Anniversary and Happy Father's Day!!

I know I am more than a little behind. I never had a chance to do a post for our anniversary because I was a little behind and then I had Kyson. Well, now it's Father's Day and tomorrow is Martin's birthday, so I thought it would be a perfect time to get caught up!!

May 23rd was our 7th anniversary!! This is a picture of us before we went out to a nice, quiet dinner without any children. I can't believe it has already been 7 years and I certainly can't believe that we already have 4 kids in those 7 years!!



I am so thankful for my husband. He is such an amazing guy and I am so blessed to have him as my eternal companion. We're attending a marriage and family class for Sunday School right now and each week as we discuss different things that are important in our marriages, I have reflected back over the last 7 years and the many ups and downs we've had and the things that we have learned together. It's been a really great experience and it has made me realize even more just how thankful I am for Martin and the kind of husband and father he is. Here are ten things that I admire about Martin and some of the many reasons I love him so much.

1- The first thing that attracted me to Martin, (well, other than his gorgeous brown eyes) was his testimony of the gospel. I first saw him at institute and then when I heard him talk about his mission at a Sunday Evening Discussion that we always had on Sunday nights, I think I was already in love. I knew I wanted to get to know him better. My roommate and I were fighting over who got first dibs on him when we got back to our dorm room.:) He continues to be a spiritual strength to me and our family.

2- He is one of the most selfless people I know. He will ALWAYS put my needs and wants or the needs or wants of our family before his own.

3-He is a very hard worker. He leaves our family for 2 weeks at a time, sometimes longer, and works hard to provide for our family so that I can stay at home with the kids. When he's home he's always doing projects around the house and working on things that need done around here.

4- He can play the piano. He is an amazing piano player--much better than I am. I love to sit in the living room and listen to him play. He learns new songs so quickly and he's always learning new songs. The first time I heard him play the piano, I KNEW for sure that I was in love.

5- He is very respectful of his mother and he's teaching our children to treat me with respect regardless of how angry or frustrated they may be with me.

6- He can cook, clean and do the laundry. He is actually an amazing cook. Some of the things he comes up with are a little different, but when I am down and out, he can totally run the household. He has done a ton of cooking over the last couple of months and we had some darn good meals around here. He is also not afraid of dishwater hands. He does a lot to help me out around the house. My sisters-in-law are very jealous of this trait.

7- He is the cutest dad. The girls adore him & Kyson already has him wrapped around his finger. He is very hands-on. If he wasn't we definitely wouldn't have 4 kids already. He is such a big help to me. He can do anything I can do for the kids (He even did Mylee's hair for school some this year and he does a good job.). I can leave him with all of the kids, even overnight, and not have to worry at all. This is another trait my sisters-in-law are jealous of. He lets me have breaks from the kids quite often and it helps me be a better mom, so I really appreciate it.

8-He loves me despite all of my faults. He has so much confidence & faith in me as a mother & it helps me have confidence in myself so I can keep our household together when he's away.

9-He's my very best friend. When I'm having a bad day or my best day, he's the first person I want to tell about it. He seems to know when all I need is to just be held for a minute and he always helps me deal with problems rationally rather than getting all worked up emotionally over things. I love to just hang out with him and chat about whatever.

10- He's just plain hot. I know that's a very high school way of putting it, but there's no other word for it. He's got the most amazing eyes and many other features that I could go on about, but won't.

I love you, Martin. Thanks for all you do for me & our family. Happy anniversary, happy father's day & happy birthday!! We miss you & can't wait for you to come home.