Why I love James Judd #8

I only planned on doing 7, but the video of Catherine was a bonus. Today, on Valentine's Day, I love James Judd because he is willing to love me despite my many faults. I can be a bit compulsive about the way I want certain household chores done. I'm not always as positive or grateful about situations as I should be. I can be stubborn. I can be demanding of his time and energy. I like most things to be too scheduled. I don't always take initiative. I only make the bed if someone is coming to the house who might see it. I get grumpy with lack of food or sleep. I complain quite a lot. And this is clearly only a partial list. And he loves me anyway.

He is in Orlando now but sent me a text this morning to look inside the closet where the HVAC unit is. To my surprise, he had left a card and gift for me before he left for his trip. I am blessed to spend life with him!

6 months of CSJ

The day she was born one month old

two months old

three months old

four months old

five months old

and today. six months old. We ran out of rings to add to the toy :)

Why I love James Judd #7

James is in Orlando this week. Last night after we got off the phone I was lying in bed thinking of which reason I love him I would share with the world today. And then I wondered what topic we would be discussing if he were here. And I missed him. (And then I missed him even more when Catherine woke up multiple times in the night :)).
I love James Judd because he is my best friend. I love that most nights we stay up too late talking. Sometimes about serious topics, sometimes just telling stories, sometimes planning and dreaming about the future. I never get tired of spending time with him. He makes me laugh. He makes me cry (in a good way) when he's so sweet. (Of course he's made me cry in a bad way too, but that makes me love him more that he sticks the hard times out with me). He does things with me that he doesn't love to do because he know I love doing those things. He is my confidant. I can tell him anything without fear of judgement. I can be completely honest with him. I trust him completely. I love my best friend.

Why I love James Judd #6

This one is a bonus post for today.

I love James Judd because God combined our genes magnificently to make this cute girl:

Why I love James Judd #5

I love James Judd because we are a good team. I notice how we complement each other often, but when I really notice our teamwork is when James is traveling (when I am holding down the fort alone). I notice more all the things that he normally does or the things we normally do together. In our first house we didn't have a dishwasher and had to wash our dishes by hand. I don't like washing all the little pieces of silverware, he doesn't like washing the pots. I don't mind folding the laundry, but I hate finding the matches to the socks, which James doesn't mind. We tag-team almost all that we do. He is, in general, a big picture person and I am, in general, a details person. He reminds me to be thankful. I remind him to put action to his thoughts/plans/dream. We have the same goals and the same plan for making them happen, but each of us has a different role. I love him and I love being on his team.

Why I love James Judd #4

I love James Judd because he helps me. all the time. with virtually any task I can't complete on my own. Yesterday he helped me open a jar of salsa I couldn't open myself. He stayed up late helping me with our website. Recently I started a project where I turned a coffee table into a storage ottoman. (I should post pics of that later) I did fine disassembling everything, covering the top with padding and fabric, and cutting the covering for the sides. What I needed help with was the drilling and screwing. I was hesitant to ask because James hates projects and because I had gotten myself into this mess anyway. In the process of me humbly asking for help and him graciously consenting we talked about my habit of getting into situations like this one. He said something about how I always do more than he think I can do on my own but that's always less than I think I can do on my own. Anyway, now that we are looking toward moving, most of my projects have been suspended. but even if they aren't, I'm thankful for a husband who is willing to help me.

Why I love James Judd #3

I love James because he loves my family. There are days that loving my family is easier than others, and on the harder days, I get annoyed more easily than James. Like this morning when my dad came to take James to the airport 30 MINUTES EARLY. My dad is perpetually early, but the difference between 6:00 am and 6:30 am seems great when one is so very sleepy. I grumbled and complained, but James just got out of bed, got ready more quickly than planned, and reminded me (gently) that I should be thankful I wasn't having to get up to take him to the airport.

Why I love James Judd #2

I didn't get this posted yesterday because I went to bed at 9:15. I wished it could have been hours earlier. I worked at James' office yesterday answering phones, but I don't even think that is why I was so tired. It has just been an exhausting week and I needed one good night's sleep before I become a single parent for a few days while James is out of town.

So here we go.


I love James Judd because he is a hard worker who provides well for his family. The bonus of working at his office today was not only a day to do something other than care for Catherine, it was that I got to see James in his element. Nothing was particularly surprising. Almost everything about what a day in his office was like was as I imagined it would be. It was just a nice to see him there and watch/hear how he interacts with people....both the way he is respected and respects others. Yesterday was slower than most days, but it was still busy. James works long, hard days (especially now being one staff member down) and is still a very present husband and father in the evenings. I appreciate him!

Why I love James Judd #1

It's a week until Valentine's Day. I'm not a huge fan of the holiday, but I am a fan of celebrating our love and our marriage. Especially this year. The past few months we have heard many stories of failed marriages...in our own family, in our circle of friends, and a few more distant acquaintances. Our marriage is far from perfect, but in light of all those we know having marital problems, we have been talking more about what we can do to hold on to and strengthen our own.

SOOO, since there is a week until Valentine's Day, I'm going to post one thing I love about James or our life together each day until then. Surely anyone who reads this can handle only a week of mushy and sappy, right?

I love that James always seems to know exactly what I need. He has been working long hours at his job and we've had evening plans almost everyday for what seems likes weeks. Other than the weekend, we haven't gotten the kind of time together we would like. Today was going to be another day of him rushing home from work to grab dinner then heading out to a meeting. I was surprised when I heard him walk in the door earlier than normal and then announce that he decided not to go to the meeting either! But it gets better. He then said, "I just wanted to spend some time with my family." melt my heart! I have a husband who chooses us and chooses to spend time with us. The greatest think was that I didn't even have to tell him that staying home this evening was what I wanted more than anything (especially since we have church tomorrow night, then he leaves early Saturday morning for a conference), he just knew. And he acted on it and arranged his day to make it happen.


And an update. How did we spend an unexpected evening together? a romantic meal? watching a movie while snuggling on the couch? No. We spent it reconciling the last 3 months of bank statements of 2011 and preparing all our tax documents to give to our accountant. :)