For Kris...

Today my husband of 11.5 years turns 32 years old.  In an attempt to give him some sort of gift that DOES NOT consist of spending-his-hard-earned-money-that-we-are-currently-out-of, I am dedicating this blog post to him.  Being featured on a blog is, after all, the highlight of any man's life, is it not?  It will be like a dream come true for him.  That's right...I love him THAT much! 

I have also decided that in an effort to be completely lame symbolic, I will do what has never been done before and write 32 things that I absolutely love about my husband.  I don't have the time or mental capacity to try to sort through 32 different things by order of preference, so this list is completely random, in no particular order, and like this sentence, may be redundant.  I'm only numbering them so that I can keep track of how many I've actually written.  Ready, set, GO!

32 Reasons for keeping my husband around

32.  He has the sexiest legs in the world.  That's right, I've seen ALL the legs that exist in the world and his have them all beat!

31.  His face, when properly shaved, is so very kissable.

30.  He tolerates me posting mildly embarrassing things about him, both on my blog and on Facebook!

29.  He loves my food!

28.  He will accept me TRYING to be nice to him as a birthday present over a new PS3 game that he doesn't have time to play.  Granted...we don't have money to spend on presents and he is in charge of the finances, but still...me being nice to him (or trying to) is kind of a big deal.

27.  When I gained weight and cried about how fat I was he insisted that I was not fat.

26.  When I kept that weight instead of losing it, he still insists I am not fat.  I insist that he is delusional, but in a nice way.

25.  Early on in our marriage, during some crying fit over my weight, he told me that all that mattered was that we loved each other.  It has stuck with me all these years and brought me comfort.

24.  Secretly, deep down inside where he won't admit it and possibly doesn't even know it, he has a thing for chubby girls.  ;-) 

23.  He took over the finances and got us out of a great amount of debt that I got us into.

22.  He takes me to get my peach tea from QT, even when we really shouldn't, because he has already entered the receipts and we won't have more money for another week and a half.

21.  Sometimes when I've gone all psychotic on him and the kids, he will lean over and pat my leg or rub my neck, instead of yelling at me.

20.  He lets me tease him about playing Star Trek D&D, over and over again.

19.  He thinks I'm funny.  How could he not?

18.  He encourages me in all my endeavors and patiently waits for them to fizzle out and for me to move on to the next thing (sewing, Pampered Chef, culinary school some day maybe).

17.  He NEVER insults me, calls me names, belittles me.  EVER.

16.  He loves our children with a passion that I am thankful for.  Every. Single.  Day.

15.  He rescues me when I am too tired, angry, or depressed and cannot cope as a mother, without complaining or making me feel horrible about myself.

14.  He believes that there is good in me, even when I do not.

13.  When I call myself that bad, bad name he insists that I am not that bad, bad name and asks me nicely to stop calling myself that bad, bad name, even though we both know that sometimes I really can be that bad, bad name.

12.  He reads my blog.

11.  He has stayed with me through some very hard years, when most men would have run as fast as they could in the other direction.

10.  He tells me he plans to stay with me...and I think I believe him.

9.  He is invincible.  No seriously.  He is.  He told me so.  He says he's not going to die.  EVER.  Or at least, not before me.  I will hold him to this.

8.  When everyone else thinks I'm not good enough for him, he assures me that he loves me and understands me, and that our teasing of one another is "our thing" instead of just me belittling him. 

7.  See #8.  This deserves to be on here twice.

6.  He's a good man.  Like, really good.

5.  He loves God and wants to lead our family.

4.  If there is some sort of problem, he will do what it takes, whatever it is, to show me that he cares and that he loves me.

3.  He likes watching TV with me.  Even some shows that most other men complain about, though deep down they really do enjoy it.  Because, after all, no one is forcing them to sit there.

2.  He accepts me, each year, with my ever-growing list of obsessive-compulsive habits.

1.  This last one isn't a reason I love him, it just "is".  I love him.  With all my heart.  And can't imagine spending the rest of my life (he's not gonna die remember?) with anyone else.

Happy Birthday Kristopher!  Here's to 32 more years together...unless I die before that; then you can feel free to die at will, after I'm gone.