Bappy Hirthday to Mama's Number One

(This picture was last year's birthday--I'll try to post some of this year's soon!)Today is a special day--my sweetheart turns 34! He continues to insist that that's just a vicious rumor, but it's true. :) On his birthday, allow me to praise and extol him for a while. (It's not bragging if it's true, right?) My darling is truly one of the greatest men I have ever known. You will never meet a more thoughtful, loving person. He really cares about other people and is always doing things to help. This may not sound romantic, but last night he spent a half-hour bleaching the toilet and scrubbing all around it after a little crisis that occurred. I offered to do it and even changed my clothes to grubbies, and he wouldn't let me. And this is after 10 years of marriage! To me, that is real love. We still argue about who's going to take the car without A/C, trying to get each other to take the nice car! :) He makes sure we have a date every week, and often plans creative things for us to do together. He reads with me at night, often choosing something that he knows I would really like to read (right now it's "A Tale of Two Cities"). :)

My darling is a wonderful father. He puts the boys to bed every night when he's home, making sure Exacto and Fluffy set out their school clothes for the next day, and brushing Hummer's teeth, and reading them all a story. He takes them on "Super Kid Dates", often these are bike rides with just him and one of his sons. He is gentle and compassionate with me in my expectant state, patient with my moans and complainings, and quick to offer to let me go lie down for a while.

My sweetheart is a man of faith. He lives what he believes. And he is decidedly in the minority wherever he goes, being a "family man" and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so proud of his standing up for family whenever issues have come up, for always asking for Sundays off even though he rarely gets them, and just for his being willing to be different from everyone else as we strive to raise a strong family.

To top all this off, my husband has amazing talents. I consider him a genius in many respects, although it has taken me years to get to know him well enough to see this quality because he is modest TO A FAULT. I've tried to encourage him to be a little more forthcoming about his abilities, but it just is not natural for him. To really know how gifted he is, you have to hear him play the violin (of course) but also the piano! without music! You have to hear him improvise silly songs with the boys. You have to hear him discuss the great violinists and teachers of the past, about which he is deeply knowledgable but will never admit it!! :)

You'd think that such an incredible person might be kind of stiff or unreal, but DC is also one of the funniest people I have ever known. He has a wacky, one-of-a-kind sense of humor. He still catches me off-guard sometimes by making me laugh hysterically about something he says. This humor has really helped keep our marriage fresh through difficult times and helped lighten the stress of child-rearing.

Happy Birthday to my "Number One Boy", my eternal companion and best friend forever! I love you, and thank Heavenly Father for letting you be my life!