Happy Birthday, Mark!

Today is the BIG day for Mark... He just advanced into the 2nd half of his 30s!! Yes, he looks so incredibly young, dazzling, handsome, and oh, so stylish and I am so proud to say he's my husband! I love everything about this incredible guy! Here are just a few of the reasons why:

1. He is the most detail-oriented person I know. He would have made a killer attorney. You can't get nothing by this guy. He's super detailed about finances, his job, learning all he can about a certain subject. There's no half-way with Mark. Everything he does he gives his all and understands everything down to the tiniest of details. For example, we used to want to buy a business... we looked for over a year, went into escrow with about 2 dozen different businesses from cell phone kiosks, to gas stations, to trucking companies, to clothing stores, to laundromats, to home health, the list is endless... Yet, with every business, he learned all he could about it as to be absolutely sure it was A) worth it, and B) something we could do together and manage and find some enjoyment in. I've never seen anyone sit after a long, hard day's work with his laptop and do research all night about why a trucking company could be our big break!

2. He is the hardest worker, which gives him the motivation and energy to study out the details! He puts everything he has into his job, projects around the house, his family. He just installed a "sound-proof" door for his new stay-at-home office (only a few doors down from Rowan, hence the need for sound-proofing, our son is a yeller). He researched (of course) which door would be the best. He bought it, shaved it down, carried it (weight 80 lbs.) up and down our stairs 7 times back and forth from the shaving tool in the garage, hung it, then painted it all in about 24 hours. He makes use of all the time available to him.

3. He faints at the sight of blood! When we first got married, he was out pruning the trees in our tiny little yard with a very dull kitchen steak knife... hmmm (hey, we were newly weds and couldn't afford gardening tools... ha ha) He inevitably stabbed himself in the leg with it! It was so dull that it barely got through his jeans to prick the skin (it also pricked a vein) so a slow eeking trail of dark blood slowly ran down his leg... He came hobbling into the house and in seeing the blood passed out on our kitchen floor. Good thing I have some medical training otherwise I probably would have passed out too! I bandaged his wound and talked to him until he came to... and banned him from ever using kitchen knives in the yard. But even after all of that, he can manage to drain all the blood from my bruised finger without so much as a hint of fainting! He must know when he's needed to save the day for someone else, and saves his fainting for when others can take care of him :)

4. He has the best sense of humor. No one makes me laugh as hard as Mark (I don't think no one makes Mark laugh as hard as Mark... he loves funny things.) He loves to laugh and have a good time. He's a big tease for those of you who know him and he'll getchya! One of the funny things Mark likes to do is when you start to tell a story (it could be a serious story or a dream you've had, or a silly thing that happened that day, any type of story) and Mark will finish it for you! He adds his own ending! He did spend most of his pre-teen and teenage years in BOYS school (yep, no girls allowed) and barely survived. Let's just say that having girls intermingled with the boys from age 11-18 really helps to tame that testosterone.... but, on the flipside, it's an endearing quality Mark has and one that I love about him, boys school bad habits and all!

5. He has the softest and biggest heart. He is a doer of good for everyone. Mark is the first person to offer help to someone who needs it, whether it be an Elders Quorum move or volunteering to put in someone's yard, Mark is there with his couch-moving skills and a rake, no questions asked. He loves the missionaries and talks to them for hours. He's always the first one to introduce himself to someone new. He knows how to get to know people and instantly turns them into his friends. He gives everyone a chance. He loves people and that is one of my favorite qualities about him. He knows how to take care of his family and those around him in every way.

I'm so proud of the man he is and so grateful for his influence in my life. He helps me to become the best version of me there is. I love him for all that he does for us, for our family and friends, and for those he doesn't even know. Happy 36th Birthday, Geoffrey Mark Dunning! I love you.