29 Years Ago Today...

I became united with this man for TIME AND ALL ETERNITY.

Let's see, back in 2008 for our 26th anniversary I did 26 things I love about him; in 2009 for our 27th annivesrary I did 27 of my favorite moments; and last year I did one about the things we had dealt with during that past year.  Can I just say I'm pretty excited for our next anniversary--30 YEARS--WOW!!!
But for this year, I think I will do 29 DIFFERENT THINGS (meaning different than the ones listed in 2008)  I LOVE ABOUT HIM.  Now, you may think oh those are just little things, but I think that's the point--love is made up of lots and lots of little things.

1.  Every time he gets on a plane, he writes me a letter.  I have so many letters that he has written through the years, and I love reading them.  He even writes when I'm on the plane with him.  I had to laugh as we were flying back from Switzerland and he reached across the aisle and handed me a letter.

2.  He really sees that every cloud does have a silver lining.  Oh, if I could have that trait rub off on me ; )  He knows we learn and grow from every challenge and I appreciate so much his positive attitude.  You rarely see this man without a smile.

3.  He's incredibly strong!!!  Not only could he carry me 29 years ago, but...

he can still carry me TODAY!!!!

4.  He never talks down to people.  He is so much smarter than I am, but he never has to show it to ANYONE.  He is definitely a builder--he tries very hard to build people up.

5.  He always wants to make me happy.  Now, I know no one can MAKE US HAPPY, so please don't come back and tell me that.   But as an example, if he knows I'm missing the kids, he'll try to figure out a way to get me out to see them.  And, if any of them ever need my help, he sends me on my way.  For instance in 2010 I was gone to California for a month when baby Georgia was born and in 2011 was in Texas for two weeks when little L was born.

When the final Harry Potter movie came out, knowing how excited I was to see the movie, he went with me to the midnight showing.  And was I ever shocked when we got home and I crawled into bed and he showered and put on his suit, AND WENT TO WORK.  It was around 3:30 a.m. and off he went ; )

6.  He has incredible faith.  He teaches me so much about our relationship with God--he lives what he believes.  I marvel at his ability to trust in the Lord.  He serves so faithfully.


7.  He is so helpful around the house.  In fact, whenever he does something and I say, "Honey, I can do that," he always says, "I know you can" and continues to do it ; ) It used to be very hard for me to let him vacuum or help--NOT ANYMORE.  If he wants to vacuum or cook or whatever I LET HIM ; )  


8.  He is very supportive of me in everything I do.  As I have participated in numerous on-line challenges, he always helps me.  He reminds me to make sure and eat all my fruits and veggies, do my to do list, whatever is part of the challenge.  Even when we're traveling in the car and I have to drink 80 oz. of water, he will make all the necessary potty stops ; )


9.  He knows how important it is to me to be at special events for my children/grandchildren.   Whenever they have anything important going on in their lives he makes sure we are there for every baptism, blessing, graduation, wedding,  etc.

10.  It's important to him that his kids are happy.  Whether it's having to get on a jet ski, getting on a roller coaster, whatever, he wants his kids to be happy.  Last year when Heidi got married she really wanted him to do this special daddy/daughter dance and that was a HUGE stretch for him.  (No it wasn't your typical dance, and he did it)  I couldn't help but think how much his mom would have LOVED watching it--his dad probably would have been a little mortified ; )

11.  It is never all about him.  It can be very frustrating for the kids when they ask him what he wants for Christmas or his birthday or Father's Day and he always has the same answer, "I just want my family to be happy."

12.  Serving others makes him happy.   He is looking forward to retiring, not so he can go fish or play golf, but so we can go and serve missions, and I can't wait ; )

13.  He knows how to have a good time and he wants everyone else to have a good time, too.  As you know from the title of my blog, we love to travel.  Through the past 29 years we have taken some great trips--whether it's a long trip or a day trip.  This was one of our first "trips" over the mountain to go to Reno for Christmas.

And through the years there were lots of trips to Herrington's.

He worked so hard putting everything together for the trip to Hawaii for his mom's 90th birthday--the smiles on everyone's faces made him so very happy--have to admit some of those faces don't look very happy, do they ; )  But, he loved the card they gave him.

14.  He loves taking me on adventures--the first 15 years of our marriage we moved something like 9 - 10 times.  It truly has been quite the adventure.  I had the packing down to a science.

15. He is always right there when I need him.  I know it was so difficult for him to watch me go through my miserable pregnancies, he did so much to help.  He was so wonderful as I delivered each one.  Of course, he was disappointed when Richard wouldn't let him help stitch me up after I delivered Brent!!!!

16.  In fact, he is right there whenever anyone needs help.  He is incredibly generous with his time.  Because  he gets up fairly early in the morning, quite often he gets to be before 10.  Yet he has never told me not to wake him up when someone calls and needs to talk to him.   If there's ever a service project, he is right there.

17.  He knows how much I love to run and is so encouraging.  When I ran my first race, a 5 K in 2009, he felt bad that he was in Utah for Conference and wasn't there so he called one of my friends to make sure she'd go with me and take pictures.

He was there to cheer me for my first 10 K which Elder Rob and I ran a couple of weeks before he left on his mission.

He may not have been there when I ran my first half-marathon in Utah, but he gave me a note of encouragement to read each day I was gone.  I LOVED IT.

It was so fun to have him there cheering me on in Indianapolis when I ran that half-marathon.  He did a great job of taking pictures.

18.  Food is an important part of his life--AND MINE.   You may wonder why that is an important thing for me, well, it's simple--I LOVE TO EAT.  When he was set apart for his mission he was blessed that he would like the food--and like the food he did.  In fact, he gained 70 pounds on his 2 year mission.  Fortunately even though I think he has enjoyed the food I have cooked, he hasn't gained weight at that same rate during our 29 year marriage ; )  When I make something new, he's a great "food critic" and I don't mean he criticizes but he will tell me if it needs more of this or that.  

19.  I love that he is so honest--I know I can always trust him.  Obviously, in a marriage that is so very important.

20.  He is such a great example.  I have learned so much from watching how he does things.  I love that my kids have him to look up to.

21.  He knows how to laugh.   He is such a fun guy--we have had so many laughs together.

22.  There is nothing quite like having him put his arms around me and tell me EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE.  He really does help me remember to keep perspective.  He reminds me all the time that some things just don't matter and worrying doesn't change anything.

23.  He always makes me feel LOVED.  It's one thing to tell a person you love them, it's quite another to show them.  I feel so very loved.

24.  In the words of Carly Simon--Nobody does it better.  Yes, it really does "make me feel sad for the rest".  He treats me like a queen and I know how blessed I am.

25.  He loves the missionaries.  This is the first missionary he set apart back in 2006.

And obviously we love having our little missionary out in the mission field.  (So excited because we get to talk to him in a little over two months ; )

26.  Temples are very important to him.  This was such a special day for all of us.

Sealings are so incredibly special, but when he and his sisters were sealed to his mom and dad and we were thus all linked together it was WONDERFUL.

We love going to the temple.   We are so very excited about getting a temple here in Winnipeg.

27.  He is an incredible man.  In case you haven't figured it out by now, I think he's pretty great.  I love it whenever he speaks at Church--don't tell anyone, but he is my favorite speaker ; )  He gave a fabulous talk last night and I'm looking forward to hearing him this morning.

28.  He knows how much I love flowers and he sends/brings me flowers quite often.  I remember when we were dating and he used to send me flowers, one of the men I worked with said, "Oh, he'll stop doing that once you're married".  Well, HE HASN'T STOPPED YET!!!

29.  He is GREAT.  I LOVE HIM SO VERY MUCH AND AM SO GRATEFUL WE CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER.  


He doesn't read my blog very often, but in case he does I want him to remember how much I love him.

It's been a fantastic 29 years and I'm looking forward to whatever life has in store--as long as he's by my side I know everything will be okay.