A Tribute of Sorts

I thought I would take a moment to brag on my sweet husband for a minute. I never want to be the kind of wife who takes the little things for granted - especially since I have a fantastic husband, and I really do have so many things to be thankful for. Since it is 4:00 right now, I think I will just list four things that I love about my husband very quickly before I move on to my next Spring Break Activity - Shopping for flower seeds to start for our garden. I started veggies, but now i need to start my flowers!! it's SO much cheaper this way!!!! :)

A Short List of Reasons Why My Husband is Neat

(in no particular order, and DEFINITELY not all-inclusive):

1. Song - My husband is the most goofy, impromptu, and creative musician I have ever met. We have signature Power Family songs that have originated from nothing but my creative husband's brain including the hit singles "Wheat", "Ghost Kitty", "Dexter", "Gimme That Chocolate" and many more. I'll post the lyrics to these hits later in the post.

2. Order - In our marriage, we are almost always complete opposites of our close friends (and most normal couples, i think...). I (a woman) am the messy one. I am cluttery. I am a hoarder. I am a compulsive shopper/collector. I am the one that wants everything that I see. My husband (a man) is the clean one. He is a minimalist to the utmost degree. He wants to get rid of everything in our house. He could live with nothing but a panini press, cereal bowl and refrigerator. :)

The first time I saw his bedroom before we were even dating in college, I walked in to find a desk with nothing on it but a lamp and a pen, a bed, a nightstand with a lamp and alarm clock, a rug, a t.v. on a stand, a stereo and a CD Tower. That is all. My first words, "WHERE IS ALL OF YOUR STUFF?!" I then proceeded to make him curtains at least to warm up the place a bit. It was all over after that. The poor guy never stood a chance... I had already put a crack in his wall of Minimalistic Living.

I am constantly fighting against my nature for the simple reason that I love my husband and I know that if I leave my dishes until I get home with more time, or leave the bed unmade because we're just going to get in it and mess it up again, or leave my clean laundry stacked up in piles in the laundry room or the closet instead of taking the 5 minutes it takes to put it away because I would rather be doing anything else and I'm just going to wear the stuff again and have to wash it and put it away ALL OVER AGAIN...My sweet, clean, orderly minded husband might just have an aneurism from things being so unruly. His brain can't handle these things.

I am not very good at them STILL after almost two years of marriage, but I PROMISE that I am constantly trying (i do get lazy sometimes, and for that i am ashamed and so utterly sorry...) to mold my mind to thinking more like his in these areas because i REALLY DO love a clean, orderly home...i just don't like MAKING/KEEPING it that way...

...that was long... sorry!

3. Laughter - I have always heard that one of the most important things in marriage is to have fun together. It is impossible to not laugh with my husband at least 5 times a day - even if we hardly see each other during our crazy work weeks. From the aforementioned songs, to kitchen booty-dances, to his "Monstie" drawings on the steamy mirror/shower door, to his "stupid" quotes from The Ticket or any movie he has seen lately, to him making fun of me for totally not being funny at all and yet still trying hopelessly... There is never a dull moment in the Power house. Literally. I love it. I would hate it if these were ever missing from my life.

4. Adventure - Aaron is always up for almost anything. We both love to travel. When we got married, from day one our finances included three different savings accounts. House, Emergency Savings, and Vacation. This way, we always (well, within reason...) have the ability to at least take a mini vacation or trip if the time becomes available to us. We love trying new things (from food to sporting activities (skiing for me... still scared...haha) to new countries or new cities closer by). We love our friends, and finding new things we can try WITH our friends. I can't wait to look back on all of our adventures together in five, ten, twenty, fifty years (as long as the Lord blesses us with life on the earth).

yes, i know... i said four, but I will give you a bonus one.

5. Provision - Our provision is and always has been, from the Lord. However, as far as working to provide for his family, my husband is a stud of all studs. He is a hard worker, and he is extremely good at what he does. Everyone he works with loves him (naturally!), and he is continually exceeding expectations by his superiors. He makes me so proud.

Aaron (unlike almost every other teenage boy-man) decided his college major simply because between all of the majors he considered, this one (Logistics and Supply Chain Management) was sure to provide for the wife and family that he one day hoped the Lord would bless him with. He knew that as the head of a household it would be his responsibility to provide for those in his care, and he planned accordingly. This still blows my mind.

I truly have been blessed by my husband in many many many ways. I just wanted to share those few with you.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend (and for those others of you who are also enjoying the first day of your Spring Break, i hope you are enjoying the knowledge that there is no work next week!), and I hope you take a moment to thank God for the little things that he has blessed you with in the people he has surrounded you with.

Love, Denise (MRS. Aaron Lane Power. :) ).