the weekend

Well, I have a few things to say about this weekend, and about my husband, being that it was his birthday last Thursday.
This was a big birthday because it is both our first and last as a couple. Not that we are getting a divorce, but having a kid around is going to make stuff like this harder to do, so it had to be memorable.
So, there was a party. We had dinner with the Hartzells, and the REAL present is that next weekend we are going away (to the beach)! This is our first trip since our honeymoon and I am really excited to get away and hang out with my husband.
On Saturday, we did something else fun (well, sort of fun). We finally switched our cell phone plans which means that my parents are no longer paying my cell phone bill. And we switched to... T-Mobile. It wasn't my first choice for a cell phone carrier but T-Mobile has one thing that no else does: The G Phone. Which was another of Matt's birthday presents.
My husband is an incredible provider. And by that I mean not just that he brings home a paycheck, but that he ALSO does all of the hard work figuring out how to make our paychecks stretch over everything we need or want them to. He is the one that determines when we need to say no to something because it won't fit in our budget. A lot of the time it means he is saying no to something that he personally wants so that I can have something that is important to me or so that he can provide something else our family needs more. Even when he does get something for himself, it is always in the most frugal way possible. He always shops around for the best price or for a used version of something he wants. Because of how well he leads our family in this, we don't usually have to worry about how we are going to make ends meet or pay for unforeseen expenses. This is something I really respect because I do not come by this trait naturally, and in my hands I'm sure our finances would be a huge mess.
Soooo... all of that to say that I encourage him to make the occasional splurge on himself when our finances will allow it. So he got a (well-deserved) fancy new phone for his birthday. And seeing him play with it is like watching a little kid on Christmas. Pretty cute.
On Saturday night we had all of the young married (and engaged) couples over for our first ever study night and that went really well. I really like the people in this group, and all of the things you worry about when you are about to have a bible study (or theology night, or whatever) didn't happen. Everyone did their homework, everyone seemed comfortable with sharing, and Matt did a great job leading our discussion. This is, in general, another thing he is really good at, I think because he is such a good listener and also does a great job of gently redirecting conversations when they roam from the important points. Not to mention he came up with good discussion questions for the group and knew exactly when to ask them so there weren't awkward pauses but everyone still got to share.
I just felt very encouraged by having this group and having it immediately be so successful. This has not always been the case with things I have been a part of at Ethnos or other churches. I think, and I have said this before, having other couples to talk to is invaluable when you are newly married.
Lastly, yesterday I had a long work day but I got to spend an hour or so with my best friend and her husband who live in Seattle. They came down to visit for the weekend but we could only squeeze them in for a little bit on Sunday. Still, it was really great to see them and catch up a bit. I wish they lived closer to us so we could hang out more.
Anyway... I spent longer than I thought I would typing this and now I need to start getting ready for work.
:)