Thursday, August 30, 2012

loving on him...

i was sitting under our navy blue umbrella
watching him out in the crystal clear water
playing with two of the girls.
i soaked up that moment & pondered it the rest of our vacation.
while i know in my heart of hearts i married way out of my league
i never cease to be amazed how well he loves each of us.

he has never raised his voice at me.
he comes in everyday & "leaves it all" behind him.
always giving who ever needs it the most, his undivided attention.
he tells me he loves me dozens of times a day.
he sends me love letters in the mail.
he spends his saturdays and sundays with us, not out on the golf course.
nothing wrong with the golf course, he just told me years ago
that while he loves golf, the time and money involved would pull
him away from us. 
{ just a personal conviction. not a slam if your hubby is a golfer ;) }
he literally lays down his life for us.
every day.



dan's an assistant principal at one of the largest, most diverse highschools
in the southeast.
with over 3,000 students
his day is consumed with many hours spent involved in discipline.
he is under enormous stress right now. 
he's swamped, working 12 hour days. last week he went in on saturday and sunday.
yet he still spent some time with each of us over the weekend.
always making each of us feel so loved. so cherished.

many of the kids he works with come from backgrounds
& a homelife i can barely imagine.
even though he's involved in the discipline aspect of their day
he always shows them respect and grace.
he may be the only face of Jesus some of them will see that day.

he told me last night one of the students
who he doesn't really even know by name,
came up to him yesterday & said, "mr. knudsen, you're the best principal.
everyone likes you. even when we're in trouble, you always treat everyone nicely".

sometimes i wonder if the girls really understand
if they really comprehend
what an amazing man they have the privilege of calling daddy.
i hope they know they are seeing the tangible love of Jesus
in dan. every single day.
i know i see it...


one of the ways i try to love on him
is each night i try to be done with all my chores, phone calls, etc
& at least an hour before we turn out the lights,
we just hang out in the same room.
he may be watching the news or sports, or maybe even working
but i try to just "be" with him, maybe reading, maybe playing on instagram
but not all flustered & busy.
we just sorta wind down together.
i try to have our home tidy when he walks through the door
& even if i'm wearing a ballcap, i make sure i've freshened up.
i try not to bombard him with any and all issues right when he comes through the door.

we've tried, since we were first married, to each week have some time to ourselves.
while the girls were younger, that might have meant ordering take out
& spending time on the sofa watching tv after we tucked them in.
now a days we can head out to dinner on sunday evenings and just catch up.

i want to encourage you, no matter what stage of parenting you're in
if you're married,
to make time for him.
to make him the top commitment in your marriage...
not your kiddos.
while i totally understand after picking up babies, and holding little ones on your hip all day
while being emotionally drained from communicating with teens all afternoon
can leave you
over touched and emotionally spent
remember
to make the decision to make him the priority.
that will provide your babies, no matter their age,
the stability of knowing momma & daddy love each other.
they will lay their heads down each night with the security 
of their parents love.

~~~

& dan
i love you more today than yesterday
thank you for loving us unconditionally


all of me. always...

37 comments:

Deborah said...

Beautiful words to live by. Thanks for the reminder Paige.

Anonymous said...

I love this! xoxo

Melissa Marie Head said...

Wow I love this post! Thanks for the inspiration

Love Being A Nonny said...

I too am loved like this. He's bett to me than I am to him...this is a reminder to me to work on that. Thank you for a precious post.

Alecia said...

Soooo, so sweet. I love that one of the kids at school told him that...that must have spoken volumes to him. I hope his heart was blessed by that.

Great post & wonderful advice to tuck away for the future.

The pics are so sweet too.

Sibi said...

Gracious me, I love that Dan....

You two are such a beautiful and Godly example of servitude in marriage and family. You are an inspiration and represent hope to many hearts on so many levels.

I've said this before, but you all are such a gift to me and my family and I count it an honor to do life with you all.

You bless me.

Love and admire you all...

Sibi

chrissi said...

Love this post. Thank you.

Bravehearted Beauty {formerly LLH Designs} said...

I always love it when you talk about your husband...when any woman talkes about her husband in such an honoring and respectiful way. I'd say he's the bomb, but I"ve got a BOMB of a husband, too! God is good. Always giving us far more than we deserve. xoxo!

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes! He needs to be number one not our kiddo's......loved this post.

Jen said...

I love reading about your love for Dan and his for you. You are both inspiring and remind me to put more effort and love into my marriage. Thank you for your beautiful words!

Unknown said...

This was absolutely beautiful Paige....it made me cry actually.

Just from reading your blog as long as I have I know that he's a special man, I think it's written on his face in each & every one of your beautiful photographs.

A great Dad is one of the most important things a girl can ever have and your girls are truly so fortunate.

For ages I didn't know that he was a teacher or a principal....but when you mentioned it, it totally made sense...I bet he's amazing in that role too.

Your post inspired me....thanks Paige Xx

Amy said...

That was beautiful and I have tears in my eyes right now. I read your blog everyday and can always take something away. Thanks for the wisdom and knowledge you share with us.

Amy

Heather said...

This is such a beautiful, heartfelt post and I love the emotion in it. You guys are lucky to have each other. He sounds like an amazing person - oh, and handsome too. :)

Lisa said...

Just beautiful...thank you for the reminder as I have a husband and daddy as wonderful as yours...so lucky!

Lindsey said...

If i ever get married, I pray that I love my husband the way you love yours!

Kate said...

Well...gosh you got a keeper. :-) Beautiful love letter to him...I loved reading it. And I loved the part about your dates being take-out on the couch after the girls were tucked in...that is our favorite kind of date these days...and I wasn't sure it REALLY counted as a date night (although I get almost as excited!)...but now I AM going to count it! :-)

Hope you are all doing well!

awal.ny said...

You are very lucky to have such a wonderful man as your husband. I too have a wonderful husband. You are right, it is important to make them number one in your life.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post..You are one lucky lady but you already know that..Have a wonderful weekend..

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

Oh the sweetness... My man loves me just that way too. so blessed.

I love the encouragement to make time to just be together... Adrain and I are really bad at that when we get busy... we don't have readily available babysitters and are not quite to the "leaving them" stage yet... it gets exhausting. But you're right and I needed the reminder to find a way...

I freshen up before Adrain comes home too. That is so awesome.

Love your heart girl.

Katie said...

Great, great post and something I need to remember!

Meg said...

Such a beautiful post and such a great reminder! I too feel very very lucky!

Shawna said...

Beautiful.

Kelli said...

Amen and Amen. I am lucky enough to be able to say the same. Even though we found each other later in life, I feel like we've always been together. Good advice for any and all. You're a good writer, Paige.

brockey said...

You said it all ......... : )

Meg said...

I love this and Dan reminds me of my precious hubby of 5 years. We have a 22-month-old daughter and another girl due this November! My parents are visiting us this week(they live 11 hours away) and last night, we all sat in the living room while Nathan read the Bible to Mary. We prayed together as a family and Nathan then tucked Mary into her crib. My daddy looked at me and said, "You definitely married the right man." Amen! I am so thankful to have a Jesus loving and fearing man as my husband and best friend. Your girls, too, are so blessed to have Dan as their Daddy.

RachelRAdams said...

such fabulous advice paige... we all learn so much from you and the wisdom you share.... thank you for always sharing your heart and experiences so honestly.

Unknown said...

Paige, you are an inspiration and the REAL deal. Your heart and words minister to me.

Courtney DeFeo at Lil Light O' Mine said...

completely inspiring

Between You and Me said...

words to live by!!!!
we do many of the same things you guys do together to honor your marriage...

but still...I ALWAYS need the reminder to save some of myself each day for him. It's so easy to feel "done" at the end of each day.

There isn't anything better we can give our kids than a healthy, happy, whole marriage.

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

outstanding post!

lea
xo

melissa said...

Beautiful, beautiful post Paige! .. although, I am married to a golfer man ;) .. he is such a wonderful man and always there for me and my boys! I am blessed.

Kelly said...

Oh, Paige, what a precious tribute to your husband! I think every husband would love knowing their wife cherishes them so!

Your husband sounds so much like my own, and this reminded me of all I have to be grateful for. My husband is a high school principal, as well, and very few understand the incredible demands the job makes. It takes a very special person to give both the position and his family their all. Ironically, Rusty has made the exact same decision regarding golf (for the very same reasons!), and while I certainly wouldn't expect all men to do so, I am ever so thankful to have a husband who chooses his family for his favorite hobby. Thank you for sharing this, it is encouraging to hear of other men who adore their wives and daughters, and reminded me that I need to reciprocate that to my husband, and let him know how special he is to me, too!

3 Peanuts said...

This is one of your best post Paige. I make my living helping people who have lost the day to day maintenance of their marriage. And even though I know it and give talks on this topic, I don't alwas do it either. You put in such simple and easy terms here. Dan is amazing. i could tell the moment I met him. Y'all are his world. It is beautiful to see. And it is beautiful to hear what a difference he makes in the live of the young people he interacts with all day long.

Casey said...

As a young married couple, I can't tell you how encouraging it is for my husband and I to hear older couples say that yes, marriage is a good thing. And yes, we still make time for each other and enjoy having a life together. And yes, sometimes things are hard, but it doesn't mean we don't love each other. And yes, "until death do us part" is, in fact realistic. From the time we got engaged, my husband and I noticed that people repeatedly told us that we were marrying too young, as if you couldn't enjoy life once you got married. Or that this was a "starter" marriage. Or to enjoy the newlywed phase, because it won't last long. It was discouraging and frustrating. The few couples, like you, who said positive things were and still are such an encouragement to us. Now that we have been married for a few years, it makes me much aware of what I say to newly engaged couples, and how I say it. Beautiful, clearly hearfelt post :)

Anonymous said...

Amen. <3

Jenn Jantz said...

My husband and I got the same things told to us... it frustrated us so much. We also have been married a few years and just the other day I told him. Every single day I just love you more and more. Its pretty freaking amazing :)

Jenn Jantz said...

My husband and I got the same things told to us... it frustrated us so much. We also have been married a few years and just the other day I told him. Every single day I just love you more and more. Its pretty freaking amazing :)