
-He is the most "hands-on" dad I've ever seen
-Whether it's napping with a newborn or rough-housing with a toddler, he loves his kids beyond life and they know it
-He wrestles with spiritual things but has never lost his faith
-He is fiercely loyal, even when his family hurts him
-But he puts me and the boys above his mom and brothers
-His laugh; I could listen to him laugh all day
-He has never once yelled at me, despite the fact that I have not returned the favor
-He doesn't even get outwardly angry at me, and that should be impossible
-He is articulate.
-And he gives me kisses when I use big words.
-He kisses me a lot, actually. :)
-He has lovely hands. Like a pianist or a doctor
-We still have things to talk about after years of talking to each other
-He challenges me to think for myself, something I think I used to be afraid of
-He invites me in, even when that's hard for him to do
-He celebrates my successes and mourns with me in loss
-He actually looks into my soul and he listens to me with his heart
-He is HOTT
-He is willing to learn and grow... He researches to the max, deliberates, then makes up his mind, often changing his own course of action if necessary (for instance, my Atkins meat-eater has now turned vegan on me!)
-He is disciplined
-He has turned into a neat freak!
-He is my helpmeet... it should be the other way around I think, but he does so much to help out and make sure that my needs/wants are met before his
-He is so patient (ok, maybe except in driving scenarios!)
-He is so strong: emotionally, physically, spiritually
-He worries too much, but I've finally figured out that it's because he cares so much about us
-He stands up for what he believes
-He is my soulmate, my partner
-He is my best friend
-He loves me and I love him (I think that's 35... one to grow on!!)

Happy birthday, babe!

Pet Meme

First, so many hugs and thanks to all you wonderful ladies for encouraging me after my last post. I'm no longer quite on a pity-party wagon, so that's good! I realize that there is purpose in all things, and this diagnosis has come at a time and point in which I was not motivating myself to be healthy and so now my hand is being forced, so to speak. But truly, thank you for kind words and virtual hugs; they made me feel so much better!

Tonggu Momma tagged me in a fun little meme, and since I love pets, I'm more than willing to oblige! (However, TM, I have to make one minor little correction: I most assuredly am a dog person, and yes we do own 2 cats, but we also own 2 dogs. I just don't have reason to talk about the dogs as much, because Leos cats are just much more interesting to talk about! In my defense, I married into Mia the Siamese's family, and after we got rid of Hunny's dog, I thought since he's a weird cat lover guy cat person he'd like a cat, but Phineas adopted me instead. Take that, Hunny! I'm sure it's just because I'm a Leo, after all.)


1. What is the first pet you remember?
The first animal I have memories of is my mom's cat Bart, whose name was originally Little Fart, until she got pregnant with my brother and realized that may not be the most appropriate name. In keeping with the same sounds, he was Little Bart, and then just Bart. He was a Russian Blue, which if you've never seen a real one, they are kind of odd looking. Very aquiline facial features and extraordinarily large ears. He lived til I was 14, so we pretty much grew up together.

2. How many different kinds of pets have you owned?
Growing up, we lived "out in the country" (although I think Hunny disagrees with my assessment of "country"), and we had at various points, dogs (too many to count), cats, birds, rabbits, goats, chickens, a pig, and we cow-sat once. So that's 7 species. Wow.

3. What was your strangest pet?
I personally have never had a strange pet, so I'll speak for my sister K instead... When one of our goats had a kid (haha, pun totally intended), she fell in love with it, and the feeling was entirely mutual. Sweet P (It was originally "Pea" til we found out she was a he) would literally follow her everywhere... even tried getting on the school bus a few times. We sang K--- had a little goat all the time. He came in the house and everything.

4. What is your dream pet?
I'd love to raise alpacas, but I'm not sure if that is like owning a pet. There's just something about a dog wanting to be petted that endears the term "pet" to me.

5. What is your nightmare pet?
Tarantulas. I'm going to encourage my boys to love nature as best as I can, but I really don't want them to want a pet spider. I couldn't handle it. I'd rather feed lizards little mice and crickets than have to stare at a hairy, multi-eyed beast. Shiver. For the record, I also think fish have got to be the most boring creatures.

6.Your best/ funniest pet story...
When Hunny and I had only been dating a short while, I wanted him to meet my spiritual mom and dad. Anyway, about a week before we were to visit them, I spontaneously got a yellow lab mix puppy. I'd also just baked Hunny a birthday cake, his favorite-Red Velvet. This was one of the best from-scratch cakes I'd ever made, and I wanted to take a piece to Meg to share the goodness and keep it from going stale while we were away. I grabbed one of those plastic take-away canisters from the coffee shop I worked at, filled it with a huuuuge slice of cake, and off to Atlanta we drove with Pele in the back seat. At one of our gas-filling stops, I got out of the car to stretch and grab some goodies, and I let Pele out of her crate but kept her in the car. Needless to say, when I got back to walk her around, there was no cake left, and believe-you-me, this thing was as large as she was! She ate every last bite of cake, and this will be totally gross, but her BMs were a startling shade of scarlet for the duration of our stay!! Now when we look at Pele, Hunny and I muse that that piece of cake was only as big as her head is now.... they grow so fast!

7. Tell your worst/ saddest pet story...
This one still ticks me off. My first dog was Pepe (sorry, I have a thing for P names), and he was a black toy poodle. I got him when I was in 8th grade. He was supposed to be my mom's dog, but I went to get him with my dad, and I think we just bonded. He slept with me every night til I went away to college. While in college, my relationship with my parents went very downhill, and my mom didn't tell me that Pepe got sick, and they put him down while I was on an overseas mission trip without telling me. It still makes me so sad that I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.
On a much lighter note, this is bad but pretty funny. My friend KP is from Northern Ireland, and when we were in college and she was going back home for Christmas vacation, she asked me to watch her pet fish Henry. Mind you, this was the 5th fish in a semester called Henry, so in my humble opinion, she was not the best fish owner ever. Hurrumph. Anyway, so I grabbed Henry's bowl and as I was saying goodbye to a couple of friends while waiting for my boyfriend to come pick me up and take me home, I set Henry on the roof of a car. After watching Top Gun for the first time in my life (I was only 19, only 13 years too late) with said boyfriend, I asked him what he did with Henry, and he said uh, nothing... Knowing that one of my friends was still in her dorm, I called to ask if she saw the bowl sitting on a car in the parking lot, but she didn't. I never did find out what happened to him... until we got back from break (yes, I was honest with KP and let her know I lost her fish). She worked in the mail room and actually overheard some guys talking about the fish that they found on some one's car in X parking lot, and it had frozen to death! I was so sad she had to hear it like that!!! The reason this story is funny is because just a few months later, the same friend I called to ask if she saw Henry and KP and I all lived together for the summer in yet another dorm. KP had graduated to a beta called Florida, and one day D called an exterminator to our room to get rid of some ants. Thinking the fumes would kill Florida, she set him in the open windowsill in the closet--in July.... he kind of boiled. So, in the words of Robert Frost, Some fish think the world will end in fire, and some in ice!! KP has never asked any of us to watch her fish ever again. In fact, I think she quit trying to own them after that!!

8. Did you ever have a scary animal experience?
I can't think of anything particularly scary.

9. What was your favorite pet?
As much as I loved Pepe, Pele is my favorite dog hands-down. She is just so laid back and kind of goofy. And now that she's used to little ones, she's a champ with the babies. She truly is the best dog ever. And this is completely superficial, but I love her name* so much, and it will make me sad when she goes because you can't just name another dog the same name!! (*her name is pronounced pay-lay, and I got it from a Tori Amos album, boys for pele. Apparently Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of fire or volcanoes and she'd take little boys for sacrifices. Kind of macabre, eh?! However, Hunny being the soccer fanatic that he is, doesn't mind the futbol reference himself!)

10. What did you really want to tell us about pets that didn't fit into the other questions?
I do not get cats... at all. They are sometimes downright mean, don't want affection (except occasionally on THEIR terms), and yet, I've grown to love Mia and Phineas. I mostly like Mia because she's beautiful, but Phineas is alright because he was such a cute kitten and now will jump into my lap, though goodness knows why because I throw him right back off of me more times than not!! Also, this is pretty random, but I used to be a purebred snob, and now I'm totally against this because of the inbreeding and mass-production it usually elicits. I will only go the route of shelters or very reputable breeders in the future.

The four I'm tagging are Melanie (because I know they've had some weird pets), Brownie (because I'm interested in what her answers will be!), Biz (again, because I'm curious how she'll answer the questions), and Kellie (because she strikes me as an uber-cat person [note I did not say crazy cat lady!] although I could see a yippy little dog as well!).

How well do you know your husband?

I liked this meme I saw on Lori's blog, so thought I'd share my own version of it (cheap blogging, I know!) I realized the other day when I was cleaning up my blog posts and tagging them that I don't talk about Hunny all that much... so here he is!

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what’s on the screen? Fox news, ESPN, EPL, Suite Life of Zach and Cody; but I get to commandeer the TV most of the time. :)

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? olive oil and vinegar, a vinaigrette, or bleu cheese.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like? Hunny is so not picky. He's a vegetarian/almost-vegan, so there are many foods he no longer eats, but as far as tastes go, I'm pulling a blank. Back in his meat-eating days, I grossed him out when I told him Ceaser dressing had anchovies in it, so I guess he hates anchovies. lol

4. You go out to a bar. What does he order? Guinness for the most part, though he's always willing to try other dark beers or ales.

5. Where did he go to high school? Started at Jonesboro High School then transferred to White Station in Memphis.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 14 wide.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Thankfully, I'm curbing his tendency to collect things. He doesn't like throwing away receipts or personal papers, but he's learning to keep them under control. He likes techy things, but he doesn't really "collect" them.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? that magical sandwich I keep hearing about that he had while traveling for work: some dark bread labeled "black Russian" (a rye? pumpernickel?) with sprouts, avocado, tomatoes, pretty much all veggies, and lots of nutritional yeast.

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could? Nutritional yeast. seriously. Also a protein shake and/or peanut butter.

10. What is his favorite cereal? I don't think he likes cereal. I don't think I've ever actually seen him consume a bowl of cereal in my sight. He doesn't really do breakfast either for that matter, but if he does, it's a Frappuccino or soy latte.

11. What would he never wear? I cheated and had to ask him this one: Speedos, sweater vests.

12. What is his favorite sports team? let's see.... pro baseball: Red Sox and Cubs; pro football: Denver Broncos; EPL: Arsenal; MLS: Columbus Crew (altho he much prefers watching women's soccer a la Mia Hamm); pro hockey: Toronto Mapleleafs; college: Arkansas Razorbacks. That's a pretty exhaustive list I think. Did I mention he owns at least one jersey for each of these teams except the Crew?

13. Who will he vote for? He's seriously thinking of not voting for the first time in his legal life.

14. Who is his best friend? Besides me, Alfredo/Tio.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? I don't always fill up the ice trays when I empty them. And lately, now that he's Mr Neat Freak, he probably wishes I'd not let the toys scatter from here to Timbuktu. He wishes I wouldn't be frustrated at him while on the phone with B.

16. How many states has he lived in? Three.

17.What is his heritage? German and Irish.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake? Red Velvet or if he's in the mood, carrot cake.

19. Did he play sports in high school? see 12! Yes, of course! He played football (tight end/defensive end)

20. What could he spend hours doing? browsing the internet, playing with Bear and Bunkin, and lately, playing with his new Blackberry.

I love my Hunny so much.... and he knows me better than anyone besides B! This was a fun little meme to see how much I knew without asking (even if I did cheat on #11!).

I am my Beloved's and he is mine (and the kids')

If you remember my other post mentioning beloved, you will know that the word holds a lot of precious sentiment. Well, my Beloved is not only my sweet husband, he is one of the greatest dads I know. A portion of his story includes growing up in a "broken" home; his dad left his mom and two brothers when he was ten-old enough to remember being rejected, and old enough to know the sigh of relief that his mom was no longer in danger. I also grew up with a less-than-savory dad. Both Hunny and I have a clear picture of Who Not To Be. We also know who we are fashioned after, and by whose grace we are different. I should share my story of how Hunny and I met sometime, but for now I will say that after a terrible break-up, I decided to write one of those "lists" of qualities very important to me in a mate. I wrote everything from eye color (green, yum) to work ethic to family oriented. Hunny fits the list perfectly; I could not not have hand-picked him any better, and the amazing thing is God is solely responsible for bringing us together! What amazes me now, two years into marriage and parenthood, is what I did not think to put on the list, yet without them, I'd be lost:
For instance, how Hunny lets me sleep in on weekends because I've awakened early with the boys while he's been out of town. Or how he rubs my back each and every time I ask him to without a complaint (and very well, I might add--he used to be a masseuse-in-training). Or how he gives up everything for his boys, and takes such pride in them. He works so hard to provide a life different than the one he grew up in, and that includes sacrifice by taking a traveling job and long hours spent away from those he loves dearest. And yet I've never seen a grown man play like such a kid! You should see Bear's eyes light up when he sees Daddy after a trip, or his squeals of delight as Daddy does the Swanton Bomb on Bear (I've been told this is a highly-evolved wrestling move that only a few can master), or how he softens in the most tender of touches as he willingly changes Bunkin's diapers or bathes him, or rocks him to sleep (and by rock, I do mean the obvious: singing old 80's hair ballads and heavy metal anthems!). Hunny told me before we (weren't supposed to) knew what gender Bear was that "it was over" if we were having a little boy, and now we have two--I would have it no other way because I'm learning that fart really does equal funny, that picking your nose is supposed to embarrass mom, and that Daddy-hero worship is one of the most beautiful things I will ever witness. I'm so proud, and blessed, to be married to a man I could only have dreamed of, and I'm humbled beyond belief at how Hunny is a reflection to our boys what The Father is to us. Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart.

Date night, sort of?

I had a late night with Hunny last night, and it was one of those rare moments lately where it felt like "old times." I hate to use that expression, but, you know what I mean, those moments before sleepless nights, before your body belonged to little hands, before being at the beck and call of your children's cries. Those are by no means absent from our home, and I'm glad, but last night was the first time since Bunkin was born that I got a good peek into our dating days. And it was lovely. We sat on the couch, just snuggling, and talking, and laughing. Both of the boys were in bed, and it was really quiet in the house, and the TV was on mute, and I harassed Hunny by singing a line from a silly song whenever he mentioned a word (I have this strange English-degree obsession with word associations) that brought to mind a lyric. Mind you, I'm no lyric-memorizing master; that's Hunny's particular talent. Which made for a very funny "game"- me trying to think of a word to stump him, and him trying to think of a word so obscure I couldn't sing a horrible 60's song.
Some examples-
Me: "Finger"
Hunny: [Armageddon It by Def Leppard] "I've got an itchy finger following me" (see what I'm married to? a TRUE product of the 80's)

Hunny: "Girl"
Me: Neil Diamond "girl, you'll be a woman soon" (love me some Neil)

Anyway, it was lovely to sit and snuggle and share (three S's--I'm alliterating!) as a break right before Hunny has to go out of town for a longer than normal work week, and I'm glad Hunny still humors me by playing my silly games. True love!

Beloved

"Dearly Beloved" is a common phrase at weddings, and for good reason. What a lovely image in that word, "beloved." I'm not about to go into the etymology of the word, but there is something in the way the Shakespearean pronunciation rolls off the tongue in three hard syllables that I just love. "I am my beloved's and he is mine" pays homage to this word in the familiar Song of Solomon phrase, aslo used abundantly in weddings. At my wedding I even had a banner proclaiming this phrase that Hunny and I stood in front of as we said our vows. It hangs in our home now reminding us of the possessive love we are allowed each other as well as Whose we are, and in Whom we are grafted in as part of His vine.
However, there is another "beloved" that is far more dear to me, so much so it is indelibly marked on my wrist in a gorgeous tattoo. I love tattoos, and pretty much always wanted one as soon as I could figure out what I wanted to mark my flesh with permanantly. After one of the darkest times in my life, I needed a visible reminder of God's faithfulness, His promise to me, his daughter, to provide the peace that passes all understanding. Obviously, a tattoo was in order. It was then that I stumbled upon what has become one of my life verses. I want to share the Message version because of its readability (Psalm 108:1-6):
1-2 I'm ready, God, so ready,
ready from head to toe.
Ready to sing,
ready to raise a God-song:
"Wake, soul! Wake, lute!
Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!"
3-6 I'm thanking you, God, out in the streets,
singing your praises in town and country.
The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness.
Soar high in the skies, O God!
Cover the whole earth with your glory!
And for the sake of the one you love so much,
reach down and help me—answer me!
[Verse 6 in my favorite translation reads, "That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and answer me!"]
I read this verse and internally just bowed in relief that He is bigger than I am, and I knew that this was the promise I wanted to claim over and over and over,(I'm kind of a dumb sheep and need reminding often, even for the same lessons sometimes!) so I set out to get the Hebrew characters so I could proudly take them to my favorite tattoo artist. I just assumed the word beloved was the same as in the Song of Solomon verse, but it's not. Mind you, I'm no Hebrew scholar, but armed with my Vine's and Strong's concordances, I discovered that in Song of Solomon, the familiar term "dode" is used, and that in the Psalm, "ydiyd" is used. Dode could be used for an uncle or a well-loved family member, and while ydiyd is derived from that, it can also mean "lovely" or simply one who is well-loved. I love that I am His Beloved. This psalm is written by David when he needed victory in battle. I prayed this prayer when I needed victory over the darkness in my life. My enemies were more invisible, but just as strongly felt as the lands of Edom and Moab. And our God is the same, and he LOVES us! We are his Beloved, and He delivers us!
So, yes, I got my tattoo. Just FYI, I used a variant form of the word, to feminize it and make it mine (It is Ydiydah, the feminine way to say Jedidiah).
And for all who like a good love story, it is this very tattoo gotten after much heartbreak that helped me meet my own beloved Hunny! The [very] condensed version is that I was a barista at a trade show his compnay particpated in, and Hunny's not-so-bright co-worker asked why I had a UPC code on my wrist. Hunny promptly spoke up, "That's not a UPC code; it's Hebrew!" I was smitten, and the rest is history.

Thank you, Lord, for your promises to deliver us and redeem us as your Beloved adopted children!