Riley, he's the coolest

The story goes, that the day my husband met me, he told one of his best friends that I was the girl he wanted to marry. I often joke that it must have been his lucky day! But really it was mine, yesterday reminded me of this and let me tell you why.

I'm so glad I have a husband who can pick up the slack for me when I need it. Yesterday being about 1,000 degrees, I didn't want to take Morgan (3 wks. old) to the parade for over an hour and then to Kendle's swimming lessons, so of course Riley takes Kendle by himself and they have a great time. As they headed out of the driveway I wondered to myself - how did I get so lucky to be married to someone who doesn't mind doing all sorts of "mom" tasks for me? I know lots of guys who won't even watch their children so their wife can run to the store. A couple of nights ago he went grocery shopping for me at 10 o'clock at night without a single complaint (even though he knows this is how he can buy the stuff he really wants). At the beginning of my pregnancy when I was throwing up for 3 months straight, he took Kendle to school, took her trick-or-treating, did all the shopping, helped clean the house, would go buy me anything that remotely sounded good to eat no matter what time it was, and gave me a blessing when I didn't think I could throw up one more time and live to see the light of day. I know I can depend on him for anything. I'm confident in him that if anything happens to me or I'm away he can be a great caregiver for our family.

Riley is one of the hardest working people I know. He is great at his job, and works hard for every sale. He is awesome at developing relationships with people and knows more people than the president. I often joke that he will be the mayor someday. His life growing up was not very easy, and from a young age he has always had a job. When other kids were just being teenagers in high school he was going to school, playing three sports and working part-time. Sometimes I feel bad and wish he could go do more of the fun things he would like to do. People often ask me if I get annoyed that he goes golfing all of the time, but if they knew how hard he's worked for everything we have, and how hard he's worked his whole life, they would know that he deserves it. And just like with golfing, Riley is passionate about whatever he does and doesn't settle for being mediocre, he wants to be the best. I give him a hard time about that, but really I wish I was more that way myself.

He tells me I'm beautiful even when I'm at my worst, and that I still knock him off his feet. And the thing is, I know he's not just saying that to make me feel good, he really feels that way and that is the best thing! He's my best friend and one of the most fun people I've ever met. We can laugh and laugh when we're together. He fits in with my family like the missing link, and my family loves him. He lets me vent without interrupting, and we can disagree without bad feelings. I know he will always stand by me and honor our commitment to each other. He is a GREAT dad and sacrifices so much for his family. Kendle loves nothing more than to tag around with her dad all day.

Riley always knew what he wanted out of life and when the opportunity came knocking (literally) he seized it. He joined the church a few months after we were married and I'm so proud of the way he lives his life. He made me want to be a better person and to get re-activated in the church. I know there was some divine intervention there. Those missionaries were pretty persistent. He loves our family and loves being with his family.

Some other little facts about Riley:
-he's ultra competitive at everything

-he loves 711 slurpies

-he owns more hats than anyone I've ever met

-he can recall almost any sport statistic or fact

-he's loyal to his friends and is still friends with his kindergarten buddies

-he's a softy and has a big heart

-his eyes can change from green to blue

-he loves Johnny Cash (I can't figure this one out)

-would love to own his own golf-course someday

-he's the BBQ man

-he was a stud footballer back in the day ( I knew he'd love that I threw that one in)

Well, he will probably be embarrassed by this "tribute" post, especially because he makes fun of me and all of my blogging friends but I felt like I needed to share how I was feeling about my hubby today. Tomorrow, who knows.....