Yesterday was my wonderful husband’s birthday. Words cannot adequately express how much I adore this man. He has done more for me in the past 10 years than I can even explain. He has saved me from myself, lifted me up and helped mold me into a more complete and independent person. A good portion of the woman I am today is due to the amazing character of this man and the way he has encouraged me over the years.

I wish I could say I bought him some big, amazing present or took him to some awesome restaurant, but the truth is I didn’t do anything stupendous for him this year. It’s funny how as you get older your priorities change and your wants shift. When we were newly married I would have never allowed a birthday to pass without planning something special for this man I love. But now that we’ve gotten older – our priorities have become much more focused. Little gifts aren’t as important as they once seemed. With working on starting this family – our priorities have really been laser-focused. Insurance doesn’t cover any of my appointments with the specialist so our extraneous finances are directed there.

One of my mother-in-law’s favorite stories she likes to tell me is from when Ryan was a little guy – maybe 8 years old or so. People would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he always said “a dad.” And over the years, that sentiment hasn’t changed. I watch my husband play with our friends’ kids, and his whole being lights up with joy! He’s just got this amazing understanding and connection to children. It’s a wonderful thing to see and I know that when we have children, they will be very blessed to have such an amazing daddy.

So I may not have done anything spectacular to celebrate his 31st birthday, but I made sure he got to go do something fun with his friends, I let him know how much I love him. And we are continuing on working on this dream we both share. Below are a few snippets of about this amazing man I’m married to that I wrote last year.