Celebrating 9 Years Together

Yesterday, November 28, marked nine years of marriage for us! We had a special day together - especially enjoying an evening at the movies and a quiet dinner with good conversation.

In honor of our 9 years, I thought it would be fun to list 9 things I love about our marriage or my husband - in no particular order....

1)I love that we are feel really comfortable with one another - we have no inhibitions in the "weird" department and we have shared a whole lot of laughter and fun. He, especially, makes me laugh a lot. Benjy is a funny guy. Even though I have heard, and heard, and heard most of his stories or lines....it is always good to see the fun he brings to a room. Our 9 years have been very fun!

2)I love that Benjy is the type of man that is who he is. He is strong and direct and honest. He teaches me a lot about saying what needs to be said. He is very perceptive and sees things before many people do. I have really grown to trust and depend on his perception of situations and people.

3)Benjy is very giving. His natural tendency is to give. I have seen him the most content and happy when he has given to someone else - friends and especially family. I have been on the receiving end of many of his givings! But it is more than just material things - Benjy has a deep desire to make a difference in people's lives and gives a lot to his relationships. He is a good mentor. A loyal friend. A faithful husband. A good, good father. I have been humbled by the care he has shown to his immediate family - especially his parents.

4)Our marriage has had a good share of adventure. We like to experience new things together and have loved our travels. We have seen a lot but dream about doing so much more and travelling many more places together.

5)We have been blessed with three beautiful sons. Benjy is a family man - I clearly remember him expressing his desire to be a good father when we were dating. Benjy is intentional in his parenting. He is patient. He is helpful. He often brings a presence of reflection to our home - leading conversations between us about what we can be doing better for our boys in regards to leading, disciplining, teaching. And he is a fun Dad! The boys love to wrestle and play with him. From a mom's perspective - I couldn't feel more honored and blessed to be raising three boys with him at my side.

6)Benjy seeks growth. I believe he has had this quality all along but I have come to notice it and appreciate it probably most in this past year or two. He wants to become better as a man and wants to know himself better so that he can do just that. I love that about him - he pushes himself to become more of what Jesus wants him to be. His faith journey inspires me to know and walk with God.

7)Benjy is a good story-teller. We like to tell stories to our kids and I love to listen in on him - he is pretty creative for a guy who thinks he has no creativity. And if you know Benjy, he has told you a story or two! It is hilarious to me to watch him interact with others. His humour is...shall we say...unique - and so many just don't "get him". He has pulled his fair share of pranks in his life - lots of fun!!!

8)I think we have a pretty well rounded marriage and I like that. By well rounded I mean - we enjoy a lot of different things. We love sports, we love theater, we love travel. It makes things interesting and adds some variety.

9)Benjy is a protector and a provider. He is a lot more grounded and realistic in the things that I am naive about (like financial security, safety, future). He thinks about taking care of me and the kids and makes me feel very taken care of.

I feel very blessed in my marriage. We aren't perfect and we have our struggles - but I do believe we are perfect for each other! When I look back on the past nine years with fondness I trust that we have a strong and bright future together. I am glad that Benjy is the one I will grow old with.

I love you Benjy. Thank you for all we have shared!

Playin' Outside

It is becoming a rare thing to see my boys playing inside these days. They LOVE being outside and we are thankful for the space, the chance to ride bikes, the playground and the friends they have made! It is a good place for little boys!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun halloween. We invited our neighbors to carve pumpkins with us. They had never done it before and we sure had a lot of Mexican kids pass by trying to figure it all out! How funny - they decorate everything with pumpkin figures but thought it very odd that we carved the real thing. Reece and Chase loved getting their hands in there! Typical boys!




For school and for trick-or-treating here in our neighborhood - the boys went as pirates. We didn't want to buy costumes so we threw together what we had at home.....I think they look pretty cute - I mean, tough - if I do say so myself! The funniest was hearing them say "arrrgggggggg".




And, keeping with tradition, we did a family theme this year of "three blind mice"! The boys - especially Pierce were really cute. I doubt you can tell from the pic but Benjy was the "big cheese" and I, of course, was the farmers wife. I forgot to carry my carving knife but do have their tails in hand! I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long, long time. Chaser hung out with me all day as we finalized the costume. He began singing the "tree blind mice" song as he ran around the house. When we arrived at the party we had a long parking lot to walk down so we used it as his practice for being blind. His sunglasses were too big so he held them up with his finger and then used his white cane to feel his way all the way to the front door as he sang, "fwee bwind mice, fweee bwind mice" It was precious. We had a blast.

Uncle Burke!

Uncle Burke, the pilot, flew in for a quick visit. We had so much fun with him - especially the kids. He is a great uncle - although you would be very hard pressed to hear him say he likes kids. I think its his game. He hides it but really loves hanging with them. My favorite moment was when Chaser planted a big wet and gooey goodbye kiss on his cheek!

He got to participate in all of the halloween fun - carving pumpkins, trick-or-treatin' and our annual team costume party.




We also went to visit a few sites of the City - a castle at Chapultepec park. Thanks for coming Burke. Please come back soon - we love you!

Another Year in A Great Man's Life

My good husband celebrated another year of life on the 28th! We had big plans to leave the City for the weekend and celebrate with some friends....but an untimely bug or something hit Benj and so we laid low and recovered at home instead. By Sunday he was feeling better and we enjoyed his birthday. Benjy spent the day in a way very typical of who he is - playing and spending quality time with his boys. He is a family man at heart, a great Daddy and so the boys had a "sports day" with him - playing basketball, baseball, soccer - getting coached on better technique! We went out for lunch (and although the kids screamed McDonalds I vetoed that one and let the birthday boy choose!). I sat back and smiled as the majority of birthday conversation centered around tic-tac-toe. Reece and Benjy played a countless number of games on the place mat - and Reece started learning his strategy and how to block him. Lots of smiles today. I love you Benjy - expecting more great things in your life this 34th year!