The smile on your face...

Lets me know that you need me.

I love this man so much more today than I did 9 years ago.  If you would have asked me that day, I would have said, "Nope, I couldn't love him anymore than I do today."  But I would have been lying.  I fall a little bit more in love with him everyday.  I've realized there's so much more to love than I ever dreamed of - Here's the top 9 for the past nine (in no particular order)!

# 1 - He is the best dad!  Seriously, the best for way more reasons than I could ever write!  He made me cry on the phone tonight telling me about how proud he was of Jackson.  And I wish you could see how fast our curly-top can make him melt!

# 2 - He is my best friend!  I love spending time with him.  From watching ballgames to church to the grocery store.  He makes everything so much more fun!

# 3 - He is a wonderful son!  This past year was hard.  Much harder than I ever imagined.  Watching him stroke his momma's hand and hair and speak to her in the most gentle, caring way was the most bittersweet thing I've ever seen.

# 4 - He is fiercely loyal!  From family to friends to coworkers - he will stick up for you, fight for you or just listen to you anytime, anyplace!

# 5 - He is genuine!  If he asks you, "How are you?"  He really wants to know.  I love to watch him interact with the 2 and 3 year olds during Sunday School.  Jackson and I usually find him reading to 3 or 4 kids after class (with nearly all of them in his lap).  Kids are a wonderful judge of character, by the way!

# 6 - He does the dishes!  Trivial you might say - Oh, no this is a big deal!

# 7 - He is calm!  Sometimes this frustrates me to no end!!!  I want him to be as mad or upset as I am sometimes, but he's not.  He's calm.  He's level-headed.  He thinks about things before jumping to conclusions.  The thing I find most frustrating actually proves to pretty helpful 9 times out of 10.
 
# 8 - He "gets" me!  He knows when my neurotic school brain kicks in and is very patient and understanding.  He knows that in August and May I'm going to be sort of a mess.  He always takes me out to eat the night before school starts (partly because he knows if he asks me to cook, I might literally bite his head off and partly because he wants me to take a few minutes and just breathe a little.)  An added bonus - he helps me grade, cut out lamination and moves my heavy furniture in my classroom!

# 9 - He's the most amazing husband!  He is loving, caring, supportive, protective, patient, understading, affectionate, forgiving, (I could keep going on and on and on, but I better save some for #10)!

I love you, Zach!  Here's to 99 more! 

Verse of the day - "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Blessings,
Kelli

P.S. A million thanks to my friend Kim for the above picture!  Stay tuned for more...