9 Years Ago Today...

Today is our 9 year anniversary.  The perfect opportunity to tell you why I love my husband.  Sorry if I make any of you want to gag.  

1)  He makes me laugh. 

2) He's really, really, really, handsome.

3) He is an awesome father and loves to hang out, snuggle and play with his boys.  He changes diapers, does bath time, feeds them meals, plays cars, makes forts, wrestles and tickles. 

 4) He notices when the house is clean.

5) He encourages me to go out with my friends on a regular basis and always tells me to have fun and take my time.  There are never any crises while I'm gone.  And the house is clean when I come home.

6) He's a really, really hard worker and good provider.  I have absolute confidence that he will always do what it takes to take care of his family.  Even though he's a real estate agent in a slow market, he pursues his career with a passion and seeks new ideas to improve his professional skills.  (And I'll note that he's been steadily busy throughout this housing market.) He is excellent at balancing his time between work and family.

7) Even though he's not a natural handyman, he took 15,000 screws/bolts/nuts/washers and 275 pieces of wood and put together a playset for his sons. 

8)  He stays in shape.  We can run 10Ks together (well, sort of...he always finishes way before me).  He's not one of those men who expects his wife to look like a supermodel and yet lets himself go to pot. 

9) He's my best friend.  I tell him everything.  And he loves to talk to me.  We have great communication. 

10) He is great at facilitating discussion and creating ice-breakers for our community group (which we're leading for the first time this year after apprenticing to be leaders for two years).  For example, as an introduction to our Song of Songs study this past spring, he had all the couples wash each other's feet.

  

11) He is 34 years old and still plays soccer. 

12) He appreciates when I am put together with makeup on, but never criticizes me if I don't.  He loves me wearing jeans and a sweatshirt (grey sweatshirt and a white baseball cap to be precise). 

13) He gets up at 6:00am most mornings, comes downstairs and reads his Bible while drinking his one cup of coffee.

14) He keeps a golf club on his side of the bed to beat up any robbers that come through our bedroom door.

15) He's creative in the fun department.

Borrowing an inflatable movie screen to watch "Treasure Planet" outside.

16) He regularly meets with older men in an attempt to maintain accountability and glean wisdom about manhood, marriage, fatherhood and finances.

17) He mows the grass and it looks amazing.

18)  He can make a perfect omelette and a spectacular grilled cheese. 

19) He watches Downton Abbey with me...and loves it.

20)  He loves being outside, going for walks and sitting around a good fire.

21) He's planned for our future and protected our present by initiating retirement savings accounts, finding the best health insurance plan, and making decisions regarding our wills and estate planning, all things I don't even want to think about.

22)  He's really good at finding great places for us to live.
23) He's even better at making the hard, but right choice when the thing you want to do is not the thing you should do.

24) When we're having a down time in our marriage or just bored, he feels it acutely and passionately and actively pursues the protection of our marriage with heart to heart conversations and date nights.

25) He's a really good sport.

2011 Tacky Christmas Party

26) He's just an all-around good man with a good, compassionate, thoughtful heart.

I love him.  Happy Anniversary!

Sharing with: Thriving Thursdays, Rediscovering Domesticity, Thought Provoking Thursday, Thoughtful Thursday, Hearts for Home Thursday, Beautiful Thursdays, NOBH