Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 7th Anniversary--fitting that's it's on Father's Day as well. So a mushy tribute to Wade that will make him mad at me for putting this out there for all the world to see.

Wade is one of the smartest people I know. I don't say this because he's my husband. I really do think he is ranked up at--or near--the top of the list. What he doesn't know he researches it until he's fluent in that topic. He retains information like a sponge. A lot of people in the neighborhood comment on how he seems to know everything, from sprinklers to garages and grass. Aside from that, he can mentally figure out almost every problem thrown his way.

I met Wade nearly 8(!) years ago down in Price. I was immediately drawn to his smile and his seeming outward personality. He can talk to anybody about most anything. Our first date, he came over to my parents house to pick me up. He ended up talking to my dad for nearly 45 minutes--a feat never seen before by any guy I'd brought home before. It was then I knew it was going to be hard getting rid of him. In December, he called my dad at his work and invited him to lunch to ask for my hand in marriage. We knew two weeks after meeting that we wanted to get married but I--and my father--were duly impressed that he went the traditional way of asking for my hand. As I can imagine, both guys were very nervous and my dad sprung for a nice lunch at a steak diner instead of the Arby's Wade's paycheck allowed. We spent the entire school year commuting back and forth on weekends. I lived in Price and he lived in Salt Lake. He spent many weekdays looking for the perfect apartment for us so we wouldn't have to waste our weekends looking.

Wade is one of the hardest working guys I've ever met. I've never worried about him going without a job. While some people have a hard time keeping a job, employers fight over keeping Wade, outbidding each other until one has to fold or Wade's made up his mind which way to go. Even in an uncertain field such as computers, I'm confident that he will always be able to find a job. However, I know he'd deliver pizzas to keep his family from going hungry.

Another attribute I love about Wade is his ability to budget and foresee the financial needs of our family. While I'm the one who does the majority of the household finances, I never worry about him going off to spend money on a new toy. Every purchase is carefully thought out, researched, and planned. He has reigned me in quite a bit, probably not as much as he'd want to, but I'm now starting to see his vision. We have a great emergency fund set up that will carry us for a few months if he does lose his job and the economy is in a downspiral. We have financial goals that have us completely (including the house) out of debt in just a few, wallet-tightening, years so we're freer to do things that we want.

Wade has an incredible ability to buy presents and surprise me. As mentioned before, he retains information like a sponge. If I mention something that I want, he files it away until it's time to buy a present and there it is. Sometimes I even forget that I've mentioned the gift before.

Josh loves spending time with his daddy. Saturdays are the days when "daddy's home" and they do a lot outside together. Josh helps Wade mow the lawn and Wade helps Josh "catch" birdies. Wade is a great father!

I'm grateful for every day of the last seven years I've spent with Wade. He's truly a blessing in my life and the life of our little family and I hope for many more happy years here on Earth.

I love you!