“Buy all da thiiiiiinnnngggsss!”

We’ve officially entered the happy stage of gift registering. Trust me, it’s been an adventure because, as we all know, Josh is a man and a gun, is a gun. Even if the only thing he’s shooting is various domestic items that he couldn’t care less about.

The first place we went was Target on a random Tuesday night at about 9 o’clock. For some reason it was the perfect ending to a busy, tiring, emotional day for both of us.  At some point Josh started using this voice, I can’t do it justice here… I guess it’d be like the voice you hear if you read something in that  “chiller” font in Microsoft Word…anyway, as we were filling out the initial info, there is a spot to leave a message for whoever looks at your registry. Josh typed the following, “Buy all the toyssss!” and said it in that crazy voice, which made me laugh A LOT. As we went around, he started repeating the things I mentioned in that voice and when I said something about curtain rods, he did a move straight out of  cops to “shoot” one.

Then there was the mask. He thought it would be hilarious to put it on our registry and say it was “for the honeymoon.” I am greatly disturbed by that.

The next one we did was Bed, Bath & Beyond on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  Josh was extremely trigger happy. I didn’t like having him walk behind me because I would hear the little “beep” and turn around and have to guess what on earth he just put on the list. Not to mention that our little gun thing kept breaking. First, the batteries died. Then, we tried to scan something and it froze up. Then the batteries died again. Then it wouldn’t scan again. While waiting for our person to go and get yet another gun, we sat down in some of the patio furniture at the front of the store and, no joke, I started crying! I really don’t know why, I think the overall emotion of planning a life together just hit me. Poor sweet Josh just looked at me with that “She’s crying and smiling and we’re in public so I’m going to make sure everything is ok but I am so unbelievably confused right now” look. I am going to assume that is the first of several random tearfests I will have over wedding stuff this spring.

The List

Josh here, I know, weird right?  If you read THIS post and were wondering, yes, my hair is growing back at a rapid pace and I will not be bald for the wedding.

Now on to what I really want to write about.  For the past two years I have barraged my friend Steve on his birthday with text messages.  When he turned 31 two years ago, I sent him “31 things I love about Steve” and because he’s a close friend and someone that I really respect, I was able to come up with the list without too much of a problem.  This year, I sent him “32 things you missed while you were in Iraq”, which may or may not have been the funniest thing he’s ever read.  Jess decided that I wasn’t the only person allowed to write birthday lists, so for my birthday last week, she sent me “24 things she loves about me”.  Needless to say, I was extremely honored by the list that she put together and I asked her permission to share them here. (These are written in her words)

24. Your mad rap skills

23. Your carefree singing

22. The way you can talk through problems with me

21. The fact that you like to read as much as I do

20. Your seemingly endless ability to be cute and romantic

19. The way your arms feel holding me close 

18. Your vast musical knowledge, you keep me stocked with “soon to be awesome” bands

17. Your God given wisdom

16. The way you smile when you look at me

15. This may seem silly but I love the fact that you dress well 🙂

14. The way you always step up and take responsibility

13. You’re my protector, my fighter, my guard

12. The way you always point me to Jesus, even if it takes a while to sink in

11. Your selflessness

10. Your clear faith in God’s provision

9.  I love your stories, especially the funny ones

8.  I think your blue eyes are pretty 🙂

7.  Your discipline in reading the Bible encourages me to pursue God

6.  You view stewardship very seriously

5.  You help me laugh at myself

4.  I love that you are outgoing and can carry a conversation with anybody

3.  Our thought provoking conversations and the fact that you don’t speak rashly

2.  Your crazy aptitude for constantly building me up, encouraging me and making me feel beautiful

1.  The number one reason I love you is because you love me and show me what it means to be loved

 

Isn’t she awesome!!!