Happy happy all the day
Today is the birthday is one of my favorite people ever… my sister-in-law, Stacy. I am blessed beyond reason to have the opportunity to live this life alongside her.
I was lucky enough to celebrate with Stacy, her mom, and her sister last weekend with a super spa day. It was such fun to join in as family really gathered together to focus on Stacy, a woman whose life deserves a bit of joyous celebration.
So, for today and all sorts of days to come, I wish you many happies, Stacy. love you…
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another happy day
When we moved to Florida, I kinda fell apart. No, no, it’s true. Search the archives for 2006 through 2007. It’s all well documented. But I knew we had needed to leave where we were, and I knew that wherever Mike went was where I wanted to be. But it was really horribly difficult.
One of the bonuses of moving here was that Mike’s brother and his wife and family lived close by. An unexpected bonus for me was that my sister-in-law’s family also lived nearby. Mike had pretty much grown up with Stacy’s family, but they were all very new to me. It was such a welcome relief when they came to provide us with a family we didn’t have here.
At different times during that first summer, both Stacy’s mom and dad told me that it might take a long time to really feel comfortable here. They relayed to me how a move years before had affected them. To say I found comfort in them is a huge understatement.They took us in… invited us to gatherings and accepted our collective quirks and oddities in stride.
They are not family by blood, but we are blessed to have them in our lives, grateful for their family feeling.
So, today, we’re wishing a very happy birthday to my brother-in-law’s mother-in-law.
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it’s a happy happy
Today is the birthday of my very favorite person ever. I’m fortunate to get to spend my days with him.
Mike and I have been together forever these days. He was still in college when we met, fresh from a semester abroad. He was shy and unsure of himself but wicked funny and smart. I broke several of my own self-imposed dating rules when I went out with him, but I always loved a smart, funny man. It only took a couple of dates before I was hooked.
As great as he was then, he’s better now. Age is Mike’s friend. Today, he’s confident and secure and stronger than he would admit. We tease that I’m what holds our family together, but he’s what holds me together. He is patient and long-suffering (anyone living with me pretty much has that title). He is an amazing father.
And he’s still smart. And wicked funny. And I still really like that in a man.
Happy Birthday, Mike.
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Happy Birthday, Griffin!!!
It is hard to believe that my baby is turning 11 today. How did that happen? I wore his crocs around the house tonight… and they were too big. In another day or so, I’ll turn around and he’ll be 22. I’ve always said that Griff was kinda born an old man. But the qualities that will make him an amazing man make it really hard to be a kid sometimes. He’s this contradiction of little boy and kindly old soul.
It seems that at this point, I worry about him more than anything. He’s entering middle school next fall, and it’s even harder to be a short, kinda weak little smart boy in middle school than it is in elementary school. I’m spending my summer praying he hits a growth spurt before school starts in August.
He’s going to be going to his third new school in four years thanks to our move to Florida and some rezoning issues, and he’ll have to make new friends again. I hate that for him.
We got the notification in the mail this week that he was accepted into the Accelerated Track for academics in middle school, and I’m not completely sure it’s where I want him. But it’s where he wants to be, and I’m ready to support that choice (of course, Mike, all of Griff’s teachers, and the middle school selection group may not all be wrong here).
I am fearful for him in so many ways. Growing up now is so much more challenging than when I was a kid. And yet, I am hopeful for him is so many other ways. I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for Griff.
And so, happy birthday to my favorite boy. And to think, I wanted a new car. Mike’s the one who wanted a child. He’s always the one with the right idea.
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Happy Birthday, Aleece!
I talk routinely about my personal blog webmaster, Aleece. A better word for her would be ‘friend.’ And today is her birthday.
I am grateful for this woman every day. My life is richer in so many ways because of her presence. My friendship with her is one of those lovely relationships in which I know that we’ll be friends forever. We are joined together with this unseen bond that expands and contracts effortlessly.
Aleece makes me a better person in this global community. She always has. She sees things differently than I do, and on so very many occasions, she has shown me new ways of thinking, of approaching a situation. I’m sure that every time I do something good for the environment or the planet, it’s because of her. I’m quite sure that when I think of people in far away places and take some serious time to consider them as being just like me, with the same needs and wants and basic humanity as me, it’s because of her.
As I look around my house, I see pieces of Aleece in every room. Her art is a blessing to me in ways unspoken. Sure, it’s beautiful. She creates amazing images. But for me, there is warmth in each piece because there is warmth in the way in which I think of her.
She painted this huge fish on a tapestry, and I loved that fish. I offered to buy it years and years ago, but at the time, I couldn’t really afford the price. Days after I told her to go ahead and sell it to someone else, I walked into my house and discovered the fish waiting for me… complete with the proper hanging materials.
When we moved, one of the first things I did was hang the fish. I’m pretty sure that if the house were to catch fire, after I made sure the kids were outside and safe, the fish painting would be what I would go back into the house to save. Wherever we are, once the fish is on the wall, we are home. In so many ways, I will always have a ‘home’ feeling connected to Aleece.
I am perpetually impressed with her… grace under pressure, willingness to try something new, ability to see the possibilities, unwavering love.
So, my prayer today is for a day as remarkable as she is.
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