I remember this day..  We walked to the grocery store and collected armfuls of popcorn, and candy, Friday’s freezer appetizers, and a redbox movie for a good for the soul, bad for the cholesterol levels, date night in.  I remember waiting in line at the cashier exchanging banter back and forth and catching glances from the clerk.  She scanned our junk food and we laughed at ourselves for buying all this and made jokes back and forth.  As we grabbed our items and headed out the door, the cashier stopped us and said, “Y’all are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen”.  She said it with such sincerity and conviction that I was stopped in my tracks.  “Really?  We weren’t even being that cute” I thought to myself.  We’ve been WAY cuter than what we just displayed to this random woman at Farm Fresh.  I forgot about it quickly though, and we went home to our favorite kind of date night.. A movie, our couch, junk food, and pajamas.

And then the next day we were at it again, buying a good for the soul, bad for the cholesterol level dinner at Chick-fil-a.  We took forever to decide what to order.. Even though we get the same thing everyyyyyy time.  We quickly threw in a “Oh, and a chocolate chip cookie.. Sorry!” We felt bad for being so ridiculous during our order, but the woman checking us out stopped us and said, “I love it when y’all come in, you make such a great couple and always brighten my day”.  WHAT?  Two days in a row, we were NOT being cute.. But two different people commented what an awesome couple we made.  Embarrassing that the woman at Chick-fil-a recognizes us, but I’m thankful she did, ’cause she made me realized then and there, that sometimes I don’t even realize it.  I completely take for granted what a perfect match we are.  I completely forget how much fun you make ordinary tasks, like walking to the grocery store or deciding what to order at Chick-fil-a.  I can fail to realize how much JOY you bring to my life and how brightly it radiates for the rest of the world to see.

I read this quote the other day that I really love.., “Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures.”   I know our lifetime has just begun, but you’ve already filled it with the best adventures I could have asked for.  Walking to the grocery store, throwing in a cookie at the last second at Chick-fil-a, or making it possible for us to move to Kenya for 8 months.. We’ve been living the best adventure a girl could ask for.

And I hope the same thing is true for boys.  That the best gift I could give for your birthday is adventure.  As we fly today to the African coast to spend a few days on the beach, and return to the US next week to all the unknown adventures that await, I hope you know I am forever grateful for having you in my life.  Thanks for the adventures.

Happy Birthday,

xoxo