Today Terry and I celebrate 35 years together.  This is a picture of our wedding invitation, created by our precious and talented friend, Gary DeLacy.  It was printed on a 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch piece of clear plastic and we couldn’t understand why our parents complained about the small font.  Now we understand.

We won’t actually be doing much celebrating today, but will enjoy some special time together later this week. You see December is a great month for a wedding, but a crazy month for an anniversary.  There are always so many other things going on and so many other things to spend money on that we’ve often celebrated in January or February. But this year we’ll have a chance to get out of town for a few days and just hang out together. No big presents, no big parties, just time together, which is my favorite kind of anniversary celebration.

So in honor of the big day, here are 35 things I love about my husband…in no particular order

1. he’s willing to go on all kinds of adventures with me.
2. he loves Jesus
3. he loves our kids
4. he loves to read and was the most creative reader for our kids.  He did voices and everything!
5. he keeps me warm when I get cold
6. he’s a talented musician – guitar, mandolin, harmonica, bass, banjo…
7. and humble about his gifts and talents
8. he’s so smart about all kinds of stuff and he’s really good with numbers
9. he loves astronomy, history, music, sports, food…
10. he loves chocolate almost as much as I do
11. he’s a funny guy
12. he’s stuck with me for 35 years
13. he encourages me to follow my dreams even when they’re things that he wouldn’t dream of doing.
14. he loves to drive on road trips
15. he always willing to drive (so I can fall asleep on the way home)
16. he takes good care of himself
17. he has always taken good care of our family
18. he’s really good at setting up technical stuff, like connecting the cable box to the TV and receiver and Roku and all
19. he’s steady and strong
20. consistent and committed
21. he works hard at his job, but doesn’t make it more important than his family
22. he loves to travel and has always been committed to making it a priority for our family
23. when we were dating he drove all the way across town to pick me up for church even though he lived a block from the building
24. he does all the yard work even when it’s 115 degrees
25. he laughs hard with me about the silliest things, even to the point of tears
26. he kills bugs and takes out the trash
27. he’s good at researching purchases, trips and all kinds of stuff
28. he let me have a cat (for 21 years) even though he wasn’t a Cat Person. He fell in love with that cat too, even though he wouldn’t admit it for the first decade or so.
29. he lets me host big get-togethers with friends and family even though his ideal size group is about 6 people (including us)
30. he’s great at grilling AND always helps with clean up
31. he goes to musicals with me and doesn’t make fun of them, even though he thinks they’re kind of silly
32. he’s romantic
33. he lets me take pictures of his food when we’re out for dinner, and he stops and waits when I want to take pictures (without complaint) wherever we go.
34. he’s flexible and accommodating
35. he loves me so much more than I deserve! (of course, you can probably tell that)

I’m so thankful that God brought us together. I think I’ll keep him around for another 35, if he’s willing.