The Big 3-0

So this is quite a bit late, but James's birthday was on Friday. We were lucky enough to have James's mom, Barbara, and brother, John, with us. We did a lot of birthday things, but it was spread out over a few days. We have kind of a birthday tradition of going to whatever Harry Potter movie is coming out around James's birthday, so we got to do that this year-- Barbara watched the boys (thank you, thank you!), and what a fabulous movie it was. We had cake and ice cream with some of James's cousins in the area the night before his birthday. And on his birthday, he went to a lawyer lunch with his mom at which a good friend of hers from law school was the speaker. Then we got Chinese takeout for dinner, and I made shortbread with raspberries and cream for a tasty little dessert. The raspberries are from our own garden-- though we didn't plant them, we sure love them. It was probably a bit of an anticlimactic 30th birthday, but James is a great sport and took it all very gracefully.

Let me count the ways that I love and appreciate James.
#1 He is doing the dishes and vacuuming as I write this.
#2 He loves cooking, and he is lot more adventurous (and successful) than I am.
#3 He is an impeccably good and honorable man with a huge heart.
#4 He is a genius and keeps me wanting to know and understand more about everything.
#5 He never complains when the house is a mess, when I am a mess, or when dinner is slow or a mess.
#6 I am totally confident in his love for me.
#7 He loves our boys fiercely-- ask them, he can be fierce.
#8 His huge smile still charms me every day.
#9 His faith is strong and helps mine along when I need it.
#10 And millions more....

I am lucky to have him, and I knew when I saw his baby pictures that I wanted my baby boys to look just like him. Here's to the next thirty years, sweetie.