Derek is 31!

 Derek is now 31 years old!  

This year, he celebrated with a golf trip with some buddies (unfortunately no pictures were taken...) followed by a family party complete with Derek's favorite ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins!

Below was a part of my gift to Derek that I wanted to make sure was in our blog book for our boys to read one day!

Dear Derek,

Happy 31^st Birthday!  In light of our recent  “Love Languages” discoveries, I wanted to shower you with words of affirmation that I simply don’t tell you enough!  Below are the 31 things I love most about you!  The first few are in order, but the rest were just as they came to my head….

1-God Fearing-I love that you love Jesus and strive to be like him and walk your daily life in his image.

2-Loving Husband-Thank you so much for loving me no matter what and when it’s not always easy.  Although sometimes things get tough, I have never doubted the sanctity of our marriage and your intentions to love me forever…no matter what.

3-Amazing Father-When we were first married, I knew you would be a good dad. However I never dreamed how incredible you would actually be with our two boys!  They are blessed to have you as their father and mentor.

4-Hard Worker- Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful life for our family.  We have never wanted for anything and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be home to raise Hayes and Charlie myself.

5-Man of Integrity-  Thank you for always being true to your word and faithful.  Not only do you keep your promises to our family, you are always honest and do the right thing in your career when it’s not always the most popular thing to do.

6-Loyal Friend-You might not be the most outgoing guy in the room upon first meeting, but you are surely the most loyal.  I see how you reach out to your friends and love to help and support them in all that they do.  Seeing you speak from your heart at Bill’s rehearsal dinner was so very special.

7-Passionate-I love how genuinely excited you get about so many things.  I see this in you everyday in everything from teaching Hayes to hit a baseball, to hearing about how you helped your clients.

8-Forgiving-It truly takes a special man to be able to forgive and forget the way you do.  Thanks for always giving me a second (and third and fourth) chance!

9-Visionary-I love that even through the daily grind of life, you still are able to “dream big” and have new and innovative ideas.

10-Smart-It is such an honor to be married to someone as smart as you.  I’m amazed at all you have already accomplished in just 31 years and it is a privilege for me to see you continue to grow in your career.

11-Respectful-You have so much respect for those around you.  Not just your bosses and elders, but those less fortunate. 

12-Relatable-It’s amazing that you are able to find common ground with so many people from all walks of life.  You have such an amazing way of explaining things to others.

13-Humble-With all of your success, you have always remained humble and grounded in your roots.

14-Family Man-I really appreciate how you make us the priority in your life.  I’m so thankful that you genuinely want to be around us more than any other activity or hobby and how you are fiercely loyal to us always.

15-Traditional-One thing that attracted me to you in the beginning and still today is that it seems that you are one of the last traditional guys out there!  From the very beginning, you courted me like I was your princess and knew that as a man you had to step it up which you did!

16-Good Dresser-I love how you dress like a real man.  Not all trendy with skinny jeans, but classic and clean.  The way I like itJ

17-Attractive-I am still so very attracted to youJ I still love seeing you leave the house in the mornings in your suit and tie! I am a lucky girl to have my “tall, dark and handsome” man J

18-Laugh-I love how contagious your laugh is and how once you start sometimes you simple can’t stop!  It’s also such a great quality that you can laugh about things that really aren’t important to lighten the mood.

19-Fun-I love that you are still a kid at heart and can still find ways to make life fun.

20-Assertive-I love that you are not afraid to stand up for what you believe in.  I was so impressed this year how you single handedly changed the insurance policies at your work!

21-Strong- I love how you are strong and can fix things around the house.  I know this seems silly, but it’s nice knowing that I have my own “super hero” to help me get things done!

22-Focused-I love how you are able to zone out gossip and trivial stuff and remain focused on the important matters in life.

23-Leader-I love how you are not only a great leader of our family but how you also step up and take action in so many areas of your life.

24-Responsible-I can trust you completely to be responsible with so many aspects of our life from our finances to the well being of our children.

25-Adventurous-I love how you aren’t afraid to try new things and I’ll never get tired of hearing all your stories from Australia!

26-Sentimental-It means so much to me that through everything you still have a sentimental spirit. I’m so glad that you finished the “hope chest” to hold symbols of memories we’ve already made and more that will come in the future.

27-Respected-I mentioned earlier how you respect others.  You are also very respected in your workplace as an up and coming Investment Advisor.  Your family, friends, and other community members also respect you.

28-Compassionate-It’s so special to hear how compassionate you are for others and how you truly want to help those in need. 

29-Philanthropist-I love that you still manage to find time to do things for others.  I loved watching you coach young boys in basketball and mentor them and have also really enjoyed seeing the fruits of your labor when raising money for disabled children in the recent golf tournament.  What an example you are setting for Hayes and Charlie!

30-Dog lover-I know it seems silly but I love how you love Neyland.! Although it would be easy (monetarily) to let him go, you are quick to remind me of how he has been there for us in the hardest times and continues to help us feel safe in our home.   There truly is something special about a man and their dog!

31-Your Birth-And last but not least, I love that you were born 31 years ago today!  I know your parents are so proud of all that you are and everything you have become.   I love you so much and can’t wait to celebrate many more years of your life!

Love Always,

Anna Clare