The house is quiet right now. The five sweetest people in this world to me are sleeping peacefully in their beds. This silence and solitude does not happen often, so I must take advantage of this time while it is mine.
I have wanted to write something for my husband for some time now, but time and brain cells seem to be forever lacking. However….if I’m waiting on my brain to be functioning properly, Heaven knows, I’ll never do this.
So….in honor of my husband. A little post to (hopefully) encourage him.
To the man that is still and will forever be the man of my dreams….(SAP!)
How could I ever begin to fit into one single post, or really, a thousand and a half, all the ways that he has changed my life???? If I just tried to encapsulate all that he has been to me and for me in the last 2 years alone, I would be in deeper water than I ever have been before. So, I thought it would be easiest to mention a few things that I want to thank him for.
So….here we go….
Richard,
Thank you for your patience with me….
Thank you for being such a great leader in our home….
Thank you for working so hard so that we have all we need (as far as material things go)….
Thank you for coming home every day with a smile on your face, even when you know you will be walking into noise, and chaos, and more NOISE….
Thank you for being honest and honorable…
Thank you for supporting me….even when most people think I’m crazy….
Thank you for always being my voice of reason….
Thanks for holding me back from going completely off the deep end….
Thank you for faithfully praying for me…
Thank you for helping to keep me together when I was falling apart….
Thank you for being my calm in the midst of terrifying storms….
Thank you for holding me through the most difficult moments of my life….
Thank you for continually pointing me back to Christ…
Thank you for always being the first one to settle conflicts and make peace (maybe one day I won’t be so blasted proud)….
Thank you for reading with me and writing songs with me….
Thank you for how you love and care for our children….
Thank you for drawing me out when I try and hide away….
Thank you for dreaming with me…..
Thank you for sticking with me even when I can be so difficult (more of a nightmare) to deal with….
Thank you for showing me what forgiveness is, again and again….
Thank you for how in tune you are to my feelings (of course, I should be thanking your mom and sisters for this)….
Thank you for being sensitive…(again, thanks to the women in your family)
Thank you for ALWAYS caring….about everything….
Thank you for always listening….
Thank you for never making me feel stupid (I’m sure this takes some real humility on your part)
Thank you for serenading our home with song….
Thank you for being willing to be “child like”, whether playing with our children, or just having fun….
Thank you for sharing a bed with me for almost 8 years….thank you for never kicking me to the couch 
Thank you for always encouraging me to live….
Thank you for making our home joyful….
Thank you for opening doors for me (when your arms aren’t full of babies)….
Thank you for at least trying to keep me in line (you are only a man, afterall)….
Thank you for honoring and respecting me….from the beginning till now….
Thank you for treating me like a lady, and encouraging me to be one too….
Thank you for never making me feel guilty for the loads of money I have cost our family lately (medical bills, etc.)….
Thank you for the countless hours of sleep you have lost on account of me….
Thank you for NEVER complaining about all of the difficulties my sickness have caused in our lives….
Thank you for never making me feel ashamed or embarrassed….
Thank you for waking me with kisses EVERY morning ….
Thank you for all the things I shouldn’t write about publicly….
Thank you for being faithful to me….
Thank you for always putting my needs before you own…at least most of the time…:)
Thank you for telling me I’m the most beautiful woman in the world (even if I don’t believe it)….
Thank you for loving me….
I could go on and on and on. I love my husband with all of my heart. When I was young I used to dream about the man I would marry when I grew up, and I promise you, what I dreamed up was not half as extraordinary as what I have today…..and forever.
I love you, Richard Mann! (stop blushing)
Women, let your husbands know how much you cherish them! Husbands, likewise.
