Happy Birthday, Kirby!

Today is my amazing wife's birthday. She's 25. She believes that your body shuts down after 25. I love her.

Kirby, no matter how dramatic life gets (jeans come to mind), I love the passion that comes along with your drama. You are passionate about Jesus...

about your husband...

about your son...

about your daughter...

about our families...

about your friends...

about discipling our home...

about Her Hands and discipling other women...

about saving us money...

about Round Top...

about SO many things. You put your whole self into everything you do and every person in your life. You convict me so often by your generosity, by the thoughtfulness of every gift and how you KNOW the people in your life. I'm learning from you.

I don't know how you manage to do all the things that you do in a normal day. After having the kids for a few hours or a day, I know what a feat it is when I come home to clean house or if anything else is done outside of you three surviving. It is so important to me that you are at home and you do it with such humility, grace and eagerness.

You're the best friend a person could have. And I know they'll be many who'll echo that on this post as well. You're an amazing helper and so good to your needy husband. I love confiding in you and depending on you. I love reading with you, jean-shopping with you, Wizard-of-Ozzing with you, Round Topping with you and doing all of life with you.

Don't even get me started on how beautiful you are! None compare, Kirby.

I love you. Happy Birthday!

What's been happening 'round these parts...

As far as Asher is concerned, this first picture pretty much explains it. This kid LOVES horses. And cows. And pretty much any other animal figure that he can line up...but his obsession all started with horses around September.

On Christmas morning, the first gift from his stocking was probably his favorite. A 6-pack of cows that cost $4.99. We could have stopped there and Asher would have thought it was the best
present ever
day EVER.

As soon as the cows were out of their package, he sprawled out on his belly and began to play-completely oblivious to the rest of the living room. Cousins, aunts, and uncles tore through their gifts and were already off to their respective corners of the house, before he even looked up to realize he was the only one left with a pile of unopened gifts and trash surrounding him.

If, Charlie and I were smart, we would have taken half of the gifts and saved them for his birthday to open. Grandparents (we're thankful, but you) REALLY overdo it...we knew that would be the case, so we only bought him two gifts: a toolbench and and a children's bible to use during family worship. (And we LOVE this...this was a recommendation from the Duty's...if you're looking for a children's story bible, this one is so neat because rather than just being "moral" it gives you the "big picture" of God's sovereign plan since creation.)

The following are a bunch (sorry, this is more for the grandparents...I know that a lot of them look the same, but they don't want to miss any move this precious boy makes!) of pictures over the last month of Asher playing with all his animals:

He's so serious when he lines them up...I'm predicting a perfectionist like his Daddy.

Pleased with his alignment.

Finally caught me taking pictures.

The funny thing about all the "line up" is how each horse comes out one at a time-usually from a room on the opposite side of the house. Asher will start with a pile of horses in his room, and bring a horse into Uncle Jo's (my brother lives with us) room, line him up, and then say, "One more," as he holds up a finger and runs back to his room to retreive the next horse. This process continues until each horse is perfectly placed in his spot...everytime.

He's so busy.

One morning I noticed that his nativties were having an "unsegregated" block party...you know, two Joseph's at one nativity, some "Little People" animals at a non-Little People stable...all the same, so perfectly lined up.

(This might be my FAVORITE.) Later that afternoon, I watched as, one by one, the horses found my vintage nativities.

Each horse on his own spiritual pilgrimage to pay their respect.

I love you, SweetBoy. And love how you love those animals of yours.

I hope it never stops.

(Disclaimer: Asher just received a whole lot of attention in this post, but this cutey girl has been busy doing her own tricks, too! I will update more on those soon; for now I will leave you with a few pictures.)