I love my mom. My dad. My son, my daughter. I love them dearly. There is one thing these 4 people have in common with me, and that is that they were given to me. God gave me my beloved parents. He gave me my children. But my husband....God put us in each others' path, and he knew what my decision would be, but in the end, He did give us free will, and I DID choose him.
He's goofy. He's very tall. Sometimes he's a butthead. But he's MY tall, goofy butthead. Let me tell you about my best friend.
Husband is younger than me, by a year and 8 months. He gets really irritated when I call myself a cradle robber though. He's got a sarcastic sense of humor. He likes Rush, but his taste in music, while not exactly a "wide " variety, includes the music of many bands, so much so that he had to get a bigger iPod just to fit it all. He's a drummer; he's been drumming in some way, shape or form since he was 4. He's been in several bands, but quit earlier in the same year that he joined the Army. He joined the Army to help. He's very much like his dad; they have similar interests and behaviors, but then there are times when he's the polar opposite of either of his parents. He's kid #3 of 4, and the tallest of everyone in his immediate family. Fiercely protective of those he loves, but he also wants us all to be able to take care of ourselves. He is very fond of a simplistic, rustic, and maybe at times antiquated way of life. He hates social media, He's what you'd call the opposite of a conspiracy theorist. He's more likely to believe that nothing is going to happen, than that anything could. He's the picture of hard work and self-reliance. When you look up "building a house by myself" it gives you advice to call contractors, and that frustrates him because he ACTUALLY wants to be the one building it himself. He loves his kiddos; he's the one that gets down on the floor to play with them, tease them, wrestle with them. His favorite color is orange.
This is the man I chose. The one that listened with compassion as I told him my worst fears, things that made me cry, things that interested me. This is the man that listened last night when I told him I was scared, and hugged me until I calmed down, that let me cry on his chest even though it makes him uncomfortable. This is the man that God dropped on my lap, and that I chose to keep.
On one of our few date nights. We rode the bike up the mountain and watched the sun go down.
Shortly after another date, before we were married. The only reason I'm that close in height is because he was sitting on a bike and I stood next to him...
Holding a newborn J in the hospital.
Halloween night, 2012, he sat and talked to a still-new J.
He played a game and J sat with him, watching.
Our very first family walk up the canyon. It was my victory, and he was super proud of me. J was grumpy.
Reading one of G's favorite books to her at bedtime.
G loves giving him hugs. She was 4 here.
Here's the controversial part. I believe, biblically, that God instructs women to put their husbands above their children. I mean, by all means, don't neglect the kids because Hubby wants a sammich, because that's just plain ridiculous, but the man is meant to be the head of the household, he's meant to be the spiritual leader of the family, and while a Godly, responsible man will most definitely take what his wife says into account, and for the good of his family, he is the one responsible for making the decisions. We are a traditional family. It has always been our intent that I be the one to stay home and care for our children and home, I do the cooking and the cleaning, and he earns the money that our family needs to keep going. We've made it work this way since summer of 2011, and we were married in early spring 2011. We've made sacrifices, we have scrimped and saved, and been budget smart, and we have not come across a crisis that demanded I get a job yet. We have paid for court battles, new vehicles, new gadgets. Under his direction, I have learned my way through basic car care, anger management, cooking...he's taught me so much, he's learned from me too.
Someday my kids will grow. They will leave, and they will form families of their own. And when all my kids move out and onto their own lives, I will wake up, and the only other person in my home will be him. God gave me my children, but He will guide them onto their own lives. My future is him, and I chose that future.
