Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from us!

“May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!”

-Irish blessing

“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was.”

– Irish Proverb

“A son is a son till he takes him a wife. A daughter is a daughter all of her life.”

 – Irish Proverb

“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.”

-Saint Patrick

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.”

– Irish Proverb

“Here’s to me, and here’s to you. And here’s to love and laughter. I’ll be true as long as you. And not one moment after.”

– Irish toast

“May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

-Irish blessing

My husband is a winner.  In every since of the word he’s star.  Greyson is the guy everyone gravitates to.  He’s hilarious, charming, cute, and fun.  He grew up the only boy between two sisters.  He was an athlete, popular and fun.

Don’t be fooled.  He’s so much more than that.  His sensitivity and kindness are known to all who call him “friend.”  He sacrificed and fought hard to carve out a great career in TV news as a sportscaster.  I proudly watched his late nights of studying to get his MBA at The University of North Carolina, a top program in the US.

Look at this couple.  So young.  So ridiculously and overwhelmingly in love with each other. This was 2004, just after we had gotten engaged.  Honestly, I don’t feel like we’re all that different than we were when we took this picture at my sister-in-law’s wedding.  We were 22 and 29.  Now we’re 30 and 37.  Our love has done nothing but grow.  

And so have we.

My happily married man has let his waistline expand with the passing years.  I’d like to say it’s my cooking, but I don’t cook that much.  I think the culmination of beer, getting older, a taste for trying great restaurants, and beer have resulted in a chubby hubby.

Greyson has said, “You know Amy, I don’t feel as big as I am.  The weight is the one thing about myself I would change.”  (I would change his incessant need to double check that the door is locked after we leave the house.  But, that’s just between you and me.)  It’s true though.  The physique doesn’t match the man.

So he’s on a mission to lose weight.  As a Mike and Mike disciple, he’s going with P90X.  As an Auburn University alumnus he’s following Charles Barkley’s lead with Weight Watchers.  I keep turning on my best Barkley impression and reciting the commercial, “If the ‘Round Mound’ can slim down, so can you!”

I’m really proud of him, and really confident he can do it.  I love him no matter what size he is, I just want him to be healthy more than anything.  It will probably inspire me to tone up too.  He’s brave enough to let me keep track of all this on the blog.  Internet accountability.  Gotta love it.  Gotta love him.

Our weekends in Fall are typically devoted to sports, college or pro football.  Greyson grew up playing hockey.  It is his favorite sport and still his passion.  This weekend he got to share this with our daughter at the annual carnival and practice for our favorite NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes.  It was her first hockey experience.

(I took these pics with my sweet new camera.  Let me know what you think!)

“Let’s go Daddy!”

We weren’t sure what she would think of this.

Clearly, it was a hit.  (Please notice Stormy the Ice Hog was with her the whole time.  We bought her that  stuffed animal when she was born.  He’s the Canes’ mascot.)

Learning the rules during the team practice as my heart fills up.

He took her down to the ice to see things up close.

Daddy and Daughter.

It’s no secret there’s a “mom way” of thinking of things, and a “dad way” of thinking of things.

Greyson called me on the way to work to give me a rundown of the morning as he always does.  I have to be at work at 4:00am so he’s the one who gets Charlotte up and out the door for school.  Before the call he sent me this picture…

A:  “Hey!  I love the picture, she looks happy.  What did she eat?”
G:  “Stuff the dog likes best.  That way I don’t have to do extra clean-up you know?  Ginger can take care the floor so we can get out of here faster.”

Genius.

Absolute genius.

Why didn’t I think of that?  It’s “daddy thinking” at it’s finest.