Happy Birthday Daryl!

An early Happy Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! His birthday is not until tomorrow, but I wasn't sure when I would have time alone and un-Hannah'ed tomorrow, so here goes....

In honor of Daryl's 44th birthday, here are the top (but by far, not all) 44 reasons I love him...

1. He met me when I was broken, alone, and with three small children...and it didn't scare him away.
2. He has the strongest faith of just about anyone I know.
3. Since we have been married, he has led by example, being a strong spiritual leader in our home.
4. He has the ability to make me laugh, make me smile, no matter how bleak things seem.
5. He has set an amazing example to our children of how a husband should love his wife
6. He loved me and the children enough and unselfishly enough to want to make them legally his, even though in his heart, he was already their father
7. He is an amazing father, and he complements me perfectly.
8. Our children have healed, and grown, and thrived...all because of him.
9. He can fix almost anything, and has...
10. He remodeled the kitchen, the living room, and the bathroom because I hated the white and hunter green :)
11. We always have everything we need, and most of what we want, because of the sacrifices he has made by working 2 jobs
12. He takes my type A+++ personality and mood swings and rolls with my punches
13. He loves me even though I am often unloveable
14. He makes me want to be a better wife, a better mother, a better servant for Christ
15. He is honest
16. He has never raised his voice to me
17. He swaddled and sang for hours when Hannah was colicky and I just couldn't take it anymore
18. He sits and reads to Hannah when she is trying to go poo poo on the potty
19. Even though he is allergic to cats, he took care of my dying cat that had peed on every pair of shoes he owned, and moved him away so I wouldn't have to see him
20. He took my wild dog Tucker to his house to live, when he got too wild and wooly to live in the apartment
21. He makes me be tough when I need to be
22. He constantly reminds me not to sweat the small stuff...and that most of it is, after all,...small stuff
23. He has rallied the kids every single Mother's Day and helped them make me a handmade gift every single year
24. He has much more wisdom into the adolecent mind than I do, and has been the voice of reason as we have dealt with our teenagers
25. He is unflappable, most of the time--and even though it bugs me sometimes, he balances me
26. He truly loves the children as much as I do...even though he didn't come into their lives until they were older.
27. Even though he hates getting up in the morning, I have never heard him be anything but loving and gentle to Hannah when she comes in our room at 6:00am.
28. He has worked to create traditions in our family that have come to mean so much.
29. Even though I wasn't working, when Hannah was a newborn, he alternated nights with me so I could sleep every other night
30. He makes almost everything fun
31. He shares my love of cheesy reality shows
32. He kills bugs when they get in the house, removes bats when they get in the attic
33. He is the most patient man I know
34. After 8 years together, I still get butterflies
35. He gets flowers for me every Valentine's Day, and sweeter still, for the girls, for in his words, "Valentine's Day is for taking care of the women in your life."
36. He has set the bar high for my daughter's future boyfriends/husbands
37. He thinks I am a great mother, and tells me often
38. He always stays up and waits for the kids to get home, even if he had gotten less sleep the night before.
39. He is protective of the girls in ways that I would have never thought to have been
40. My heart melts when I watch him with Hannah
41. He made me a case for my angels
42. He watches sappy girl movies with me
43. He laughed when I told him we were pregnant again
44. I totally and completely believe that he was sent to us, to me, by God. He may not be perfect, but he is perfect for me, and has made our family whole again.

Happy Birthday!!!! I love you more than words can say, and much more than I can ever express, and for so many more ways than I've listed above. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you in the next year, and I can't wait to experience it with you!!