40 Things I Love about my 40-Year-Old

Today is the love of my life's birthday...the big four zero. This is my favorite photo of him, taken in Orvieto, Italy when we traveled there for a much-needed pilgrimage in 2004. I always think how handsome he looks standing along the rugged and enchanting streets of Orvieto. Lately, Paul keeps saying that he feels old, but I still think he is young, handsome, and wild at heart. I'm ever so thankful that he found room in his heart for me. Happy Birthday, honey! I'm even more wildly in love with you now than I was when I took this photo! :)

And for your 40th birthday, here are 40 things I love about you:

1. your rock solid faith


2. your brilliant and wise mind


3. your outdoorsiness and survival skills


4. your love of mountains, fresh air, and hiking


5. your calm disposition in every storm, my solid oak tree


6. your gentle hands using my fingers as rosary beads to pray together


7. your desire for a chunk of land "off the grid" for self-sufficiency


8. your discipleship of our sons in the faith, guiding them toward virtue


9. your experiences overseas, in the air, and in the wilderness


10. your self-sacrificing heart that so often rescues me when I've had a hard day


11. your handsome face mirrored in the face of our sons


12. your warmth and protection next to me at night


13. your example to our boys of how to become men


14. your devotion to the Blessed Mother


15. your obsession with maps and exceptional navigating skills


16. your tolerance of my poor cooking skills and your willingness to eat leftovers


17. your gift of getting up before the sun


18. your silent way of stewing, but never raising your voice


19. your curly hair that I love to feather my fingers through


20. your prudent way with money, and always doing our taxes


21. your attempts at learning to speak my love language (you are definitely getting better every year) :)


22. your constant provision for our family all these years


23. your dream of building us a log cabin someday


24. your athleticism and ability to play pretty much every sport well


25. your way of doing the dishes immediately after supper every night


26. your grace on the ice playing hockey and on the slopes snowboarding


27. your patience with my mood swings


28. your attention to detail as a hunter, constantly fine-tuning your bow


29. your tenderness and patience as a lover


30. your obedience to all of the churches teachings


31. your unwavering choice to always do what is right


32. your forgiving heart that has forgiven me 70 times 7 (even that time when I swore like a sailor)


33. your service protecting our country in the Navy


34. your past mistakes that have shaped you into the true gentleman that you are today


35. your laugh (I need to make you laugh more often)


36. your enthusiasm for hunting and filling our freezer with meat (this is going to be your year for the monster bull!)


37. your success at reading the entire Bible


38. your playfulness at rough-housing with our boys


39. your generous way of tithing no matter what


40. your pursuit of heaven and helping me get there too