mellow birthday

back in the day of cabin life, we coined the phrase "mellow good times" and that's definitely what my birthday was like this year.

last year I was anything but mellow, brimming with the excitement of a baby on the way and telling the whole family about it all. but now I got to live out the dreams that kept us up and excited this time last year.

it would have been nice to sleep in and snuggle with the wife and the pup, but the hungry munchkin was calling at 6:30. he ate quite well, which is always satisfying, and we had some good morning time together, making me regret my grumblings at having to wake up earlier than usual. and since mama had to run some errands, I got to feed him his cereal in the mid-morning, which is always an adventure (with me at least).

(an aside: for the first time this week I got a brief glimpse into what it means to be a fulltime mama. michelle and my mom were out getting their christmas manicures (a gift from santa), and I had to get the baby ready in time to drive out to meet everyone for lunch. trying to get him fed and cleaned and dressed (cutely) AND me relatively cleaned and dressed and out the door on time was an eye-opener. my usual extended time with him (weekends) doesnt involve deadlines. so to the mamas out there: I have a new respect, and sense of patience)

anyway, today I also got to do one of my favorite activities: take care of my wife. sometimes it's just enjoyable to serve her in the small things (like make the chicken salad and dressing).

as a bonus, Dan and Kat (Gulick) Haase stopped by. as Kat can relate to many of Michelle's health issues, we had a good conversation about such things, as well as general life stuff. Kat always asks good questions. and as a birthday present of sorts, she told me she made a huge mistake in not hiring me to be an RA back in the day. this bit of info is quite gratifying of course (as I was quite dissappointed at the time), but we all agreed that it was clearly God's providence (I wouldnt have edited the school paper, which indirectly led to web stuff a little while later). even cooler, she told me why I didnt get the job: I was too cynical at the time! who, me?! yeah, I had it pretty bad for a while, and I credit Michelle for lifting me out of that muck. as evidence of continued progress: I quit listening to NPR and now listen to Moody Broadcasting. this is of course a subject for its own entry sometime.

at dinner time we looked at the nearly barren fridge. I grabbed a birthday newcastle (thanks dad!) and longed for a pizza. we never order pizza, as Michelle cant eat it. but I think talking about covenant stuff made me long for a mr. t's pizza. I seldom directly express my desires to michelle, so when I said "you know what I would like?" I could have asked for pretty much anything and she would have got it done somehow. but a medium pinapple-and-ham only takes about $6.88, so it wasnt too hard to get it done. that and another newcastle. yum.

after some snuggling and uno, I finished the book I've been reading this week. I feel like I havent read a book through in a while. I determined this week to really relax as much as possible, and of course my mom and dad made it quite possible. so I read my new book that I bought on a whim (thanks to a gift card) and quite enjoyed it (perhaps not as much as promised on the cover, but still enjoyable).

and now I blog. that's part of relaxing these days too. when we travel or get birthday phonecalls or whatnot, I'm always surprised to learn of all the folks who check in on us here. lurkers (those who read but dont make your presence known), feel free to comment.

so here goes another birthday, and really I've got the best present ever on the other side of this wall: a beautiful, wonderful son, who is so great I can hardly believe it, and his mama who is so much a part of me I cant remember who I was without her. what's that verse about God blessing us more than we can imagine? He really has.