I love you, Josh

Today Josh left for a few days to read a paper at a conference in Amsterdam. It is times like these where I realize again how much I love my husband.

Josh and I got married almost 8 years ago- that makes us sound so old!! Anyway, after several rejections , he wore me down and as he says, he “won.” Once we dated for real, he did win my heart very quickly. I loved how smart he was, how funny, how much he truly loved the Lord. Of course, he was very handsome, too.

Not much has changed, except that he is even better-looking somehow and I respect him even more. That’s what I love the most, I think. He deserves every bit of respect I have for him. He is so honest, so loving, so giving, so godly.

I do have to say that partnering with him in parenting has been an added dynamic to our relationship. Watching him unconditionally love our children when I am ready to pretend they’re not mine has awed me. The way he gives of himself to make my life easier as their mother beautifully serves me. Since we had Luke and I was malfunctioning , Josh made sure to rise with early-rising Rebekah and rock baby Luke as long as possible to allow me extra sleep after mid-night feeds- he did this every morning! He also came home to work during naps so he could monitor naps and re-paci while I crashed EVERY afternoon. When I quit nursing, we split the nights for bottle feeds. Josh still gets up with the kids EVERY morning. I secretly call him their “first-responder”- he is the one to get up early to take care of them and get them started- to the point that I think Rebekah will be disoriented and bit disappointed that it’s me tomorrow morning. Josh also hangs with them as much as possible while I make dinner- as Josh says, “Luke has a massive mama crush,” so it’s not exactly quality time with the boy. Regardless, Josh is there for all of us in the crunch times. He even encourages my alone time outings, naps, and girl times and is quite brave about my absence most of the time.

So, beyond missing my husband, I miss my helper, my partner in crime. I miss our silly giggles over silly things and how you love to have contact with me as much as possible. I know the kids miss your “Gemma” and “Cookie Monster” voices, as well as the songs you make up for them to eat their vegetables. Luke may not miss your gentle nudgings toward crawling, but I am stepping in for you there.

I love you and miss you, Josh.

Related posts:

1. 35 Things I Love About Josh
2. Things I Love Thursday: Josh’s birthday {Tolquhon Castle}
3. Josh’s Birthday!
4. Luke and Josh at Chick-Fil-A
5. Menu Plan Monday: Josh’s Birthday {34!}