Happy Anniversary, My Love

I Love You

by Roy Croft

I Love You,
Not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you,
not only for what you have made of yourself,
but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you for putting your hand into my overflowing heart
and passing over all the foolish, weak things that can't help,
dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the
beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make of the dreams of my life
not a thought but a reality,
Out of the works of my every day not a reproach but a song...
Yes, a Love song.

Seven years ago today....

Hero

When you thought I wasn't looking...

I saw you struggle to get sober, and I learned that there is no such thing as a lost cause.

I saw you leave your family behind to serve your country, and I learned the meaning of sacrifice.

I saw you lay down in the road with your head in the gutter to save a baby kitten, and I learned that even the smallest life matters.

I saw you slip and fall down the stairs while hot coffee rained down on your head, and I learned that sometimes laughing at yourself is the only thing you can do.

I saw you take fatherless children and love them like your own, and I learned that a loving heart has no limits.

I saw you make hard decisions, and I learned to do the right thing even when it hurts.

I saw you take the high road when you were wronged, and I learned the meaning of turning the other cheek.

I saw you drive a crappy car so that your children could drive a safe one, and I learned about selflessness.

I saw you get up early and read your Bible, and I learned that we make time for the things that are important to us.

I saw you work for hours in the garage to build the World's Greatest Dorm Room Loft, and I learned that spending time means more than spending money.

I saw you work quietly at church, without recognition, and I learned what it means to be a servant.

I saw you smile at me through your tears as you walked me down the aisle, and I learned what it means to be loved beyond measure.

When you thought I wasn't looking, you taught me how to live and how to laugh and how to love.

I love you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day.

Little girl all grown up

Today is my baby sister Emily's 18th birthday. Sigh. It's hard to believe there are no more babies in our family. She's a high school graduate, a legal adult. And a pretty cool kid woman.

I know this post is supposed to be about Emily, and trust me, I could tell stories about her for days, but mostly what I've been thinking about all day is being a big sister. I am one, three times over and it's the best thing in the world. I was blessed to be allowed to watch these three amazing girls women grow up, to share in their memories, to stay up talking late into the night, to text advice when Mom and Dad are being parents unreasonable, to share shoes and clothes and makeup and purses. It makes me tear up to think how much each of them means to me and how grateful I am to be not only sisters, but also friends. They are each special to me in their own way and I can't imagine my life without them in it.

So thanks, Mom and Dad, for breeding like rabbits blessing me with sisters. Thanks, Katie, Amy and Emily for being the best sisters a girl could ever ask or hope for.

And Emily, no matter how big you get or how far away you go, you'll always be one of the 'little girls' to me. I love you, kid.

Dear Mom

Thank you, Mom, for staying with my Dad even when it looked like he was a lost cause. I am blessed to say my parents are still together after 29 years.

Thank you, Mom, for staying at home with us even though the extra money would have been nice.

Thank you, Mom, for taking me to Busch Gardens despite the fact that I broke out in chicken pox the same morning.

Thank you, Mom, for shuttling me to a million dance classes, recitals and performances even though you knew I wouldn't use a lick of it as an adult.

Thank you, Mom, for letting me quit piano to take more dance lessons, even though you knew I would regret it later in life.

Thank you, Mom, for holding down the fort while Dad served our country overseas. You are every bit the hero that he is, too.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me that coffee is best drunk black and by the pot.

Thank you, Mom, for letting me run away to college even though it hurt your heart to see me go. It was the best four years of my life.

Thank you, Mom, for not protesting when I said I was getting married at the tender age of 22. It was the best thing I ever did.

Thank you, Mom, for always sending birthday cards late; it makes me feel not so bad about having your birthday card from February in a drawer in my kitchen.

Thank you, Mom, for always picking up the phone to listen, whether I am laughing, crying, celebrating or whining.

Thank you, Mom, for being not only my mother, but for becoming my friend.

Prayers for Stellan

{image via Stellan's Name Gallery}

I know you've all heard me mention this sweet little guy before, but tonight and tomorrow he needs our prayers more than ever. Baby Stellan is scheduled for a very risky heart operation tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8:30am EST. Things this evening are not going well and his surgery may be moved up even sooner if they can't get his heart rhythms under control soon.

Would you pray with me for sweet baby Stellan? Pray specifically that:

1. The Great Physician will guide his earthly physician's hands.
2. No new issues as a result of the surgery. The list of possible complications is long and scary.
3. Peace for Stellan's mom, who is in Boston with him, and for his dad, who is at home with the family's other small children.
4. That God would be glorified in whatever the outcome may be.

If you've ever wondered if a single life can truly make an impact on the world, go spend some time at MckMama's blog. Even at a time when no one could fault her for screaming and railing at God, this woman still manages to put us all towards Him who can do immeasurably more than we could ever think or imagine.

The Reason and the Truth

{image via google images}

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. - John 3:16-18 (The Message Bible version)

with much love, wangy

{Living it up in Jamaica last summer for our 5th anniversary}

I must start with my apologies to my handsome husband. Yesterday was his birthday and I fully intended to post something about it but the day got away from me. Although I don't think he's complaining because it was a pretty darn good birthday.

On the bright side, I finally, finally, finally surprised him with a gift. Go, me! The man always seems to know what he's getting - usually in three guesses or less. It could be the most random gift on the planet and he will somehow intuit what's in the box before he opens it (hello, year of the watch). But yesterday, I totally got him. He's had an ipod shuffle for a few years and has mentioned in passing several times that he wishes he could have play lists for his runs. But every time I mention getting a new ipod he shrugs it off, saying his is just fine. But birthdays are meant for getting stuff you don't need, right? So he is now the proud and very surprised owner of a new ipod nano. Shock and awe, baby, shock and awe! Score.

I love you, Nate! Happy (one day late) birthday!

Pray

{image from mycharmingkids.net}

Pray hard for baby, Stellan.

Dear Sister

{image vie someecards.com}

Today is my middle younger sister's 20th birthday. It seems crazy to me that she can be starting a whole decade already. Somehow 20 seems like a pretty darn big deal. What happened to that sweet little gap-toothed kid?

She called me yesterday, to see how my first day as an unemployed gal was going. Apparently she didn't get the family memo that my last day had been pushed out, but that's not the point. I got off the phone, marveling at what an incredible adult that kid has turned out to be. {I'm getting all misty-eyed just thinking about it.} She's beautiful and generous and pretty damn funny. She's just a cool person to be around. I am blessed to have her not only as a sister but now as a friend. Cliche? Yes. True? Absolutely.

Happy birthday, Amy Grace!

So, in honor of Amy's birthday (for those of you who know her in real life, of course), leave me a comment sharing your funniest or favorite memory of Amy. This will embarrass her big time and teach her to read her big sister's blog more than once a week....HA!

Happy birthday, Barbie!

Today she turns 50, but I swear she doesn't look a day over 25!

Say what you will about the unrealistic expectations set by her, ahem, assets....I loved Barbie as a little girl and I am none the worse for wear. I spent many blissful hours making up elaborate scenarios for my Barbies to act out. My most vivid Christmas memory is of the year my sister and I got the magnificent three story Barbie Dream House, complete with spiral staircase and elevator. My Barbie lived the glamorous life - a hunky GI Joe husband, a limo, a pool, a stable and the largest Barbie clothing collection known to mankind.

On second thought, maybe Nate does have Barbie to blame for my shopaholic ways....

Once upon a time

In a land not so far away (Michigan), many eons years ago, a beautiful baby girl was born. She grew up a good Catholic girl with long black hair who loved to ride horses. As soon as she was legal age graduated high school she moved to Florida where she dated a handsome young man named Harry and then married his best friend, Dave, instead. Two years later she gave birth to the most lovely little girl who ever lived. And because this little girl had turned out so beautiful and so perfect, she decided to have another one, and then another one and another one. The woman was the best mom in whole entire world and her fiyr lovely daughters grew up to be strong, intelligent, beautiful women just like their mommy.

Happy birthday to the best-whole-world mom - mine!

End of an Era

Sad day. Coach Fulmer just coached his last UT football game after 17 years as head coach. I don't care what anyone else says, I liked him and am sad to see him go.

Beloved

Today my mom had to put down Sammy, our 9-year-old Yorkie. He became ill suddenly over the last week or so and while surgery might have helped, he was so sick he might not have made it through. I am so sad that I wasn't there to be with him and with my mom. And I haven't seen him in months because I haven't been home. That is the hard part about being so far away. I am glad though that I always make a point of saying goodbye to each of the pets whenever I leave my parents' house. I know that may seem silly to some of you, but I was raised to think of pets as part of the family. And that is how I feel, like I've lost a family member. I wish I had been able to give him one more cuddle or one more hug. It makes me hold Lola and Oliver that much tighter tonight.
Sammy was always so happy to see me when I would visit. He'd come lumbering over, all wheezy from his allergies, and soak in the cuddles. He adored Nate too, and would sit for hours on the couch as long as Nate was scratching his belly. Nate is going to be very lonely in the Langer house without Sammy at his side!
I love you Sam-bone; you will be dearly missed.

Remembering Paul Newman

Was anyone else as sad as I was to wake up to the news of Paul Newman's death yesterday? Obviously I didn't personally know him but still I am truly saddened by his death. I felt the same way about Princess Diana and Ronald Reagan. Is that weird?

The world not only lost a brilliant actor but also an incredible philanthropist and humanitarian. He was also a race car driver, director, father of six and a loving husband of 50 years.

The world is just a little dimmer today without those sparkling baby blues.