Celebrating My Husband

My hubby can be a bit picky about what he likes. He does a lot of research before purchasing anything and always knows exactly what he wants before buying. It's certainly not a bad quality, but it makes things a bit hard at gift giving time. Over the year I've just learned to give him some small fun things for his birthday or Christmas or anniversary and then he would go buy something he really wanted.

However, this Christmas I decided to do something a bit different based on some of my blog and Facebook readings. I had stumbled upon an idea that I put in to play this Christmas season. I have chosen to celebrate my husband for the last 12 days leading up to Christmas.

Over the past 11 days, he has received a gift based on that number day. So far I've given him:

Day #1 - A large old-fashioned wall map (he loves maps) which I didn't realize until it arrived was actually a huge wall sticker. We haven't figured out where to put it yet, but he assures me he does like it.

Day #2 - A warm pair of boot socks

Day #3 - Three snacks. I gave him chocolate covered almonds, chocolate covered peanuts, and trail mix. He ate some of these and then shared the rest with his employees.

Day #4 - More snacks. This time I bought him four different packages of beef jerky. He shared that he always keeps jerky in his truck to snack on which I hadn't realized.

Day #5 - Five movies from the cheap bin at Wal-Mart. These were all movies either my son told me my hubby liked (he was with me when I bought them) or ones I knew he had watched over and over on TV.

Day #6 - I was struggling to figure this one out so he ended up with a six-pack of beer. I put it in the fridge in a brown paper bag with a bow on it and waited to see how long it took him to find it. One thing I should share is I hardly ever buy him beer. In the 20 years we've been married, I think I've purchased him beer maybe three or four times. This made it a huge deal for him and the smile on his face was worth it.

Day #7 - A collage frame with 7 openings and photos from our family pictures taken this past fall.

photo credit: KimberlyMichelle Photography

Day #8 - He had mentioned he would like some chocolate covered cherries for his time off work at Christmas so I got him eight boxes. Needless to say this one was a surprise as well. He brought some of these to work too.

Day #9 - Nine pairs of workout socks (he just started a karate class plus a kickboxing class).

Day #10 - Ten new white t-shirts (they sell them in packs of 5!)

Day #11 - A $110 gift certificate to his favorite store - Cabela's (this is really the largest gift he'll be getting from me)

Day #12 - This blog post with 12 reasons why I love him.

Twelve Reasons I Love My Husband

1. He loves God and continues to grow in his relationship with him. 

2. He loves me unconditionally. 

3. He works hard every day to provide for his family. I can't tell you how huge this is for me. I look back at where we started - two very broke college students who decided to get married in a whirlwind of emotions - to where we are today. We are now two stable, loving adults who have a wonderful family led by a man who loves us all very much. I may or may not have gotten a bit choked up saying this very thing to him while we had dinner at the CN Tower this past summer in Toronto. We took a seven day trip to Canada to celebrate our 20th anniversary. 

4. I probably shouldn't tell him this one, but I love how he always breaks out in to song. This may mean that I'll hear him singing non-stop for the next few days, but it may be worth it. Typically they are songs of his own design. Tunes you may recognize, but I can almost guarantee the words will be of his own making.

5. I sometimes wake up suddenly to find his face inches from mine. He'll have a silly grin on his face and a small little smile. I may be grumpy, but I love that he does this...just not every day thankfully!

6. That he can fix or build just about anything. While he may chose not to fix things these days (I now have an appliance repair man on speed dial!!), he has the capability to do so. It has saved us tons of money over the years and we've had some amazing things simply because he had the necessary skills to build it himself. Case in point...his summer project which he built with the help of a friend...our new backyard deck and patio

7. He's a shrewd businessman. We used to talk about how "one day" he would start his own business. The Lord provided a company for him in a different way and way sooner than we ever expected, but has continued to bless us on this journey. He just celebrated his second year of owning the business. 

8. He continues to want to grow our relationship. He's a great role model for the boys on how a man should treat a wife. (Although, last night we did clear the living room pretty quickly when we started kissing. Always great fun. HA!)

9. He is usually pretty patient with both the boys and I. Sometimes we really need that.

10. He's an extrovert. I'm not. We are pretty much the poster children for "opposites" attract and not just because of our personalities. 

11. How even after 20 years together, we are still learning things about each other. 

12. He is my biggest cheerleader and supports all of my crazy ideas, even when he'd rather not.

I can truly say that after all this time together, I still love my husband - even more than I ever thought was possible and even when he annoys the snot out of me - which he still does from time to time! We are certainly not perfect, but thankfully we have learned a thing or two about relationships over the years and my annoyance rarely lasts long these days.

I'm not sure if I'll do the 12 days of gifts again next year, but I know that this year, it was worth every creative thought I had to use to pull it together. 

I love you, sweetie. Merry Christmas!