Happy 36th!

Today is my birthday.

Here's a little known fact: it's also my husbands' birthday. While this eliminates the risk of either one of us forgetting each other's birthday there are a couple of cons that come along with sharing the big day. For example, who plans the party? Who cooks breakfast in bed? Who takes the kids? Who gets the day off? Tough decision.

For the most part we've just handled our birthday like any other day. And this has worked well for us. This year, however, I wanted to celebrate Ian's birthday as much as possible...he's a great husband and father and deserves a little time in the spotlight.

With this goal in mind I put the gears in motion to have a surprise get-together planned for Saturday evening. And I was excited. Ian, however, seemed to be doing everything possible he could to thwart my plans. He woke up that morning with an itch for home-repair and decided that our "free" Saturday was a perfect day to paint our master bathroom. How could I say no without risking all my carefully-laid plans? But how could I spend all the time painting without risking my party-preparation time? Conundrum.

Luckily it all worked out. I was able to paint the bathroom, persuade him to shower, get him out of the house (thanks, Aaron), and get everything taken care of for dinner just in time. With help from family and friends we were set for the "surprise" by the time he walked in the door that evening. Phew!

We had a blast! It was a great dinner and we had so much fun visiting and laughing. It was nice to have an evening to celebrate Ian. Happy birthday, Ian! I love you.

Drumroll Please

After some nerve-wracking technical difficulties (I lost my blog for a while) we finally have a winner! (Sorry for the delay.)

For an unbiased result I employed the services of my 6 year-old in the drawing process.

And the winner is....

Congrats Rochelle! Hopefully you can curl up with this book and ignore the snowy Oregon winter that is still lingering. :) It's on it's way!

It's a Giveaway!

It's been a long winter. I'm not a fan of cold weather and being cooped up in the house isn't easy for me. I've been trying to think of something to add a little excitement to my life and I finally decided that I'd do a giveaway on my blog. And, of course, my favorite thing in the world to give to people? Books. (My nerdiness abounds.)

Up for grabs this month is my 2008 Christmas gift of choice and a book that I've recommended to almost everyone I know. It's entertaining, uplifting, and one I think everyone should have on their shelf.

Just leave a comment with your name and where you're from. The drawing will end Sunday (March 8th) at 8:00pm. I'll announce the winner Monday morning and ship it out...just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Good luck!

Eleven Months

Eleven months later and our family is still absolutely in love with this little guy. He has been such a ray of sunshine!

This month has been full of personality. He has learned to throw little tantrums and, unfortunately for him, we just think they are the funniest things. He is still climbing all over the place. He loves to climb...stairs, drawers, people. He has even made it in the bathtub a couple times. Due to his adventurous nature, however, he has also fallen several times. It looks like we'll just have to get used to a black and blue forehead for a while. Poor kid.

He is not walking yet (thank heavens) but he is also quite demanding about being held. Sometimes I don't mind...none of my kids have been super cuddly and I like it when they want to be in my arms.

We are on our way to his first birthday. It's so hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by. Before you know it he'll be asking for the keys to the car. Sheesh.

Grandma

My dad's mom passed away last Sunday at the age of 90. She has been through plenty of hardship over the last several years, physically and mentally, and it has been something of a relief to know that she's finally free from the exhaustion of this earthly life.

Grandma had a tough exterior. I've often felt that I never really knew her. By the time I grew out of all my adolescent quirkiness and wanted to learn a little about her she had lost most of her strength for life...and I had lost an opportunity to learn.

As I've thought about her this last week, however, I realized something I hadn't before. Each of us are chock-full of those personalities, idiosyncrasies, and behaviors that were originally born within those who come before us. I do know her, at least a little, because part of her lives on in me. There are a couple personality traits that I can attribute to (or blame on) grandma: The OCD tendencies which afflict me (and cheer me at the same time) have a strong foundation in grandma. My family's habit of repeating words or phrases two or more times (you all know you do it too) can be credited to her as well.

Strange. But oddly reassuring. It's nice to know that we all play a part in each other's lives. We all leave something behind. I am who I am today, in part, because of those who surrounded me, loved me, and taught me about life. Grandma is one of those people. And today I'm grateful for her contribution. For the role she played.

Me & Grandma 1974ish

Me & Grandma 2001

Love you, grandma. Oh...and say hi to grandpa for me.