A birthday letter to Paul

6 years, 4 months and 26 days you came into my life. That amount of time seems so incredibly small when you look at the entirety of our lives, but I honestly can not really remember life without you. As you celebrate your 41st year today, I am overjoyed and giddy with the fact that we have way more years ahead of us together than we will have had in our past without each other. Marriage is a complicated union between two imperfect people, but what I have discovered over these past 6 years, 4 months and 26 days is that no matter how hard it may be, there is no one more imperfectly perfect for me. 

To celebrate today, here are 41 reasons why I love you:

1 // You fill my air tank on the daily

2 // Your ability to fix literally anything that breaks

3 // Your unwavering support of all my crazy dreams

4 // You sing and whistle show tunes

5 // You are taller than me 

6 // You are older than me ;-) 

7 // The way you smell 

8 // Your love of going to the movies together

9 // The fact that you are a waaaayyy better cook than me, but you refuse to admit it. 

10 // The way you love your kids 

11 // The way you interact with Guinness and Toby 

12 // The fact that you make me coffee every morning and sometimes leave me little notes if you have to leave before I get up. 

13 // You love podcasts as much as I do

14 // Your spontaneity 

15 // Your sense of adventure 

16 // Our inside jokes that make us belly laugh

17 // Your love of nerd games and how long it takes you to make every single move 

18 // The fact that we always want to watch the same shows on Netflix

19 // You put up with my constant requests for fountain sodas

20 // Your OBSESSION with making sure all of our plants grow 

21 // The fact that you take care of my car and make sure I'm safe

22 // Your dedication to the Army and serving your country well

23 // ICE CREAM

24 // The fact that you make the best popcorn ever

25 // Your amazing and brilliant ideas

26 // The fact that you will not give up until we have a hot tub one day

27 // How you are patient with me when I'm being hard on myself

28 // You always want me to have the best of everything

29 // You always tell me I'm pretty even when I am a serious hot mess

30 // Your endless quest to help me stop crunching chips so loudly

31 // You are an amazing Instagram husband

32 // Your love of Panera Bread green tea

33 // Your Amazon Prime ordering skillz

34 // Your interest in traveling and seeing new places and experiencing new things

35 // You can pack up anything (car, suitcase, camera bag) perfectly

36 // When you wag your tail when we hug

37 // The fact that you tell me I'm adorable all the time

38 // You are a total coffee snob

39 // You are a whiz with the sewing machine

40 // Your heart for Jesus and your desire to lead our family according to God's purpose

41 // The fact that through your actions and words, I continually feel loved and cherished by you. 

I am so honored to be your wife and partner through all of life's ups and downs. Happy Birthday honey! I love you!