"i feel happy"

jeff and i celebrated our 1 year anniversary on saturday. jeff out-did me, once again, in the romance department. jeff and i are really dedicated to keeping our budget, and have some big costs coming up (visiting michigan, skiing in vermont, buying a puppy) so we promised to not purchase each other anything... i wrote jeff a corny card. the end.

jeff, on the other hand, wrote me the most beautiful letter...that included the vows we took one year ago (we got married the 20th of december, but wanted to celebrate early because this time of year is SO crazy!)

my handsome and talented brothers did most of the music at our wedding, and my mom insisted that they perform "come and get higher" by matt nathanson. it's a beautiful song...

my husband is an accomplished violinist, but SURPRISE, he's great at playing all instruments. i walked in the door on saturday morning after my workout, and jeff was sitting in a chair that faced the door singing/playing "come and get higher" on the guitar. honestly, could he be more perfect?

we later dined at Peter Luger's steakhouse (yum!) and enjoyed some mulled wine at a local restaurant. have you ever had mulled wine? it is so delicious - warm, spiced wine... my supervisor introduced it to me at a work function.. perfect for this time of year!

all in all, i am blessed to know that i'm jeff's beloved...

on another note...

i have been working on the identification of feelings with one of my little 2 1/2 year old clients. this particular kid has grown very dear to my heart because i see him EVERYDAY. his mommy is really up on the research, and knows that children with PDD and autism struggle to identify and express emotion.. when this little guy gets excited or frustrated, we stop and he imitates what i say (ie., "I feel happy", "I feel mad".)

the other day, i was explaining to him that it was time to start cleaning up, and that he did a good job talking today. at the end of each session, he gets about 5 minutes of television as a reward while i fill out my session notes. on this particular day, this is how our conversation went:

• me: time to clean up! good talking today!
• litte guy: tv on?
• me: yes! tv on! good talking.
• little guy: i feel happy

ohhh if he only knew how this touched my heart... not only because he generalized "i feel happy", but because TV also makes me VERY happy...and because, in general, i have felt very happy recently...

today, little guy didn't say anything, he just grabbed my face and placed a big ol' wet one on my lips.... hahah

in the words of my little guy, "i feel happy" about the past year of marriage, my job and what the LORD has blessed me with.

much love.