These Are a Few of My Favorite Things... About My Husband ♥

This is going to be one cheesy post, so... prepare yourself!

I have been feeling EXTRA grateful for my husband lately, so I decided this was a perfect excuse to do a post with all our new pictures. This was my FAVORITE shoot Mike & I have ever done. But first... Here's a little timeline of our professional pictures together throughout the years. AND... here's the cheesy part: For every picture I post, I will be telling you one thing I love about Mike.

Our Engagements:

1. He is LITERALLY the hardest working person I've ever met. He works so hard for our little family. Besides working hard at his job, he will also work very hard in our home. He does the dishes more often than I do.

2. He has a really nice bad boy / tough guy exterior, but on the inside... he's got the softest heart. He doesn't show this side to many people, which almost makes it more special to me.

Wedding:

(We didn't get all our wedding pictures because the second disk we received was corrupt. This has always been a bug bummer to me. We have NONE of just the two of us - besides ones family took)

3. His sense of humor. I'm gonna regret writing this, but Mike is a huge tease. He loves picking on me and some days I just want to pull my hair out, but let's be honest... I would lead a very boring life if he wasn't like that. And I would probably be kinda sad.

1st Year Married:

(side note: Mike hates these pictures because his shirt puffed out at the bottom and he says it makes him look fat haha)

4. On the coat tails of his sense of humor... I LOVE Mike's laugh. I rarely find funny what he's actually laughing at, but I will still laugh every time because of his laugh. It's so loud and boisterous, and contagious.

The Year We Got Sealed:

5. He's so helpful. I am NOT a helpful person. If someone is cooking or cleaning, I might be the last person to offer to help. Mike, however, will always be the first to offer. It kinda makes me look bad (haha) but I love him for it.

6. He will do anything for me. I think a lot of people say this, but I'm 120% serious. If I'm having a bad day, his response is always to get me a Swig and take me shopping. He will sacrifice anything for himself if it means me getting something more. I'm convinced he would cut off one of his hands if I asked for it.

7. He takes care of me. If we're taking a walk, he makes sure he is on the outside of the sidewalk. This is something he's done since we first started dating. I noticed once and asked him why, and he said so if a car tries to run us over, it will hit him and not me.

8. He's been an amazing father figure for my brothers. He's known them since Caleb & Josh were nine and Miles was eleven. He's always been so good with them. The fact that they all get along so well makes me so happy!

9. His love for kids. I am not a huge kid person. It's something I've really struggled with over the past few years. Whenever I get concerned that I'll make a terrible mother, I think about what an amazing dad Mike will be and it eases my fears. He loves our nieces and nephews so much. He's the fun uncle that they all want to play with.

Last Year's Pictures:

10. Our childhoods have a lot of similarities, so it's been really nice to have someone who understands some of the most difficult things I've ever been through. I don't think many people could understand certain aspects of my life without having experienced something like it on their own. 

11. How well he handles my anxiety. The image of his face the first time he watched me have a panic attack will forever be burned into my memory. He was confused and scared, but all he did was love me through it all and that's exactly what I needed. 

12. His continuous support of my crazy hair styles / colors. I'll hear women say, "Oh my husband doesn't like my hair brown so I keep it blonde." Let's just say, someone telling me what to do with my appearance wouldn't go well. Thankfully, I found someone who might care, but if he doesn't like it, he keeps it to himself and tells me he loves it. As long as I like it - Mike likes it.

13. He is not a gamer. I'm just gonna leave it at that.

14. He's literally the greatest Instagram Husband that exists. This husband of mine HATES pictures. So not only is he amazing at taking my pictures - he also puts up with being IN the pictures with me.

This Year's Pictures (Round One):

15. We have the same taste in music (except his weird obsession with Taylor Swift. I'll never understand that). Going to an Avenged Sevenfold concert with him was so amazing because we both love them so much. It wouldn't have been the same if Mike only kinda cared.

16. His beard. When he first started growing it years ago - I hated it. I always wanted him to shave. Now that he's capable of growing a decent beard - I never want him to shave. It could be because when he does shave, he looks like a 15 year old and I feel like a cradle robber.

This Year's Pictures (Round 2) ♥:

(There's a lot, but the fact that I narrowed it down to even this many is a Christmas miracle)

17. The fact that he has put up with me for almost nine years. Enough said.

18. He always calls to order the pizza. This sounds stupid, but I really hate talking on the phone so he will always make the phone calls for me.

19. I love watching Mike watch How I Met Your Mother. It's his favorite show, and no matter how many times he watches an episode, he will laugh just as hard at the jokes as the first time he watched the episode. It's the most endearing thing ever.

20. He does not hold grudges. He's had people treat him so poorly before, but he just chooses to forgive them. Sometimes I get SO frustrated because I'm mad for him, so I feel like he should be mad. He usually gets upset for a bit, but then he just decides it's not worth it. I really aim to be more like him in this aspect.

21. He's strong. Yes he is physically strong, but I mean emotionally. He always just rolls with the punches and comes out on top. He's gone through some serious stuff and together we've gone through a lot, but he always chooses to learn from the experiences instead of dwelling on them.

22. The way he looks at me. I'm not gonna get TOO mushy, but sometimes I'll catch him just looking at me with the most loving look on his face and it makes me melt. I really am so lucky.

23. His eyes. They're the prettiest blue and you can see his old, kind soul through them.

24. He's so handsome. I think it's very important to be attracted to your spouse. 

25. He lets me be right. I think this might be to avoid fighting with me, but regardless, I'm grateful for it.

26. He makes me feel beautiful.

27. He makes me want to be a better person. He's so amazing in many ways and I aspire to be like him.

28. He has been my biggest supporter from day one. Any time I get frustrated and want to give up on myself, he's there to tell me why he thinks I'm amazing and that I can do anything I want to. I wasn't really a dreamer until Mike helped me see all my potential.

29. I can be 100% myself with him. I think sometimes he wishes I would be a little more well-mannered, but he loves me anyway. I think Mike is the only person who has seen every side of me. There are parts of me that I keep in a deep, dark hole, but Mike has seen those too & has actually helped me work through a lot of them.

30. We don't really FIGHT. Don't get me wrong - we bicker almost constantly, but it's usually in good spirits. We used to fight. Like a lot. But when you've been together for almost ten years, you kind of figure things out. Plus, I've always said that I think it's crucial how young we were when we met. You are still becoming YOU when you're 16 & 17. We helped shape each other into who we are today. We are very different, but we're also very similar.

31. He makes me happy. That's so cliche, but it's what it all boils down to.

32. He's so weird. Like really weird. If you aren't close to him, you'll never know this about him because he's also really shy. And yes, I love that he's weird. Because so am I. I think it would be really boring to be married to someone who's normal. No thanks.

33. He has taught me to trust God in every aspect of my life.

If you got through all 33 pictures - you are a saint. Mike & I have led a pretty crazy life together. We've had lots of ups and downs, but there's no one else I'd rather be going through it all with. He is my greatest blessing.

On a religious note, I've had people ask me what got me back into the LDS Church. It was Mike. The thought of not having him with me for eternity made me die inside. I was in Seminary my senior year of high school when I realized that. Growing up with divorced parents, I don't know that I actually believed in lasting love or marriage. By default, that made me not care about the idea of a Celestial Marriage. Mike changed that all. Mike changed everything. I am who I am because of him. He saved me and he continues to save me. If you don't know Michael Levi Hurst - you're missing out. It's a privilege to be in his life, and I'm not just saying that because he's my husband. Ask almost anyone who truly knows him and they'll tell you how great he is. I'm pretty sure that my mom loves him more than she loves me (only kinda kidding). Anyway, I could literally go on about Mike all day, so I'm gonna stop here. 

We would LOVE to do a Q&A, so if you have any questions for us, you can email them to me at daniellee18nh@gmail.com or drop them in the comments.

I am so grateful for each & every one of you who follow along on my journey (Writing this post got me feeling all sorts of sentimental). I hope you continue to follow along.

XOXO, Danielle ♥