Bryan's REAL Birthday

The last post was what Bryan thought was his birthday celebration. On his real birthday, today, he got to go to church, lunch, and a movie with "the guys". All the while, "the girls" were rushing to get his birthday party set up. We had family and friends come to surprise Bryan and celebrate his birthday and getting his Masters Degree. It was such a great day.

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

We had friends come from out of town to celebrate Bryan's 26th birthday with us. Evan was so excited to have a party and help make Daddy's cake. He was so excited that he helped stir the batter and snuck a taste. He proceeded to stand on the step ladder and talk about cake, making cake, eating cake, etc. etc. etc. the ENTIRE time it baked. What a good helper!

My sweet helper

Blowing out candles

Evan finally eating cake. He also woke up that night crying for me and when I checked on him near midnight, he was asking for cake. LOL.

The men in my life ;)

We're in WHAT month?

Am I the only one wondering where this year has gone???

I can't believe that we are going into the last week of September. Fall is here and soon the weather will be changing. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are just around the corner too. I get excited at the thought of all we have going on this Holiday season. I'm ready to go to the pumpkin patch, dress Evan for Halloween, have Bryan's mom visit for 10 days at the end of October, celebrate all we have to be thankful for with my HUGE family in November, and then take our family vacation to Disneyland in December. It's going to be a blast because Bryan's entire family is going, even Bryan's sister and her family are coming to spend Christmas and New Year's in California. It will be Evan's first time to Disneyland and he is currently in love with "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and all of the characters.

I erased the bare dry erase board calendar for the rest of Septemeber and began filling it with an overwhelming amount of soccer games, football games, baby and bridal showers, candle parties, birthdays, weekend dates, babysitting days, Mom's arrival, Halloween, and much more for October. I love seeing our schedule so full of family events. I hope to keep up in pictures, as I have been neglecting that as of late.

Handy Helper

Evan is training to be the most helpful child ever I think. As I made my bed and headed to the kitchen to see what needed to be done next, I heard the dishwasher start. I automatically assumed Evan had touched it (like he's been asked not to numerous times), but today it went further... I walked in to him returning the dishwasher detergent in the cabinet under the sink. I immediately asked, "Did you put soap in there?". His answer was "Yeah", proud of himself of course. So I opened it to see where the soap had been put. And to my surprise, right where it needed to go, lid closed, and turned on to be washed. Funniest thing is, it needed to be done! I tried to convince him that only Mommy and Daddy should touch that, without scaring him out of helping of course!

He's my dusting and vacuuming assistant, my silverware put-awayer, trashman, and much more. I love that he has a heart to serve. One of my other favorites is when I go to step out of the shower and he insists on getting me a towel. He's just sweet and I LOVE IT!!!

Workout or Blackout?

I got up at 5:40am and headed to the gym, a new thing for me that I started last week. I've always shyed away from mornings at the gym, opting for lunchtime most commonly... but my sister can only go at that time, and I'd much rather go and have somebody to talk to. So off we went this morning, working out, feeling good, enjoying the cooler weather when suddenly the place goes black. The power struggles to come back on, then blackness again. A second and third time it flickers, then finally resigns. But we, having woken up at 5:40, were determined to finish... and we did!! No music, no lights, no little "voice" telling us when to move to the next machine. We worked by the little bit of sunlight starting to peak out behind the mountain range, and I felt accomplished. We could have easily given up and headed home to climb back in bed, but we finished! And on top of that, I pulled in to the new (empty) business park down our street, parked, and walked for another 30 minutes. It was the perfect morning to walk because the sun was just peaking over the mountains, the air was cool, and it was quiet. I found myself praying out loud and walking further than I normally would. What a perfect day to workout!

ABC's of being a Help Meet

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him... And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam... and he took one of his ribs... And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man" (Genesis 2:28, 21-22).

I've been re-reading "Created To Be His Help Meet", by Debi Pearl, and found this particular list to be a great reminder of what it is that we as Christian wives can do to be the perfect Help Meet to our husbands. I just wanted to share this with my female pals as something to reflect upon.

A - Admit when you are wrong
B - Be positive
C - Cuddle
D - Do it his way
E - Encourage him
F - Fix his breakfast
G - Give back rubs
H - Hug often
I - "I love you" should be said many times a day
J - Joke around in a playful manner
K - Know his needs
L - Listen to him
M - Manage your home well
N - Never hold grudges
O - Open your eyes in the morning and smile
P - Pray for him
Q - Quit nagging him
R - Reminisce about good times
S - Show respect and honor
T - Trust, and earn his trust
U - Understand his needs for reverence
V - Vulnerability is a feminine trait, cultivate it
W - Wink at him
X - X is for private times
Y - Yearn to please him
Z - Zealously guard him with your love