Yesterday while I was in the shower Milo called out, "Mommy, look what I have!!"

Hearing that is always kinda scary with that boy.

I pulled back the curtain and saw my contact on his sticky little finger.

And then me..."Jeeeeeefff...Help!!!"

You patiently explained to him why you don't take Mommy's contacts out of their case and made sure they were safe again.

It made me think about all the times in my life you have come to my rescue.  Thank you for fixing the everyday things that go wrong.

You encourage me to 

     rinse out cans and recycle them

     pick up other people's litter in public places

     make new, creative things out of our trash

You bring out the earth friendliness in me.

Three separate times I have stood at the entrance to our garage and just stared at the organized space.  I am pretty sure there is nothing sexier than a man cleaning his garage.

I never want to order Pad Thai from a restaurant again.  
Thank you for the delicious lunch yesterday.

Kurtzie Boy, Before I met you I never giggled at the word, DUTY.  

You sure do enrich my life.

I think playing basketball at the gym with whoever may be around is an extremely brave and strong thing to do.  You are no wuss.

*wuss according to Urban Dictionary:

A person who is physically weak and ineffectual. Often a male person with low courage factor.

A huge chunk of our day was spent on the floor of the boys' bedroom putting together a Lego castle.  I love how we were putting together these old school Legos with the use of your ipad.  I was your awesome assistant who dug for 3x6's and tall 2x8's.  It's funny how it doesn't matter what the task is, I always want to be on your team.  Even more funny was how motivated I was when you said, "If you find the flat 2x4 with the hinge you will be my superhero."  I dug through a million pieces of plastic like a crazy lady just to be your superhero. I never found it, but I'm pretty sure you like me anyway.

I'm feeling pretty lucky that one of your main purposes in life is entertaining me.  Thank you for knowing exactly how much to tilt your head to make this picture so hilarious to me.

Husband, I like it when you, me, and Adam Levine harmonize together.  Maybe we could work on some choreography and be his back-up singers someday.

When we are all together I must say, "Follow Daddy!" a million times.

Today when I said it, I realized that I mean it.

Really, Kurtz boys, follow daddy.  He will always try to lead you to what is right and true.

You are an amazing father.  Keep leading us because we will definitely follow.

Happy Father's Day!

Last night we celebrated your graduation at a beautiful vineyard.

I looked around, so grateful for the people that surrounded you in this Master's Challenge.  You found some very fun, supportive, quality people to work alongside.

The thing is, wherever you are, people are drawn to you.  You don't discriminate with friends.  Age, personality, size, background...none of it matters to you.  You take time to get to know people, scouting out their best traits.

With you by my side, it's easier to remember that relationships and community are what make life rich.

Our family is so much happier with you around.  Even though this summer comes with a whole load of stress, we are lucky we all get to be together, making memories that can only happen at this stage of life.

My life has already become easier.  This week, I was able to:

- go on a midday run with a friend
- take a family trip to Ikea
- play Bunco for a great cause
- greet my brother at the airport
- plan out some meals and grocery shop ALONE
- stay up late with you without worrying about early, rushing mornings

This summer is going to be good. I love you more than the 'As Is' section at Ikea.

Today we have been married for fourteen years.  I am so thankful and proud.

So much more to say, when I get back some energy.

My love for you shines brighter than a million freshly replaced light bulbs.

 

Hey Kurtz, This is my 101st post to you.  Can you tell that I like you?

Today was your last day of teaching.

After the school day was over you played two rounds of disc golf with a friend and then came home and changed into flip-flops.

Summer Jeff is my favorite.

At this very moment you are probably making sure your number 2 pencils are sharpened and ready to go.

Another big test will be under your belt.

Praying you can think about the strategies of how best to teach English Speakers of Other Languages while a million other things are on your mind.  You are so intelligent and I think you have nothing to fear.

I love you and will always be your biggest cheerleader.

Jeff, 

Whenever I shampoo a section of our carpet, you make a big deal about what a difference it made.

Did you know this makes me want to shampoo more and more sections?

I love you, my Encourager.

Is it cheating if I drag you over to campkurtz to show you how much I appreciate you today?

It was a message I wanted more people to read.

A surprise like this is the best.  There have been about twenty times since you gave this to me on Monday that I have reread the encouraging words you wrote from your heart.  When I am feeling down and unsure of what I'm doing or who I am, I open the card and become grounded again. Now I just need to find some tunes that do the same.

Thank you for making sure I feel known and loved.

When you and an SOS Pad team up, magic happens.  Our laundry room sink has never shined so brightly.  Thank you for all the random jobs you do at random times.

This weekend you spent all Saturday morning and afternoon doing some yard work for a friend.  He generously paid you and the extra cash has been nice.  The thing I love, is that you are the best giver in our family.  You love to buy things for people, to treat others to something nice.  It would be awesome to be able to do that all the time, but right now I just see you giving what you have.  

We have taught each other a lot about money this last decade and a half and somehow ended up in a healthy middle place.  

I am thankful for your generous heart.

It's the end of another day.  One filled with disappointments, miscommunications, failings on both sides.

We didn't do everything right today.

But we must be doing something right.

 

I think tomorrow we might do better.

Recently I had to apologize to you for being so critical about all the noises that came along with you sucking down an Otter Pop.  The realization that I needed to ask for forgiveness came when I tried one myself and made those same horrible sounds.  A person just can't help it!  Chewing on that plasticy goodness while slurping up the juice is a must when enjoying one of these.

I like our solution which just might need to be applied to more areas of our lives.  We always eat Otter Pops together.  We found out the sounds aren't annoying one bit when both of us are munching away at the same time.

I'll grab one for you if you grab one for me!

Today we had a hot date in B-1 helping the kinders with their centers and celebrating the birthday of our seven year old.  Looking over at you I saw you naturally interacting with our little boy's friends.  The high pitched giggles and rising chatter rose around you, because kids are just drawn to a guy like you.  We have so many special moments together, but the best was probably seven years ago when we instantly became parents.  I'm so glad you were by my side then and now.

I'm excited for us to have many more classroom birthday party dates!