A little over 13 years ago, I met the most wonderful man in the world. Shortly after meeting him, I married him. This weekend is his birthday. He is a whopping 36 years old now! Here are 36 of the main reasons I love Rob.
1. He is my best friend. I talk to him daily on the phone, we talk in the car, at bedtime, etc. We talk a lot. I know there is nothing I can't tell him. I know there is nothing he won't listen to. He doesn't just tell me what I want to hear, he tells me what I need to hear. He is the best friend I have ever had.
2. He is an incredible father. I grew up with a pretty darn amazing dad, so Rob had some big shoes to fill. I am happy to say, that he is filling those shoes quite well. He is the best dad around. He plays with the kids daily and is the true definition of "hands on". I love to watch him wrestle with the kids on the floor one minute, and then ballroom dance with them the next minute. He is always there to help me with the kids. No matter what. He is an amazing dad.
3. He makes me laugh. Trust me, his jokes are not always funny, nor is he. But the effort is always there to make us all laugh. We laugh a lot together.
4. He honors the Priesthood. He takes his role as a Priesthood holder very seriously and treats that as a blessing and an honor. My kids have gone to him countless times for a Father's Blessing and I know I can go to him as well. He is so close to the Spirit and I love hearing him give blessings.
5. He has integrity. This may seem like nothing too big, but to me, it is huge. This is a trait I know he inherited from his own father. Rob is honest. His good name means a lot to him.
6. Rob is an incredibly hard worker. Another trait he learned from his own dad, and his mom. They raised their children to be hard workers. They were raised working out in the garden and yard. Rob truly lives by the philosophy that you cannot put a price tag or a paycheck on a job well done. He works hard and puts his all into the things that he does.
7. Rob has an infectious desire for knowledge. His family tells stories of him as a child and his constant questions! He wanted to know everything about everything! He would spend hours as a child taking things apart and putting them back together, reading books, and overall finding out things that he wanted to know about. I am happy to say that this enthusiasm for learning has never ended and he now passes it along to our children. Peek into our house on any given week, and you'll see my "teacher" husband leading our children in a full blown science experiment of some sort. The kids love it and learn so much from him. Mostly, they learn that it is fun and exciting to gain knowledge.
8. Rob loves to sing. I remember his mom telling me that she never realized how much Rob's beautiful singing voice filled their home, until he went on his mission. When I first met Rob (in institute show choir, of course), he was known for his singing at his apartment complex. People who didn't know his name, knew him as "the guy that sings". He walks around singing all the time.
9. Rob is a great provider for our family. He works so hard at his job and takes his responsibility as our family's breadwinner very seriously. I have never had to worry that our family would not be taken care of. This has also allowed me the blessing of being able to stay home with our children and not have to work outside of our home.
10. I love that Rob isn't a picky eater. Just a small thing, but something I am grateful for. He truly appreciates when I make good dinners and meals. There is very little that he won't at least try...except chocolate of course.
11. I love Rob's hands. He has strong big hands that give great foot rubs, back rubs, and head massages. I love to hold his big strong hands. I love to see him hold our tiny newborn babies in those big hands. I love the assurance and peace that it brings to feel those strong hands on my head when I need a blessing. I love to watch him work with his hands, whether he is madly typing on the computer of building a tree house.
12. Rob is incredibly frugal. Sometimes I don't feel as grateful for this as I should, but I am grateful. When I hear of other husbands who have no idea how to budget money, or who spend money on a whim for things they want, I am grateful for a husband who puts the well being of his family and future ahead of what he wants.
13. Rob is a great teacher. To our children, the youth, and those around him. He is always teaching.
14. Rob has beautiful green eyes.
15. Rob is a great dancer. He was captain of the ballroom dance team at USU and is a great dancer. I love dancing with him.
16. I love that Rob wakes me up every morning very sweetly and softly. (I am so NOT a morning person!)
17. I love watching TV and movies with Rob. It is the best. It is especially hilarious when I can coerce him into watching some beauty pageant or chick reality show with me. His comments are priceless.
18. Rob is very rarely sick. It takes a lot to get him down.
19. Rob is not a complainer. Even when his poor teeth are killing him from his braces or his back hurt from his car accident, he rarely complains.
20. Rob is a very positive person. Even when I am not, he is very positive. Something I am SO grateful for!
21. He can type faster (and louder) than most anyone I know.
22. I love that he and my Dad are so similar in their love of learning. They are quite good buddies and love to talk about everything from church history to Barrack Obama and the economy.
23. He is grateful and appreciative of what he has and tells me often that he appreciates me.
24. He has an unwavering testimony of the Gospel.
25. He loves his brothers and they are great friends....usually total idiots, but great friends.
26. He's hot
27. He never gets on my case when the house isn't clean or laundry isn't done. He just deals with it.
28. He is tall and big and strong. Something that really is superficial, but makes me feel protected and safe.
29. He tolerates my craziness of holiday traditions, impulsiveness, impatience, endless projects and overall living with me on a daily basis.
30. He is a good son and loves his parents.
31. He is very humble and can admit when he is wrong.
32. He is one of the smartest people I know. He seems to know about EVERYTHING! And if he doesn't know about it, he will find it out. And although he is brilliant, he never makes me feel dumb and never has.
33. He has his priorities in order.
34. He is the best life partner that I could ever ask for.
35. He is a great example.
36. I mostly love him because of who he is. I can't put into words his character and who he is as a man. But I love him eternally and am grateful every single day that somehow I was blessed enough to be his wife.
Happy Birthday babe! And here's to an eternity of birthdays ahead.
Me and Rob-Easter 2009. Wow! I do look preggers! It made it especially difficult to try to bend over to help the kids pick up their eggs.
Yummy Aebelskivers for Easter breakfast
Some of the final product. Aren't they just beautiful!?
Riding on the train at Hogle Zoo. The ticket guy was so nice and let us wait for a new train just so the kids could sit backwards in the "caboose". They have never done this before so it was really fun for them!
