I guess purple is my thing right now.

My mom and sister are visiting this week, it's been fun and a little overwhelming for the husband with all the silly girl movies/shows overload. All that I wanted to share right now is that my mom bought me this scarf from Target, and I love it, love it. I did, in fact the classic line, "Oh I need this," and she bought it for me. I wonder if that line would work more often?? Probably not, definitely not on the husband.

Happy 100th.

It's my 100th post here at The Saturated Palette, by the way, I got the name from something I read in Domino magazine... oh Domino, rest in peace. Quickly moving back to happy thoughts, here. I started this blog on January 18, 2008. I'm not sure anyone read it then, but that didn't matter. 1.5 years later, I'm still not sure anyone reads it, but it's not a popularity contest, I take pleasure in sharing my thoughts, projects, and inspirations. I'm a writer. I'm not sure that the 100th post is such a huge monument, but television shows always go all out for the big 100th episodes, and that usually takes five seasons. So, there's that.

To celebrate for the sake of celebrating, I have been thinking an awful lot today about one of the people who helps make my dreams possible, who enriches my existence, and after just a few short years, I'm quite certain that I'd never want to be without him, my Matthew.

My Matthew is one of those rare gentlemen with the kindest soul and he truly, legitimately cares about people. {Sometimes, I think he makes me look bad, because he emanates kindness and patience, two things which I don't always feel are my strong point, if I'm being honest.} He is a wonderful man of God, leader of our family, and naturally, my best friend. I used to think people were stupid when they said that their husband was their best friend, but now I get it. That's what he is.

He is an unbelievable father, so loving, so fun, and always right besides me, when the whole parenting thing gets overwhelming. He is adventurous, a dreamer, and a hard worker with a servant's heart. He is funny most of the time, but sometimes, he's not. I always like to point that out and he pretends to be upset. It's cute. He doesn't worry about being in the spotlight, but if you are interested, he has some really great thoughts to share. He is a peaceful person, we are peaceful together, and I love that about us. He finds contentment in our current state of life, but will never settle for mediocre. He's determined, as am I, to live within our means.

He puts up with me talking all about Grey's Anatomy, as if Meredith and Derek are real people I see all the time and he calms me down, assuring me that Rachel will, in fact get off the plane, but he will always roll his eyes. If something moves me to tears, happy, sad, or inspiring, he doesn't always share my strong sentiment for it, but he allows me to explain my inherent desire for him to understand just how it touched me. (He calls me dramatic, I am.) He sometimes laughs at me about how clean I like to keep our home, but I know he appreciates it. Oh, and he handles my crazy family rather well.

He is a morning person, he understands that I am not. So, when he can, he will take the baby and let me sleep for a few hours longer and I usually wake up to the lovely smell of coffee in the french press, too. He makes the best breakfasts and sandwiches. He knows I strongly dislike running to the store for something, so he gladly will go. If we are in the car, he always drives, I like that. I'm not that interested in driving. He always opens my car door. Also, about twice a week, I can't stand the idea of doing the dishes and every dish we own is filthy, he doesn't mind helping me with that. (Wow, he does a lot).

One of the best things about him is that he supports all of my dreams and creative musings. He encourages me to paint, read, write, bake, sew, create, or even take time for myself. He's awesome. He dreams with me about our future and believes that we will see those dreams come to pass.

I could write a novel about how much he means to me and how much he has changed my life, about how I was so independent before him and now I am lost at the idea of doing certain things without him. However, I'll save that. There are just two more things that I must share.

1. We have family coming into town on Monday. Yesterday, he spent 1 hour cleaning the bathroom, and I mean, he cleaned it. I think it might have even sparkled. I'm not sure I've ever cleaned it that well. He didn't have to, but he did, while I cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed. That's impressive.

2. This morning, instead of splurging on Saturday AM donuts, he made blueberry muffins from scratch, no out of the box mix here! Usually, I'm the baker, but he did it. Talk about delicious, they even had the sugar & cinnamon crumbles on top.

I know, he's a keeper. And the thing is, with all that he does, he doesn't seek recognition or praise, he does it because he cares and he knows how to show it. His character is displayed in his actions and words, a truly invaluable treasure.

I know there are many great husbands out there, but this one is mine and I plan on keeping him and growing old together. Society has downplayed the importance of strong husbands and fathers, but they make such a difference. It's necessary to take time to honor them and acknowledge all they do. Sure, they can leave dirty socks laying around and somehow don't hear the baby crying during the early hours of the morning, but that's silliness really, in light of all the good. It seems more common to focus on each other's faults, when we would all be better off for pointing out more good than bad.

What I'm really trying to say is this. I'm blessed and so thankful for my husband. I couldn't ask for a better partner in my life or a better father for my son. I love my husband, madly.

Readers, I hope you find as much blessings, joy, and richness in your lives, in the people around you and those you hold dear.

Happy 20th birthday to my little, tiny, baby brother, Jeremiah.

In reality, he is no longer little or tiny, but he will always seem that way to me. He is much taller and bigger than me, these days. I will always remember the day he was born. My parents, in their old fashioned ways never found out the gender of any of their children, so we were anxious to discover who would be joining us. I was desperately hoping and praying that a baby girl would be joining my ranks, because I was already outnumbered two brothers and zero sisters. I was only five then, but I remember thinking it would be tragic to have one more brother and remain the only girl.

We received the phone call from my dad, telling us that our new sibling was yet, another boy. I am not exaggerating when I saw that I ran to my room and cried for what could have been days. (Can a five-year -old cry that long?) I was devastated.

I eventually warmed up to the idea, but every now and then I like to remind him of my feelings on the day of his birth, because I'm his sister, that's why.

Everyday, I'm so proud to be his sister, he's caring, intelligent, talented, funny, and constantly learning about his faith. He left home and went to L.A. to pursue his acting dreams and while that process is a slow one, he's living his life, he's making life happen and growing along the way. He's athletic, artistic, funny, musical, smart, clever, witty, and good looking- I might add. Is there anything this boy can't do? Silly girls better not mess with him, because I can be a mean, mean sister.

We all love you here Jeremiah!! Happy Birthday!!!