Happy Birthday, Michael

Over the weekend, we celebrated Michael's birthday. His birthday was Sunday, so on Saturday we went to the Shiner's Circus (this is starting to become a tradition for our family). When I asked Michael what he wanted for his birthday, this is what he requested (isn't it funny how when you become a parent that you really get the most joy from the happiness of your children?). Anyway, we had a fun time, at least Michael and I did. Michael's mom gave the kids each five dollars to buy circus junk (I say junk because the things that our kids bought are broken now). Alden and Thobe both got a lightsaber, which Alden agreed to share with Hyrum, who was asleep when we arrived. It's hard to be sure if Alden even watched the circus because was playing with his light saber so much and nearly hitting all the people around us. Thobe was really tired when we arrived and slept through the second half of the show. Hyrum was equally taken with the light sabers and enjoyed walking up and down the aisles pushing the chairs back and forth (again, I'm not sure how much of the circus he watched either). So, I guess I should say that Michael and I enjoyed the scaled down version of the circus (I guess the slump in the economy sadly has even affected the circus). When we got back to Grandpa and Abuelita's we ate birthday brownies and cookies and had a nice visit with them.

The next day was really fun. The boys gave the few presents (a whole bunch of Cousin Willie's Microwave popcorn, a pair of pants, and an alarm clock) that I bought for Michael throughout the day, and then we had a bunch of friends come over for a surprise birthday get together. I made a few roasts, mashed a bunch of potatoes, made a few boxes of jello, microwaved some of our frozen corn, cooked some Rhodes rolls, and Michael's favorite part, made an apple, blueberry, and cherry pie. We had our friends, The Richters from Bowling Green come, The Burkes, The Floyds, and the Talbots come. It was really fun. I don't know who had more fun, the adults or the kids, but I think we all enjoyed it. I'm really grateful for good friends and even more grateful for Michael. He's such an amazing man. I'm really lucky to be married to him. At the risk of making a very long post (and to copy my good friend, Becca Renfroe) I'm going to make a list of my 20 favorite things about my crazy husband--please note that these are not in any particular order and are only a few of the things in a long list that I love about my sweetheart.

1. I love Michael's sense of humor. Michael makes me laugh everyday. I think he's so funny! He often tells people that the reason he married me is because I laugh at all his jokes. Even after almost 10 years of marriage, his sense of humor continues to surprise and "tickle" me.

2. I love the way Michael plays with our children. Michael works crazy hours--he's up at 5:00 every weekday morning and usually doesn't get home until 6:00 at night (tonight it's even later than that). Despite these crazy hours, he makes sure that he plays with the kids. Whether it's chasing them around the house yelling and screaming, playing a video or board game with them, reading them a story, playing outside with them, or whatever else you can imagine, he does it. As much as he makes me laugh, he makes the kids laugh even more. It's no wonder that they all scream with glee when he walks in the door and that our house is in constant cachophony until the go to bed. When he calls them upstairs, he says, "Amigos!" I really think that all three of them consider their dad to be his best friend.

3. Almost in opposition to #2, I love the way Michael disciplines our boys. Our kids are the amazing kids that they are because of him. They know their limits with Michael. They know exactly what they can and can't do because of him. He is incredibly consistent and an incredible example to me. Whenever he gets after them, he always makes sure that he hugs them afterwards so they know he still loves them.

4. I love Michael's dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loves God and wants nothing more than to just serve him.

5. I love that Michael will make sacrifices to do what is right. I can't tell you how many "important" sporting events Michael misses to spend time with his family, to go to a church meeting, or simply because it's Sunday. Before we were married he decided that he wanted to show his dedication to God and stopped watching TV on Sunday. We watch a lot of sports other days, but I know that sports are not the most important thing in his life. This is only one example of his many sacrifices that he makes for the Gospel and for our family.

6. I love how smart Michael is. I can't believe all the little tidbits of information he knows. I think he could carry on an intelligent conversation with anyone from any background. Sometimes when we're talking to people, I think, "How does he know that?"

7. I love that when he hugs me that all my worries seem to float away. Although I haven't ever been in therapy, I dare say that a good long hug from Michael is better than an hour of therapy for me.

8. I love how Michael encourages me to take time out for me. Whether it's exercising, volunteering at Alden's school, hanging out with the friends, teaching my adjunct courses, or just giving me a couple hours by myself, he's always willing to watch the kids for me to have some Melissa time.

9. I love how he praises me and never says a negative word to anyone about me.

10. I love that Michael likes to buy me nice gifts but that he is also very money-conscious. I love that we've never had a fight about money (I wish we could say that we've never had a disagreement about anything, but I can say that it's never been about money because he's so supportive and aware of what he spends).

11. I love that even when things are hard that Michael finds a way to stay optimistic. He is so good at helping me focus on things that are really important rather than the things that I often put too much weight on that really do not matter. I'll always remember when we were between jobs and were living in Las Vegas that Michael found such pleasure in eating our food storage and coming up with creative ways to cook it. He often reminds me that if we ever have to live off our food storage again that he'll do a lot better than I will--he's right!

12. I love that Michael loves people and wants to help others. It is very important to him that he serves his fellowman. I love that about him. Whether it's getting up at 5:00 in the morning to just being a friend to all who know him, I am constantly impressed with his ability to make everyone who knows him feel loved and important.

13. I love that Michael loves my family as his own family and does what ever he can to make sure that our children are close to all their extended family.

14. I love that Michael speaks Spanish to our children and that he seeks opportunities for them to build their Spanish skills.

15. I love that Michael meets individually with our kids when they get a report card or have something that they need to work on. It is very important to him to be involved in their lives.

16. I love that Michael is a worthy Priesthood holder and temple recommend holder. I love that he makes it a priority to go to the temple every month to strengthen our family.

17. I love that Michael is so flexible. Even when he comes home after a long day and I've just been playing Spider Solitaire all afternoon he doesn't complain. He's always willing to pick something up from the grocery store or at a restaurant on the way home from work.

18. I love Michael's creative parenting. He comes up with such good ideas to help our kids. Our classic example of this is when we were struggling to teach Alden how to use the potty when he was three, Michael got Alden's favorite Yoda toy and Luke Skywalker toy and took them in the bathroom where Alden had been sitting on the potty for at least an hour. Michael had Yoda tell Luke that in order to be a Jedi that he had to learn to use the potty. I had been struggling for months to teach the lad how to use the potty and that did the trick. Alden was completely potty trained after that because wanted to be a "Jerdi" as he would say.

19. I love the way he looks, especially just before he tells a joke. His head starts to shake just a little and he gets this little twinkle in his eye. Even when he decides not to tell the joke he had in mind, I can always tell when he's thinking of one. I love the way he does that.

20. I love that I get to spend this life and all of eternity with such an incredible man. Happy Belated Birthday, Michael. I love you!!!!