Happy Birthday Momma and Daddy!

this weekend we went to the 'ham. my entire family lives in one place. i am really blessed by that. however, i am the only one who doesn't live there. anyway, this weekend we made the trip to celebrate 3 birthdays in 2 days.

my mom and dad's birthdays are exactly a week apart. it's kinda weird actually. all the married couples in my immediate family have birthdays that are within a month of each other...everyone accept david and me. so we usually do joint birthday parties. i won't tell how old my parents are. not that they would care but just in case. but its just fun to get together and do something for your parents. it wasn't fancy or outrageous. just some homemade bbq and some awesome sides with, of course, 2 birthday desserts. but it's just nice to let them know that you appreciate all that they do for you. not like a rum cake can adequately convey that, but you get my point. 

i've been pretty blessed in the parents department. birth and in-law. i love that i grew up in a house where kids weren't just to be seen but to be played with and talked to. i thank the Lord that my parents were not afraid to spank me and my siblings. i'm so glad that i know without the slightest shadow of a doubt that my parents LOVE me. i love that our family is so gloriously imperfect but that we wouldn't have it any other way. 

so dad, thanks for reading leather bound "whinnie the pooh" books to me and amassing a small library of dr. seuss for us. and for letting us play at your workbench. and for taking us to the zoo and mcdonald's - a lot. and for making sure we loved to travel and learn about the world outside our own. and mom, thanks for working so hard to give us everything we needed. and always being the best example of what it is to be a wife and a mother that puts her family first. 

the other birthday we got to celebrate was my grandaddy. this past tuesday he had his 87th birthday. i can't even imagine what that must be like. but he is one of the greatest men i've ever known. he is a man who was born to be outside, so growing up we were always taking rides on "big red" (the 4 wheeler) or going to the lake. i'll never forget the day i got stung by a bee and he took his tobacco out of his mouth and put it on my arm as i stood there, horrified, until the pain miraculously went away. apparently, i acted a lot like he did as a child - which i understand to mean i was a troublemaker. but i think that has always been our bond. anyway, he's a pretty cool guy. i wish you all could know him.