It is Rich's and Dominic's birthday today. Dominic is 21 years old and Rich is 51. Dominic is still growing into the man he will be, but he is off to a great start.

Rich, though, is such a great example to him, and is the best man we know. He is a man of integrity, compassion, and kindness. He is a man of faith, love, and optimism. It's been a while since I have done this for him, but it has been an extraordinarily challenging week, so here are:

51 Fabulous Facts about Rich
• 1. He is a man of deep faith. If he believes something, he truly tries to live it the best he can, and exercise its principles in his life.
• 2. He takes correction without too much complaint or protest. He has taught me how to humbly acknowledge a fault and truly be sorry for it.
• 3. He loves without reserve. He is never stingy with his love.
• 4. He encourages me and believes I can do anything.
• 5. But he also corrects me and helps me improve.
• 6. When he has to correct me or anyone else, he is careful to do so kindly and out of love. There is never a doubt that he is doing so from any other motivation.
• 7. He still looks at me like I am the only person in the room.
• 8. He makes sure that everyone who hears of me hears how wonderful I am.
• 9. He has prioritized his family to such an extent that he has given up even some of his most cherished childhood and adult dreams, without once resenting us for it. I remember once, at a work conference of his, when I wasn't getting to see much of him because of the events and so on, he dropped going to an optional part of it that he had been looking forward to. In one of the sessions he attended, they were asked what their priorities were in life and if their calendars and schedules reflected that. He surprised me by coming up to the hotel room, when I thought he would be on a bus tour somewhere, and when I asked why answered that he always said that his priority was me and our children, and if he couldn't give up one thing to have some time with me, then he couldn't say that and mean it.
• 10. He will go without a great many things he needs to make sure our children and I have things we want.
• 11. He is not too proud to do any work that will serve his family.
• 12. After more than 26 years together and over 24 years of marriage, he still can give me shivers up and down my spine.
• 13. He has never stopped flirting with me.
• 14. He has set an example of fidelity, love, and friendship in marriage for both our sons and daughters.
• 15. He is obedient to Church authority and teaching and sets that example for me and our children.
• 16. Even though he acts like he is not, he is generous. Just this past week, I had brought him lunch at work because he left it at home, and a man who happened to be at the airport asked if he could get him lunch. So Rich gave him the lunch I brought. This is just one of the thousands of examples I could give. When there was someone camping on airport grounds, he didn't call the police, he sat and talked with the man about how he ended up there, gave him some food, and some ideas on how to get somewhere else. He did tell him that he couldn't just live there, but not until after he had shaken hands, made friends, gotten to know him a little, shared his story, and asked if he could help and pray with him. Likewise, he has had people come to his office in bad shape, and he is compassionate and listens. One comes to him every now and then when he either has a low point or a breakthrough. It has been years since they ever had any work together at all. He saw a family down on their luck in town, living in an RV in a parking lot who needed gas money and more. He got them the gas, helped them get some food, and gave them my phone number (he thought it might be a little less intimidating to talk to his wife, and for them to know he had a wife and family), and invited them to dinner at our house, even offering for them to park at our home, if they needed it.
• 17. He truly believes in unity. When we pray about Church unity, he isn't just saying the words. He checks how he discusses differences with people, and truly seeks to find peace and unity, without compromising what he knows to be true. This includes visiting missionaries from other sects. He makes sure he reads back what he understands of their faith to make sure he isn't misrepresenting it to himself or others, and asks them to correct him where he is wrong.
• 18. He fights fairly, almost all of the time.
• 19. When we argue or disagree, he is quick to reconcile and apologize.
• 20. He is the kind of man who buys me flowers for special occasions, and also for no occasion. He knows that I am not a dozen roses type, though, and goes in to the cooler at the florist's to pick out each and every arrangement himself.
• 21. He treasures our children and wants what is best for them. He is proud of their achievements and supports them.
• 22. He is an excellent provider, never expecting me to pay my "fair share," and working hard to make sure that not only what we need is covered, but nearly all that we want.
• 23. He values traveling with me and tries to make sure our kids can travel with us as much as possible.
• 24. He expects to have a good time wherever we go and does; he is not overly critical.
• 25. He is fun to be around, even when we are doing nothing special. Just shopping at the grocery store or hardware store becomes a date when we are together.
• 26. He will dance with me wherever we might be, including the grocery and hardware stores.
• 27. He laughs at my very hard to understand jokes. He says that he just arranges it all in his mind so it will make sense, and then laughs.
• 28. He is extremely funny and makes all of us laugh all the time.
• 29. He holds my hand or touches me wherever we are.
• 30. He is unfailingly faithful with his heart, mind, and eyes. He has never wanted our children to catch him checking out some other woman. They have grown up with the assumption of fidelity, that it is the norm, and that it isn't too hard for us mere mortals.
• 31. He has taught our sons to be men of faith and constancy. He is willing to turn off movies, shows, turn away from images, stop listening to stories that will not help him do this, and they have grown up seeing that.
• 32. He eschews anything that smacks of deceit or secrecy. He had some more private photos of me on his phone that he didn't want to show up when he was scrolling by for work projects, and was looking for a way to keep them hidden, but the only apps he could find to do so all had advertising about how you could hide this from your wife/girlfriend/etc. and he refused to put anything on his phone that would encourage the kind of thinking that a man should hide something from his wife.
• 33. He confides in me and seeks my counsel.
• 34. He never asks me what I have done all day, and truly believes that my work is valuable, regardless of whether or not it is paid or even if it is completed each day.
• 35. He has taught our daughters that male leadership is generous and self sacrificing, so they will expect that in their own husbands.
• 36. He made a goal to make it to our 75th wedding anniversary, so he is just over his half-life, he says.
• 37. No matter how tired he is or how late it is, he makes sure he takes the time and attention to truly listen to me or the kids.
• 38. He is honestly interested in other people and things. He will talk with interest about other people, their work, their hobbies, their interests, and he makes people feel heard and valued when he does it.
• 39. He is at least as handsome as he was when he first asked me to dance almost 27 years
• 40. He still finds me beautiful and looks at me like I am the most desirable woman in the world.
• 41. Even though he works many hours in each week, he is always willing to cheerfullly help at home.
• 42. He is quick to see beauty and share it with me.
• 43. He is an excellent father and is the kind of father I wish I had had in my life as I was growing up.
• 44. He is not too cool to be openly affectionate and admiring of me. He never puts up a pretense.
• 45. He is a hard worker and is incapable of doing a job half way. Sometimes this is frustrating when I just want him finished and available, but it has served us well and serves his work well.
• 46. He always gives people the benefit of the doubt, even to his own detriment.
• 47. He anticipates what others need and tries to provide it as best he can.
• 48. He is a man of great emotional depth. He is not afraid of expressing his thoughts and feelings
• 49. He is a great eater! He loves food and always eats what I make appreciatively. Even when the meal is not his favorite, he eats it with gratitude and has set an example of gratitude and adventure for our kids.
• 50. He stands firm in defense of our family, even if it means standing up to others, even if they are family, too. He is all in on our family and leads it with me as a true partner in marriage, as the heads of our domestic church.
• 51. He strives to be and is a good man. He inspires others to goodness and is always willing to listen or talk to anyone who is struggling or who can help him be better.

Labels: Birthday, Family



// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 4:17 PM