Eli's Birthday

Yesterday was a doozy.  It was Eli's birthday, but we ended up extending the celebration into today since there wasn't much celebrating that happened yesterday.

The power had gone out the evening before and still wasn't on in the morning.  It ended up being out for about 20 hours all said and done.  (It's the beginning of the rainy season, which means we're headed into a lot of power outages.  Whenever it rains, the power goes out.  Literally.)  Without power we couldn't risk opening the fridge, so my plans for Eli's birthday breakfast were derailed.  Thankfully one of his presents was a stash of imported goods, including some granola bars.  Breakfast on the go: check!

The day was so busy at the hospital that Eli had to skip lunch, which he normally comes home for.  Thankfully he did get home in time for supper (which the birthday boy made since stir-fry is his favorite and I still haven't learned how to make it).

Just as I was putting candles in the scotcheroos, the ICU called and needed him quickly.  So we rushed singing Happy Birthday and watching him blow out the candles, but he ran out the door before even taking a bite of his own birthday dessert.  The boys and I chose to dive in, knowing Eli wouldn't be home again before their bedtime.  I felt a little guilty, but just a little :)

The boys wanted to know why Daddy had to work on his birthday?  They always get the day off school when it's their birthdays (a perk of homeschooling!) so it made no sense to them why Dad had to work and be on-call.  Sheesh!  I had to explain that most people have to work or go to school on their birthdays.  That's life!  They're still having trouble wrapping their heads around that concept.

So today we tried celebrating again, and this time we had power so I could make a decent breakfast, and this time Eli was around long enough to finish opening presents.  He received two picture books to enjoy with the kids.  One of them was supposed to be his Father's Day present this year but we couldn't get it over here until recently, and the other is a book about J.R.R. Tolkien as a child which I know they'll all love reading together, especially since Eli is currently reading The Hobbit to the boys.

And there are leftover scotcheroos to enjoy today, which is always a win!

We are so grateful for this man.  Eli is kind and he invests in us.  He wants to be present and he wants to take care of us, and he does.  He is a servant to everyone around him and he encourages people without even trying.  I can't even begin to count how many times someone has told me how much they admire Eli, and I am proud of that.  He's an amazing husband and an amazing father, and we get to call him ours.

Happy Birthday to my Beloved!