I like my husband

I've been chatting with Stephen about the fact that I can't think of anything to write about for my 10 minutes today. He has given me many wonderful suggestions. Which got me thinking about what a great guy he is, so I'm going to blog about Stephen.

This summer, the Sunday after Little Guy was born, we started going back to our old church in the big city. When we moved we decided we should try to find a church home in the community in which we live. Three years later we were still homeless churchwise. So we decided that the 45 minute drive was worth it.

Since being back, Stephen has thrown his heart and soul into this little community. He became a part of the music ministry soon after we rejoined, and this Christmas played guitar, flute, and trombone, and sang choral music. This is in a church with about 100 people, so we're not talking about a mega church with fancy gear. This is a bare bones tiny church. I was SO proud of him. His enthusiasm, along with that of another church member, helped them to pull off wonderful music (without the help of the paid music minister who was on vacation), that included many church members who had previously not gotten up to share their gifts with the church at large. He spent countless hours researching, rewriting musical arrangements, and practicing. He was at church from 9:00am until 10:00pm on the 24th, just because he wanted to be. He is so good at identifying others' gifts and seeking to include them. He brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. Did I mention I am proud of him?

That is just a taste of the wonderful man that Stephen is. He works so hard to allow me to stay home and raise and educate our children. He makes wise financial decisions. He is always willing to sacrifice his desires for the benefit of his little family. He works a full time job, runs a farm, helps educate the kids, took a class last semester, and in his spare time in 2006 he learned to play the mandolin and banjo, as well as improved at the guitar, flute and piano. In 2007 he is diligently practicing sight reading music, and learning the cello.

Stephen is a man of integrity and wit. He is passionate, yet is the first to admit to making mistakes or being inconsistent. He loves to argue and loves to win, but will always tell you if he thinks you were right in the end. He is an excellent problem solver and has the capacity to marry seemingly unrelated concepts in a way that is almost shocking.

The boy I fell in love with is "all growed up" now. Turns out I married Mr. Right. Thanks for asking, Stephen... I'm glad I said yes.



In case you're wondering what's in that fabric around his shoulder...



...it's Little Guy in a sling when he was about a month old.

I love you Stephen. :-)