Thankful on Paper - Week Four

Here we are at the last week of Rachel Reeves' Thankful on Paper.

This week I am most thankful for my husband, Matthew.

Coincidentally, today (Wednesday) is our third anniversary.

I met Matt through the outdoor adventure program at Point Loma Nazarene University. We took a three day backpacking trip up San Jacinto together, he loaned me his long johns, and we talked all the way hiking down from the peak in the moonlight.

Fast forward a school year of friendship, going to chapel together, going rock climbing together, and I'd developed a crush on this guy who was going to graduate and leave San Diego.  Our first official date was two days before he graduated and we stayed up until four in the morning talking.

At the end of the summer, my family happened to take a yearly camping trip at a lake in the Sierras where Matt happened to work as a backpack guide for a kid's camp.  All by sheer coincidence, right?

At Bass Lake I got my first kiss, we became "official," and a month later Matt moved back to San Diego with no job and no plan other than to be near me. He worked three jobs, had a host of roommates and somehow managed to make it while I finished up my last year of college.

On May 31st of 2007, almost two years after our first date and underneath a blue moon, he proposed. You can read that story HERE, because I personally think it is still the world's best proposal and we should enter it in some competition and win a second honeymoon.

November 24, 2007 we began our journey as husband and wife, and it has been one heck of a wild ride. Tonight while driving we did a quick recap of the past three years and are a bit amazed at all we've managed to cram into it!

I am thankful Matthew is a God-fearing man. He does what is right even when it is not easy. He is trustworthy. He is giving of his time, money and himself. He is so loving, I have to remind myself that love is a gift because I certainly don't deserve his unswerving love for me. He takes care of me, in every way. He is funny, and makes me do that really unflattering GUFFAW laugh. He is content with where we are in life without being stagnant. He is competitive, which makes playing games with him fun and annoying at the same time.

Monday night, during the worst night of weather and traffic jams in recent Seattle history, Matt spent 5 1/2 hours driving 20 miles to get to me, and I know if he had run out of gas he would have walked through the storm to reach me.

Matthew, I love you and am so thankful that three years ago you said "I do" to me. I can't wait to start the next adventure with you.