Undeniably dear to me

I had a heretofore unpublished wedding photo in mind to post on our anniversary, but I forgot to upload it before we left VA. So, maybe some other time. Instead, for your viewing pleasure, our engagement picture. Please enjoy.

To my nearest and dearest: Happy 6th anniversary (tomorrow). Sorry I've been kind of annoying all week. (We've been spending a lot of time together lately. I think I'm kind of annoying to be around that much. Amazing my kids still like me.)

This year for Christmas we decided to fill each other's stockings with stuff we found around the house. The idea was inspired by a magazine article and I thought it turned out really fun. I filled Matt's stocking with a few thoughtful items but mostly with silly stuff, including earplugs, a piece of ginger, a half-empty package of gum, and a rubber glove. He filled mine with, among other things, a book I hadn't read that he thought I would like, a mix CD of songs he thought I would like and a CD of econ lectures he thought I would like (both CDs he made specifically for the stocking). Not to push the obnoxious self-deprecation any further but I think it's clear who got the better end of that particular exchange.

I keep thinking of things that I love about Matt and some of my favorite memories. Like how he basically financed a New York trip for us when we were dating. Or how (a story I just heard tonight) he and his buddy hid in a grocery store freezer once in high school, just to weird out the people who kept opening the door. Or how I heard him playing with Ida the other day and he said on the toy phone, "Did you want to talk to Ida? She's right here. Yes, I think she's very pretty too." Or how to help out friends he made 3 very long trips to the airport last week, plus our own. Or how he told me when we first met how much he liked my name. Or how, in my opinion, he can lift, open, or fix pretty much anything and answer pretty much any random question that I have about how things work.

Or how he and Theo like to sit together and "watch some football." Or how when I have real concerns that make me sad or keep me up at night, he talks me through them and points me to an answer. Or how he laughs at the "ooohs" in "One Tree Hill" and "How Can I Tell You." Or how he went to Old Navy with me tonight just before it closed so that I could find some tights. Or how he cheered me on throughout pregnancies and births. I think I could sit and write about Matt forever but I guess that is more of a journal thing than a blog thing. Plus, maybe it would be better just to sit and enjoy Matt forever. Happy anniversary to us, and to all a good night.