Hail the Conquering Hero

My husband prides himself on giving really great, thoughtful gifts. He prowls second-hand shops on a regular basis and has a knack for finding the perfect things for making the people we love feel special. So you can imagine that it has really frustrated him that his talent for finding great presents does not extend to me. According to him, I am notoriously difficult to find the right gift for. Every year we've been together, he tries to find something awesome for me, and not once yet has he been able to get it just right - until today. My husband won Christmas today.

He started by giving me a bunch of sweet little things he found at thrift stores: a fluffy blanket, a pretty scarf, and a new Stuart McLean book, among other things. Then he presented me with a gift from my siblings: an ice cream maker! (Oh my gosh, I am so excited about this! I have spent the day reading the instruction manual and dreaming about what I can make first.) I thought everything was finished at this point, but he handed me a little card.

I wasn't expecting much; I thought maybe it was a homemade gift certificate for a dinner out or some time together (which I would have loved). I was just impressed that he braved GLITTER (Derek is the only person I know who actually gets angry about glitter) to make me happy.

I turned the card over to find this:

He drew me pictures! It took me forever to decipher the message, but it left me speechless and close to tears. The pictures say:

Angel + Laugh + Lying + Hear + Spoon -P

(Wheel + Hell + Pain -N + Herd -D + Ticket)

Eye Heart Ewe.

For those of you who want time to figure it out, I'll put the answer at the end of this post.

All of that hard work tired him out. He actually nodded off while playing the video game I got him for Christmas (!), and finally succumbed to napping on the couch. Dad also took the opportunity to catch a few winks. Aren't they cute?

The rebus, translated, reads: Angela flying here soon (we'll help pay her ticket). I love you.

Derek is triumphant. Finally, he won Christmas. And I am so excited about planning Angie's visit! Now I just have to figure out what kind of ice cream to make for her when she gets here. :)