Wow. What a month.
Yesterday I walked back in to my office for the first time since Dec. 11. Usually I dread going back to the office after a long break, but yesterday it was quite refreshing to sit at my desk, go through the mail, check voicemail, and then get to the business at hand. (Which included calls concerning a fallen tree on the property, a leaky gas line on the property, and a burst pipe in the rental house.)
I never intended to be out of the office for a whole month, but our holiday season was quite crazy. I traveled to Houston for a conference and returned to an overtired wife and mother-in-law due to another double-ear infection in Ezra. The next week Corrie's dad joined us, Ezra still wasn't sleeping at night, and on Dec. 23, he had tubes put in. The day after Christmas, Corrie's parents left. On Dec. 27, I preached at our church, and the bronchitis Corrie had been battling got so bad she could hardly move for two days. And Isaiah had rotovirus, which meant a lot of....well, you don't need to know that. Needless to say, I was at home during this time taking care of the boys and Corrie.
Finally, on New Year's Eve, Corrie was well enough for us to travel north so we could spend time with her family and my family. We were gone 10 days, had 2 more Christmases, 3 birthday parties, 2 dinosaur birthday cakes, and maybe 1 good night's sleep.
Now we're home and trying to find the routine again. We love our families and we're thankful for their hospitality. We're also thankful to be part of a university community so that we can take the time to visit them during the holidays. BUT, it sure is nice to be home. Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy for a while, and Corrie can find the rhythm of work she needs to finish her comps.
And in case you were wondering, we're not planning any more trips right now. If you'd like to see us, you're welcome to come on down!
Happy Birthday Corrie!!
In honor of Corrie's 30th birthday, I would like to share with you some things you may or may not know about her. I would like there to be 30 of them, but I don't know if I can come up with that many, so I am asking the fathertide faithful to also chip in. I will get us started with the top 15, and if you would like to add something, please feel free to do so through the comments section.
Rules of engagement: Please only post humorous, quirky or memorable things. Please don't post private or embarrassing things. Our goal is to celebrate Corrie, not humiliate her.
15. Corrie once let me cut her hair in college. She has not let me since.
14. Corrie is named after Corrie ten Boom.
13. Corrie made herself like black olives. (I don't know why.)
12. Corrie used to prank call my dorm room in college. (Though she was encouraged strongly by someone who will remain nameless. Right, Gigi?)
11. Corrie liked me from the moment she met me.
10. Corrie sent me a Chinese Happy Meal box while she was living in China.
9. Corrie has a "Harry Potter" scar over her left eye. It turns red when she gets upset or has an allergic reaction. (Or when Voldemort is close by.)
8. Corrie does not believe you should have to pay to get your Master's degree or PhD.
7. Corrie likes to cuddle for 60 seconds before going to sleep at night.
6. Corrie has never read a Jane Austen book all the way through.
5. Corrie is one of the most compassionate people I know.
4. Corrie is awesome at delivering babies.
3. Corrie is the best mom any two boys could ask for.
2. Corrie is the best wife I could ever hope for.
1. Corrie has been my best friend for over 8 years...and she still is!
If you haven't seen Corrie's post from Friday, I encourage you to read that before reading this.
So, Corrie and I officially began our relationship on February 13, 2001. Since then we have taken the occasion to always beat the Valentine's Day rush and celebrate our dating anniversary every year. I won't go in to the full details of how this all went down, but I will say it took place right after supper time that evening.
When I got back to my room that night, I hit me that the next day was Valentine's Day. But what do you get someone you've been dating less than a day?
Well, I thought at least a card would be a good idea so I drove up Harrodsburg Road to the Hallmark store. I looked for the "Happy Valentine's Day to someone I've been dating less than 24 hours" section, and found the perfect card (not too mushy, no mention of "love", and blank on the inside). I then had a thought about what I could give her as a present.
So I went to the Kroger next door to Hallmark, and bought a bunch of bananas.
You see, by this time in the semester, we had been hanging out quite a bit on campus. In fact, we ate lunch together (with other friends) almost every day. And almost every day, I would get a banana as I went through the line in the cafeteria. Now, I like my bananas a certain way - no green on them whatsoever, and just the faintest spots of brown beginning to appear. A banana like this is sweet, soft, and has minimal bad spots.
I got Corrie bananas because I thought of her as being sweet with minimal bad spots...
Just kidding.
Actually, I got her bananas because she would steal my banana off my plate and eat it almost every day. Really. Just ask her. And I don't like to share my food, so I got her bananas for Valentine's Day hoping she would stop stealing mine.
And that's the rest of the story.
