Meet James

Aside from his obvious good looks, there are a lot of things that you probably don't know about James. It also tests just how well I know my husband. He never reads this, so we'll never know if I'm wrong.

Mainly as a record for our family, let me fill you in:

-He's a 12 year old boy stuck in a 28 year old man's body. The end. Just kidding. Kind of.
-James is from Maryland and that's where is attitude is from too. Or maybe it's from his mom? (love you Gramalene!)
-He says he doesn't have a sweet tooth, but requires that I always stock up on chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies. He also devours any sweet I make within minutes.
-He does asset protection at Wal-Mart and not only does he like his job, he's really good at it.
-He also works at the county jail and gets to carry a gun to work. I think it secretly makes him feel cool, but he'd probably never admit that.
-When we were first married he was making us milkshakes and decided to stir it with a spoon while the blender was on. He's smart. I'll never forget the look on his face when I ran in the kitchen to find him completely covered. We chucked the spoon and were still finding chocolate milkshake stains on our ceiling months later.
-He has back problems and snuggles with a HUGE body pillow each night. (I got it for him, so no, I am not jealous.)
-He loves nothing more than a home cooked meal and a clean house to come home to. (I should apologize here for the fact that he rarely gets it.)
-He can't help but get home and get the boys all wound up right before bed.
-He makes it look like our bed has been destroyed by a tornado when he sleeps and then blames it on me. (Nights that he works at the jail the bed looks like it has barely been slept in and he knows it!)
-He served a mission for our church in Mexico and therefore speaks spanish.
-He graduated in Sociology (thus his success at his "people-watching-suspiscious-behavior-finding" job). He minored in Business and Spanish.
-He would love to start his own business.
-He loves learning and welcomes trials and failure with open arms.
-He plays racquetball on a league. He likes to win, but he loves losing. Really. He has his reasons.

-He has strange dreams ALL the time. He also remembers all of them in full, even years later. They are very long. It goes like this, "I had the weirdest dream..." me: "weird. let me get you some breakfast." or "cool, the baby needs me." (No, I am not heartless.)

-In connection to the previous, he makes short stories long and long stories longer. He always says, I'll give you a short version, but it never really is. He knows it, so it's okay to make fun.

-He's the President of our Home Owners Association.
-He hates getting hot, slapped in the face and being left home alone.
-Before I met him he was described to me by one of my roommates as "butt boy".

-I won a date with him and he planned on spending the gift card on his roommates instead. Again, he had his reasons, but c'mon!

-He says the longest prayers ever. He also forces me to kneel on a book if I refuse to kneel on the ground instead of the bed.
-He hates when people say "shut up" even in a joking tone.
-He almost always makes one of our neices or nephews cry whenever we get together with them. He just plays too rough and forgets he's a grown man now, not just one of them.

-He loves being a dad. He watches the boys sleep with the same adoration I do.

-He's a great dancer. Never had training, but one day I will get him into a hip hop class or something and he'll be a star for sure!

-He loves video games, but for the most part he is careful with when and how long he plays.

-He loves guns.

-He plays airsoft and dreams of one day creating his own airsoft arena. He always sees things on the side of the road that would be perfect for it. Like this old run down bus just past Idaho Falls. He wants it. He tells me every time we drive by.

-He made his own ghillie suit because he's cool. (the above picture is the incomplete suit.)

-He makes the best breakfast sandwiches and thinks it would be cool to open his own breakfast shop.

-He hardly ever gets mad (unless he is slapped in the face or gets hot). He never ever yells or has yelled at me.

-Most people who don't know him think he is very serious. Especially if they see him at church. He's not. Not at all. His face is sometimes, but not my James.

-He laughs so hard when he watches America's Funniest Videos or Wipeout or sees anyone fall with style.

-He makes fun of me for watching The Bachelor, but if he can't watch it with me then he almost always asks what happened.

-He can see Heavenly Father's hand in every situation (good and bad) throughout his life. It's really inspiring.

-He has three sisters that he totally adores.

-He's definitely a momma's boy.

-He never stinks. Not even after a hard workout. (Unless I'm pregnant, but then who doesn't stink?)

-He's good at almost everything he does. If he isn't, he works so hard until he's good at it.

-He is very laid back and calm.

-He loves the smell, touch and look of leather.
-He is grateful for everything he has and is always quick to remind me how blessed we are. Especially when I complain about the ants I keep finding in the kitchen he reminds me of the little girl he saw on his mission playing on the dirt floor in the middle of her living room completely content and happy. (Boy do I hate these guilt triggering, but necessary reminders sometimes.)

-He can fall asleep in a matter of seconds. On our honeymoon he was asleep before the plane even took off. Then he woke up right when we were about to land and said, "we haven't even taken off yet!?" I tried to hold in my annoyance while I told him he had been sleeping for hours while I just sat there.

-He desires nothing more in the world than to raise his boys well and send them off to worthily serve missions for our church and then see them married in the temple.

-He wants 5 to 7 kids.

-He's my best friend and accepts criticism or instruction well.

-Sometimes he needs a little push to get out of his 12 year old boy mind set and change that poopy diaper before I get mad.

-He doesn't watch sports; he'd much rather play them.

-He has an obsession with camoflauge.

-James is not a perfect man, but he is the best man for me. He brings me closer to the Savior and is quick to comfort me. He always tries to do the right thing and fulfill his divinely appointed role as father and husband in our family and I love him more than I'd ever be able to express.