As you assuredly know, Josh turned 35 on Tuesday.  We got up, I made a delicious breakfast of sausage, eggs, toast, grapefruit, and tea.  Yum.  Then, we had a birthday lunch at Jimmy Chungs, a great Asian buffet we all love.  That night Josh cooked steaks, I made twice-baked potatoes and salad, and then we had coconut cream pie…well, Josh and I had pie- the kids had ice cream and a fun little carrot cake cupcake Josh’s office mates were thoughtful enough to send home for his birthday- candle included!  I will say that I am awesome at making this coconut cream pie with whipped cream {hate meringue} and toasted coconut flakes- all great tips from my mother-in-law!  Wanting another piece now.  Like right this second.

Oh- sweetness embodied- Rebekah made Josh a “book card” at school that had lots of pages and labeled pictures.  She also made 3 coupons of obvious value for Josh’s redemption.  I do love3 how kids think and give what they treasure most!

Good day, huh?  We even got a date night out of it, too, courtesy of Christy.

Happy 35th Birthday, Josh!

In honor of Josh’s 35th birthday, here are 35 things I love about my man….in no particular order.

1. His sense of humor.
2. The way he nicknames everything and everyone.
3. That he loves me so much.
4. How smart he is.
5. He’s pretty cute, too.
6. How much he likes to eat {almost as much as I do}.
7. How long it took him to wear sweaters because he thought he looked like Bill Cosby.
8. How much he likes reality shows.
9. That we laugh at most of the same stuff.
10. That he’s the father of 2 of the cutest kids in the world.
11. How he teaches Rebekah the Bible and does crafts with her so patiently.
12. How he can find mad deals everywhere.
13. How he can fix most of my problems {even when I don’t ask}.
14. How he’s a total hypochondriac.
15. The fact the he has no less than 30 tabs open at all times on his trusty laptop.
16. That he learned how to hunt to spend time with my dad and my brother, and then ended up loving it!
17. How he can always fit a game of Old Maid in for Rebekah {and usually lets Luke be on his team}.
18. How he has a hard time intentionally losing a game to his 4 year old.
19. His love for all things pie.
20. What a sweet and thoughtful gift-giver he is.
21. The way he crosses his arms when he tries on a shirt.
22. That he understands fashion and colors and what works {and conversely what doesn’t}.
23. That he made a daughter just like him.
24. That he will work for hours on my blog or something like it to fix an issue I didn’t even notice.
25. How well he can explain things, especially complex things, to the point that I feel really smart.
26. His love for Tim Keller and that all I have to do to “win” an argument is invoke his name.
27. How we can’t play on the same team because he’s so competitive.
28. How he abbreviates everything like it’s a big secret or special code {Hey, Em, do you have any CZ?  CZ=Coke Zero} and how Rebekah does it, too, not even knowing Josh does it {see #23}.
29. How he makes me promise I’ll be careful because he only has 1 of me.
30. How even when it’s freezing, he’s still warm- Rebes and I call it his “gift” and make him share it with snuggles.
31. How affectionate he is.
32. How much he likes to talk to me and tell me what he’s thinking about.
33. What precise baker he is- he makes outstanding pancakes and biscuits.
34. The voices he uses when he reads books to the kids- it’s amazing they let me read to them at all.
35. How quickly he can make up a song in the moment- did I mention he sang to me when he proposed?

Josh, I love you!  Have a wonderful day!