What about Bob?

This is my blog, my journal for my children and it would not be complete without an entry dedicated to their father. What better day to do that than our 4th anniversary. Everyone who knows us knows that I was not the least bit interested in Bob when we met. Through his persistence and God's grace we managed to find our way into each other's arms and make it through the first rocky year. The first year of marriage is hard enough without the added stress of no alone time and 2 demanding children. Add to that a new house, stress around having more children and my moody temperment and it is purely miraculous that we made it through that year. And then came the pregnancies - wow - was that rough on my poor husband? Through everything Bob has remained steadfast in his love for the kids and I and strong in his faith. My favorite thing about Bob is that he brings our entire family closer to God each and every day. I like to say that he invites God to the dinner table with us by making him a family member just like the rest of us. He has taught me so much about living my life in a positive God - loving way and I admire how he parents our children so much. I love how kind and generous he is with his time and energy. I love that no matter how tired he is he always rises to the occasion and makes things fun and enjoyable. I love that when I'm down for any reason it makes him sad - even when I'm being irrational and stupid. I love watching him with one of the babies when he has no idea I am there and seeing the pure joy he gets from his children. I love that he easily accepts his imperfections and works on them constantly but is incredibly tolerant of other people's even when they are hurtful and mean. I love that he listens and genuinely cares what I have to say. I love that he considers my brother one of his best friends and says unabashedly that he would do ANYTHING for our family - especially considering that my family makes up 98% of our family. I love that he respects my relationships with my cousins even though he was never close to his own cousins. I love that he is constantly planning for the years to come and can't wait to see what the "empty nest" years bring for the two of us. I love that he doesn't need an occasion to tell me how he feels about me or that he counts our blessings daily. I love that when it feels like the world is crashing down around me he can find the right words to remind me of how lucky we are. I love that he checks in on me every single day at 11:30 no matter where we are or what we are doing. I love that he understands how hard marriage can be and is committed to working hard on ours - he puts our marriage before everything except God. We have been very fotrunate in that my parents and cousins are always willing to babysit and help out with the kids so that we can have time to ourselves. I feel so lucky to have found Bob and I can't wait to spend the next 40 years with him, no matter what those years might bring - if he can put up with me for that long! I hope that each of my children is lucky enough to find a partner as giving and wonderful as their father and I hope that they are paying close attention to his example. Bob is one of a kind - a treasure, for sure and I thank God for him everyday.