What a Ride: It's been TEN-sational!

Pardon the pun in the title but my creativity has been severely stunted lately. I think it is due to the lack of sleep (which I blame on the kids waking up several times during the night but in reality is due to the fact that I keep staying up late to read a few more pages in Breaking Dawn). Any how, yesterday I had the amazing opportunity of spending my tenth wedding anniversary with the woman of my dreams. I still pinch myself occasionally to make sure that I'm not dreaming. She is a woman who you simply can't describe. Those of you that know her, know what I am talking about. Any adjective that exist in the English language doesn't quite capture how truly remarkable she really is. I definitely have a wonderful life!

I decided that as a token of my love and devotion I wanted to post some pictures of our life through the years; from the crazy stay-up-until-four-in-the-morning-because-we-just-didn't-want-to-leave-each-other's-presence days to the we-can't-stay-up-past-10:30-because-we-are-old-fogies stage. Each picture deserves a little explanation and a tribute to some of my wife's most cherished qualities.

Beautiful

Need I say more. This is one of my favorite pictures of us, except for my crazy face. Heather should of known then what she was getting in for and ran the other way. Luckily for me she had a minor lapse in judgement.

Adaptable

For those of you who don't know, our wedding cake crashed the night of our reception. Most women, in response to this crisis, would have felt their night was ruined and been very disappointed with the outcome. Heather, however, responded very differently. After the initial shock wore off she got her impish grin and laughed it off. I knew that night that I had made an excellent choice.

An Amazing Ability to Multi-task

Here we are dancing, posing for a picture, and cutting cake. She can do it all. In the amount of time it takes me to clean one room she can watch three children, clean the rest of the house, and sing and dance at the same time. I don't know how she does it.

Intelligent

Heather is one of the smartest people I know. She knows more in her bones than I could ever learn from books. She is truly gifted with an amazing ability to learn and digest information. A good example of this? Her degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Zoology, not to mention her associates in Theatre. Talk about balance.

Kind and Loving

I have yet to find a person in the world that Heather is not willing to help. They may have scorned her a day before and yet she is willing to rearrange her schedule to help them in their time of need. I am perhaps the biggest beneficiary of that kindness. I wish I had that level of love.

Supportive

It would have been impossible for me to obtain any of the achievements that I have obtained with out the support of my beautiful wife. They say behind every good man is an incredible woman. Never before has a statement been so true. I would have very little if it wasn't for Heather's love and support.

Creative

Whether it is a lady bug cake, a theme party, a ward activity, a dinner for a sick neighbor, Heather approaches life with a creativity that is unmatched. During our ten years of marriage I have often said that Heather has the Midas Touch because everything she touches turns to gold, including her husband and her three beautiful children.

Frugal

I knew I married the right woman on the night this picture was taken. We were starving students at the time and a booth at the California fair was handing out free packages of veggies with dipping sauce. We asked, "How many can we take?" They said as many as you want. I didn't think they would anticipate that we would clean them out. But Heather knows a good deal when she sees one. We had snacks for years to come. This frugality continues to shine as we "mine" our neighbors belongings for things they've outgrown.

Adventurous

Heather will go anywhere and do almost anything. It is wonderful to have such a vivacious woman at your side. If you can't tell those hats are stingrays.

Party Planner Extraordinaire

Heather throws the best parties in the world, enough said.

Beautiful

I know I've already used this one, but she doesn't need a prom dress and a fancy hairdo to be beautiful. I mean who else makes levi's, a hoodie, and a winter parka look so good?

Fertile

What is it about graduations and my wife being pregnant? I joke but being able to have children with this phenomenal woman (especially after going through so many years where we didn't think we'd be able to) is the greatest blessing I've ever been given.

Mother

I, nor my children, will ever be able to repay Heather for the sacrifices she makes on a daily basis . Because she is so talented Heather could choose any career and succeed in it, in most cases rising to the top in that profession. And yet, she has chosen to put her imprint where it matters most, three adorable children. Thank you for that sacrifice. I know it often goes unnoticed, is undervalued, and at times feels like it isn't worth it but you improve our world on a daily basis.

Ingenuity

Many of you know that I can't fix many things. As a result, my wife has become the female equivalent of McGyver. She can do it all. Look at that van (of course she had some help from her father, who has is fair share of ingenuity). In that case the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Family Centered

Heather is always looking for ways to bring us closer together. This is Baker's first birthday and as always, we are all there celebrating.

Curious

We didn't find out the gender of our third baby. The primary reason: Heather and I wanted to know what it would be like to have that experience. Heather's curiosity is one of the characteristics that is most appealing. I personally think her thirst for knowledge, her ability to serve other people, and many of the other characteristics listed above stem from this wonderful quality. She makes it her business to find out, especially if she doesn't know. What a beautiful characteristic.

In the end, it is hard to believe that it has been ten years. I'm a much different man now than I was in 1998, both physically and emotionally. In a book about Sister Hinckley, President Hinckley was asked if the years had changed his view of his wife. In typical fashion President Hinckley gave a response that has volumes of lessons in it. He said (of course I am paraphrasing with a lot of liberty) that many people use age, and physical changes, as a reason to fall out of love. He countered by saying that why would you stop loving your wife for the very things that made her what she is today. Instead of seeing wrinkles as a thing to dread he saw them almost like battle scars, the very things that proved their life and their love to one another. That is how I feel about my beautiful bride. I love her more today than I ever have. She is more beautiful to me now than ever. Everything she does is centered around enriching the lives of others. I am lucky that she decided to spend her life with me. I hope that I've treated her in a way that she is willing to sign on for another ten!