The Gift Giver

My husband is a fabulous gift-giver. This is one of my favorite things about him. It's also quite intimidating, when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries and Christmas and such. I always try to have a great idea, because I know that whatever he gets me is going to knock my socks off. From handwritten notes to flowers to the year that he "bought" a penguin (sponsored one in my name at the zoo--I absolutely LOVE penguins) to this year's surprise trip to FLORIDA (yes, a COMPLETE surprise--I didn't know about it until we pulled into the airport!), he amazes me over and over. But the best part is never the actual gift, no matter how great it is. The BEST part is always the look on his face. He is every bit as excited as I am, maybe more. He loves to give gifts.

And now... now, he has passed that along to one of our children.

Every day when the kids get off the bus, Lamb comes in first. We catch up a little, go over the papers in her backpack, get started on the snack... and then Monkey comes in. Always a few minutes behind. And always, ALWAYS bearing a gift. Sometimes it is a dandelion, sometimes a clover, sometimes a leaf, often it is a rock. But every single time, it is given with a look of complete and utter love. THAT is the gift.

My heart has been stolen, not by this rock, but by the hand holding it.

Looking up

Well, I think we all know that yesterday didn't start off too well.  It was one of my DS low points, and there were definitely some tears involved.

But what I didn't tell you is that yesterday wasn't just Assessment Day... It was also my birthday. What a way to kick off the day, eh?

But you know what?  There was nowhere to go but up... and it went up.  A few hours after the assessment, the kiddos and I had lunch with my parents and mother-in-law, where I got my first round of birthday presents.  My parents gave me money for a much-needed trip to Ann Taylor (Aahhh, Ann, my BFF... how I have missed you!), and my mother-in-law gave me this fantastic find...

 Can you believe it?!?  I cried.  She used some of my pictures, so those photos are actually from my trip.  This is just the COOLEST thing!

After our fabulous lunch (and ice cream!) we came back home for naps & some housework, but little did I know that Mr. Fantastic would pop in the door at 3:30 in the afternoon to snatch up the kids for a "Top Secret Mission"!  They took off, and I felt like the peace & quiet that ensued was quite possibly the best birthday present ever.  And that wasn't even my gift!!!  What more could I possibly need?!?

They were gone about an hour, and they came home carrying armloads of presents.  OK, Mr. Fantastic had an armload--each of the big kids was carrying one present.  But it was kind of an armload for them.

First I got a gift from Monkey.  Let me give you a little bit of background... Monkey got a Nerf dart gun for his birthday in February... then Lamb got one for her birthday in June.  Monkey then determined that his daddy needed one for Father's Day, which left me the only one who was unarmed--well, you know, the only one who is big enough to hold a dart gun.  So Monkey handed me his present, with a handmade card on the front, where Mr. Fantastic wrote the message that Monkey had wanted to say.  It said, "Dear Mommy, I'm sorry you don't have your own dart gun.  But open this present and you'll be surprised!"  Can you guess what I got?!?  :-)  But here's the best part: My gun holds 10 darts, and all of theirs only hold 6, so while they're reloading I can take them all down.  Oh yeah, baby.

Then I got my present from Mr. Fantastic--a window box to attach to our deck!  And Roo got me 4 different herbs to plant in it.  I am SO. DARN. EXCITED about this--it is exactly what I asked for.  And if you knew Mr. Fantastic, you'd know that this is in itself a miracle--normally the thing I ask for is the one thing that he WON'T buy for me, because he wants me to be surprised.  :-)  I love that man.  And I am SO VERY HAPPY to have gotten exactly what I wanted this year.  :-)

But it wasn't over yet.  I still had a present from Miss Lamb.  I opened it up... and it was a plate.  But not just any plate.  It was THE plate.  You know, the collectible plate that my birth mom had given my parents and my mom had given me?  The one that I dropped and broke as soon as I brought it home?  Yep, that one!  No, it wasn't the broken one--Mr. Fantastic must have found it online somewhere.  (At least, I'm assuming that it was him and not my 6-year-old... ;-) )  I thought my tears were done for the day, but no--that plate and the love and effort that went into finding it (again)... oh my goodness.  Have I mentioned that I love that man?  Oh, and here's my plate...

And just to top off my wonderful birthday, we piled into the van and went to a local nature preserve and then out to dinner.  Yes, you read that right--I didn't even have to cook!  ;-)

OK, and I know you're probably tired of hearing me sing the praises of Facebook (If you're not, talk to my husband--he definitely is!), but I also got almost 100 birthday messages/posts on Facebook, and it made me feel so darn good!

So yeah, the day got off to a rough start.  But it came to a wonderful conclusion.  Absolutely wonderful.

By the way, just a couple of orders of business... I am still working my way through my FIA goals, although this week has seen a few changes.  I'll write more about it soon.  And with all that's been going on here, I have completely forgotten to post the next installment(s) of my adoption story!  I'm so sorry.  Next Wednesday.  I promise.

That's all for now.  It's time for me to snuggle up my Monkey and watch a little "Bolt" before bedtime.