Nine

Dear Troy,

Just this morning I saw a post on Facebook that said, "How will you know if a person truly loves you? It's when he brings you closer to God." And I thought to myself, well, that pretty much sums it up. My number one criteria for finding a husband was that he drew me nearer to the Lord instead of pushing me farther away. Thank you for meeting that criteria. Thank you for teaching me to be more like Christ. Thank you for praying with me and for me. Thank you for teaching me and astounding me on an almost daily basis with the vast level of your spiritual knowledge. If you were nothing else, nothing more than this godly Christian man, it would be enough.

But.

You are so much more.

You're the guy who surprises me with flowers, who tries to surprise me with nights away but usually only succeeds in accomplishing the actual date but not the surprise, who couldn't care less if I let the house turn into a total mess and, who encourages me to do whatever makes me happy.

You're the dad who plays with his boys in the playroom, who takes them bike riding, who teaches them to wrestle, kick a soccer ball and swing a bat, who hugs and kisses them even though they're boys and you're a man and, who tells them over and over again how proud you are of them.

You're the man who cares about my opinion, who kisses me goodnight, who kisses me good morning--sometimes even before I brush my teeth, who says I'm pretty when I'm wearing sports shorts and a t-shirt and my hair is in a pony tail.

You're the dad who goes to every soccer game, every wrestling match, every school performance, and every t-ball game (except that time when you had to do a funeral but we all understood), who works on his sermon late into the night so that he can spend Saturday with his kids, who works a weird schedule so he can watch a morning swimming lesson because his son begged him to.

You're the husband who knows exactly what I'm thinking, who puts up with my desire to drop everything and paint the house right now, who takes us camping and out to dinner, who thinks I'm talented and smart and funny when clearly I'm not really any of those things.

Nine years ago today, we promised to love one another. Forever. For always. Thank you for being a man of integrity, for honoring those vows, for never giving me a single reason to question your love for me.

Happy Anniversary. I love you.