So Many Reasons Why I Love Her

Today is National Spouses Day! I don’t need a “holiday” to celebrate my wife. As a matter of fact, yesterday I brought her flowers because I wanted to.

I have been blessed to have been married to my wife for almost 6 years. I love her and am still in love with her. As with most relationships, there are always rough spots. It is during those times that is is important to remember why you fell in love with each other at the start. What I have found is that when I begin to list all the reasons I love her, it only reminds me of what she means to me.

I love her eyes. They still sparkle and I love looking into them.

I love her smile and her laughter. They are contagious.

I love that she still makes me laugh, even if it is at my expense.

I love that she is such an amazing mother to Ella and Andrew. Her love for them is constant. I love seeing just how much they love her!

I love that her hands fit perfectly in mine.

I love that she is “in the know” about everything. She is a walking day planner. She remembers things that I forget! I can always count on her to keep our family on track.

I love that she has always been supportive of me and encouraged me to do things out of my comfort zone.

I love that she has always strived to be her best, whether it be her education, career, or just “mom.”

I love that she will sit and watch football (or things like Columbo or the First 48) with me.

I love that she is not afraid to say what is on her mind.

I love that she shares good books with me.

I love her patience with me and all of the other craziness in our house.

I love her kisses and her hugs. I always feel safe in her arms.

I love that she is the center of our family and keeps us all in balance.

I love those rare occasions when we get a date day/night together.

I love that she doesn’t see just how beautiful she is, even though I am always telling her.

I love her voice.

I love all the wonderful things we have shared together and look forward to the things we will do together in the future.

I love going on walks in the neighborhood with her.

I love that she has made me a better person.

I love that she believes that sometimes cereal or ice cream are ok for dinner.

I love watching her play with our kids.

I love video chats with her and the kids while I am at work.

I love that I get to be her hero when there is a spider that needs to get squashed.

I love her because she loves God and believes in the power of prayer.

I love her compassion for others.

I love her because she took a very broken guy like me and completes me.

I love that any time there is a decision to be made, we do it together.

I love her because I am still amazed that a woman like her would choose a guy like me. She is so much better than me.

I love her because she is everything to me.

I love her because I could continue to list 100+ more things I love about her!

Happy Spouses Day, Sam! I love you mostly because – You are YOU!

Book recommendation: Remarkably Bright Creatures.

I have seen this book come up over and over again on Goodreads, in blogs I follow, and online. You know the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, that holds true here.

This was a book that I just wouldn’t have read by looking at it or even after reading the brief descriptions of it. It just didn’t seem like something I would enjoy.

My wife, you may recall, recently joined Goodreads and has been listening to audio books now. It’s been fun to see many of the books I have read pop up on her “want to read” list.

She read this book and loved it. She said she thought I would like it. A few of my friends had recently read it as well and said it was one of the best books they read this year. So I checked it out and was not disappointed.

It was a great story! Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

The characters were very real and they dealt with real life issues (death, addiction, grief, gossip, depression, love, etc). At first you wonder how everything fits together, but as the story moves along the puzzle comes together nicely.

It is a heartwarming story that I am so glad I read. I highly recommend it.

The Sacred Tool Hymn

The other night my wife was singing to Andrew at bedtime. Like me, she has her own repertoire of songs to choose from. This particular night, she chose to sing Amazing Grace.

It is truly one of the most recognized hymns of all time, and the story of how it was written is fascinating. Anyway, for those unfamiliar with the first verse:

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost and now am found. Was blind but now I see.”

Sam started singing the first line and Andrew says, “Dis is Pa’s song! Dis is Pa’s song!”. She figures that it is completely possible that her dad or mom may have sung this song to him too.

So she says, “Oh yeah?”

He replies, “Pa’s wrench was lost in the garage, but now it is found! Pa found it!!”

Why do I have a feeling a wretch will forever now be a wrench from now on?!

A Look Back at 2023

Perhaps this year I will plan a bit better. I hoped to post this year-end recap on January 1, 2024, but life had other plans. If I made New Year’s Resolutions, planning ahead just might be one of mine. Better late than never …

2023 was a year of ups and downs, but that’s what makes life interesting, right? As I looked back at the year in preparation for this blog, I was surprised at what a decent year it was. I found myself smiling at so many of the memories. I truly believe that there was more good memories than bad last year.

2023 was a year of accomplishments for me:

I read more books last year than I have in a very long time. There were so many good ones (many of them I reviewed here)!
I completed a full semester of my Bible classes and am ready to start the 5th semester (of 9).
Then there were the projects my father-in-law and I completed. We turned a closet into a nook, put in an entire new deck on the porch, and built a fence for the puppy.
I also completed a course on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
I participated in 12 installments of Turntable Talk for Dave Ruch’s A Sound Day site
I contributed a few songs to my friend Nancy’s The Rhythm Section site
I taught a couple classes on Sleep Medicine at a local college
I wrote my 1000th blog

There were a lot of new things in 2023 for me:

Sam and I both got new vehicles
I got a new schedule at work when I switched to afternoons
We got a new driveway and sidewalks because of that construction mess on our street
We added to our family with our new puppy, Daisy
A new diagnosis of ADHD and long term depression for me. This brings many challenges.

There were so many wonderful times with family and friends:

Ella celebrated birthday #3
Andrew celebrated birthday #2
Dante turned 21
Dimitri turned 16 (and I golfed with him for his birthday)
I celebrated my birthday with a princess party theme (picked out by Ella) and wore a tiara!
Our family enjoyed a nice day at the beach in Caseville
We enjoyed a great day on the Halloween Train with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Walt
My brother and I got to spend some time together thanks to his visits up to Michigan (He even contributed a nice guest blog)
Sam and I enjoyed a night out with a nice dinner and then seeing a Golden Girls play
My radio buddy, Cam, who I hadn’t seen in decades, came up and we had a great time reminiscing over coffee
My Goddaughter, Marissa, got married
The family enjoyed a night at the Detroit Zoo enjoying their Christmas Lights display
I had all my kids over on Christmas Eve and it was nice to have them all together. It may sound crazy, but we all sat on the couch and watch the Christmas episode of Shaun the Sheep and laughed like crazy together.
I also got to enjoy my first ever Daddy Daughter Dance with Ella.

Andrew certainly kept us busy this year. He’s been through the ringer. This year he’s had an MRI, an EEG, a few Sleep Studies, throat surgery, a swallow study, received a diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy and is now wearing braces on his legs. Between doctor appointments, he’s been doing speech therapy, and physical and occupational therapy. We spent a lot of time in the car this year. Thankfully, we continue to work on things and his prognosis is looking great.

I was finally able to hold the amazing portrait of Ella and Andrew in my hands this year. My friend Belita sent me many photos as the portrait progressed and my excitement built with each one. It is so beautiful. I need to get a frame for it, so I can hang it up on the wall.

As a bonus, the Detroit Lions have given me the best season I have been able to witness in forever!.

In 2023 I wrote 274 blog posts and this site had almost 31,000 views. As I looked back at the most popular posts, I was surprised to see that there was a new “Most Viewed” blog. The 6th blog I ever wrote for this site somehow always was the most viewed blog every year. It was a blog I wrote with some of Red Buttons’ funniest lines:

“Never Got a Dinner”!

That blog came in at the third most viewed this year (Over 700 views). The second most viewed blog was a holiday themed blog about one of my favorite Christmas specials:

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

The Year Without a Santa Claus blog just beat the Never Got a Dinner blog (750 views) The new champion, and most viewed blog this year was also holiday themed and got an amazing 4841 views!

My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters

I have to wonder why it got so many views. I do think it is cool, though.

As a loyal reader and visitor to this blog, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you for reading and commenting on my posts. Thank you for making 2023 something to remember.

As we continue in the new year, I pray it is a good one for you and me. That being said, I’m going to do something that I really have never done before on here.

My faith is something that you are aware of. I am always open to a good conversation about my faith. I make it no secret that I believe the Bible and am a Christian. I understand that you may not be. That is your choice and I am not in the position to judge anyone for what you believe. That being said, I watched a message from a pastor friend that really was powerful. I’m going to post the video here on this blog. Feel free to watch if you wish. If you don’t want to watch it, that’s ok. Consider this the end of this blog post.

If you do want to watch, let me set it up for you:

In the 1990’s, William Strauss and Neil Howe wrote a book about the historical cycles in America. It was called The Fourth Turning.

It is really a fascinating read! Bryan Ross taught a message about the New Year and if the cycles of history continue to follow the pattern, 2024 could bring some issues. His message was full of information and really helped me to be at peace and ready for what history might cycle back our way.

Keep in mind that the book itself is not a biblical book about prophecy or anything like that. It looks at the cycles of history. Pastor Ross presents this info honestly and then answers the question of how we should prepare for it.

Thanks for reading.

The Scissors Add 10 Years

Andrew got a haircut a few weeks ago. I had to work, so Sam brought Ella. She kept saying she wanted her hair cut. Now she’s had the ends trimmed a few times, but that’s been the extent of it.

When Sam asked how she wanted it cut she showed us with her hands. She said she wanted it to look like her cousins Kenzie and Riley. Both have theirs a bit short.

I was supposed to take her to the haircut today, and was hoping that I could talk her into just getting it cut to about shoulder length or lower. Sam decided that she’d take her and before they left, we asked her again. She wanted it like her cousins.

She has such beautiful hair. Her curls have always been there and people compliment her all the time on her hair. I just wasn’t sure if I could take it being gone.

Her hair is so long and beautiful. She was having issues with it getting snagged in the car seat buckle and in the zipper of her coat. This may have played a factor in her decision, but it was probably more that she loves her cousins.

When it was finally her turn she was excited!

Sam said she smiled through the entire haircut and could barely contain herself. When she saw the finished cut, she was filled with joy! She loves it!!!

Sam sent me a text with the above picture. My heart sank. “That’s a lot of hair,” I thought. She said, “She loves it and can’t wait for you to see it. Make sure you make a big deal out of it when we get home!”

I saw the car pull in the driveway and I began to prepare myself. I’m no dummy. I know that a good haircut makes kids look older. That’s why I think it bugged me so much. I knew she’d look older to me.

I put my hands over my eyes and they came in. “Here’s Princess Ella!” Sam cried. I opened my eyes and was stunned by just how beautiful she looked. She’s always been beautiful, don’t misunderstand me, but I’ve never seen her hair short before. I can’t even begin to describe it.

I told her how amazing she looked and then the video calls began. We had to show Nana, Aunt Emily, and Uncle Chris. The other folks were working, so they got to see pictures.

She’ll be four in February, and she is getting sassier as the days go on. Today, however, when I saw her new haircut, I held back every tear because I felt like she looked 10 or 12 years old.

My sweet baby girl, Daddy loves you so much. You are the most beautiful Princess I have ever seen. Slow down a bit, honey, you’re growing up so fast!

Happy New Year – Welcome 2024

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

2024 rang in quietly at my place. Sam worked New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. I was in bed and asleep by 11:45pm on NYE. I didn’t even hear the fireworks and gunshots. At 5:45am, Daisy was barking to go outside. I got up, got dressed, and took her outside. The sad thing about this who scenario is that the first kiss of 2024 for me … was from the dog!

Sam came home and went to sleep and the kids and I prepared for my dad’s visit. Each of us had things going on over the holiday, so he said he’d drive up on New Year’s Day. He brought the kids their Christmas presents. Ella got a Barbie Camper and Andrew got a Little People car wash. Naturally they fought over the toys while my dad and Rose were there. During one loud batch of screaming, I looked at my dad and said, “By the way, I was hoping you could babysit the kids for a few days.” LOL

Rose doesn’t like her picture on the net, so I cropped her out of the picture. It is always nice when the kids get to see them.

I’m glad I got to see my dad. I feel like I see him less now with my new schedule, but we still talk all the time. There’s nothing better than seeing each other in person, though.

My yearly recap is coming and a pretty big thing happened today that brought me to tears. More on that next blog.

Christmas 2023

Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.

I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”

That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult.

Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.

It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.

Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.

We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.

Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.

The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!

They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!

Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!

Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.

Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.

Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.

I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!

Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it!

Ready for the Holiday Weekend

It’s lunch time at work. In just a few hours I will punch out and head home for the holiday weekend. I am truly looking forward to four days with my family. It’s been a very busy year for all of us.

I was ready to write that my son had his last appointment for the year today, but I remembered he still has one more. Today we saw his neurologist. We discussed the results of his sleep study, the MRI, and his EEG. It was a long appointment and we have some direction and a plan of action.

I left the appointment and went right to work. I’m only a mile or so from the doctor, so I punched in early knowing I will be able to leave early. I was able to get most of my work done before lunch, so I thought I’d blog.

The other appointment, incidentally, will be to pick up his AFO leg braces. This is something that will help eliminate the toe-walking. Hopefully, he won’t need to be in them too long.

I recently blogged about our family tradition of getting a new Christmas ornament at Bronner’s. We had yet to go this year, but someone (maybe someone who read my blog) did the work for us. We received a Bronner’s box in the mail and the message inside said, “It looks like Daisy needs an ornament for that tree of yours!”

This week, I found out that McDonald’s has adult Happy Meals. Sam took the kids to get lunch and they brought me back one. Ella apparently said that mom and dad needed a toy, too!

How silly is that?!

Money has been a bit tighter this year than in the past. Normally, I would try to get something small for my boss and co-workers for the holiday, but I just couldn’t swing it. One of my coworkers got bags for everyone. There was a small gift and some chocolates. My gift was socks! Go figure, right!? Well, they are actually pretty cool.

If they only made socks with the Miser Brothers on them …

I’m looking forward to Christmas for many reasons. One of them is that the Elf on the Shelf goes back to the North Pole! It becomes work to do something with it each day. Some people really go all out! It’s crazy. My favorite one from this week ties into the last bit of news to share …

I don’t care if I use this one every year! Here is Twinkles, the elf, reading from the Bible. I said that it ties in with my last bit of news.

This week, I finished my 1st semester of the second year of my Bible classes. I will have three tests to do over the next week or so. Then I will move on to the second semester. I feel like I have really accomplished something. Actually having a lunch hour (which we really never got when I was on midnights) allows me to watch an entire class and take notes without any real interruptions. I’m hoping to keep it up and press toward the mark.

I know many of my blogger friends are taking a break over the holidays. I’ve got plenty of things lined up over the weekend, I don’t know that I will not blog, but just in case I don’t, I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. As we get ready to wrap up another year, I find myself grateful for you. Your own personal blogs, the comments you share here on my blog, and your friendship has brought me much happiness.

I look forward to a year of sharing experiences with each other.

“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that’s important, but rather who is around it.”

“The best Christmas gift is to realize how much you already have.”

“The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.”

“From home to home and heart to heart, from one place to another, the warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other.”

A Christmas Masterpiece

Back in April of last year, I wrote a blog about my friend (and artist) Belita William. You can read it here:

My Kids – Posers?

I had to keep this quiet, because I wasn’t sure if my wife might read my blog. However, I can now share the news. Her request to paint my children was granted and (just in time for Christmas) the finished portrait has arrived!

When the package arrived in the mail, my wife began to question things. We had “agreed” to not get each other anything for Christmas. I told her that it wasn’t for her, but for us. I, of course, had seen the progression of it and was amazed when I held the final project in my hands. She kept wondering about it and eventually broke me down and I showed it to her. She was impressed. It is really something!

Admittedly, neither one of us has ever owned a portrait before and this one is like owning something from Van Gogh of Rembrandt! It will be hung with pride and joy in our home and will be something we will treasure for many years.

Belita does amazing work. If you didn’t read the blog above, you should. There are examples of the work she has done for Moe and Larry of the Three Stooges, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia, portraits for friends, churches, and more. Her work is in high demand and I know why! What an honor it was to have her ask to paint my children!

To me, the most amazing thing was the process. Belita kept me in the loop as things progressed. She had asked me to send some photos of the kids to use. She used a couple from a photoshoot we did in the Spring of 2022. The first draft was basically a sketch.

The above was from April or May of this year.

Tweaking happened and she cropped it a bit.

The above was the skeleton of the finished product. This would have been May 23 of 2023. She opted for the closer shot because it allowed for more details on the faces.

The beginnings of color started a few days later – May 27, 2023. This in itself blew me away. Their faces were so life like.

By July 18, the base colors were done and there was still some detail work that she was doing on it.

Between July and October, she received a commission piece that she had to finish. She told me of this and apologized for the delay, but I completely understood. I told her that I would wait as long as I had to for her to finish.

On October 26, she sent me a photo of the finished piece.

What a marvelous piece! The detail in this portrait is simply amazing to me. The eye color, the curls , the buttons on the overalls, and even the holding hands are just wonderful! I showed the kids, and Ella said, “That’s me and Bubby!!” They couldn’t believe it!

I cannot thank Belita enough for the time, the effort, and the love that she put into this portrait! When the initial “go ahead” was given, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The final project was above and beyond anything I could have imagined. This portrait will be something special to my family for generations. Thank you, Belita, for such a precious piece!

God has given you a wonderful talent! I am so thankful that He allowed us to connect and become friends. May He continue to bless you, you work and your entire family.

Thank you, again!!

Tag: my wife