It's All in the Details

So the other day, Kristen (one of my friends from our first married ward) challenged us to flaunt our husbands.  It got me thinking, as much as I brag about every little thing that Isaac does, do I brag about Andy that way (or even notice all the little things he does)?  Sure, the big romantic gestures are great.  But Andy is a MASTER at being awesome at the little things... and those add up.

For instance... Last Sunday I spoke in church.  Our ward meets at 9:00, so we had to be out the door by 8:45 at the latest so that we could have a shot at getting there early enough for Andy to get a close enough seat for Isaac to not freak out about me sitting on the stand and not right next to him.  Isaac woke up while I was in the shower and Andy took care of him all morning.  He fed him breakfast, got him dressed, and played with him so that I could get ready without rushing and feeling flustered when we got to church.  Not only that, he picked up the whole front area of our apartment because he knows how stressed out I get when it's ridiculously messy.

Or what about the fact that Andy managed to work a 60 hour week last week despite coming home by 7 at the latest every day, and most days he was home by 6:30!

Or the times when Andy will go sit and hold Isaac when Isaac decides to wake up for the day at 6:30 so that I can go back to sleep for 20 minutes before I feel ready to take on the day.

Or that Andy makes sure I have time to shower every morning before he leaves for work because he knows that's my number #1 priority in order to have a good day.

Or the fact that he doesn't laugh when I ask him to pick up a frozen pizza because I couldn't make dinner because I couldn't get an onion/carrot cut up to go in the meal (don't judge... you've had those days too).

Or that he is genuinely impressed that I'm able to get the apartment clean, take care of Isaac, and get a dinner that consists of more than beans and rice or pasta and spaghetti sauce (our 2 super easy staples) on the table relatively soon after he comes home.

Or when within 2 minutes of walking into the door he's down on the floor playing with Isaac.

Or the fact that he's actually upset when Isaac screams and runs to the other side of the crib if Andy goes in to calm Isaac when he wakes up in the middle of the night.  I can think of a lot of men who would be secretly overjoyed that they can't really help with the baby, but Andy hates it when I have to get up 3 times because Isaac won't let Andy comfort him at night.  (As a side note... anyone have any ideas for how to get Isaac over this whole "I don't want to see my dad between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m." thing?) 

The big one though, is that I can't think of a time in our marriage when he has ever told me I need to do better or be better at something.  He'll encourage me when I tell him (every other day) that I'm going to make some change, but he'll never be the one to tell me that I'm not living up.

I am so grateful to have a husband who loves me as much as he does.  I'm so grateful to have a husband who works as hard as he does to provide for our family and allow me to stay home with our little boy.  I'm so grateful to have a husband who I know is in my corner one hundred percent of the time.  He's pretty awesome.  Not gonna lie.

So ladies... what awesome thing has the man in your life done lately?  Whether it's your husband, fiance, boyfriend, dad, or brother.  Just pick the #1 man in your life and tell him that you think he's an amazing man. The world is trying to say that women don't need men.  I think it's time that we tell them that we do.  We need men who respect women, love their families, and set a good example of what it means to be a man.  We need men who work hard, own up to their mistakes, and fear God.  Yes, women can do many of the things a man can do, but that doesn't mean we don't need them.  So tell them that you don't buy into the "men are idiots" theme going on in the media today.  They would probably really like to hear you say that.