happy birthday lovey!

Today is Chris's birthday, and I am so thankful that he made his debut in this world 27 years ago. Being pregnant has given me a whole new outlook on birth days and how intricately we were all created and formed by our Maker. I am so thankful that God created Chris just the way he did with all his giftedness and passions, and I am beyond thankful that Chris has allowed the Lord to mature and grow him into a man of great love, compassion, and humility. I am beyond blessed to be married to such an amazing man, and I absolutely cannot wait to watch him be a daddy to our baby girl in about 2 1/2 months.
Us at his early birthday dinner last night{More on that, and other birthday festivities, coming later}

In honor of his 27th birthday, here are 27 things I love about Chris. {You don't have to read any further if you don't like super sweet, mushy sentiments :)}
1. His smile and the way it still gives me butterflies
2. His insatiable love for people
3. His ability to make up a song, on the spot, about anything at all
4. The way he knows what I need even when I don’t
5. His gift for speaking--I love listening to him preach every single Sunday!
6. His desire to live simply
7. His sensitive and compassionate heart for the least of these in the world
8. The passionate and driven way in which he lives--he doesn’t know how to do anything halfway and mediocrity is never an option
9. His endless compliments of me and my growing pregnant self
10. Listening to him talk to his daughter in my belly
11. When he calls us “his girls”…I’ve never been more proud of a title in my life!
12. How every single one of my former students at Kemp asked “where’s Mr. Chris?” when I came to visit and were sincerely sad that he wasn’t there
13. How he loves to sing anytime meaning we get to sing together a lot {sweetest worship times}
14. His willingness to work hard for our family, so I can stay home and raise our children
15. The way he loves and honors his Momma
16. His ability to make people laugh with his clever one-liners
17. His storytelling…no one tells a story quite like he does
18. The way we never run out of things to say
19. The way he looks at me that still melts my heart, 9 years later!
20. Listening to him pray for our sweet baby girl
21. Sharing in ministry with him and watching him serve people
22. His big hugs
23. How just his presence makes me always feel safe, comfortable, and valued
24. His commitment to continued education if it will make him a better minister, even when he doesn’t really feel like being in school
25. His patience with me when I am having one of my “moments” and how he can almost always calm me down
26. His love for children and his uncanny ability to make them love him back--instantly
27. The ways in which I see Jesus in him every single day and begin to understand him more because of his heart and life

Happy Birthday, love! Thanks for living in such a meaningful and intentional way and for making my world a better place every single day!