Happy Birthday, Baby!

35 years ago my mother-in-law gave birth to the greatest guy in the world, my husband Jeff. I really should be giving her a present in exchange for the tremendous gift my husband has been to me.
The other night my hormones got the best of me and I cried while holding Jeff, dreaming of what my life would be like without him in it. It would certainly be missing lots of love and companionship. And who on earth would remind him every day how precious he is and how cute he looks?
I've had a mad crush on Jeff ever since our first non-official date and seeing his messy hair and crumpled laundry in the morning only makes me love him more. It's a miracle that we met, married, and defeated lots of odds to stay together. I only hope our love for one another, our family, and the Lord gets stronger as the years go by.
Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Homebody

It's been 36 hours and I'm still in my bathrobe.
My husband looked a little concerned when he returned home for his lunch break.
The beauty of being a freelancer is that I don't have to leave my home, except for special occasions. It's especially helpful during ice storms. I get paid to write from the comfort of my bed.
I waved good-bye to my husband as he left our toasty home and skated down the steps to his car. I cheered him on as he chipped blocks of ice from my car...I think he was encouraging me to leave the house and do...something.
Jeff's so used to seeing me decked out in nice clothes and a coat of make-up. But now--dare I say it?--He looks better than me! I could get used to this life...

Iced Out

While my family in Hawaii is groaning about 70-degree weather and downed power lines (an anomaly in the islands), we in Peoria are still trying to chip out of an ice storm. It was kind of nice to have an excuse to stay indoors. I managed to stay in my bathrobe all day...We played about six rounds of games with the kids before they were picked up by mid-afternoon. At that point, Jeff wandered upstairs to take a shower. About a half hour later I thought he was eerily quiet so I went up to find him knocked out in his birthday suit on our bed. It was such a lazy day.
We enjoyed a pizza and movie night for two...About a month ago I stocked up on soup and pizza in case of an ice or snow storm. Jeff poked fun at me then...but tonight he was grateful!
I kicked his butt at RA and he returned the favor during Round 2. I wish we could be ice-bound again tomorrow!

Cuddly

(Jeff, honey, please don't gag or kill me when you read this...)
People often me ask why I married Jeff. I could rattle off a list of wonderful qualities he has, like his sense of humor, faith in the Lord, kindness, intelligence...Frankly, there's not much about him that I don't like. But if I were to name the one thing I love most about Jeff, it's his high Cuddly Quotient. I know it makes me sound like a ditz but it's true. I have to restrain myself from smothering him when other people are in the room. I love snuggling up to him on the couch. Even when I'm overheating in our bed in the summer, I'll cuddle up close to my husband because I like to feel his skin on my skin. I'm just crazy about him. If I'm cooking in the kitchen and he walks in after work, I'll drop my mixer bowl to give him a hug. It's simply the greatest high.

Game nights

Jeff is a board game freak. A lot of our free time is occupied by playing games. I find it's the most useful tool we have to interact with the kids in a way that's fun and fully engaging. I love this new world of games but I hate it when Jeff consistently beats me.
90% of the time he wins. But not tonight. I claimed victory in a game of RA, an auction game with an ancient Egyptian theme. Jeff was so sure he'd win. He egged me on to counter him tonight. And he was sorry. I whipped him and it felt so good.