Freezing Birthday Weekend for the Oldest Member of Our Household

My husband is only 21 days older than I am, but he knows how I like to tease him for being older during those brief three weeks.  So today it begins again as today is his birthday!

I don't think he spent his birthday weekend quite like he could have hoped, though he loves spending time with his kids.  He and our boy went to a campground near the coast for the Y Guides Spring outing, and the weather turned bitter cold on Friday with lows in the 20s each night and highs in the 40s.  That makes for some rough unheated, uninsulated cabin camping.  Even so, they tried to enjoy all their outdoor activities.  Highlights for my son were the gnome hunt, collecting hundreds of fireballs, biking, and riding the zip line.  This zip line, however, runs over a river which was icy cold this weekend.  That brave little boy insisted that he and his dad both drop into the cold water from the zip line to earn a polar bear claw, so they experienced a degree of cold I have never known and hopefully never will.  The love a father has for his son is a beautiful thing as it drives a man to make great sacrifices for another, but I'm wondering if it doesn't make the man a little crazy too.  :-) Here are some pics from their frigid weekend.

I could not possibly recount all the ways my husband has sacrificed for our family, for he puts us before himself on a daily basis.  He does the same for others, and he is such a wonderful gift. (That makes gifts #1000, so I have now completed my 1000 gifts project, but may I never stop recounting all the blessings God places in our lives even though His presence alone should always be more than enough.) 

With those thoughts  in mind, I posted the following birthday wish to him on social media today.

When I first met this handsome guy, he was only going to be in town for two days before finishing his spring tour with the USNA glee club and then heading back to the USNA where he was a plebe. I didn't think I would ever see him again, so I asked him for a photo by which to remember him (no smart phones or selfies back then, kids), and he gave me this picture. Even though we rarely spoke over the next 8 years, I thanked God for him and prayed over him whenever I saw this senior photo which I kept on or in my desk. 

Now I don't need a photo by which to remember him, for we are one, and when he is not next to me, my thoughts are constantly with him. Today, he celebrates another birthday, and as I have done for the past 23 years and as his kids have done since they were old enough to pray, we are thanking God for the gift of this wonderful man. Happy Birthday!  (Read our full story here.)

"We always remember you when we pray and thank God for...you. When we pray to God our Father, we always thank him for the things you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. " (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

 My daughter was apparently very excited about his birthday.  Waking up to find professional looking signs designed and printed by my daughter to distribute around the neighborhood, school, church, and basically the entire town inviting people to our house for a surprise birthday party for her father in which there would be food, live music, and dancing on a date & time she chose was quite a surprise indeed. She even generously shared my personal email address under the RSVP. I do love her heart for hospitality, and she knows how much her mama enjoys having guests over, but even so, asking permission first is usually better than seeking forgiveness later. And while she is an extrovert who thinks the more the merrier, the birthday guest of honor may have a different preference, especially after spending the weekend in a tiny cabin surrounded by 16 guys.

Our daughter wanted to make her daddy a birthday cake, so I laid out a bundt cake pan and the dry ingredients on Friday night and went to bed.  She was baking when I got up Saturday morning, but we were surprised to see how small the cake was after baking.  When your daughter makes a lemon pound cake for her daddy, and it looks more like a 1/2 pound cake (or a doughnut), you start to wonder how much of the batter she ate in the process.

I think the recipe she ended up using called for a loaf pan instead. Oops!

We told him that she put a lot of effort into making sure the cake had 50% less fat, 50% less sugar, and 50% less calories (in other words, 50% less cake) per slice. lol

In addition to cake, he has been receiving gifts from family members throughout the month and lots of cards including one signed by all my students who think he is the best ever after all I've told them.  The girls gushed over how well they had heard he could sing and over his smooth dance moves.  One guy drives the exact same car my husband previously drove (silver, manual transmission, Acura TSX), so he mentioned his great taste in cars.  One student even called him a "stud", and most said they really wanted to meet him.  I loved their comments.  I hope my husband did too.

The boys didn't miss much around here while they were gone.  We spent hours cleaning milk my son must have spilled in the refrigerator that left a horrible stink. I literally worked from 12 noon until 3am on lesson plans while my daughter played, read, went door to door raising money for the Stop Hunger Now project, created more freaky images she will regret some day....

....and created psychedelic back handspring videos like this one.

Oh, and I did take a break on Friday night for a mother/daughter yoga party with my favorite girl.  If we ever get serious about our workouts, however, we cannot invite Muffin.  She tends to get in the way. :-)