MY WIFE

• Blog readers (whoever you are)….this is Chris. I was able to hack my way into the blog, which is a huge feat given Melissa’s IT prowess (not really). I’m sure you enjoy reading Melissa’s great posts about our kids, family, trips, former dog, etc, but thought I would spend a minute talking about the author of the blog…my wonderful wife. Sorry for the bullet points, but it was the only way I could break the text up (just think of each as a paragraph - I shouldn't make fun of Melissa's IT prowess).

• Melissa and I have been married a little over eight years. To this day, I still wonder why she picked me. It is pretty neat how a gal from small town Texas and a guy from the big city (for Tennessee at least) were brought together. For those of you that do not know, I used the greatest pick up line of all time on Melissa. After weeks of research, talking to her pals, professors, pastors and pets, I came up with the heady line of “so…how much does a plane ticket to Texas cost?” If Melissa had the foresight to see that this line might be a harbinger of my frugalness that rears its head from time to time, she might have run the other way….but she didn’t. Instead, she played along with my line and here we are, eight years of marriage and two wonderful children later.

• As many of you know, Melissa is the most positive, most encouraging person that I know. She rarely has a bad day. She absolutely loves her family (our unit of four, her side of the family, and yes, even my side of the family). Her attitude and energy are contagious. She is good at whatever she does and people are really drawn to her.

• Melissa has been so wonderful to be willing to change as we’ve had children. As I think back, having children has been a big adjustment for me, but nothing like for Melissa. She gave up her career to raise our children. When their schedule changes due to sickness, parties, etc., then her schedule is the first to change. She just goes with it and even thanks me for working so hard for our family! She is truly an amazing woman and I am blessed to be married to her!

• Our children love her with all of their hearts. Just yesterday, I was able to witness their faces when she returned from a night away with a couple of girl friends. Lucy jumped four inches in the air (which is much higher than her typical vertical of two inches) and Eli almost fell over he was so excited. They love her so much and just want to be with her.

• There is a song by Stephen Curtis Chapman titled “How Do I Love Her.” Many times when I think about Melissa, the following excerpt from the song comes to mind:

• "Out of all the gifts you’ve given besides the very gift of life
• There is none as precious to me as the treasure of my wife
• And still all the love in my heart is like a raindrop to the sea
• When compared to your love for her…and that’s why I’m asking please
• Will you teach me what she needs I’m an earnest man when it comes to learning how to love this woman
• How do I love her
• How do I let her know she means more than anything to me
• How do I love her"

• Well, that’s what I wanted to tell you about the amazing wife, mother, wedding planner, blogger, chauffeur and blog author that is Melissa Wyatt.

• Now I’ve put my two cents worth in, you put yours in. Post a comment with a great memory about Melissa (I’m okay if it’s a bit embarrassing, just remember our children will read this one day), or let her know how much she means to you. I’ve gone first, so I took the pressure off the rest of you in blog land.

• One final item, I’ve attached one of my favorite pictures of Melissa and I from ten years ago. I carry this picture with me whenever I travel without her and look at it each day (to remind me of her….and also to remember how good I looked wearing my hat backward!).