I learned really early in our marriage that if there was something I would really like to have on my birthday (or Christmas, or any other holiday), I just needed to tell him straight up.
At about year three a friend said something that changed my life in the area of communication in marriage. She said, "Anything you'd like him to know, just open you're mouth and tell him."
It sounds so obvious, but for some reason it revolutionized my marriage.
And now, my man probably knows way more about what's going on in my head than he ever really needed to know because I tell him EVERYTHING, including what I would like to have on my birthday. He doesn't have to guess and I never feel disappointed, so it works out great for both of us.
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When June hit and the rain finally started to slow down around here, I knew exactly what I had in mind for a sweet birthday treat and I told my Joey exactly what I was hoping for.
There's a small "forest" on the north side of the farmhouse that the kids and I cleaned out last fall and I've been dreaming of a picnic table and bulb lights ever since.
We've been looking on craigslist for several weeks but the picnic tables that were listed were small and way to expensive. Our family is big and if we want friends to be able to join we need a big-ole-table.
So he built me one from the last few pieces of old barn wood from the shed out in our field.
It took four men and a trailer to get it up the hill, but now, I have a ten foot, 400lb picnic table in my forest. And last Thursday when I came home from a night out with some friends, my Joey had hooked up some bulb lights in the trees and it's now one of my absolute favorite places to hang out on the farm. :)
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And although there are many things that I've learned to talk with the Cowboy about, there are equally as many times when I've learned to just let the Lord do His thing in our days. We didn't really have any plans for this years birthday, and yet it turned out to be one of the sweetest days.
I woke up on Saturday a bit tired from delivering a goat the night before. But Saturday morning was glorious and the Cowboy and I sat on the front porch with my chai tea latte and his coffee and watched the little boys play in the dirt.
I did laundry and listened to my girls play with their giant stuffed animals that they got free at a garage sale this weekend. Solomon did his thing and hung out in the cabinet in the living room__ one of his favorite places.
We went to a friend's birthday party and came home and I took a long nap.
When I woke up, I walked out the front door and my sweet little girls started singing Happy Birthday. They had built me a "beach" in the front yard. Truly the best gift ever!
The Cowboy had asked my dad to watch the kids and that night he took me out to dinner just the two of us. And when we got home we have ice cream cones together on the front porch. The littlest one wore most of his ice cream and I had to throw him in the bath when he was done.
We got the kids to bed and watched the sunset without exchanging many words.
The best part about being married for fifteen years is that although we have learned a few things along the way, there are still a million more things to learn.