What I Love About You

Tonight, talking on the phone with Darin, I was really struck by just how much I love that guy. It's a shame the rest of ladykind will have to miss out on his goodness, but I am not sharing him for nothing! To me, it is truly one of those non-scientific proofs of God and His purpose for the lives of his children. How we met was so random and could have been prevented or changed by millions of tiny little things. How it worked out for us to continue talking, continue visiting each other, and continue growing together was surrounded by trillions more little miracles. We are so alike and so different; we challenge each other but satisfy each other, too. My mind is still blown by the past year I have spent knowing this man and I am thrilled at learning more in years to come!

I could write an ode about how much I love Darin!

1. He loves Flight of the Conchords and Freaks & Geeks, my two favorite and somewhat obscure TV shows.
2. He says some awfully weird things before thinking too hard about if they make any sense, and it usually cracks me up.
3. He is amazed by my cooking abilities and loves to eat fun food! (Sushi was a definite deal breaker... good thing he is a fan.)
4. He plays guitar and leads worship at church and Cru meetings sometimes. 
5. He has a good sense of style. We just look good together.
6. He is 6'1", aka way taller than me. I feel kind of like I robbed a tall-ish girl of a tall guy -- at 5'3", I am not hard to accommodate -- but I like it this way. :)
7. He appreciates me looking nice and doesn't make (a lot of) fun of my makeup, nail polish, and dress collections, but enjoys it because I end up looking fancy!
8. He is a handyman and can fix and make all kinds of things, and is a master house painter!
9. He is great with kids and so fun to watch when messing around with his nieces & nephews, and kids from his work at the Y.
10. His sense of humor is pretty darn wonderful. Anyone with a hillbilly mullet wig on hand in the trunk of the car is someone I would be intrigued by to some degree.
11. He is transparent and honest about everything, we've talked about everything under the sun.
12. When we have a disagreement or frustrating moment, he is quick to go "LARA! I love you!" and hug me, even when most of the time I don't want him to touch me, haha. (I like to mope when I am upset at myself for messing something up. Just FYI.)
13. I may be able to cook, but I can't really grill yet, but Darin makes up for that shortcoming. We have made some stinkin' good chicken!
14. He and I laugh at the same YouTube things.
15. He likes being near the city, as do I. We are not at all interested in rural living whatsoever. Even though downtown Detroit and downtown Orlando are two totally different places, they are our urban homegrills! (Although soon we will have the SAME ONE AHHH)
16. He loves all kinds of people and treats them all the same. He would be just as interested in and nice to the president as he would be to a homeless man.
17. He is bold with his faith! He doesn't think so, but he gets so many opportunities to share it and does so with all kinds of people he runs into.
18. He is a family guy, and has tons more relatives than I do, but spends time with them!

Oh, there is so much more, but I need to squeeze a little sleep in for my LAST WEEK OF CLASS! YES! I can't believe it! It is a doozy but it can be done!

Have you made a list of things you love about someone lately? It feels great to do and is such a great reminder of the gifts we have in our relationships! 

Love, Lara