I woke up on a Wednesday to thirty-three silly kisses from that Cowboy that I love.
Half asleep, my cheeks hurt from smiling too deep.
My eyes were still shut when he whispered it into my ear,
"Happy Birthday My Love...
I'll see you tonight."
Then he slipped out the door.
I spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing, doing exactly what this worn out Mama needed to do.
The three oldest treasures spent the morning at VBS, so the Charmer and I threw in a load of laundry and then found ourselves giggling on the living room floor about the kinds of things that Charmers find funny...
Things like, Mama tickling tummies to long, or the silly, slightly-disturbed face that a Mama makes when changing a stinky diaper.
All those giggles must have worn the Charmer out cuz he took a four hour nap for his Mama on her birthday...
Happy birthday to me! :)
Afternoon rolled around and the Cowboy came home and I had on my dress...
the one the Cowboy had bought me to wear on our date.
I tried to be brave and wear some high heels and hoop earrings, two things this lovely little farm gal rarely ever wears.(Thanks to that sweet H__ the kind friend who took this Mama shopping and encouraged her to be brave.)
WE had dinner far from home, and went to this lovely place, where we got a few lovely things for the farmhouse. (Thanks to my parents and his!)
We don't always chat long, but on that night we did.
My Jesus used my Cowboy to encourage my heart in so many areas that I am feeling discouraged about. He gave me specifics on how I can love on our oldest son better. He reminded me that change is slow but God is good. He spoke love and truth and grace right into the places that I needed them most.
The Cowboy gave gifts on my birthday...
Two rocking chairs that I love.
A Cowboy card that made me laugh.
Dinner for two that I savored.
But my favorite gifts of the day
were,
his words,
his touch,
& his time.
Three things that never cease to pour life into me.
I love that about marriage... about our marriage.
The way He can use us to build each other up.
My man is in the process of possibly doing something new.
Part of the process involved me being interviewed by a complete stranger about my Joey.
I had promised my Joey that I would do my absolute best to not cry in front of this stranger... not that there is anything wrong with crying, but I wanted to be as mature and professional as possible with this person.
I was doing a great job at maintaining my composure until the man asked me what my husband's strengths were. And as word after word came to mind, tears just started streaming down my face....
"Honorable, trustworthy, steadfast, safe, kind- yet firm, confident-yet humble, wise, compassionate, hard-working, faithful, discerning, self-controlled, an incredible father,....
"Sir," I said, "In all honesty, I just have no idea how I ended up living this life with such an amazing man."
Then I apologized profusely for falling apart.
The stranger smiled and got up from behind the desk to grab me a tissue.
"Ma'am, don't worry. You're just confirming what every other person that we've talked to about your husband has already said. You've got a good man on your hands."
And he's right. I do have a good man on my hands.
The Cowboy and I are far from perfect. This heat wave we're having here on the farm has made me a total grouch. We both get tired, sometimes annoyed. Our words can be short, our attitudes far from being like Christs'.
But our marriage is real.
And through the happy and the sad, the good and the yucky,
I can still always come back to the things that are amazing about the man that I get to call my own.
As I lied there in our bed on that Wednesday night in June, lied there right next to the Cowboy,
he said it half asleep,
"I love you."
And I believed him
with my whole heart.
