35 reasons I love you (not an exhaustive list)

To my sweet husband:

Happy birthday! I don't think I could ever thank God enough for giving me such a gift... but today, on your 35th birthday, I thought I'd tell you my top favorite 35 things about you. If I can't think of 35, then it will be 3.5 which isn't quite so catchy but I would make sure they were really GOOD 3 and half things...

1. You are my favorite playmate (note: that's a lowercase 'p').

2. You delight in all children, but especially in ours.

3. Your enthrallment with God's creation never ceases.

4. You just love people... all of them, in any walk of life. And not from a distance. Never have I known someone equally as compassionate for the wealthy as for the poor.

5. You are endlessly curious - about people, politics, sports, nature, science, technology. What a blessing for me and our family!

6. God comes first. And because of that, I never have to worry that your love for me will sway you to make a bad decision - even when I'm at my most persuasive.

7. Love for us comes next. Always has, and I know it always will. These last two years have been proof positive.


8. You are fierce in your convictions. More fierce than anyone but you and I really know.

9. You are loyal. Your deep friendships are few, but they are for life. What a wonderful example you have been to me, and are to our kids.

10. You have a heart for service balanced by your season of life. You long to serve in so many ways, but always carefully balance it against the needs of your family.

11. Although fully capable of playing "the game" of business, you choose unadorned integrity - refusing to manipulate people or back them into corners. You have chosen to operate in good faith, as a living testimony, every time. I take such comfort in that.

12. You have the coolest hazel/green eyes. Thanks for passing them on, too.

13. You love sports, but are not consumed with our kids being sports phenoms.

14. You love your parents. (I do too.)

15. And yet you understand that we are cleaved together.

16. You love my parents. Even on the days when you don't agree over much.

17. I am so thankful at the energy you put in to relating to each of the kids in their temperaments, instead of insisting that the kids figure out how to relate to you. It takes a lot of energy - and since you get one of them effortlessly, it makes it all the more amazing that you work so hard with the others.


18. You don't have a manipulative bone in your body. You say what you mean and are baffled with the concept of sub-text.

19. The Bible is endlessly interesting to you - and you love to hear what I've discovered too.

20. You love music. And will even put up with my affection for pop music.

21. I still am amazed at how cleverly God put us together - me with my plain old "in the box" systems and you with the ability to make anything work on the fly with only "out of the box" parts.

22. You put such effort into serving me even though speaking love through chores is completely foreign to you.

23. You can laugh at yourself better than anyone I know. So endlessly charming...

24. You can cook. Man, you can cook!

25. You work so hard to keep your physical challenges from affecting the kids... I probably know the most about it, and I think you keep a good part of it hidden even from me. It is a HUGE sacrifice and I am deeply appreciative.

26. You are going to heaven too! That would be a burden on my heart and instead it is such a delight.

27. Your feet are ticklish. The necessary equalizer in a wrestling match.

28. You are so NOT a border collie - but you don't fault me for being one. In fact, you try to provide me with as much working dog time as you can...

29. Mermaid Princess: that he works hard everyday so that we can be here doing fun things like school and crafts and painting.

30. Flash: that he does cool things with me like making catapults and rockets.

31. JackJack: riding on the tractor!


32. I love it that we like to read the same stuff. Well, except for Watership Down. And In The Neighborhood.

33. I love it that you have a wet sense of humor... working dogs blow right past dry senses of humor - we need a good splash of water with our humor to slow us down.

34. That you are committed to growing in your Christian walk... I know we will always grow closer together if we are both drawing nearer to God.

35. That after a decade of marriage and a lifetime of knowing each other, you are absolutely the one person I long for time with, love to share my thoughts with, and seek out in most every circumstance. I am so thankful for the years we've been given together and pray for many, many, many more.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! I love you.