Twenty-Tenth Birthday!

These White Orchids are from Jackie

Happy Birthday Baby!!!
Today is the birthday of my best friend Melissa. She is the best wife any man could ever dream of having! One of the things I love the most about Melissa is that she "gets" me. Those of you who know me understand what I'm talking about. Not very many women in this world could be married to me and not lose their sanity. With all my different hobbies and interests I am always fired up about something that has nothing to do with normal life but somehow she understands that that's what makes me tick and she loves me for it. How many women do you know that would suggest moving away from family and friends to go to Alaska just because it's their husband's dream? And not only that, she has become interested in the things that I'm interested in. She is hands down my favorite person to go into the woods with. She looks so cute packing a rifle and binoculars, and she can hold her own when it comes to making the shot. I still don't understand how she manages to look so good in hip waders, I feel like I'm in an "Uncle Buck's" cheese cake calendar every time we fish together!! We spent a dozen or so nights tent camping deep in the back country with the bugs and the bears, canoed literally hundreds of miles, caught hundreds of pounds of fish and packed countless miles hunting for bears high on steep mountain sides and still she is just as feminine and cute as ever, how does she do that?
So here's to you Babe, on your twenty-tenth birthday, may you always be in your twenties!!
Thank you for being my lovely wife, I love you
Pat

I really am 29!

I'm humbling myself to show you what I look like in the morning! I did put on a hat though! For that I must thank my Fabulous Sister-in-love, Jana! oh, & Josh too! Pat came home this morning with a blazing fire - a piece of German Chocolate Cake with 29 candles on it! I only had to open my mouth and let the morning breath wipe out the entire flame! When Pat regained consciousness, we slept in a bit! I had met him at work for "lunch" last night at midnight, so I was a little tired! Plus, it's my birthday, so I can sleep as long as I want to!!
I am so blessed! I'm thinking of all my blessings, and as this is not a novel, I won't bore you with details! I can't imagine what I would be like without Pat in my life! God has blessed our marriage more than we could have imagined. I can't think of a single day that I haven't been grateful for our lives together. Pat is the perfect man for me, and we will continue to "sharpen" each other! My family is amazing! I have pictures that my nieces and nephews drew for me in the pictures! I put them up on the 'fridge, but I'm thinking of using them for a mural on a kitchen wall, so keep them coming!! People will think we have kids! I do! I pray for them often and miss them more than I can put into words. I can't wait to meet my new niece Mia! What a joy to miss them! I feel so blessed to have a sister that I miss so terribly. I'll cry if I say more!! I am so grateful to have the support and prayers of all our family!
We have also been blessed with material things. God knows our needs and gives beyond our expectations! We are truly nothing without HIM! He has given us a home, jobs, a car, and much more little stuff! Everyday I see His gifts to us.
I often use my birthday to evaluate my life and to give myself goals. I don't often share those as that leads to accountability! This year I need to push myself. I want to truly live my faith out. I want to be bold. I want to be positive. I want to be encouraging. I want to be adventurous! I want to be serious about cultivating discipline in my life!! YUCK! I didn't want to write that last one. Anyway...!
This will be a good year. I thank you all for being such a positive influence in my life. I'm excited to see what the Lord has for me for year 29! It is His.