RHR, Middle Names, Books, Flowers & Fruit

Yesterday the husband and I celebrated our fourth year of marriage. Apparently the traditional gift symbols for the fourth year are books, flowers or fruit.

My awesome husband nailed this year's anniversary gift. I mean really nailed it. I cried at the dinner table, that's how well he did.

He handed me a purple (my favorite color) bag with my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird inside of it. Now you have to know two things to understand why he's so awesome. 1.) To Kill a Mockingbird is tied for first as my all time favorite book and 2.) Reese is named after its author (Reese Harper = Harper Lee).

When we were picking names for the kids we came up with a list of three boy names and three girl names, first names only. My family on its best day can be described as bellicose. We won't talk about our worst days on the blog. So when it came time to select middle names for the babies I really wanted to stay as far away as possible from naming the kids after a relative.

I'm a huge bookworm and reformed English teacher, so I asked Joe if I could name the kids after my favorite authors and he agreed. I picked 6 names of men and women who have ignited my love of reading over the years and that's how our children were named.

(In case you're wondering, Ryan Henry = Henry David Thoreau.)

So what does a book I already own in a purple bag mean anyway? Well, the book was a place holder for my gift which hasn't arrived yet. It's a first edition copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that Joe got me so I could read it to Reese when she gets older and then pass it on to her when she's a big girl, since that's her namesake.

Thoughtful, perfect and wonderful in every way.