Tribute Tuesday

My second Tribute Tuesday. Wayne from across the pond started this, and it is a nice way to say nice things about somebody. He has Mr. Linky set up to read other tributes. Join in. My tribute today will be to my husband, Perry.

Perry is several hours away, working out of state. and called me yesterday to say he left work because he was sick. (flu-y) You know that when you are sick, you only want to be in your own bed. But, he suffered all day in a hotel. So I will start my tribute by saying that he is a hard and dedicated worker.

Perry travels a lot for his job. I'm sure it's not fun being away from his family for a week or more at a time. He likes his job, just not the being away, but does it, so I can stay at home and take care of the house and kids. He is thankful that he still has a job, and that he can provide for our family.

Perry is a loving husband and father. He is a hugging and kissing kind of guy. He is very affectionate toward me and his daughters. I love that he calls me sweetheart. He is always telling me that I am beautiful, and I have a great butt. (love is blind) I don't believe I have a great butt, but I believe that he thinks so. He always tells the girls that they are beautiful and pretty and is always ready to give a compliment. He always tells us he loves us. When disciplining the girls he makes sure to tell them it's because he loves them so much, and won't just let them get away with something.

Perry is very outgoing and will talk to just about anybody. He is very smart and can hold a conversation about any subject. He retains knowledge easily. Something I wish I could do. But, since he's not perfect, I will say that even though he is book smart, he lacks in the common sense department. He's not missing common sense, just lacking. But since I have more common sense than him and he is smarter than me, we make a good balance. He's always one to say, "let's have a party" and he makes it happen right away. Like, that day, or he gives me a few day notice. That drives me crazy, (read: I fight about it) running around trying to get a party together, but they always turn out fun, and it never would have happened if not for him.

Perry has accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior, and strives to be more like Him. He's the first to lead us in prayer, and makes sure all our requests are taken, and prayed for. He has the gift of evangelism and uses that gift especially when traveling. Many a seed has been planted from him. He even asked God if he could have me as his wife, when he first saw me at work. God said yes, faster than I did.

Perry is handy around the house. He can fix just about anything, if he wants to. Sometimes he'd rather pay somebody to fix something than take his time away from us. He is an electrician, (but that's not his job) so that's cool that we don't have to pay for that service. He loves planting flowers and puttering in the dirt. The downside to Perry, is that he is a perfectionist. I say downside, because I am not a perfectionist. It can drive me nuts when he takes the time to do something just right, where I am an "it's good enough" person. So all his handiness and playing with electricity and putting the flowers in just the right spot, and moving this and changing that, Ahhhhh, can get to me, but in the end, I can see that he did what was right.

Perry loves his computer and is a self taught geek. If anything is said to come between us, it's his computer. Or Fox News, or History Channel.. He's a geek, and he admits it.

Perry loves his mother. They are close. Not only in age, (19 years) but as a mother and son. Hence the fact that he's taking her to see Celtic Women on Valentines Day. (see NMM post from 2 weeks ago) He talks to her on the phone often, and makes sure to tell her he loves her at the end of the conversation. It's "love ya ma". I get, Love you, she gets love ya. I guess there's a difference in terms of endearment.

Perry's pride and joy are his children. He is so good with Phoebe and Abigail. He's a patient teacher. It's endearing to watch him play dolls or color with them. He pitches baseballs and is ready and willing to teach them to fish and hunt, if they want to. He gets upset if he can't say goodnight to them over the phone if he's away. That doesn't happen much, but it has.

Of course Perry has his faults, we all do, but I'm glad God convinced me that he was the one to be my husband. After almost 10 years together, we still have our fights, but we take our vows seriously and nothing will break us apart. Which reminds me of another good thing about him. He is so quick to apologize and make things right. (unlike me) He's quick to forgive and move on. (unlike me) He's a pretty decent guy. Drives me batty at times, but I get through it.

I love him and miss him. He can come home anytime now. (few more days on the road)