James's Birthday

At The Site of Our Engagement
So today is my beloveds birthday. I've been thinking about this entry for a few days, as I feel like I've had a hard time finding the right words recently. We've been together for more than 10 years which doesn't seem like much when I think about my parents or even my siblings, but in those short ten years we've built a life together that has been rich and wonderful.

It sounds cliche, but I believe that we felt in love within minutes of meeting, and even though the path to where we are right now was not always perfect, I always knew that I had met my soul mate.






Daddy's Girl

James is truly the most remarkable person I know. And I mean that so sincerely. We've had a blessed life, but even when we've had major life changes, he's rolled through it with such strength, faith and confidence that I always know everything will be alright.

When Seamus was born, James changed his first diaper out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night, swaddled the baby snugly up, handed him back to me and kissed us both on the forehead. I looked at him and just knew, we were going to be good parents, that we could do this together.

Katie, Tom & James (Finn anyone?)
When we moved into our house, I discovered that James is wickedly handy. He went from condo living to an old house that needed TLC and it was like he could have been hosting This Old House on PBS. It was amazing to me.

Who has time to train for triathlons when you've got little kids? He doesn't. But he combines his commute with his workout (plus a little more when he can make it convenient for me) and then competes in Olympic distance events. And rocks at it. San Francisco hills? Swimming in the Bay? 105 degree Minnesota summer? -2 Minnesota winter? He can compete any any condition and just enjoy himself. No fancy equipment. No crazy schedules or diets. He just powers through everything and thrives doing it.

Life is complicated. We're still grieving Tom - I guess we understand that we always will. We miss all the Dougherty's and feel so blessed to have this extended visit with Katie. My family is wonderful and very present to us, but it is also wild and busy. We've got three kids under 4, a house and a challenging career. We know that we're luckier than 99.9% of the world, but still sometimes it feels overwhelming.

And there are some days we feel like we're barely keeping it together, but every day we look at each other and are grateful for all the love in our lives. Because even when we're tired or sad we still have each other. Seamus got up this morning and immediately wished James Happy Birthday and told him he loved him. These kids worship James and there is just nothing more fun than seeing what kind of father he is and how well the kids respond to him. There is nothing cooler than their dad and that makes me so proud of him.

Batman Begins

So James, Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I'm looking forward to many more happy birthdays and happy years together. There is no better husband or father around. You are a blessing to everyone in your life - but none more than to me. You are my heart.








The Irish Boys














A Tree for Father's Day with the Charleston Dougherty's














Bathing Beauties












Doesn't He Look Like a Happy Dad?