Happy, Happy, Birthday Benjamin Dear

Not to make everyone barf cuz I'm not usually one for public expressions of love (Why is that? I'm not even a hugger. It makes me uncomfortable. I used to have this relative who always wanted to kiss everyone on the lips and she was a smoker. Disgusting. Anyway...RANDOM), but I just gotta say that my husband is the best! I love him so much. Right now he is completely exhausted, passed out on the couch, and I just looked down at him, and he looks like a little boy who played too hard. Cute. And my boys look just like him. Lovin that.


Ben is 29 today (1.5 years my junior), so here are 29 things that I love about him..haha just kiddin that would be WAYYYY long. I could do it, but would anyone really read it? And if you didn't, it wouldn't really do him any justice, so how about since his birthday is the 7th, I will list 7 things.


1. He is SO fun! For Christmas my dad got a ping pong table. But the only place in my parents' house it could go is in the garage. However, my mom got her Christmas wish as well. My dad and brother cleaned out the garage enough so that she could park in it. And she can. If my dad is the one who parks it. AND it is literally touching things from the piles of who knows what they are keeping on the other side of the garage. Anyway, they put it on the back newly-extended and newly-covered and soon to be enclosed as a Florida room, patio. The problem is that is was FREEZING while we were home for almost 2 weeks at Christmas and no one wanted to go outside to play. Except Ben. He made us all bundle up in ski-wear and mismatched gloves and coats and silly hats and play "Polar Bear Ping Pong." None of the rest of us would have dared go out in the cold and snow, but Ben got out there every day and scraped the ice off the back patio so we could all play. And we laughed and had so much fun! Then there was the time on our cruise that we took a RHINO on the highway in Mexico to the tourist attraction Blowhole and to the sand dunes and Ben jumped off all these huges jumps and we got air and I about broke my collarbone on the seatbelt, but we still laugh about it!
2. He is such an awesome dad. Seriously, folks, they are working him to DEATH in med school, but he comes home and is so excited to see his boys. Jackson literally runs to him as soon as he comes home and they chase and wrestle and tickle and play video games and watch football and share snacks. They are best buds. He takes study breaks so he can occasionally give the boys a bath, read them a story, and participate in family prayer with us. He is always trying to find ways that he can share something fun he discovered in his childhood withour boys. He CANNOT wait until Jackson can go hunting with him (cough, cough, I can, though, cough, cough). But he isn't just the fun dad, he makes sure Jackson respects me, and reinforces our house rules and provides consequences if need be, too. If Jackson is disobedient, all fun ceases immediately until the problem is dealt with and resolved and then fun can resume. He is stern, but not harsh, and he always gives him a hug and says I love you when he is done dolign out the discipline. He is a great example to me, as I have a tendency to sometimes be "the nurturer" and can be too lenient at times.
3. He loves my family and they love him. Seriously, my mom dubbed him "Ben the Beloved" almost from day one. It is on his stocking even. He went skiing in Colorado with just my dad and brother and talked politics the whole way with my dad and played Xbox in the back of our Jeep with my brother. My sister asks his advice on her boyfriends and knows he will be straight with her and that he wants the best for her. He is one of the only people who can put emotions aside when it comes to her and just tell her how it is. I think if we split up, they'd keep Ben and my boys and throw me back. :)


4. He is so supportive of me. His daily grind is unbelievably stressful and insane, but he listens when I tell him I've had a hard day or that I am having a hard time, and he tries to be my knight in shining armor and fix it for me. Whatever I need to make things easier, he is willing to try it if it is feasible.


5. If he does something that annoys me, like leaving dishes in the living room and dirty clothes everywhere but the hamper, I can just tell him, and he is apologetic and really does try to be better about that instead of rolling his eyes, or calling me a nag or completely ignoring me. He hears me and truly wants to help my day be as easy as he can. (So I appreciate that and usually just pick it up and decide it isn't the hill I want to die on and that he has more important things on his mind than dishes and get over it.)


6. He works hard. Not just at school, but at whatever he is doing. If his working on a project at home, he doesn't settle for rigging it somehow. He will find out how to tackle it (if he doesn't already know how, which he usually does.) and get it done. He has built furniture for my preschool, fixed drains, put in shelving, built us a deck, assembled our play station, built a play loft in the preschool, installed ceiling fans, put in windowsills, etc. All on top of his busy work/school/study schedule. No wonder he is so exhausted right now. I know that Ben will do WHATEVER he has to do to make sure our family has everything we need. It is so comforting and relieving.

7. He is honest and trustworthy. Sometimes I may not want to hear what he has to say, but he will tell me truthfully if I ask him a question about any topic. I know I can count on him not to play games or sugar-coat it. I am a person who is motivated by that. I also know he goes where he says he goes and does what he says he is doing. He doesn't keep things from me. I trust him completely.


Well, I feel that I could keep going, but that is 7 and it is still long. I love you, Ben! Happy Birthday. Enjoy your 20's while they last! Next year I'm throwing you a huge, embarrassing Graduation/30th Birthday party!!!