Armed Forces

Yikes.  One more reason I’m hoping for a girl.  This was the Sunday afternoon recreation at our house yesterday.

You Float My Boat

I love you in summer.

I love you in a wet suit

I love you driving the boat with spray in your face and a sparkle in your eye.

I love you laughing like a lunatic, tubin’ with your crazy friends

I love eating your fish and I love the fact you catch and clean them and I just get to eat them

I love the warmth and smell of your tanned skin, and I'm even kind of crazy about your farmers tan. (is that copyright infringement?)

I love that I get to enjoy His gift of summer with you.

I Think Your Tractor’s Sexy.

  Well, not really, but YOU plus a tractor equals be still my heart =)  I am so thankful for all the hard work you do around here after hours.  You are amazing.  Thanks for humoring me and helping me clear out the orchard and fulfill my dreams for my special place.   And thanks especially for teaching me to drive the backhoe and for taking over the grunt work on the ground! 

I love the way you heave a sigh when I ask you to help me catch up with read alouds and then can’t bear to stop at the end of a chapter.

I love hearing you chuckle as you lay beside me in bed reading “Old Yeller” and the way all three of us keep trading it around to keep up with each other.

I love it when I ask if you need me  (for all practical intents and purposes) and you say; “yep, I need you bad.  I need you to come sit right here on my lap.”

I love it when you talk to me about things that matter.  About choices we’ve made and choices yet to be made.  I can’t imagine being in this with anyone else.  I trust you completely and you know how much that means.

I love the way you *gasp* when you look at the grocery bill, say “You paid HOW much for beach towels?!” and then look up at me and chuckle.

I love the way you send the girls to call me away from preparing supper to “help” you.  How in your mind it would be easier for me to make supper while holding a 10 month old than it would be for you to take a 2 year old to the potty while holding said 10 month old.  And how when I asked you, “How do you think *I* manage every day? “ you replied “I have NO idea.”  LOL.

In short, I love YOU.. 

My A to Z

I love the way you.... amaze me. believe in me. compliment me. delight me. excite me. forgive me. goad me. humor me. infuriate me. joke with me. kiss me. love me. miss me. need me. ogle me. provide for me. quieten me. relate to me. spoil me. trust me. understand me. value me. want me. okay, so it's A to W. Which makes me think of A&W, which makes me crave a root beer float. Whaddya say babe? Here's to one more year of romance under our belts and a better, sweeter year to come.

Prairie Guy

I love...
that you woke up in the middle of the night and gave me an amazing back rub on your own initiative when you knew that my back was bothering me.

Thank you...
for getting the christmas lights up and running for me. they bring me daily delight, and I love that your hands were responsible behind the scenes for their merry glow.

I'm glad...
that you are feeling better. it's just no fun when you are sick, and I mean that empathetically, even if it is cloaked in a mantle of humor.

I'm thankful...
for your thoughtful caution in making decisions and directing the course of our family life. I'm glad you're in the driver's seat and that you trust me to help navigate. Together we can make it wherever we want to go.

Prairie Guy

I love...
You. Everything about you. Even the things that drive me nuts.

I especially love...
watching you play with The
Hero, snuggle The Rugrat, pack The Pumpkin around against your chest and tease The Girl and The Poppet.

Thank you...
for sending me scrapping twice this week
for keeping your cool (figuratively speaking) while you fixed things gone awry outside all morning and afternoon on a bitterly cold and windy day.
for coming to the rink to help out at skating lessons
for making supper on club night

I can't wait...
for the inauguration of the hot tub tonight. Yeah baby.

Prairie Guy

Thank You...
for letting me go ahead with the cat endeavor even though everything in your personal interests and desires is counter cat. For giving us the chance to earn this money and contribute to family life in this way. For saying "This is your thing. Whatever you decide I will support you." That's the world on a platter to me.

For going to the store to buy treats for the girls when you heard about how they had washed the breakfast dishes this morning before I came down. That was special, I love moments like that. And the interchange between us; "wow, we have great kids." and "yes, we do." I mean, sometimes that fact gets lost in the craziness.

For letting me "out" to scrapbook TWO NIGHTS this week. Wow. I don't know what hit me. And thank you, thank you, thank you for the photo lab. It's the best birthday present EVER.

For conversing with me about tough stuff. We are getting so much better about that than we used to be, not to imply we don't have a ways to go yet, but I really appreciate how far we've come

For making family devotions a priority and for taking the lead in this vital and foundational aspect of our family life. I so enjoy the discussions we have, the worship and the prayer. It is a true highlight of my week.

I Loved...

Taking the quad and going out to the lake for the day. Seeing you relaxed and just "soaking up life" rather than busied with lists and projects and visions and plans.

Prairie Guy

I love...

• when you say "money is not an issue".... something about it just makes me smile.
• discussing scripture with you first thing in the morning, and you know I don't like discussing anything first thing in the morning.
  

I laughed...

• when you exploded out of bed at 4 am and hollered; "Something's on fire!" I mean I laughed when my heart-rate slowed down and you sheepishly came fumbling back to bed after assuring yourself that *nothing* was on fire.
  

My heart melted when...

I looked out the window and saw....

There is nothing more beautiful than a Dad with his boy.

Prairie Guy

Things I love...

• watching you work. Love those calves and biceps.
• watching you play with the kids.
• sitting on our new porch and watching the night sky with you
• when you ask me "what do you think of....."

Things that make me laugh...

• your hopelessly helpless farmers tan

Things I'm thankful for...

• for how you worked your butt off to make that porch
• for your appreciation of my culinary arts

Prairie Guy

I love

• Discussing the day's passage with you
• watching you work
• sitting on the swing with you
• listening to the sound of your voice coming down the stair well as you pray with the kids at night
• that you call me sweetie in the middle of a disagreement

Thank you

• for building me a wonderful porch... you rock.
• for taking care of sick kids at night
• for "unplugging" the tv and choosing to shoot the breeze with me.
• for giving me the go-ahead to replace the lawn furniture... YES!

Prairie Guy

I Loved It When
You rescued a baby robin from Sophie and called us all over to see it. There was a day not long ago when you wouldn't have thought twice or captured that moment, especially since you were working when it happened. The fact that you called us all over and "made a moment" was precious to me (and I'm sure to the kids).

You expressed your desire for us to do a joint bible study together.

You told me that there is nothing more relaxing to you than my hand on your neck.

I Appreciate it When You
lay on the couch, with the tv off and just shoot the breeze with me.

give me a rub, with no ulterior motive, just because you know it makes me feel good.

I Am Proud of You Because
You kept your cool as we packed up and left for camp even though I lost it and we had to come back three times for stuff we had forgotten (notice I say *we*).

God is speaking to you, and you are listening. I love it when you share the things His spirit is placing on your heart.

You are passionate. Stoic on the outside, but bubbling with spiritual lava on the inside. Let it flow baby.

Prairie Guy

I Love To See You
shaving with Prairie Pumpkin slumped against your shoulder

fencing with the older boys sitting on the quad admiring your every move

sitting at the dining room table with your bible open, and especially love it when you open up and start discussing commentary notes with great fervor... mmmm... all these things make me..... love you ;)


I'm Proud of You Because
Whatever you do, you do wonderfully well.

You managed an entire weekend on your own with Prairie Boy's incessant chatter in vehicle, boat and tent and didn't lose patience with him (externally). He will cherish that weekend always, I'm sure. As will you. Eventually. As I cherish memories of childbirth. Eventually. :D


Thank You For
Being patient while I get "back on my feet" with responsibilities around the house

Washing dishes with me

Spending time with the boys in the evening to wind them down

To the Father of My Children, On Father's Day

Thank You For
choosing me to bear and raise your children.

fathering five beautiful, amazing, wonderful children

enduring sleepless nights and crowded beds, I know how much you need your uninterrupted sleep and the fact that you endure those little squirming boys between us means alot.

being The Man who deals with diahrea and vomit, I'm forever indebted

letting them tag along and "help" while you are working about the yard, I know that "help" is sometimes more aptly spelled "hinder" but you are helping *them* feel important and valued

always trying harder to be better and for your patience with me as I do the same.

being their Dad. They adore you. But you know that.

Happy Father's Day.

Happy Fathers Day.

Dear Daddy,
you are special to me because you werck lots but still have cudlles for me.
I want to tell you how much I love you again.
I love you around the earth 100 times, up to the sun, across to the moon and around the earth 100 times again.
Love
your prarie girl.

Dear Daddy

i love you buckus you or speshul
thack you for ckaring for me
i luve it wen you do fun things with me
you or a nice dady
luve your prary princces

Prairie Guy

I Love It When You
tell me I'm too good to you.

rub my arms and hands and neck and head when I am falling asleep

tell me "I love you anyway" when I confess my failures to you

ICQ me from work

Thank You For
finishing our beautiful table!

getting up early, juggling work and meeting me at the dentist to hold Prairie Pumpkin while I had my root canal.

I'm Proud of You Because
you build a beautiful fence, baby.

Prairie Guy

I Love The Way You

love them

can do absolutely anything, and do it better than absolutely anyone.

Say you miss me, even when we've been in the same vicinity all day and; along the same lines;

the way you joke about us only needing 8 square feet of house, because no matter where we are, the kids are almost always within 8 square feet of us =) (You're gonna miss em' when they're gone).