18 Years, 18 Things He's learned

1. Clean house = happy wife.

2. Scrubbing toilets, floors and dishes is very, very sexy.

3. A phone call home at lunch just to say hello is sweet and appreciated.

4. Text a love note now and then, it will really make her day.

5. On your honeymoon, show her charts and graphs of your retirement plan. Gently ease her into the idea of saving instead of spending. Be patient. Be patient and then be patient.

6. When she burns dinner or cooks something you're not crazy about, eat it anyway.

Smile and tell her how great it tasted. This will give her confidence to keep trying.

7. If you come home from work and sense that she has been up to her elbows in diapers, housework and chauffeur services, send her quickly out the door for a pedicure.

8. While you are still newlyweds, be willing to work all the over-time you can so that she can quit her job and finish school. At her college graduation she will look at you with tears in her eyes, and thank you from the bottom of her heart.

9. When she is pregnant, support her by gaining weight, experiencing leg cramps, heart burn and nausea.

10. When the newborn(s) wake up hungry at 2:00 am, run to their rooms. Scoop them up and take care of them so that she can sleep.

11. Take her to Disneyland every six months or so.

Take her to the temple once a week.

Take her in your arms each day when you get home from work

and at night when you're falling asleep.

These are essentials and cannot be over looked.

12. Say kind things to her. Make her feel pretty and smart and amazing. This is especially important during times when she feels like she can't do anything right.

13. Thank her for the little things.

14. Agree to only raise your voices if the house happens to catch on fire.

Also, don't hesitate to apologize.

There is great power in the words, "I'm sorry".

15. Support her in crazy ideas like painting door knobs and learning to play piano in her 30's.

16. Celebrate her accomplishments and cry at her disappointments. Be a good listener, even when she rambles. Overlook her many weaknesses and focus on the goodness of her heart.

17. Bring home flowers for no reason,

go on a late night walk

and once in a while, talk until the sun comes up.

18. Kneel together in prayer each night. Thank Heaven for 18 wonderful years and humbly ask for about 48 more.

Happy Anniversary to the best friend I'll ever have.

I love you.

Carter & Canon

You know what one of the best things about about having kids is?

Their friends.

I absolutely love the little ones around this neighborhood.

Today I would like to introduce you to two of them.

This is Carter and Canon.

It has been a treat for us to live across the street from their family for the past ten years.

Carter and Lincoln are the same age and they have been good buddies their entire lives.

They have participated in sports together, gone to school and church together

and played about a thousand games of front yard wiffle ball.

Canon has been the trusty little brother, happily tagging along.

They have been good friends to the twins and also to me.

One day when Carter was about five, he was over playing with Linc.

I left them building a Lego fortress and went to my room for a quick shower.

There I was, all soaped up, shaving my legs in my clear glass shower.

To my utter horror and shock, the door to my room opened and in walked Carter.

"Oh, hi Kimberly." was all he said as he passed me on his way to the toilet room.

I hit the floor of the shower in a panic.

A minute or so later, he passed me again.

"See ya, Kimberly." he said in his typical friendly fashion.

I immediately called Mindy and apologized for the potentially life-long scarring to her son caused by seeing your buddy's mom in the nude. Hopefully time has erased every single square inch of that memory.

Another memorable experience came a few years later. I was holding a cub scout meeting when I got a phone call about my grandmother. She was extremely ill and I knew that she was going to pass away soon. I explained the situation to my little scouts, then we cut the activity short so that I could hurry to the hospital to say goodbye.

I was just leaving when the doorbell rang. Standing on the porch was Carter, in his too big cub scout shirt.

"Kimberly", he said gently, "Will you say goodbye to your grandma for me?"

I was so moved by the sensitivity of this kid.

With tears in my eyes, I hugged him and told him that I would. And I did.

In June, Rachel and I decided to run a little 5k race in our city. The boys and Samantha had to clean the church that day so there wasn't anyone to meet us at the finish line. It was not really a big deal, but as I drew closer to the end, I found myself feeling a little disappointed.

Should I really have been that surprised to hear a familiar voice rise above the crowd?

"YEA KIMBERLY!" "GO KIMBERLY!" "GOOD JOB KIMBERLY!"

Sure enough, my friend Carter was there.

Yesterday, I saw a mouse in the garage. I screamed.

Mice and me don't get along so well.

A few minutes later, this was the scene.

Carter and Canon to the rescue.

The plan? Catch the mouse so that Canon can take it home and have it as a pet.

Yep, one of my favorite things is the friendships that come to me through my kids' friends.

So many kids have enriched our home over the years.

They really are that cute, that fun, that smart, that great.

Oh, and their parents aren't so bad either.

He is Mark

He is Daddy.

He is first love.

He is recipient of many, many love notes.

He is golf lover.

He is little league fan.

He is football cheerleader.

He is Pinewood Derby Champ.

He is Buzz Lightyear of Star Command rival.

He is Birthday Cake Maker.

He is Best Buddy.

He is pirate wanna-be.

He is Red Sox Nation

He is a true blue Jazz fan.

He is Hawaiian adventures.

He is love for others.

He is kindness.

He is the soft answer.

He is "only get angry once every ten years or so".

He is strength and leadership.

He is commitment.

He is honesty and integrity.

He is handsome.

He is smart.

He is safety.

He is the best thing that ever happened to me.

He is my Mark and yesterday he turned 40!

Happy Birthday!

I love you.

My Big Fat Greek Family Reunion

You've met Mark's family, haven't you?

Those calm, well mannered, rule abiders.

Please meet my family....

This is the Douros Clan.

Mark likens them to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

Every year on the second Sunday in August we get together for a family reunion of sorts.

I know what's coming, so I apologize to my neighbors in advance.

It begins innocently enough.

Lots of good food.

Catching up with cousins.

The kids hanging out together.

Then we move into a friendly game of water balloon volleyball.

The game starts out civilly.

A couple of water balloons going back and forth.

At some point it escalates to this:

And within a few minutes all heck breaks loose.

The only rule is:

"There ain't no rules!"

Parents attack their own.

Favorite aunts turn into foes.

Angels turn devilish.

There are no loyalties or alliances.

Do not try to hide out in the house.

You will be found and brought to justice.

Even if you're a father, tending your newborn son.

It is funny that you would even try to get away with that excuse!

There is no mercy, even for the resident photographer.

The camera will be removed and you will be soaked, it's that simple.

And as far as taking it easy on a newly engaged, not yet official member of the family?

No, nope and never.

The best thing to do is just grab a bar of soap and save yourself the trouble of showering later.

Yes, we are loud.

Yes we are crazy.

A little un-holy for a Sunday afternoon.

But we are family.

We are bound together

by blood,

by love,

and lots and lots and lots

of water.