Freckled Feet

Have I ever mentioned that my husband has a zany imagination? I mean off the wall, nutty stuff comes out of his head sometimes! During our dating years, we always spent the summers apart while I worked at a camp in Massachusetts and he went home to Ohio for various jobs. While separated the letters and phone calls would fly back and forth. But I loved the letters! So often they were silly drawings or tapes of him reading books to me or completely random letters filled with ridiculous things.

Occasionally I still get letters from him that bring out his silly side. But more often than not we are more serious now that we're parents and have the weight of responsibility on our shoulders.

But just recently, he has started to pass on his quirky imagination to our children. Every week or so, as we sit around the dinner table, he will begin a sentence. Perhaps something as simple as, "Billy went with his mom to the barber shop on Saturday. When they entered the shop, Billy was astonished to see ..." and then he'll look at the child to his right and let them fill in the blank. He plays the part of the narrator while we all take turns filling in the blanks with silly and often ridiculous phrases.

We laugh and giggle and snort and snicker as the story gets wilder and wilder. And before we are ready the story is done. But what I love is that my man has used his own funny imagination to teach our kids to use theirs all while having a fun family time.

Our latest story was about a Buckeye nut and a lonely letter in a mailbox. The letter had large freckled feet! Of all things. But, that's what my sweet girl came up with. She is her Daddy's girl. And now, whenever we need a laugh, we mention the freckled feet and the whole family bursts out laughing.

A good imagination is a sad thing to waste! If you've been blessed with one, use it!

A late night with a hot date!

It's hard to believe that it's almost been a month since my last post. I keep thinking about blogging, but there is just too much to write! I can't seem to get my mind to settle on any one thing.

So, I'll start out with a fun time I recently had with my beloved. After VBS finished (see future posts), I got really sick. Apparently I was run down - which really shouldn't surprise those of you who have seen how I tend to throw myself into projects. Anyway, I got sick just as my two older boys left for a week at Grandma's. That was Friday night. Finally on Wednesday, I had my first day without a fever. Little did I know that my sweet husband had planned a surprise date for us!

Our little ones were headed over to the other grandparents for a sleepover - which left Josh and I with actual date time on our hands! So, on Wednesday morning, I naturally posed the question, "What are we going to do tonight?" To which he replied, "Oh. You and the kids need to be ready at 2:15. We're dropping them off and going someplace special. Wear sneakers." Hmm. Cryptic message! I tried asking a zillion more questions to no avail. He was not budging and I was completely in the dark about our "special date".

So, at 2:15, we dropped off the kids and headed out of town. Except we didn't go the direction I expected. I thought perhaps we were going to play golf or disc golf. Or perhaps hiking. I was slightly concerned because after being sick for so long I had very little stamina and very little nourishment inside of me. Wearing sneakers made me fear that he had ambitious plans! But, as we drove east and south, I realized we were not going to any place I had imagined. And as we crossed the state line, I really began to wonder what was up.

Eventually I figured out that we were headed to Chicago. Wow! A really big date!!! But still, my sweet man would not tell me what the plans were. We arrived after about three hours in the car and rushed to Millenium Park. Once there, I found that we were just in time for the concert in the park. Now, my man knows that I grew up going to classical concerts and really miss them. I feel like I listen to lots of church music and lots of kid music, but rarely get to enjoy the classical music that is near and dear to my heart. So, this man who knows every little thing about me planned and schemed to bring me to a classical concert all the way in Chicago!

After sitting and enjoying the concert - did I mention that we unkowingly sat in donor seats and consequently had an EXCELLENT view - we decided to walk around the city a bit. Most shops were closing by that time, so we didn't do any shopping, but just walked around the city and talked. What a wonderful, unfettered few hours! Finally around 10pm we stopped to eat dinner. The food was okay, but the company was great.

Eventually we hopped back in the car and headed for home. Our drive took much longer than expected because of construction and we didn't get home until quarter to three in the morning! Good gracious! When was the last time I went on a date and didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning?!! I can't even remember.

So here's to my brilliant husband - who after 11 years of marriage can still surprise me and knock my socks off! Thanks, love!!