five years with Matt

Well in case you're confused, no Matt and I haven't been married for five year... about two and a half. So, why five years? Matt reminded me recently that we met each other for the first time five years ago this summer when we started working together at a church in a Kansas City suburb as Middle School interns. Thinking about that now all seems so funny, and if you know us each now we're about the farthest cry from middle school intern personalities, but the Lord had us there according to His good plans (maybe just so we could meet and then get married?!). :) So I thought I'd join Grace and compile a list of lots of fun memories over five years, which will also include reasons I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Matt! (it's quite a hodge-podge of reasons)



~he wrote letters to me even before we were ever dating, the girls in the dorm took it as a serious "sign"... I reassured them that he was just a friend!
~he told me of his desires to be celibate once, the same night I was more sure than ever that I really liked him and wished someday I could maybe just marry someone "like him" - since he had made such a declaration
~the first time we really spent together was at Atlanta Bread and then Borders... we still love Border's dates together... I get magazines, Matt gets magazines too or photography, architecture, or traveling books to browse
~he tolerated lots of interruptions during our evening phone calls while we were at different colleges, there were girls who just knocked during that hour because they knew who I would be talking to! dorm life was crazy sometimes
~he was very slow during our dating days and didn't ever overwhelm me, I think he knew, and I think the Lord showed him, that's what I needed most
~he's always been willing to share his ideas and thoughts with me, I don't always have a lot to contribute but I'm so glad to really KNOW him and listen to the way his mind works
~he really enjoys watching soccer, we spent a lot of time during the last World Cup summer following the games
~he's intense in the greatest way that I really need... he won't let you get by with an "easy answer" and in that way is such a solid man - that was my one word description for him five summers ago when we were eating our intern lunches one day - the more I've grown to know him the more I'd agree with that initial impression
~he's willing to learn and grow, and never shies away from challenging himself... this means that I love hearing all about his newest thoughts and latest favorites (authors, magazines, ideas, implications, etc.) - it also means I usually fall asleep with a lamp on as Matt reads himself to sleep long after I doze off :)
~he's willing to learn about me and grow together with me... I'm a quirky person marriage has taught me, and Matt has been very patient with every new discovery (EX: I drop most everything and have numerous spills throughout the day which he tolerates very well and with great grace!)
~he's passionate and creative, we compliment each other well I think... my mind is a pragmatic one, his thinks about the bigger picture in many ways (art, the nature of beauty, poetry, etc.)
~he likes to learn the names of flowers, trees, and birds and I love to share
~he's stopped to pick wildflowers for me by the side of the road on more than one occasion, like today on our way home from church in fact!
~he's encourages my femininity and enjoys it when I cook, plant flowers, make bouquets, wear jewelry, and paint my toenails... he often says he's a "fish in the desert" when I ask his opinion on these things
~he gladly serves me in many little ways that are a HUGE blessing, he's become our laundry man as he hauls our full laundry baskets up to the laundry room on campus and back again... he fills the ice cube trays every morning (because I spill a lot when I try to)... he often does our dishes after dinner
~he is a leader for our family who I will always gladly follow! I'm reminding him often that soon he'll have a little cheerleader who is glad to follow as well when baby Moriah is born, I know she'll love her dad and he'll continue to lead us all very well