In Love & In Like

See this guy? I'm in love with him. In fact, I didn't really know that it was possible to love someone so much, but I do. But here's the deal: I also like him a lot too. Someone who is incredibly wise and has had an amazing, long, happy marriage, once told me that "It's important that you love the person you marry, but it's doubly important that you like each other too." I think that's completely true. Joey is my best friend. I like'im A LOT.

Here are a few things I both love and like about my husband. Some of these are more likes than loves, but I'm going to lump them all together.

First and foremost, he's a Godly man. One of my favorite times to catch a glimpse of my husband without him knowing is at night in bed when he's propped himself up on his elbows reading the Bible and taking notes. It's a good feeling to know that the guy who leads our family leads based on God's word.

Secondly, he leads. He makes decisions and doesn't question them. If you know me, this is the perfect complement to me as I am not a fan of making decisions. Although we sometimes disagree, I do trust him completely. I don't care if you think you don't need anyone, security is a nice feeling for any woman. There's just something about being taken care of, it may not be a necessity but it's a luxury.

He's crazy strong and athletic. To me, my husband would fit perfectly into the character of Braveheart or Gladiator. Sometimes it weirds me out that I married this. How is this possible? I walk into the weight room at the gym and see the cute guy who's lifting insane amounts of weight and think, "Wait a minute. That's my husband." Weird. But good. Very very good.

He's a softie. See despite the above, he is tenderhearted and generous. He is loyal to his family and friends and would give his very last dime if any one of them were in trouble. I love this.

He sometimes has OCD tendencies. He only buys one type of pen. In his journal he only writes on one side of the page because he says its more neat. The clothes in his closet must all hang one direction. I've caught him re-tucking the sheets of our bed after I've made it because he likes the corners tucked just so. This all tickles me and makes me love him more. I like knowing these little things.

He's smart. I don't care what he tells you about school not being his forte, the guy is smart. He is incredibly wise when it comes to making financial decisions. He is able to keep on top of all the crazy politics that go on in the world and has the ability to really assess the key issues and cut through the fluff. He could argue his reasons for believing in creation rather than evolution with Stephen Hawking (ok, maybe I embellished, but he could have a serious conversation with the guy on the topic). Oh and he can do lots of math in his head. That for me does it. I always envy folks who can do math in their head.

He likes decorating. I'm not kidding. He actually cares about the color of the curtains, paintings on the wall and such. This can be both a blessing and a curse, in that sometimes we don't agree but I love that he cares.

Lastly, he always lets me know that he loves me. Always. I never have to wonder. This is a gift.

Why am I telling you all this? Because Joey's birthday was on Friday and there was no way I could not do a post about how much I love this guy. So there you are.

Oh, and I successfully made an Italian Cream Cake for Joey. It's his favorite and I was trying to be super wifely. It was successful in that the end product was a success. However, I messed the recipe up twice and had to empty two bowls of batter and start over. That's love, a girl making a cake three times.

Not too shabby if I don't say so myself!