seek. follow. love.

Today is Chad’s 29th birthday, and in honor of that, I’m going to give you 29 (of the infinite) reasons I love him. In no particular order:

1. He’s so smart.
2. He loves to travel the world.
3. He takes very good care of me and Olive Oil.
4. He’s very passionate about wine, and he started his own business, (Un)Common Grape, at the beginning of the year to help teach people about wine. I’m so very proud of him and all his incredible ideas.
5. He makes me laugh.
6. He has a faith stronger than I think is possible for me, so while I may doubt, I always know that he will walk me through that.
7. He’s a hard worker and wants everything to be perfect.
8. He makes incredible homemade bread.
9. He’s an all-around good cook.
10. He makes it a priority in our marriage that we help each other be better people.
11. He starts by giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. His trust is freely given, not earned.
12. He is very handy. He’s built a coffee table, an amazing set of shelves and drawers, a beautiful bathroom vanity, and some cool pallet benches for our backyard, just to name a few. He knows more about home-owning and home-repair than he gives himself credit for and I’m thankful for all that knowledge and care.
13. He’s an excellent writer.
14. He loves making things extra special, and doesn’t think I’m crazy when I spent an inordinate amount of time on the little details.
15. When he does think I’m crazy, he doesn’t run.
16. He does run for fun though, which I find puzzling. When he decided to run a half-marathon, he trained really hard and amazed me with his strength and determination.
17. He holds my hand during take-off and landing when we’re traveling.
18. He wants to be part of a church that is all about building community centered on Jesus, about being there for each other, holding each other accountable, and taking care of each other’s families.
19. He likes to be healthy and green.
20. He loves movies and jumped right on board when I first said I wanted to see all the films nominated for Oscars each year.
21. He cares about people.
22. When I’m being silly, he sometimes joins in. Other times he laughs at me. Both are acceptable responses to silliness.
23. I know I can always, always depend on him, no matter what.
24. He hugs me tight.
25. He believes in me.
26. He’s witty.
27. He’s always up for having people over, whether for a movie or a party or just to hang out.
28. For the past five years, he’s been an amazing husband who is always trying to make our marriage better.
29. For the past nine years, he’s been my friend above all else. And I can’t wait to see what he does next.