Although this blog has been sorely neglected, this man has not been. Haha.

Life marches on and we have found ourselves immersed in so many things – good things for the most part.

We are feeling the shift of our lives, direction and focus as we have navigated lots of change over the past few years. Good and bad.

As our family grows (in age and technically number as our kids start finding life partners), Rob and I are taking a look at what the next phase of our life is going to look like, as we transition to even more kids flying the nest – building their own adventurous lives. And it is super fun and super crazy to think that Rob is turning 50 today!!!!

I met this man smack in the middle of our thirties. Having both gone through divorces it kinda felt in one way that we had been set so far back into our 20s, and we felt like we could never play catch up to get us where we both wanted to be.

When you find the right partner, there is no need to catch up with anything. We have just been in the same rhythm, sync, groove. We have had to deal with so much drama, heartache, set backs AND so much laughter, fun, adventures and thin moments. Life has been good and kind. Life has kicked our butts. But there’s no one I’d rather love and share, and laugh and cry, and argue and disagree with than this incredible man. We are caught up to where we were always meant to be – together – building an incredible life and chasing our dreams. It is exciting and it is scary to think that Rob is entering is 50s and I am close behind! Where did time go?

But it did and he has a lot to show for it.

• Let me tell you a thing or two about him.I will start with what an incredible father he is. I think some of our kids may have an inkling that he is a good dad (but remember how you thought of your parents when you were in your late teens – early twenties, lol – but having lost my own father years ago — I see that appreciation of parents only really really comes as you age and even become a parent yourself -so no worries if they are still a wee bit blind to that still….!!) But “good dad” doesn’t describe the care, the thought, the concern, the pride, the desire, the love that this man has for each of his kids – his biological kids and his step kids. He is the best of the best.

• He is the most awesome husband. Honestly, there is no one I’d rather spend time with. Being cooped up in the house for 15 months and he’s still my favourite person to “come home to” . He’s just the best mix of everything I love and even everything I don’t love 🙂 He’s kind, caring, thoughtful, honest, and so so so smart. He listens and processes, he’s always trying to think of different perspectives to share, is so super wise with his advice and humble enough to be open to learning and teaching. He owns his mistakes, and is quick to forgive. And he can drive me absolutely crazy too:)

• Have I said how smart he is? And so well respected. Working from home – I can sometimes overhear some of his calls with work. He is such a leader and thinker. He solves problems and he encourages/pushes his team to become so resourceful. He has taken on a new role and is such a great boss and has so much to offer and I hear people constantly expressing appreciation for his contribution and leadership.

• He has such a good sense of humour. He can make me laugh and he is always willing to laugh at me (in the nice way). He gets a kick out of so many things with the kids too – often laughing like a little kid at something silly that they are sharing.

• He is generous. He will share, give, offer support in whatever way needed. But he is most generous with his knowledge and wisdom. He will give you fish, but it is much more important to him to teach you how to fish. He doesn’t just hand us all the answers even though it is much easier to that – he wants us to understand the whys and the whats and the hows. So he will take the time to explain things…to make sure that you get it so you can build up your confidence, your resourcefulness, and knowledge too.

• He is committed. He holds his commitments – to family, to friends, to work, to church. He is a family guy, he is a service guy, he is a hard working guy. You can count on him. He is the definition of loyalty.

• He is full of integrity. You can trust him. He is honest. You know what you are getting with him. He is who he is. He will show it – even if sometimes that shows his weaknesses, he is ok with that. He is real.

• He is full of so many different passions which makes him so interesting to talk to and listen to. Art, cars, music, sports you name it, he knows it. He will share and learn and get lost in many of his passions.

• He puts others first – although I have been pushing him more and more to remember to put himself first too. He has always sacrificed a lot for his family. At times it was his career advancement to be home more with the kids; his income to pay for costs that seemed to come out from every corner; his passions – so that others could pursue theirs, and his time – constantly available to help whenever. In his wisdom though he has also learned that sometimes he needs to put himself first and fill his own cup. I love that he wants to take care of others, but has the wisdom to know that sometimes that is not the best way.

• He is just fun to be with! He is up for doing anything. He will chill, hang out, or get out and do things. He will talk, listen, and vent. He will bike, hike, stare at the stars or ski. He is the best travel partner. I love all our adventures together. I love how he wanted to show the kids the world-and still wants to share it with them. I love how he continues to want to see the world and is up for any adventure I suggest and comes up with some pretty cool ones on his own.

I could go on and on. And in my mind and heart I do. I am so grateful for everything that Rob is and so blessed to have him in my life. How I was blessed with such goodness is beyond me. But I’ll take it. Over and over. As the years march on – I am excited for us to continue to grow old together; decades and decades and into eternity.

Happy 50th Robbie!!

xoxo