Monday, October 27, 2008

Handsome Man


It's not his birthday, our anniversary, or any "special day" in particular.

I just wanted to let the world know how much I love him. We've spent just over 4 years together, from when we had our "DTR" at Fall Retreat with CRU. (For those of you who aren't familiar with this particular term, it stands for Define the Relationship) At times, I can't believe it's been 4 years already, and at other times, I can hardly remember what it was like not to have him there.

I just love him. With everything in me, I fall in love with him more every day. We have our challenges, our hard days, and life is by no means a fairy tale, but I love it, and I love him.

Day after day, he works endlessly to care for me, to serve me, and to care for our little one that isn't even here yet. 2 1/2 years ago, he started his MBA - not because he wanted to be in school again (although he does enjoy the learning) but mostly because he knew that it was a wise step that would be necessary for him to provide for us throughout the rest of our years. This program has been hard! Like I said, he does enjoy the learning aspect of it, but there have been many seemingly pointless class sessions, projects, and even field trips throughout the whole process.

Every day he leaves in the morning and spends 9 hours of his day working to provide for us, without a breath of complaint, even though he doesn't really love what he does, or all of the people he works with.

Especially in the last 7 months, he has come home from his days ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done around the house. He trims and pounds meat that needs to be cooked, because it makes me nauseous. He cleans the bathrooms so that our little one isn't exposed to any chemicals. He gets up in the middle of the night for juice when I'm nauseous, and has wet more washcloths and held my hair away from my face more times than I'm sure he'd like to even think about! He has turned a junk-filled office into a beautiful nursery, ready to welcome this little one to the world. He does these things, not because he is asked, but because he wants to, before I have asked for anything. In fact, he hasn't let me clean the bathrooms or the kitchen floor this entire pregnancy. I'm spoiled rotten by this man, and I certainly never wonder if I'm loved!

Almost every night, before he goes to sleep, he makes sure that he talks to Baby for a minute, prays for us, and waits for his or her "daily kicks for Daddy". I can't wait to see him be a daddy :) He's gonna be great!

I could say so much more, and could come up with more and more ways that he loves me.

Some days, it's scary to love this much, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. He is my best friend, I love the feeling of his arms around me, and I still treasure waking up next to him every morning.

What can I say, I just love him.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Yummy chicken recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes, adapted from one of my sister's recipes. It's really yummy and pretty easy!

You will need:
  • 1 pack chicken breasts

  • 1/2 bottle or so of your favorite barbecue sauce

  • Deli ham

  • Cheddar cheese

I usually try to pound out the chicken so it's kind of thin, it cooks faster, and is more tender that way!

  • Tenderize chicken
  • Place in 9x13 pan (or smaller, if it will fit)
  • Lay ham slices on top of chicken
  • Top with cheddar (or Swiss cheese, if you like it)
  • Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or however long it takes to cook the chicken all the way through. This will be affected by how thin you pound it out!

It's really yummy, and is pretty good left over. Enjoy!