28 for 28

Some special guy is having a birthday today and he thinks he's getting old but I think it's just another great year to celebrate. What better way to show him 28 isn't such a bad thing than to give him 28 reasons why I think he's the best.

1. He makes me laugh like no one else. He's the best kind of funny, the kind you don't expect, the kind that catches you off guard. Never corny, always in good timing. 
2. He keeps it real with me. I have a really funny story to tell you that demonstrates this. One day, pre-BK we were listening to the Zach Brown album while driving to church and the song Free started playing. And if you aren't familiar with the song there is a part where it says So we live out in our old van and travel all across this land, me and you.  Upon hearing that part of the song I looked at Allen and with sincerity said, "I would live out of a van with you." To which he replied, "Jenn, you won't even go camping, in an RV, you would not live in a van." Silence. And then he says, "Anyway, I would hope you would tell me to go get a job if I tried to make you live out of a van with me." 
3. He is the greatest dad I have ever seen. 
4. He is a wealth of knowledge about the Bible. He reads and studies it more than anyone else I know and I could sit and listen to him tell me about it for hours. 
5. He squishes bugs for me and doesn't think I'm crazy for screaming like an ax murderer is about to get me when I see one. 
6. He doesn't make me do yard work. Ever.
7. He lets me sing Famous In A Small Town, Kerosene and White Liar in my completely out of character, best, and loudest Miranda Lambert voice. Oh yes, just about every time we ride in the car. 
8. He can pick up a new instrument in the morning and play it by the end of the day and he genuinely thinks it's no big deal. 
9. He lets me talk a lot and he's really listening, sometimes.
10. He tells me I'm beautiful all of the time. 
11. He tells me I'm right when I say that Smart Water and Evian taste different than Dasani and Aquaphina. They do, you know. 
12. He stayed up with me until 4:00 on Saturday morning getting the house ready to put on the market. He cleaned carpets and rugs, helped me organize boxes in the basement and generally kept me on task. We make a good team, us two. 
13. He loves vacations and sometimes even plans everything for us and takes care of all the travel details. 
14. He took off from work last week because BK wasn't feeling good and he wanted one of us to be with her, they went to the doctor and IHOP by themselves. 
15. He always puts her in the carseat and gets her out. Sweet bliss.
16. He is such a big kid, we always have to buy a kite at the beach and he's in the yard playing football anytime there are enough people around to play. 
17. He doesn't complain about taking pictures because he knows just how happy they make me. 
18. He can build anything and do anything around the house. In fact, most of our home improvements were done by him. 
19. He makes a mean blueberry pancake and homemade biscuits. 
20. He doesn't make me watch scary movies. 
21. He gets up in the middle of the night to check things out when I think I hear something outside.
22. He is calm and collected at all times, he fixes things when I get stressed out and frustrated and he even helps me find my missing shoes in the morning (even if I promised to put them back where they go the previous morning).
23. He said it was okay if I picked our next house based completely on the kitchen and closet size. I won't, of course. Obviously, I'll consider other things too, like a good front door and a nice shower. Priorities. 
24. He always thinks of others first and drops what he's doing to go help his friends.
25. He changed every dirty diaper in the hospital and never complained even though he had a double ear infection that he wasn't disclosing. 
26. He pays the bills. I mean literally, pays the bills and makes the budget and insists I stick to it. 
27. He is supportive of any decision I make. 
28. He knows me best and still loves me way more than I ever deserve. 

Happy Birthday from both of your girls, we love you more than you know.  May this be the best year yet.