Happy Birthday Babe!

This is my husband Scott, driving a van full of friends. . . in Mexico.  Today is his birthday.  It’s funny, you see, because we had a special pact, not to share public birthday wishes on social media.  Well, this guy decided the pact was over  on Wednesday, or probably more likely that he was due an exemption since it was my big one.   So I hope you don’t mind,  I’m taking this opportunity to level up.  😉

When I was 26 years old (ahem, a few years ago) I was going about my life in Dallas when this guy showed up on my doorstep and swept me away.  There’s obviously a bit more to the story about Survivor, The Granada, parking lot chases, matchmaking, blind dates etc… but we’ll skip all that for now.  Just know that I thought I was fine and dandy being single and within nine months of meeting Scott . . . I was married, big fancy wedding and all.

I knew, on date number two, when we were dying laughing because we almost burned my house down, that he was the one.   I knew because for several months before we met, I’d received phone calls from friends and acquaintances about how I just had to meet this guy.   Apparently everyone who knew him loved him and they were just sure I was going to love him too.   So I asked questions, lots of questions.  No one could say anything bad about him.  No one.  Everyone who knew him loved him. That’s true to this day.

This man has a heart of pure gold.  

He’s human, of course, but at his core, he loves God and people more than anyone I know.  He loves his family and his friends more deeply than I even knew was possible and he is intentional about being in relationship with them.  He has a special burden to care for widows and orphans.  He spends his life in service of others by devoting himself to the highest levels of education and experience in his field, so that he can serve as a guide for healing and hope in the lives of his clients.

Scott adores his boys and gives this parenting thing all he’s got.  He’s all in when it comes to showing them love and modeling the role of a man in their lives.  I’ve never seen a man who can hold space for love and empathy while talking about hunting and farting all at the same time.  It’s truly a gift.  😉  Those boys are so blessed to get to call him Dad.

As a husband, he has taught me what it means to love.  

We’ve been through a lot in our short 13 years.  We’ve experienced some pain, hurt and regret that would have torn a lot of couples completely apart.  But Scott is faithful, he is steadfast and committed to loving me, even when I’ve been unlovable.   He’s taught me the immense value of personal development through therapy.   He’s shown me what we meant when we said, till death do us part.   It wasn’t a vow with a ball and chain.  It’s a garden that must be tilled and planted to reap the harvest.   Scott’s been a gardener of our marriage and I’ve been a tough crop to grow, but he’s never given up.

Words can’t express the kind of gratitude I hold.

Scott works harder than anyone I’ve ever seen.   He does it to help as many people as well as he possibly can, but he also does it to provide the best life he can for our family.  And in the past three years, he’s had to work even harder to make it possible for me to pursue this dream, to create HeartStories.  It was a huge transition when I decided to do this.  It’s taken longer and been harder financially than we ever considered, but he has loved me through it and continued to support me and believe in me through it.  He sees my vision and he believes in it too.

On top of all that, he’s funny.  He makes me die laughing at the most random things.   That’s why I chose this picture today.  I know it’s an odd choice.  On my birthday trip, he drove us around in this huge, beat up van.  We had to drive on probably THE worst dirt road I’ve ever driven on in my life with potholes at least a foot deep.

 And what does Scott do?  

He starts honking and waving at every car we encounter. . . and they waved back.  So by the end of our last trip in the van, instead of people feeling carsick and dying to get out, we were all waving after his honks and dying laughing.

Scott makes life a little spicier.

He makes it just right.  

So here’s to you Scott!  Happy Birthday  Babe.

to more love,

Crystal

P.S. Just in case you were wondering, we sat in order from most to least motion sickness in the van.  😉  That’s why we’re so far apart!