GUSH

I have to tell you, I try not to say too much about Spencer on this blog, because I love you all and really don't want you to spend the rest of your life second guessing your marital happiness.

The truth is, I've been keeping a secret:  Spencer is the world's best man.  And that is fact.  Totally unbiased. That seems like a bold statement, but I've been married to him for six years now, don't you think I would know? 

If you are still reading this, having finished throwing up in your mouth, I'm going to expound on the topic.  Why?  Why, it's our sixth anniversary, after all.  I have no money and can't keep up with all the ways that he pampers and spoils me, so I'll blog about it instead.  And after all, the blog is MINE!!!! And how can you kick me out of what is MINE!?! (Oops, sorry to go off into the world of School of Rock there.  Did you catch that, Robyn?)

Anyway... Spencer. He's the best.  Here are six reasons why:

First anniversary: living in Dodgeville, WI--celebrated by taking a dinner cruise on the Miss'ippi

1.  Spencer is Eternal Sunshine.  The house can be a disaster, the kids screaming and throwing things, I'm cranky and chewing him out for something really little, like not washing his hands for long enough, and we're probably late to some function, too.  And this guy can smile at us all and shout out, "Who's ready for some FUN?!?"  And get the kids all excited.  I cannot do that.  Can you?

Second Anniversary:  Having just moved to CA, we had a picnic by a stream on Uncle Brian's Father's Ranch.  Can you tell by my fat face that I was pregnant?

2.  Spencer is Super Man.  He can get up with the kids so that I can sleep in, make breakfast, do the dishes, and get Cadence to clean her room and make her bed.  Then he gets started on his homework and planning some family excursion (yes, at the same time).  When my slow and sorry buns come rolling out of bed, he is happy to see me and then runs along to school.  He gets home in time to calm me down from my just-before-dinner freak-out, where-in I am running around feeling angry and hopeless because instead of fixing dinner I've been dealing with kids and so dinner is late and I'm hungry and blah blah blah... He turns on that Eternal Sunshine and fixes everything.  Then we have dinner, he helps get the kids to bed, does his homework, spends some quality time with me, and gets to bed too late, but still is happy to get up with the kids in the morning so that I can sleep in.

Third Anniversary:  We biked across the Golden Gate Bridge (if you haven't done this and you are in the area, DO IT!) and had a picnic in Marin.

3.  Spencer is Super Student.  He does all that was mentioned in #2, he has managed to get two scholarships, participate in LEAD (wherein second-year students teach a leadership course to first-years), serve on committees, attend all sorts of "networking" (read "drinking") events, and guess what?  He's graduating with honors!!!

Fourth Anniversary:  First "weekend getaway" since becoming parents--went to Venice Beach for two nights--so fun!  Pictured here with friends Chris and Kristen, who live nearby and came to hang out for a little while.

4.  Spencer is practically perfect in every way.  Seriously, the guy is almost always right.  And the crazy thing is, when he's wrong, he's okay with it.  He is competitive but doesn't care if he loses.  I can whine and complain to him about him, and he'll say, "Yeah, you're right.  I'll try to be better."  The fights in my head are always WAY more dramatic than in real life.  He always knows what I want or need or feel like before even I do. 

No pictoral evidence that we actually had a fifth anniversary!  This was a few months after.  Lame.

But we went to a really really romantic schmancy fondue restaurant, Geja's Cafe, in Chicago.  I ate so much I looked like I was having twins.  That was joyous indeed.

5.  Spencer is fun.  and funny.  I've always told him that he seems to always say either the absolute perfect thing in the moment or the absolute worst. One or the other.  He has an open door policy--everybody is welcome, always.  He has a "more the merrier" attitude (in fact, when we were dating, I thought we was scared to be alone with me, because we would make plans for Fri--on Monday, when plans were made, it would be a date; by Tuesday it was a double date; by Wednesday, a group date; and by Thursday it was a party.)  Spencer loves to be in the spotlight but he doesn't insist on it.  He has just as much fun in the background (where I like to reside).  He takes it upon himself to be sure that fun and new experiences are had by all around him.

6.  Spencer is honest.  Honest with his fellow man and honest with himself.  His testimony of Jesus Christ and the Gospel are strong, but he is not afraid to ask questions and honestly examine the testimony and where it came from.  He is honestly interested in the vantage point of others and strives to understand why people do the things they do.  He is honest and moral in his dealings with his employers and with everybody, for that matter.  Where many of us have grown so comfortable with the concept of "little white lies" that we hardly even label them as such anymore, he has not.  I love that.

And tonight he took me to a really fancy-pants restaurant in the middle of downtown Chicago.  You know, one of those restaurants where the menu descriptions are cryptic and the portions are miniature.  But it's art for your mouth.  It was so much fun--and quite good, really.  The creme brulee was a perfect 10.  We talked about moving and about teaching Cadence to read and about our past anniversaries...he laughed at my jokes and made me feel so special...he's a good man.

Anyway, can't help but love that man.  And now you know some of the reasons why.