Once upon a time, October 25th didn’t mean much to me.

Who knew it would become a date looked forward to for months? Eric's birthday.

I had the funny idea to look back and see what I was doing on all the October 25ths before I met Eric. Apparently nothing picture-worthy, except for in 2008, when I was both chopping wood and wearing a wedding dress (not at the same time). The wedding dress seems like a funny coincidence. The dress was not mine, and neither was the wood actually, and I think I'll spare you the pictures, but suffice it to say, October 25th didn't mean much to me before 2014.

And once upon a time, come to think of it, Eric didn’t mean much to me either.

Who knew . . . 😊

Once upon a time, I thought he was shorter than me.

Who knew one day he’d put on work boots and be so much taller than me that I’d have to tilt my head up to kiss him?

(Who knew one day I’d get to kiss him? 😊)

Once upon a time I thought he was much younger than me. (Oh, wait . . . )

Who knew one day he'd say at every birthday that it wasn't worth celebrating because his wife had already done it? 🙂 This year I told him he had more kids at 29 than I did.

Once upon a time, he was his own boss and his own employee, and the first job site I visited him at was a nasty little remodel in Woodburn.

Who knew one day he’d be running a handful of guys and building the best barns in the valley?

Once upon a time, the only children I’d seen him interact with were random kiddos at church and my own niece and nephews.

Who knew one day he’d be daddy to three beautiful boys of his own? And even better, that those boys would be mine as well?

Once upon a time, I knew he was something. I knew it about him before he knew it about me. But who knew one day we would be here, building a beautiful life together . . .

We didn’t know, but of course God did, and we thank Him every single day.

I asked my little boys what they love about their daddy.

Emmett laughed and threw his snack in the air. Come to think of it, that is what his daddy does to him as well. 🙂

Sebastian said he loved that it was Daddy’s birthday, and when pressed further, he said he loved everything Daddy did with him. Eric works long hours, but he is phenomenal at coming home and spending time with his boys. Sebastian especially loves to follow him around whenever he’s doing something outside, even when it involves going up on the roof! Eric will pass by the window, loaded down with a leaf-blower or a weed-eater or an armful of lumber or a drill, and ten seconds behind him will come faithful Sebastian on the green Strider bike, happy as a clam to be with his dad.

When it comes to Alec, it is not a leaf-blower or a hammer that Eric is armed with, but a hot glue gun. Together they have made trains and boats and all sorts of random things out of cardboard and glue. “Will you do something with me?” is Alec’s regular refrain to his dad, and what he most often has in mind is a craft of some sort. When Alec got home from school, I asked him what he loved about Daddy, and boy, was I right on the money. "When he helps me build things. And when he helped me punch a hole in my glass-making machine so I could get a stick through." See, all sorts of random things. 🙂

And what do I love about Eric? So many, many things, as you’ll already know if you’ve read here for very long at all. Not only do I love my husband, but I really, really like him. I like hanging out with him. I like being around him. He's fun and funny. He makes me laugh, and I make him laugh, which is one of the best kinds of give-and-take there is. He plays Take-One and chess with me. Sometimes he even wins. 🙂 He is romantic and charming and quite nice to look at, if I do say so myself!

And he's faithful. We have our misunderstandings and squabbles like anyone else, but I never doubt his faithfulness or his bent toward me and not away from me. And that is worth so, so much in today's world.

I admire who he is and what he's done. I've watched him grow both his business and his boys, and he is so good at both. He is hardworking and strong, kind and generous. He can strike up a conversation with anyone anywhere. He is an amazing daddy to his children and a more-than-amazing husband to me. His hard work and perseverance have created a safe haven for his family.

There's a song called "Buy Dirt," and when I first heard the chorus I thought immediately of Eric.

Buy dirt
Find the one you can't live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church
Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
Add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard
All grow up
'Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can't buy happiness
But you can buy dirt
("Buy Dirt" by Jordan Davis)

"You've done all of it," I told Eric. I'm so proud of him. He knows what matters, and he pours himself into those things. His wife, his boys, his employees, his work, his church, and over all, his God.

When I come out in the morning and he is already gone, I find his Bible on the desk, and I know that sometime in the wee hours of the morning before the rest of us were up, he was there drinking coffee and reading his Bible, and there is something so settling about that.

I don't know how I "managed" to marry someone so perfect for me, someone who makes me so, so happy, someone who cares for us so well, but I am thankful beyond words. Thankful to the One Who gave me such a wonderful gift.

The builder of beautiful barns and beautiful boys. 😊

Happy birthday, love. We wouldn’t know what to do without you.