I made this video as a gift to Eric at his 40th birthday party. It is such a beautiful picture of God's grace and how He can change our lives and I wanted to share it with you! (make sure to pause my music on the bottom right side)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!

Well, it's here. It's official. The Big E is finally the Big 4-0 today! Eric, here are 40 things I LOVE about the you, the love of my life:

1. Your love for the Lord. So there. So real. So noticeable. So contagious.
2. Your steadiness, your calmness, your coolness amidst my yo-yo ness and flightiness.
3. Your dedication to running and triathloning--it is a physical representation to those around you of persevering with the Lord through trials and tribulations. Don't ever give this up. Our children are learning so much from you!
4. The fact that you could care less about what others think.
5. You are a great listener.
6. You take prayer seriously and I know you are praying for me and our kids.
7. That you like the beach and the ocean as much as I do.
8. Your theology is sound but you are not all 'theological'.
9. You are the most loyal person I know.
10. You make me coffee. You bring me coffee. You love coffee.
11. You do the things behind the scenes at our house so that homeschooling will work for us.
12. Watching you coach our kids makes me happy.
13. You make a mean breakfast.
14. You've always dressed up as whoever I want you to at our kid's birthday parties.
15. You leave me notes
16. Your dry wit and how unassuming it is.
17. You look mighty fine in a cowboy hat
18. The fact that you text me. It makes me feel special.
19. You pray with me.
20. You still date me.
21. Your 'just wing it' mentality.
22. You are very thoughtful and 'wordy' when you give cards to me or anyone else. You don't just sign your name. I love that.
23. The special bond that you and Owen share makes me smile.
24. You do laundry better than I do (ok, that is not saying much, but still)
25. Your singing voice that i get to hear every Sunday beside me at church. Your voice is my favorite (well, maybe after Mac Powell....okay, your voice is my second favorite)
26. Cheering you on at a race has been some of the best times of my life.
27. You are one of the most giving people I know.
28. Your burden for helping the poor, the downtrodden, the hungry, the orphaned.
29. You never complain. EVER.
30. How you bust out with something funny at the most unexpected times...like doing cheerleading moves with the girls at Wayside :)
31. You have that 'cool' component that I have never had. And you still love me, even though I am uncool.
32. You are not perfect and you don't try to act like it.
33. That you lead our family by serving us. You are a true example of a Servant Leader.
34. Our weekly date, watching 'The Office'. So glad you share this same kind of humor!
35. You let me have time to myself whenever i need it.
36. The fact that you are not materialistic in the least bit.
37. You continue to organize our cabinets even though I keep messing them up.
38. You are involved in our kid's lifes.
39. You're hot.
40. The fact that you still love me after all of these years, despite all of my hang ups

I LOVE YOU!!!

I hope you have felt extra special this week!!!!

Dedicated to the One and Only

My husband turned '39' yesterday! Whooooa, Nelly! I thought we were still in our late 20's!!!????

Here are 39 things I love about my hubby:

1. His love for the Lord


2. That he'll do anything for me, even go get me coffee at 5:30 in the morning if we are out.


3. That he is the person behind the scenes that really makes homeschooling work for us...by pitching in and doing laundry, dirty dishes, you name it!


4. He is the best daddy in the whole world to our children


5. The bond that him and our 'Little O Factor' shares.


6. That he is unimpressed with fashion and labels and outward appearances


7. He has a heart for the poor, widowed and orphaned


8. He is a true servant through and through


9. His work ethic is like no other


10. He does not do things for accolades or recognition


11. that he cares about staying physically fit


12. He prays for me and our children


13. He knows the Truth but isn't all theological about it. It simply is what it is and that's all that matters!


14. He goes to the store for us and is really good at it


15. He does our bills (in my opinion, the yuckiest job in the whole world!)


16. He loves the Office as much as I do


17. He gives me free time or 'girl' time whenever I need it


18. He is organized


19. He looks good in a cowboy hat
    
20. that he likes to coach our kids in sports


21. that he can strike up a conversation with any stranger on the street


22. He can paint a wall faster than anyone I know


23. His discipline


24. He can see something so black and white and simply that I have over-analyzed for hours.


25. He rarely worries about anything


26. He loves the beach


27. He's got that 'cool' factor that I've never had


28. He still dates me


29. He's always game for all the goofy things I ask him to do


30. He can keep a secret better than anyone I know


31. He still plays flag football at 39 and is holding strong


32. that he leaves me notes


33. He likes me without makeup and doesn't care that I am wearing it less and less these days


34. He enjoys cooking


35. the fact that his Starbuck drink is so strong it's hair-raising


36. his quiet dry wit


37. He'll take all of our kids out to eat or to the store by himself like its a walk in the park


38. eating dinner together often is important to him


39. He is a walking sacrifice for me and our children, sacrificing his wants and desires daily

Eric is not perfect nor will he ever be. He does things to annoy me, frustrate me and get under my skin just as all of our husbands do. But these are the things I love about him and want to celebrate and focus on these things as much as possible!

Happy Birthday, sweet hubby! I LOVE YOU!

The 'O' Factor

Meet the 'O' factor -- what we call our dear fifth child, Owen:

Notice his angry look--usually his look of choice. You see, Owen has an agenda. An agenda of which we are not big fans of--so we are usually circumventing the agenda. Thus, the 'look' above is usually what you find upon his face. I have pics to prove it:

So last weekend I did my long run on Saturday morning. Eric was 'watching' the kids--when I came in from my run this is how I found him:

Glued to the TV, watching the all consuming Rider Cup. I asked 'where is Owen?' (about three times, before he heard me). He said, 'I'm not sure--I haven't heard him for a while'. Uh-Oh. Not a good sign. We found him sitting in the top bunkbed--a place he is not supposed to be--with his brother's tooth brush and toothpaste. He was trying really hard to get the toothpaste open and he had toothpaste all over his mouth from where he had licked it off the outside of the bottle (don't worry, it wasn't enough to poison him). Then I walked in my room, where I found my jewelry thrown all over the room (another 'O' factor specialty).

I think I sarcastically made some comment to Eric about maybe if he was watching Owen as intently as the Rider Cup this wouldn't have happened....so, a little bit later, Eric left to clean out the van (which I'm pretty sure was a 'front' to listen to the Rider Cup on the radio in private--I think I'm on to him) while I got 'ready'--you know, put on makeup, etc. Just down the hall, Jeremiah was in the bathtub playing. Suddenly, Joshua yells, 'Mom, come look what Owen, did!' Owen had found his way to the bathtub and had been filling a plastic container with water and dumping it out onto the floor umpteen times--while Jeremiah looked on. The water had leaked through the floor down to the first story--soaking the kitchen table and everything on it--including some of my most treasured books. The 'O' factor strikes again.

I thought about my sarcasm earlier--I think maybe I need to eat those words :)