Another late tribute

This is not quite as overdue but it is late all the same.

Last Saturday night, we celebrated my beautiful wife's 30th birthday. What better way to celebrate than with friends, food and CASH BINGO! That's right. We had a blast playing bingo for $25-$30 pots (a dollar a card with a max of two cards per person). It was a great night of loving on a great girl.

Missy turned 30 on October 15th. It was also just about this time 10 years ago that we first met. That means she has known me for a third of her life. How she doesn't have gray hair or no hair at all, I am not sure. Each day of knowing her and better yet calling her my wife is a privileged day for me. I know I have received a gift. I know I got away with this one. As the saying goes here in football crazed Philadelphia, I outpunted my coverage. In other words, I don't deserve the woman that I got. God was EXTRA nice to me when He put us together. And now, I get to see her in a new and amazing role. She is the mother of my child. Now I can not only say that I couldn't ask for a better wife but I couldn't ask for a better mom to my child. She is amazing to watch. I think Riley has an idea that he is a lucky kid too. That's why he is (almost) always all smile and laughs. He got lucky too.

So Miss, thanks for laughing, loving and living for 30 years. And thanks for being just crazy enough to choose me as your husband (twice!) I thank God that I get to have you as my partner in crime and in life. You put up with a lot dealing with me every day and yet somehow are able to smile and roll your eyes and tell me you love me.

Here's to another 10 years and more of tomato soup and grilled cheese, Friday night movies, walks with Riley around the neighborhood, Lost/24/The Office, ongoing games of Sorry and a lifetime of memories. I love you, Missy. Happy Birthday.

A Thank You Long Overdue

This may set a record for longest delay in commenting on a prior event but it has been on my heart for months. Back in July, I got together with a group of my dearest friends in Colorado. We all went to college together and by God's grace, despite living (well some of us, myself included) hundreds or thousands of miles apart and beginning new lives beyond college, still maintain some semblence of contact with each other whether it be through blogs, fantasy sports, email, phone calls and the occasional fast. From my informal surveys, this connection, particularly with this large a number of guys (it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 guys) is unusual. What is even more unusual is that on a pretty much yearly basis, we try and make a point to meet somewhere for a long weekend. And while most of the weekend consists of reliving old college memories, playing poker and Halo (yes the original one - we're old), there are still precious times of connecting on that deep level. It is like we are sitting in someone's dorm room, it is a Tuesday morning, 2 a.m., and we have an exam in 6 hours but haven't started studying because we are engaged in a great conversation about how girls can break our hearts. The difference, of course, is that we now have jobs, families, less hair, more weight and more bills.

But for one weekend, you would never know (other than the steady stream of guys walking around outside on their cell phones talking to their wives). For the years I am able to go, like this year, it is one my most treasured times. For me, a communications major, I cannot put into words what this time means to me. I wish I could bottle those moments and take them with me. Perhaps that is the beauty of it, though. I can't. Those moments are self contained reminders that God loved me so much that he gave me friends that I would die for though I only see them once a year if I am lucky.

So for you guys, I thank you - way late. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for challenging me. Thank you for making me feel like I am half good at Halo. Thank you for loving me and allowing me to be your friend. It is one of the greatest gifts I could ever have.

And where are we getting together next year??

A Proud Papa

Alright, off to a good start with the year 2 resolutions!

I make no secret that I love the Philadelphia Eagles. Though this year is off to a brutal start, my loyalty and love still lies with this team. My dream is to have that passion and devotion be handed down to my son. Here is how I did it:

Of course, like a true player, while beautiful women (ok, they weren't that great, it must have been the Eagles JV cheerleaders) swooned over him, he blew them off. He was more interested in the little shiny pieces of plastic in their pom poms (as the pictures displays) than the actual cheerleaders. I couldn't have been more proud. And Missy couldn't have been more embarrassed.

Hey, whatever I have to do to make this kid an Eagles fan, that is the sacrifice I am willing to make. Go Birds!!!

1 year.....and change

After looking at past blog posts, I noticed that I made my first contribution to this blog on September 20th, 2006. I remember the moment very vividly. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know how to add fancy links and show the world what my favorite books were. Hence the rather bland look of this blog, which I have never bothered to fix. Maybe one day. I just wanted to let the world (who am I kidding, I know like three people read this but even those three make me excited to post) read my thoughts both humorous and serious.

In looking over the past year, the one thing that stands out is the irregularity in which I wrote. I had dreams of posting every day or at worst every week. However, I would go weeks and in some cases months in between posts. Granted, in there I became a father and for one long painful stretch we were without internet. However, if my goal is to post my thoughts, going a month or two just isn't acceptable.

So I guess my 1 year anniversary resolution is to post more often. Now that Riley and the computer don't share a room, hopefully that will make it easier. So as a reader, please keep me accountable. If I haven't written in a while, please feel free to post (I do check for posts pretty much every day) and tell me to get off my not so fat butt and type a line or two.

Also, after one year, I am very proud to announce that I am no longer the only blogger in the Delp family. Missy and I talked about starting a blog that keeps people updated on what is going on with our family. Many of our friends have family blogs and we LOVE checking them and keeping up to date on what is going on in their lives.

So (drumroll please) ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce

delppartyofthree.blogspot.com

to the world of blogging. Missy will be posting regularly (with possible special guest contributions from world renowned blogger: me) and keeping the world apprised of the goings on of the Delp clan. She took the time to make the blog look cool so I could probably take a page out of her book to make mine look the slightest bit interesting. We'll see.

So for all of you who have read my blog at some point over the past year, thank you. I love the fact that I have friends all over the country who read and post on my blog. Please continue to do so.

So here's to Year 2 of dryinrain. May it be full of honesty, humor and most importantly pictures of Riley.