Goodbye 2008 ~ Hello 2009

Sooooooooooooo Thankful for:

Family

Friends

Sobriety

God's presence & provision

Our home - more than just a roof over our heads

Our Cars - that all run right now!

Food on the table & in our pantry

Indoor plumbing (hot & cold running water)

Luxuries like climate control (Air conditioning & Heating)

Church family & home

Health (mental, emotional, physical)

Growth (mental, emotional, physical)  

Business opportunities

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION?:

To remain grateful in the face of ALL that God chooses to bring my way in 2009.

To have these lyrics be true not just externally, but internally all year long, moment by moment:

"Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be,
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name"

THANK YOU GOD!!!!

An Ode

Even with all our craziness and issues, there are a LOT of reasons why I (S) love & respect D.  Too many to name, in fact, but I would be remiss if I didn't list a few here:

He is generous. His first reaction is always to GIVE... even at discomfort to himself.  Where I am a little more frightened and selfish, he is always ready to share, give, offer, work, extend, stretch, sacrifice.

If he orders the YUMMIEST thing on the menu and is ecstatically enjoying it and I have ordered something that I don't much like at all, he will look up from a delectable bite which he is adoring and OFFER TO TRADE!  He will take my unfavorite meal in exchange for his delicious one.  (In my book, THAT'S love!)

Still on the food note; he will be slurping up a particularly yummilicious meal and will be down to the last bites at which point I will notice how tasty it looks and ask for a bite.  Aside: If he did this to me, I just might have a meltdown, but not D.  He will - without hesitation  - offer me the very last (best!) bite, if I want it.

D is big and strong and will kick a "bad guy's" butt if a bad guy dared to mess with his family.  He can lift up his 6'3" son after scoring a touchdown in varsity football (while still having "proud papa" tears in his eyes).

I simply adore D's large, square, rough, calloused hands (especially when they are on my back).  And I love that a couple of the kids have Daddy's hands.

A wave of love (and I must admit, lust) sweeps over me when I watch him fix stuff.  Sweat trickling down his forehead and back from the heat and effort, I love that I never have to call a to call a “fix-it” guy to install, repair, make or install anything. He can do everything in the house with those calloused hands I love.

  

Although his tidiness is sometimes an annoyance, it is also a blessing.  He will do not only his own laundry, bit also mine and the kids.  He will do the dishes, sweet or mop the floor, clean the windows, vacuum stairs, scrub toilets, change diapers (in the olden days which seem to VERY far past), wash & vacuum cars, and ___________ (fill in the blank).

D will let me hold the remote.

Sometimes.

He will always be willing to say "sorry" and try to make up after a fight... If he must, he will even write love notes ore bring flowers if he thinks that will make things OK again.  

He has integrity.  He REALLY tries to treat others the way he wants to be treated.

He PLAYS with the kids!  He will play board games, throw a football, boogie board, wrestle, tell jokes (sometime bawdy ones), laugh at videos of people falling down (like the one below).   This is NOT my gift!

And I love and respect this man because after 20 years, he still looks at me like this: