A love letter to my husband

My Dearest Handsome Man,
Eight years ago today the weather was A LOT like it is today...  cold and rainy.  But that cold rain is one of the things that made our wedding day so special.  Weird, I know.  But I love the fact that despite what the weather was like outside, the overwhelming joy of marrying you was shinning brighter than the sun in my heart!

Perhaps my favorite memory of that day was when I was asked how it was possible that I could be so calm on my wedding day and upon reflection I answer that it was because God had made it so clear to me that this was His plan for my life that there was no need to be nervous!  And I can honestly say that marrying you was God's plan for my life.  And that plan has been AWESOME!!!!

You are my BEST friend, Keith.  I know it is not cool to say that.  I know I am "supposed" to prefer to spend time with my children and girlfriends but that is just not the truth!  I do not just love you, I LIKE you.  I like to hang out and watch football with you.  I like to talk politics with you.  I like the fact that just hanging out with you and doing not much of anything is better than do a whole bunch of something with other people! 

Please do not get me wrong, you can certainly irritate me at times & I am I certain that I can get under your skin every once and a while.  But you and I did not go into this marriage with rose colored glasses.  We knew it would be hard work and I want to THANK YOU for your commitment to working hard.  I want to thank you for being emotionally available to me.  I want to thank you for allowing me to experience emotional swings and not holding it against me or just dismissing them as hormones.  I want to thank you for always guarding your heart against passivity and being cliche`.  I actually LOVE when we hear things about "how all men act" and thinking "Keith NEVER acts that way".... 

Eight years... I cannot believe it.  Eight years... four (and a half) children..... I cannot believe THAT!  I can HONESTLY say I did NOT expect the be expecting our fifth child on this day eight years ago.  But I am so happy that we have gone on this journey together.  And perhaps my greatest memory of childbirth will always be you saying (not a minute after Kailyn was born)  "WE HAVE GOT TO DO THIS AGAIN!"  You are an INCREDIBLE father and that is a gift beyond words to me as a wife and mother.  We talk about love languages periodically and I can easily say that each time I see you being a loving, Godly, attentive father to our children (which is ALL THE TIME) my love tank overflows!

Your commitment to do the right thing & your integrity are so clearly based in seeking God  and doing His will that it is easy to follow your lead.  I KNOW that I am not always the easiest woman to live with.  I am a hard-headed woman!   I have made mistakes financially that we are still paying for but you have taken all that in stride.  You truly understand the concept of forgiveness and practice it in your life daily.  Thank you for loving me, flaws and all!

I cannot say that you complete me,  but you ALWAYS point me to the one who will complete me...  Thank you for eight years of servant leadership.   Thank you for eight years of fun and passion.  Thank you for eight years of giving me your best every single day!

I love you more today than I did back then!
Your wife in Christ,
Shasta