Love is a verb; crayon edition

I've said for years, "Love is a verb." Love is an action word. So, today's example comes from my dear friend, Courtney. This lady works SO hard as full time single mother that's ALSO going to school as well as volunteering for our Drug Court program. She is something. So, she sent me a text today asking me if my kids liked to color. Of course they do! Then she sent me these pictures:






Yes, folks....the one day off my sweet friend has...she spent making heart-shaped crayons for my kids!
Seriously?! Yes. I couldn't make this up! I'm humbled by the friendships that God has hand-picked from his angel tree & placed into my life.
Love is indeed a verb----as so colorfully demonstrated by my dear friend, Courtney.

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Love us a verb...Christmas lights

Love is a Verb----Christmas lights.  We have a tall house---a house with tall peaks.  Last year we opted out of decorating the roof line as we had a one year old and a 3 year old.  This year, every time we passed a house in Hollytree that had the roof lined with icicle lights, Noah said, "I wish I had lights like that on our house."  So, without mentioning it to me...my sweet husband worked extra hard to cram as many patients into his day each day this week...so that he could have 1/2 a day off today...so he could rent a ladder and line the treacherous rooftop with icicle lights.  He's a good man.




You have to look hard in some of the pictures to find Michael...kinda like Where's Waldo?  But if you look, you can spot him!




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Another message about my amazing mother!

Today was a ROUGH day for me. The boys have been getting up at 4:20 am since the time change, which has been a beating. I've been up late trying to catch up on reports for court, my neck is...literally a pain in the neck, and our house Jackson's post-birthday party/Halloween clean-up combined with pre-Christmas decorating....well, it looks like a nightmare! So, today, I was initially less-than thrilled to lead my cancer support group.  Initially.  God is something wonderful.  We ended up having a small group of some of my favorite folks...people that are authentic and real...and we talked about those pivotal people in our lives...as WELL as TELLING those pivotal people the IMPACT they've had on our lives.  It's one thing to think it...but another thing to take the effort to CONNECT with someone, and truly verbalize how the person has impacted your life.  It was a very meaningful group.  After leading another therapy group this evening, coming home to put Noah to bed, and running a few on the treadmill, I came downstairs to check my email.  I received another email from one of my former peers from Commerce, Texas...who had the benefit of receiving my mother's grace.  I received this message THE DAY that I spoke with my cancer support group about the importance of telling others' about the impact they've had on your life.

"I am truly thankful for your mom teaching me how to show patience and care for all students in the classroom. She was only a longtime sub when Susie and I were in the third grade, and I wish I could tell her now, but telling you that I get to give my students what she gave me/us will keep her memory strong in my heart. Thanks for being on Facebook, and thanks for friending me."

Again, just another example of God's grace exemplified by my mother's actions.
Love is a verb.

Donuts with Dad

Donuts with DAD!  I don't think my boys could have a better Daddy! Michael does everything from make the lunches, to get the boys ready for school, to put them to bed at night. He knows that Love is a Verb and that his PRESENCE is the biggest PRESENT our boys could ever receive.  Love, Love, LOVE that this incredible man is the father to my precious boys.  They are indeed blessed.  We all are.

Love is a verb.

While having a particularly tough week, I came home to find that Michael brought me 100 white Roses.  It's not our anniversary.  It's not my birthday.  He just thought of me and wanted to do something nice.  Love is a verb.  I hope one day that Noah & Jackson realize how important it is to CHOOSE to show someone you love every day.  It doesn't have to be 100 roses.  It could be a call, a hug, a soft shoulder to cry on.  But relationships are like gardens.  You get out of them what you put into them. 

Noah's Super 4th Slide Surprise

Michael spent hours and hours at night putting together a new slide for Noah's play set.  We surprised him with it today.  He loved his new super slide! It was this time last year that Michael spent many cold, rainy nights out in the dark...putting this thing together for Noah's 3rd birthday! Now it's almost his 4th birthday, and he's adding on!

Love is a VERB! What a good Daddy!

My AMAZING Michael

 I just have to say a few words about my amazing husband, Michael. I often say, "Love is a verb."  Well, let me just give you a few examples.  He wore pajama pants to the Polar Express! (Clearly not his desire, but the rest of us were doing it, so he gave in and had spirit!) How many non-outgoing men would do that? That rocked! Love is a verb, indeed.

Christmas Eve 2011-
I got into a baking frenzy, as I had  chose  to make homemade sugar-cookie dough for Christmas.  This is a big, long process in case you didn't know.  He jumped right in and started helping mix the ingredients.  He even got Noah into the fun. Love is a verb!  Then there were mashed potatoes to make. NOT the box kind. My mashed potatoes are legendary! We are talking 3 sticks of butter, here! Without asking or being told, he peeled and boiled the potatoes so that I could be busy with our other Christmas preparations. (Plus Jackson is a "Mama, hold me all the time" baby, so when he's up I'm minimally able to do anything like that!) Love is a verb!
Christmas Eve night--He stopped by the Athens gas station to pick up some of that Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade after he saw how much I liked it.  Love is a verb. This next one is a big one---one that I didn't even KNOW about until Christmas day---He opened and assembeled almost all the boys' new toys and then (somehow!) placed them neatly back in their original container so that when the boys opend their presents...there was NO NEED for batteries...or scissors...and no injury from trying to open those deadly child-proof toy containers!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!? Yep. LOVE IS A VERB.   He stayed up until 3 am on Christmas Eve, rather Christmas Day, so that his presents to ME were all wrapped! I told him NOT to bother, that I didn't care one bit.  But he wanted it to be special. And it WAS! Love is a VERB!
Then on Christmas Day, I opened up a brand new, AMAZING Canon Rebel camera...THE ONE that I've been wanting for years...and constantly have complained about not having...as a total surprise. Now I'm not missing ANY moments, because that Canon is the bomb-diggity!!! The point is...he shows us he loves us not just with words but with his actions, as a verb is an action word.
LOVE IS A VERB.
Thank you, dear Michael, for being an amazing husband and father. I love you. Our boys love you. You bless our family.

Love is a verb...PVC pipe

So, poor Michael!! I get ideas in my head & he ends up doing things like this on a Friday night!!! I wanted a better backdrop for pictures at Jackson's 1st birthday party, so I found a site that showed how to make one for $20 using PVC pipe! Michael put it together in 45 minutes! It's not totally straight or set up like it will be, but you get the basic premise. Trust me. It'll work beautifully! Jackson, do you see all your daddy does to show you he loves you?!?









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