30 years and counting . . .

Today is Ryan's 30th birthday!!! To honor and celebrate him on this day, I wanted to share how special and unique Ryan is. Here are thirty things that describe Ryan which you may or may not know about him! I could have easily done more. I'm crazy about this man and am blessed beyond any list I could come up with to be his life partner.

Ryan is a(n) . . .

disciple of Jesus Christ . . .

faithful groom . . .
intentional father . . .

expert napper . . .

humble leader for his family . . .

loving son . . .

committed to a life of health and exercise . . .

loyal friend . . .

Thai food eater . . .

admirer of the outdoors . . .

date-night designer . . .

fantasy football player . . .

bus crash survivor . . .

from the beginning, a patient husband (with a wife who thinks she always knows best!) . . .

coffee lover . . .

stud of a son-in-law . . .

good dresser . . . I mean, how handsome does he look in that suit?!

seasoned traveler (in Laos) and lover of all nations . . .

collector of music . . .

master negotiator . . . (bargaining for phones in China)

law student . . .

carrot cake consumer . . .

confident enough to laugh at himself . . .

sports fan . . .

risk taker . . .

book zealot . . .

passionate person (not just about his wife!) . . .

concerned for those without a voice . . .

thinker . . .

super hot guy . . .

I love you, Ryan. Happy Birthday!

Fun from the week

95% of Rooke's wardrobe comes from either a grandparent or a hand-me-down. Rooke was super excited about these new frog boots that came from our buddy, Elijah. So excited, in fact, he insisted he wear them first thing in the morning!

I love morning cuddles with our son. He still loves reading books with us and, most mornings, will ask to read after we finish breakfast. It's not uncommon for our snuggle-reading to last thirty minutes!

Friday morning, Rooke and I piled into Sarah's van with her kids and we drove thirty minutes for some serious farm fun! Here are the kids, showing off their boots (and enthusiasm), ready to go!

Our group digging up potatoes. It's very rewarding to pull your dinner from the ground with your own hands.

Rooke found a potato that was almost too heavy for him to carry to the bucket!

Rooke knows that farmers need a good nutritious snack after digging up so many vegetables.

The Boy Can Eat!

Rooke loves to eat. That's all there is to it! Tonight we had turkey meatloaf for dinner. He had finished what was on his plate and said, "More meatloafer, please!" Crack me up!

This first video is from Texas: enjoying watermelon and Nana's patio - a perfect combination!

And this video is a special shout-out to Big Daddy. My dad makes killer enchiladas. I've never known anyone who didn't love them! We documented Rooke's first time experiencing this family-famous-food.

And finally, having nothing to do with my son's ability to chow down, I wanted to share some pictures from a recent baby shower! My friend, Sarah, (who is now my neighbor!) and I are both having girls about two months apart. Another friend in our community group hosted a shower/tea for the ladies in the group to honor both of us. Her efforts were an incredible display of creativity, thoughtfulness, and fun. Thank you, Lauren!
This was at the front door as you walked in . . .

Have you ever seen a table for tea set so beautifully?!

Most of the girls from our group . . . I had a fantastic time spending the afternoon with them!

Last of Texas

Visiting the fire station was on Nana's "things to do with Rooke" list and after several visits, on the last day, the station was open!

Rooke loved sitting in the driver's seat and kept asking us to close the door so he could "push the buttons". Um, no.

We met my dear friend, Alora, and her three boys at a park.

Rooke liked having some other kids to play with.

We loved Nana's back patio! Most mornings, Rooke was ready to play after breakfast before I could get him out of his pajamas!

Mmmmm . . . watermelon! Yes, it was just the three of us who produced that large plate of rinds!

One last trip to the park . . .

Thank you, sweet Nana, for a wonderful trip! The time spent with you couldn't have been better.