It’s interesting how the things we think to be most insignificant are the very things that end up meaning the most.  When I began keeping a list of all the reasons I love my husband, I didn’t realize the impact it would have on my marriage and our relationship.  

I didn’t know I’d find myself in the car, typing in notes on my iPhone every time he did something that made me smile.  When he’s walking around the house, just being himself, I now pay closer attention to all the things he does for me; all those things that I may have missed or taken for granted before.  I didn’t look at them as “extraordinary” acts of kindness until I really began paying attention.

It reminds me of a time I bought some prescription glasses (before I had Lasik 8 years ago) that turned into sunglasses when I was outside.  There was nothing special about these glasses other than a slight green tint on that made me feel oh’ so chic when I wore them.  So every time I’d look at a tree, leaves, grass, etcetera they would look perfectly green.  If I took the glasses off, I might see a bit of brown in the grass but with the glasses on, I could only see deep green pastures.

That’s what it’s been like since I began making my list.  Keith has flaws (shhhh…don’t tell him I told you) but they’ve become like those brown patches of grass with my green tinted shades on.  I know they’re there but I simply can’t see them.  Instead, I see all that is good, all that is wonderful, all that is oh’ so very him…

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

117. He knows the passwords to all my social networks, email, cell phone, etcetera and never feels the need to use them.  Why would he?  He simply trusts me.

118. I trust him.  And he’s continuously shown himself to be trustworthy.

119. He loves his mama (a plus in my book for sure).

120. He loves my mama (and treats her like his very own).

121. He knows I’m not a huge fan of cooking so he tends to make his own meals (but when I offer, he’s always very happy to receive).

122. He’s a strong man.  I always feel safe, protected, and invincible when he is around. 

</p> <p><a href='http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html'><br /> <img src="http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg" alt="Why I Love My Husband"/><br /> </a><br />

I absolutely LOVE when reports like this come out confirming what the members of this club already know.  A happy marriage has far more benefits than simply making us smile each and every day.  We already discovered through my travels that a happy marriage is a constantly flowing fountain of youth.  We know having a partner that makes us laugh takes years off our lives (not to mention those fabulous endorphins it releases).  And the fastest way to reach your dreams is to team up with your life partner.  But maybe there’s a few facts you didn’t know.

Everyday Health posted an infogram on their website last week siting several new reports giving a glimpse into some of the other benefits to marriage.  Click the image below to see their report.

Last night, Keith and I raised our glasses at the start of a dinner meeting and said “cheers” to a great life.  This morning, we clicked our coffee mugs together and toasted to the start of a beautiful day.  So here’s my encouragement to you to raise your glasses (even if it’s just ice water) in honor of your happy marriage and all the healthy benefits that come from it.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

111. Every breath he takes, every move he makes, every bit of his being, lives to make me happy.

112. We share a bathroom but the majority of the space is dedicated to my beauty products and he never complains (such is the life of our hubbies, relegated to one small cubby in the bathroom).

113. It took me 9 years to get him to stop using coffee as his means of drinking water (“I drink water, it’s just filtered through coffee beans” was his favorite response) but he knew how important it was to me so he now gladly drinks 8 glasses of day (which makes my heart happy).

114. We share a closet and although he’s much bigger than me and I tend to wear the same 3 outfits over and over, I still take up most of the closet.  And he just smiles about it.

115. He still lusts after me and loves the curves in my body.

116. He allows me to be silly and act like a kid and never makes me feel weird or odd about it.  I was an entrepreneur at a very young age so being given the opportunity to feel like a kid means the world to me.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 87,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

<a href=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html” mce_href=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html”> <img src=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg” mce_src=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg” alt=”Why I Love My Husband”/> </a>

This week, I spent alot of time visiting the sites of other marriage bloggers.  I’ve been so busy the past year, it’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to do that in quite a while.  And I loved it!  Seeing thousands (literally, thousands) of bloggers out there who are happily married and just wanting to talk about it makes me smile from the inside out.  One particular blog post struck a chord with me the moment I read it.

Most of us watched (or at least read the headlines about) the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey last week.  I must admit I was a bit saddened because I’ve always wanted to believe him.  Mainly because I believed in his organization, LIVESTRONG.  But while so many of us LIVESTRONG supporters sat in disappointment while Lance finally admitted to doping, the one thing that caught my attention was a comment he made about his wife.  He didn’t say much, it was just in said passing, but I noticed because I never even knew he’d been married (and I usually pay attention to that).

So as I stumbled across a blog that was talking about it this week, I learned he’d previously been married but was now divorced.  That made me curious.  I immediately did what any trained researcher would do.  I Googled it (you thought I was going to say something much cooler than this, didn’t you).  In an article on Oprah.com from 2006, Lance’s ex-wife Kristin talked about what she learned from marriage and said something I found to be so profound:

What is the greatest conspiracy in modern history? Kristin says it’s not Watergate or the assassination of John F. Kennedy—it’s marriage.

“I think a conspiracy is anything that’s shrouded in silence,” she says. “I think women are awesome communicators. So why don’t women talk to women about what it’s going to take to not just make [marriage] work but make it great?”

That statement made me pause for a moment and then it made me smile knowing that’s all we do in this Club.  We talk not only about what makes marriage work but what makes it great.  Thousands of women from this club take to our Facebook community page every day and do nothing but talk about the beauty of marriage and how they make it great.

But I also realize there are so many Kristins in the world who may not know people like you or me; those of us who love being married and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.  So here’s what I propose.  The next time someone asks you what it takes to make a marriage work, respond in this manner, “Rather than give you advice on how to make your marriage work, allow me to tell you how to make marriage great!”  And then share with them every piece of advice you’ve got.  Pull out the entire arsenal and don’t let them leave your presence until they’re as excited about marriage as you are.

Until Monday…make it a great weekend!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

106. No matter how busy I am at work, I still get giddy when I see his face pop up on my iPhone and his ring tone, Easy Silence, start playing.

107. He loves variety and yet he’ll still take me to the same restaurant every weekend (as he’s doing tonight) because I love their warm spinach salad.

108. He fixes everything around the house.  I don’t know what a wrench is for let alone what to do with it.

109. He is incredibly wise but still looks to me for advice with every major (and some not so major) decisions he makes.

110.  He’s got the sexiest eyes.  Prrrr….

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 87,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

<a href=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html” mce_href=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html”> <img src=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg” mce_src=”http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg” alt=”Why I Love My Husband”/> </a>

Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing when talking about marriage?  I was thinking about this as I sat here with a slightly enlarged belly because I once again overindulged in my favorite snack: peanut butter.  I have no idea what it is about the taste of Jif and Skippy, or why it’s so hard for me to simply get two tablespoons of the stuff (the portion size most nutritionists and trainers will tell you not to exceed per day) and simply close the lid.

Instead, I open the lid, begin dipping my chilled honeycrisp apple slices in the jar (don’t worry, I’m the only one that eats peanut butter in this house) and long after my apple slices are gone, I’m still dipping my spoon.  For my health and fitness goals, I can tell you this is not a good thing.  I try not to keep jars of the yummy, gooey stuff in the house for this very reason.  But on Sunday, I decided to face my weakness and buy a jar.  By Wednesday, the jar that once contained 15 servings (at 190 cal each and 16g fat) was down to half its original size.

Now, let’s see, why did that make me think of marriage?  Oh yes, because I’ve so often heard there is such thing as too much of a good thing and I’ve listen to people debate this theory in terms of marriage (and why we should “hold back” just a little).  I simply can’t comprehend why I would hold back from giving my all.  A chance to spend more time with my favorite friend in the world.  Check.  Having daily sleepovers with my lover.  Check.  Playing footsie under the table at dinner. Check.

In the case of peanut butter, chocolate, ice cream, Paula Deen’s hoecakes, there is definitely such thing as too much of a good thing.  But in the case of my husband, our marriage and the love we have between us, not a chance.  I’ll take a jar full of that any day!

BLOGGERS: If you’ve written a post about your hubby, your love or marriage in general recently, go ahead and LINK UP.  And if you’ve created a Why I Love My Husband list on your blog or social network, make sure to tweet the link to us and we’ll do our best to make sure everyone sees it.  Oh yes…and don’t forget to visit at least 3 other bloggers posted below. (you’d want them to do the same, wouldn’t you?) 

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

100. He does so much more for me than I do for him but he gains this inexplicable joy from seeing a smile on my face.

101. He gives alot, expects only a little And is overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude when I do sonething insignificant like take his car to get washed (something he’s done for me many times over).

102. He always pays when we go out.  Our dating has never ended.

103.  When he gets tired he conks, in the middle of whatever he was doing, and sleeps like a baby.

104. He stays off his Blackberry when we’re having dinner no matter how many work issues he has going on.

105. He is forgetful about all insignificant things but he never forgets what is most important. 

<br /> <a href='http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html'><br /> <img src="http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg" alt="Why I Love My Husband"/><br /> </a><br />

Part Two.  If you missed Part I, click here: How I Met My Husband to get a little context for what follows.

“Don’t forget to leave me your telephone number,” his mother insisted for weeks until I finally relented and turned over a small folded piece of paper containing the most significant 10-digits I owned.  So imagine my surprise when weeks rolled by and I receieved no call from Keith.  Every time I’d go to the hair salon, his mom would say, “Keith really wants to call you but he’s been so busy,” and I’d simply brush it off.  I never wanted to give him my number in the first place.  

His poor mother.  I later learned she was having an even more difficult time getting him to accept my telephone number than she did in getting it from me.  Every time he’d visit her, she’d leave pieces of paper around the house with his name and a smiley face on them.  On the inside of the paper would be my telephone number along with the same question, “Have you called that girl named Fawn?”

I can imagine how he must have felt.  He was 31-years old at the time, and quite frankly, what man wants to tell people for the rest of his life, “My Mommy set me up with my wife?”  Just minutes after his mother and I had that heart-to-heart at her salon about my desires in life, she called Keith and said, “Son, I just met your wife.”  Well, no wonder he didn’t want to call me!

Weeks went by and finally I received a call on my cell phone from a number I didn’t recognize.  I answered and the voice on the other end sounded like a cross between Barry White and Dennis Haysbert (the guy from the Allstate commercials, “Are you in good hands?”).  It certainly was the deepest voice I’d ever heard on my phone.  I could have nervously responded but instead quipped, “Is this the second coming?!?” And we both burst into laughter.  ”You’ve clearly been talking to my mother,” he responded.  Indeed I had.

Keith hates talking on the telephone and yet we’d speak for hours on end.  For nearly a month we didn’t meet each other in person; we wanted to savor our time getting to know one another before we had any idea what the other looked like.  We fell in love over the phone and by the time we met, it was a done deal.

Our first date was May 9, 2003.

He proposed September 6, 2003.

On December 26, 2003, he looked at me and said, “Why are we waiting to get married?” I didn’t have an answer so his follow-up statement made all the sense in the world, “Let’s not wait.  Let’s drive now to Las Vegas and get married.”

We eloped December 27, 2003 with my sister and her husband as our witnesses and an Elvis impersonator (in training) as our officiator.

And that, my friends, is how this wild and amazing relationship began.  This year, marks a decade of love and I could not have imagined life any better.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

95. He does at least 1 thing every day that make me fall in love with him all over again.

96. He says “thank you” for the most miniscule things I do.

97. He will go without having something he’d like to have just so he can get me something he thinks I’ll like.

98. He entertains my jokes and laughs at my idiosyncricies.

99. He’s gentle with me.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 87,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

<br /> <a href='http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html'><br /> <img src="http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg" alt="Why I Love My Husband"/><br /> </a><br />

Earlier this week, as I was reading all the blog posts that participated in our Link Up Thursdays, I came across a great story of how a woman met her husband 19 years ago.  And then I realized, I don’t think I’ve ever told you how I met my husband.

It was 2003 and I was visiting the hair salon of a woman I’d met through one of my closest friends.  She’d been going to this salon for fifteen years and I loved her hair so I decided to give her stylist a try.

At the time, I was the business manager and minority owner of one of the hottest fine dining restaurants in the Los Angeles/Beverly Hill area (said Los Angeles Magazine and the L.A. Times – not me ) and it kept me busy and on my toes at all times.  So every time I came to get my hair done, I did so with laptop and cell phone in hand and usually spent no more than 10 minutes talking to anyone.

That was, until the day I rushed out the office to make it to my appointment and didn’t have time to grab my laptop and forgot my cell phone.  Sitting in the salon chair, it was like foreign territory.  I would actually have to engage my not-so-new stylist.  As an introvert who loves nothing more than to get her hair done in peace, let’s just say I wasn’t expecting the conversation that came next.

With my head leaned back in the wash bowl and the stylist shampooing my hair, she began talking to me about my career.  ”I can’t imagine how successful you’re going to be when you’re my age if you’re this good at business at such a young age.”  She was trying to strike up a conversation but knew nothing about me other than all the calls she’d overheard as I was talking to staff, chefs, business partners, etcetera.  (Don’t worry, I’m not that loud, rude person in the salon talking on her phone.  I was probably the quietest person in the shop…mainly because the shop was so loud.)

My answer surprised her.  I told her that I had no desire to be a super successful business woman.  It was just all I’d ever known.  ”My hearts desire,” I told her, “is to be an excellent mom and an excellent wife.”  Without so much as missing a beat, she responded, “You have to meet my son!”  Now, let me tell you that’s the last thing I wanted to hear from the person putting shampoo in my hair who had me in complete submission because I could not move.

For the next hour, she talked nonstop about her son (who, if listening to her describe him, was just a little lower than the angels)  and then asked if she could have my telephone number.  Awkward.  

I told her yes but then slipped out the front door at the end of my appointment before she could notice I was leaving. This went on for several appointments until I finally relented and gave her my telephone number.

But then, her son didn’t call.

To be continued on Tuesday…

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

89. He is so sexy in a sweatsuit while chewing gum (don’t ask my why this turns me on, it just does ).

90. He puts he toilet seat down (although he forgot this morning, that’s rare) and cleans off the wash basin after shaving.

91. He’s always working to improve himself for the better.

92. He’s always trying harder to make the life of our family even better.

93. He loves my mother and my five siblings and treats them as his own.

94. He tells me “I love you” no less than 10 times a day (not kidding).

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 87,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

<br /> <a href='http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html'><br /> <img src="http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg" alt="Why I Love My Husband"/><br /> </a><br />

I love my husband.  Just had to get that out.  As I sit on the couch, looking around our home while writing this post to you, I can’t help but smile thinking about that handsome man named Keith.  All the quirky things he does that make me laugh or shake my head.  Like the empty cans of Diet Sunkist he seems to leave all around the house before going to bed.  Or how he can’t seem to turn off a light at bedtime to save his life.  I’m generally writing and go to bed after him, so I guess he figures I might need the light.

I love how he gets tired and conks out before having a chance to get ready for bed.  So I’ll gently tap him and out of a deep sleep, he’ll emerge, with a smile on his face as he recognizes who just woke him up.  He’s just a great guy.  Have I ever told you that?  Probably so.  And I guess it’s easy to reason if he weren’t, this Club might not exist.

There are so many benefits I’ve found to speaking (and writing) wonderfully of my spouse every day.  The first, is the more I talk about it, the harder he works to keep me smiling.  Another benefit is something I read on a bloggers site last week through the link up.  She said (and I’m paraphrasing because I can’t remember which site I saw it), “When I write a list daily containing reasons I love and adore my husband, I begin to see him through that lens.”  I just love that!

So here’s my question for you.  What lens are you using to look at your husband?  Why not create an even clearer one by joining me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list?  No matter where you post it, on your blog, Facebook page, Pinterest, wherever.  Begin your never-ending list and link it up below.  For inspiration, hop over to some of the blogs you see below.  Trust me, I did it last week and it was very cool.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

84. He’s a strong man when it comes to the rest of the world but a complete softy when it comes to me.

85. When he picked me up at the airport this week, we walked out with me holding no bags and him holding three.  No matter how I tried to help, he simply wanted to take care of me.

86. He gets dressed for the gym early in the morning, in the dark, so I can continue to get some rest.

87. He likes his coffee black, I’m a white coffee kind of girl, and thus he makes sure our home is never without Coffeemate and Splenda.  

88. He is a git-r-done kind of guy.  No sooner does he think something should be done that he actually gets it done. 

COMMENTS: With more than 86,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

Yesterday, as I was flying into Nashville, I experienced the worst turbulences I’ve ever come across.  In the past six months, I’ve been on no less than 40 flights and this one was by far the rockiest.  The young man sitting in the middle seat next to me was just a few seconds away from a complete meltdown.  Literally.

While dropping from the sky at a rate so quickly the flight attendants began power walking down the aisles to the back of the plane, the only thing I could think of was: 1) Heaven and 2) Keith.  My prayer is always the same when those turbulence begin and my guess is they are similar to what a person might say on their death bed.  I always have a great deal of peace about them, I simply pray I won’t feel any pain, won’t be scared, and will go straight to heaven.

As for Keith, my prayer this time was a little different than usual.  For some reason, I found myself praying that he’d love me for the rest of his life.  But, and there is a but, I prayed it will be way down the line.  I prayed he would fall in love again and the children we weren’t able to have together, he would be able to conceive with another.  But again, I was hoping this would happen many, many -possibly light years- away.

I guess I’m hoping that even after I’m gone, he will remain in love with me as I know I would remain in love with him.  Technically, it shouldn’t matter what he does once I’ve moved on from this life, but for some reason it does.  I want this love we have to continue in his heart and mine until the end of time.  And what’s beautiful about today is I am still here.

Less than 10 minutes after the horrid weather rocked our plane, we dropped to below the clouds and were able to fly the rest of the way from that level.  So as I wrap up my business meetings in Nashville today and await my time to return home, I’m grateful for this life and the opportunity I have to love the wonderful man I call Papa.

I refuse to wait until it’s too late to begin loving my husband.  I will enjoy every moment of our life together…today.  And every day.  Until the end of time.  What about you?

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

78. He is my biggest fan.

79. He never looks to point out what I’ve done wrong or the err of my ways.  He looks for how he can build me up and make me feel great about what I do right.

80. He buys me bottles of every kind of water except Aquafina and Dasani (the two he knows I don’t like).

81. He texts me if a meeting is running later than he anticipated so I know to expect his call soon.

82. He is the most loyal person I’ve ever known.

83. When I travel on business, he always gives me 1,001 reasons to want to come home.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 86,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

I’m still beaming from reading all the amazing Why I Love My Husband posts bloggers sprinkled the internet with this week.  On Thursday, we hosted our very first link up party.  I’d seen link up parties around the blogosphere for years but never felt compelled to host one.  That was, until I had this thought.

So on Thursday and Friday, I spent several hours blog hopping and visited every site that linked up.  With nearly 100 bloggers joining in on the fun, that was no small feat!  But I committed to visit each site and I was so happy I did because they encouraged me personally.

When you share an idea with the world, you never know how it will be received.  There is no way to gauge how it will impact other’s lives.  That’s why when I visited the various blogs and read how this link up inspired so many to create their own Why I Love My Husband list, it made my heart smile.

There were heart touching, soul searching, and some downright funny fantastic posts that linked up on Thursday and I hope you’ll get a chance to visit as many as possible.  Here’s just a few examples of what people were saying around the web about their hubbies:

7 On a Shoestring

There you have it. My top 5. But… this is on no way an extensive list. In fact, this was just a start. And, I’m not even sure it is my “top 5” because as I wrote I thought of several more. Picking just 5 was no easy task. I adore my husband.

Ecocrazy Mom

So with all of the lists my life- “to-do” lists, shopping lists, contact lists, and the list goes on, I think it’s time I created a (never ending) “Why I Love My Husband List” to constantly remind myself of the many reasons I truly love and adore my man!

Farmgirl Follies

No, it’s not his birthday, nor is it our anniversary. Yes, yes he is dying and so am I — aren’t we all?  That’s why this matters so much, why getting it right is so vitally important, even on ordinary days. They matter most — those ordinary days in the ordinary existence of a real housewife…

Tiny Oranges

Sometimes it is really easy to get caught up on the negative things in relationships and the things that drive us crazy or bug us. But when you sit down and think of all the reasons WHY you LOVE your husband, the negative things seem to fade.

Fit Mom Fit Kids Club

Just looking at this shot of us last month, I mean this should be enough right. Gesh the man is a HUNK!  The moment I met him I fell in love with Byron and I knew from the moment I met him that he was going to be my husband!  I can go on forever listing reasons I love my husband but I’ll just name a few.

Hot, Holy & Humorous

Since I write about married sexuality, I wondered how I should approach this. I could say, “Well, there’s this thing my hubby does with his hands that…” Yeah, not so much. Not sharing that one. (Even if, at that very moment, I love, adore, and revel in my husband. I mean, wow.)

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

73. He’s so fabulous he inspired this list.

74. He’s such an extraordinary person, I launched an entire club because of him.

75. He inspires me to be a better person; but accepts me just as I am.

76. There is nothing I cannot share with him; no secrets necessary.

77. He wraps me in his arms and prays for me…prays for us.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Bloggers: Make sure to come back every Thursday and link it up the blog post with your ever expanding list.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband. 

COMMENTS: With more than 85,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

You have visited this site on a very special day.  It’s our first ever Link Up party and something we’ll now do here every Thursday.  My decision to host a link up for the first time in three years stemmed from one thought.

What if, just for one day, writers and bloggers from all over the web joined in creating a list detailing all the reasons they love, adore and cherish their husbands?  And then (maybe, just maybe) in the days, weeks, and months ahead, continued adding to their list as a reminder to their readers (and themselves) that marriage is one of the most beautiful gifts in the world.

And what if, from this group of bloggers, women all over the world began reminding themselves daily of the gift bestowed upon them in this lifetime union, and created their own lists?  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Post-it notes left all over houses with this very simple title, Why I Love My Husband.  I can already feel the love filling the air!  

This is precisely why I asked some of my favorite bloggers on the web to join me today.  If you’ve not checked out some of these blogs, you don’t know what you’re missing!  And if you’re a blogger and haven’t yet linked below, simply begin a list on your own site and join the link-up party!  

Our members will visit your sites for inspiration on how to create their own list.  And I’ll personally be visiting every site that links up here simply to say, Thank You.  Thank you for sharing the love in your life for the world to see.  I’ll kick this off by continuing my own never-ending list below and I look forward to reading yours (hopefully, every Thursday ).   

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!  

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

66. He encouraged me to follow my passion in spite of the income we’d temporarily lose in order to make it happen.

67. He wears a headset when watching television in the living room because that’s oftentimes the same place I’m writing.

68. He knows I don’t enjoy cooking, so he cooks just as much as I do.

69. He knows I don’t enjoy folding clothes, so we often split wash and fold duties.

70. Not a day goes by where he doesn’t make me smile and laugh at least 25 times.

71. He doesn’t seem to care when his feet are dry and completely white from not putting on lotion…and goes out in sandals anyway.

72. He bought bright orange tennis shoes even though we wears a size 15 and sent me a text to tell me how much people in New York love his new shoes.

<br /> <a href='http://www.happywivesclub.com/daily-blog-happy-wives-club/why-i-love-my-husband-our-first-ever-link-up-party.html'><br /> <img src="http://www.happywivesclub.com/storage/WhyILoveMyHusbandII.jpg" alt="Why I Love My Husband"/><br /> </a><br />

');

COMMENTS: With more than 84,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

Con’t from Part One

When Richard Carlson passed away, he was only 4 years older than Keith.  And when Kristine (affectionately known as Kris) became a widow, she was only 7 years older than I am now.  Sitting in the chair where Richard used to sit, interviewing his young widow, I was reminded of the frailty of life and how tomorrow is never promised.  We talked about the many characteristics of their marriage that made it so extraordinary.

Similar to Keith and me, and so many other happily married couples I’ve interviewed, Kris and Richard began each morning with one-on-one time together.  They talked often and about everything.  She recalled a time when they hit a speed bump in their marriage, “We were so busy and fragmented our connection was off.”  Like many new parents, the transition into parenthood wasn’t as smooth as they would have liked.  And there came a day when that changed warranted a real heart-to-heart.

Out of all the chairs in the house, “we were seated at the little kids table.”  And considering Richard was 6’4″ and 195 lbs, that was a whole lotta man for such a tiny chair.  But it was in this small place they had what Kris described as “a really pivotal conversation in our marriage.”

During that discussion, Richard said something that would have made most women upset.  Kris didn’t agree but she purposed to listen.  ”I remember saying to myself, ‘You know what, Kris?  You’d better listen at a deeper level.  You better listen to the feeling behind what he’s saying right now and don’t listen to the content.  Don’t make this about what he’s saying.  Listen to the frustration.  Just breathe; don’t react.  Just listen.’” 

In doing that, she was able to hear the hurt in his voice and the disappointment in his heart.  Even though she didn’t agree with much of what he said, that didn’t matter, she surmised.  It wasn’t about her in that moment.  The only thing that mattered was her heart being open to hear what his heart was pouring out.  She remembers being able to respond to him from this overwhelming place of love.

From that day forward, she determined she would always listen heart-to-heart. She would make sure her heart remained open to his and would never allow momentary disagreements to close it.  And the day he passed away, living only half the life she’d hoped, she was at peace knowing she loved him more than anything else in this world and expressed that in her words and action every single day.  And he did the same.  

Not only was I reminded throughout my time that life is but a vapor, I was challenged to always keep my heart open and as her husband taught us all, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

61. He accompanied me to this interview with Kristine Carlson, when there were so many other things he could be doing, and he took away as many life lessons as I did (and was happy he went).

62. He never stops learning.  He strives to be a student of life rather than a teacher.

63. He epitomizes the Warren Buffet quote, “When people tell me they’ve learned from experience, I tell them the trick is to learn from other people’s experience.” 

64. He can’t wait to be a father.  But still patiently awaits my body’s acceptance of this fact.

65. He hates talking on the telephone…and yet looks forward to our calls throughout each day…no matter where in the world either of us might be.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and if you’re a blogger, join me here tomorrow for our very first Link Up Party!  Just begin your own WILMH list and then link it up.

COMMENTS: With more than 84,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

To say I had one of the greatest honors of my lifetime, this past weekend, would be an understatement.  I had the opportunity to interview a woman who has insprired me (and many blog posts on this site) for years.  

I didn’t know much about Kristine until her husband, Richard Carlson, unepectedly died at the age of 45.  I didn’t know that she, herself, was the bestselling author of so many books until we met this past Saturday at her home in Northern California.

I knew of her husband because I am one of the 25 million people who have purchased one of his books.  His Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff series was revolutionary in the field of psychology because it told us two things: 1) We can be happy, right now, no matter the current circumstances; and 2) The key to our happiness lies in our ability to choose it moment-by-moment and our determination to simplify our thoughts and life.

Richard and Kristine had been married 22 years (together for 25 years) when he boarded a routine flight from San Francisco to New York in 2006.  Before his plane arrived at its destination, he passed away from a pulmonary embolism.  Just that quick.  In the twinkling of an eye.  Nothing could have prepared Kristine or their two teenage daughters for such a loss.

A couple years after his death, I came across a book in Barnes & Nobles, An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love.  The title captivated me so I purchased it.  In the book, Kristine shares the love letter Richard gave to her on their 18th wedding anniversary.  In it, he answered 3 questions, “If you had one hour to live, who would you call, what would you say and what are you waiting for?”

Richard wrote a 36-page love letter to Kristine and their two children answering those three questions.  He poured out his heart in such a way I wish I knew how.  He wanted to make sure he didn’t leave this life without letting his family know how much he loved, cherished and adored them.

Wednesday, I’ll share with you some tidbits from the interview.  You won’t want to miss out on the great wisdom I learned from this memorable conversation, in the home she shared with her husband.  A home that looks (and feels) as though its not changed one iota since his death.  She keeps his memory alive and ever present and the love they had for each other (and the love she continues to have) could be felt in every room of their home.

Finish this sentence: “I fall in love with my husband all over again every time he…”  Now, maybe take those thoughts and make them the beginning of your own love letter.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list):

53. Not one day goes by without him telling me how much he loves and appreciates me.

54. Even when we are apart (which has been happening alot more lately as we’re both traveling for work), he calls, texts and/or Skypes several times a day to let me know I’m on his mind.

55. He says I love you at the conclusion of every call.  We rarely, if ever, say goodbye.  When he walks out the door or we end a phone call, the way we conclude is the same way we begin, with those priceless 3 words.

56. He tolerates my various food quirks.  One day I’m eating super fatty and sweet food and the next I’m super strict with what type of food I’ll eat to undo what I’d just overdone.  He just goes with the flow and does the same.

57. He only cares about what is important.  He, like Richard Carlson, has mastered the art of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.

58. He watches basketball with me, even though it’s more my thing than his, and he doesn’t complain when I’m rooting on my San Antonio Spurs at the top of my lungs (which is often).

59. He just wants me to be happy.

60. I am his closest friend and confidant and he makes sure I always know that.

Join me in creating your own Why I Love My Husband list and share it on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.  Just grab the button below and tell everyone all the reasons you love, adore and cherish your husband.

COMMENTS: With nearly 84,000 Happy Wives Club members already actively engaged on our Facebook Community page, what better place to share your thoughts? Join me there and let’s continue the conversation.  

JOIN US: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.