WHEN IT SEEMS THAT NO ONE IS LISTENING...

Mr. Brownstone, Mr. Brownstone, Mr. Brownstone.

He makes me laugh often and much, complete with tears and laughter so hard it becomes inaudible. You know the kind about which I'm talking... He gives me belly laughs, the kind that can make my stomach muscles ache the next day sometimes.

At the moment, he is playing XBOX Live with his friends. As I've been sitting here blog-surfing, I can hear him in the next room talking into the headset.

• "Hey, y'all! I'm over here by the tank. Hey, y'all...I'm over here by the tank! Hey, man, come on! Hop in here with me!"
• "Watch your back, TP, Skelty is behind you. HEY!!! SKELTY IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!"
• "Good job, Lurch!"

And so on and so forth. Mr. Brownstone is quite passionate when he plays XBOX (but does not even begin to come close to showing the passion he displays while watching football)! That in and of itself gives me a chuckle, but it is not what just made me laugh so hard I spit out Diet Coke that reached the computer monitor!

After fifteen minutes of passionate talking - commanding, encouraging, strategizing, and such - he just realized that his headset microphone has been on mute! Hahahaha!

OH, my word! I think he just topped the muted headset! I just heard him say, and I kid you not..."Double kill, sex-y!" in a little sing-song voice. That definitely made me laugh even harder. I'll have sore tummy muscles tomorrow for sure now!! I hollered in there and asked him to verify that I had just heard what I thought I heard. He said "yes" and assured me that they ALL say it. Those silly boys...

I sure love that man and how he makes me laugh!

Now if I could just figure out how to mute him while he's watching football...

WHEN IT SEEMS THAT NO ONE IS LISTENING...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/10/when-it-seems-that-no-one-is-listening.html

BOYS WILL BE BOYS...

I am an "XBOX Wife", and I like to call Mr. Brownstone my "Halo Husband". He gets this nickname because he is an angel...most of the time. Of course, the name definitely has a double meaning. Sundays from 9:30 pm to 11:00 pm are XBOX nights for Mr. Brownstone and his buddies (also known as Halo Husbands, just as my friends are also XBOX Wives). Tuesday and Thursday nights are also XBOX nights. Those boys like to get their Halo ON!

Several people have asked if it bothers me that Mr. Brownstone devotes time to this activity three nights a week. The answer is "no". Why WOULD it bother me?
I am so thankful for my husband....

• thankful that he works so hard during the day to provide for our family ~ he more than earns a little down time...
• thankful that he makes it a priority to be home in time for dinner ~ he spends time around the table with his wife and children talking about the day...
• thankful that he is present for bedtime routines ~ he reads to and prays with our kids each night...
• thankful that he is not married to his job ~ he is around on the weekends for family time, for extra-curricular activities, for sporting events, as well as hot dates with me! :)
  
• thankful that he has friends with whom he enjoys spending time ~ he plays an important part in keeping our friendship relationships strong...
• thankful that he is not out doing what he could be out doing.

I believe with all my heart that we should honor our families first, that we should never view our family as a burden or something from which we need a break, and that our lives should not be centered around quality "me-time". However, I also believe with all my heart that guys need some guy time every now and then just as girls occasionally need some girl time. We are human, and we need friends! Four and a half hours maximum for the week is really not that much to ask, especially considering that it is always time spent after family time, after the kids are in bed, and always while I am doing something, too. It never takes priority over anything that we might choose to do together during that time frame, but I want for him to have that guy time during the week. (A bonus is that it allows me some time for activities like blogging, pleasure reading, talking to my girlfriends, a movie with my friends, a weekly Bible study with the other XBOX Wives, and kid-free bubble baths...) Mr. Brownstone and I encourage each other in developing and maintaining friendships, and I believe our marriage is richer for it. (Another bonus for us is that my best friends are married to his best friends!)

Here are some things that I know:
Mr. Brownstone is always home for dinner. He is active with our kids. He is home at night. He is not sitting in a bar drinking or watching other women take off their clothing. He can be a guy around the guys. Guys get "guy things"! He encourages my friendships. Girls get "girl things"! We spend quality time with each other as spouses every day. We trust each other. We love each other. Why would his game nights bother me?

I am so thankful for Mr. Brownstone. I am also thankful for his friends. (They are my friends, too!)

On a final note, I am thankful for the way that Mr. Brownstone can bring a smile to my face and make me laugh...right now, he is playing XBOX Live with his buddies, but he is also watching a football game on television. He SAYS that it is on so he can hear the weather reports. I do not believe that for one second, and he knows it. After all, boys will be boys. He's got a headset on his head, a game controller in one hand, and a remote control in the other. He is also somehow managing to sneak in bites of Boston Cream Pie chased down by a tall cold glass of milk. No, XBOX nights do not bother me!

BOYS WILL BE BOYS...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/10/boys-will-be-boys.html