10 Things I Love About My Husband

(This is Niklas from when his family lived in Washington (1988ish?), looking up at the snow coming down with the rain. This is one of my favorite pictures of him as a child.)

1) His love of nature. One of Niklas' favorite places to go is the gardens on-campus at BYU-I, and he would love to get back to the greenery and forests of Washington state. He would love to go camping (haven't done that together yet) and always enters this sort of zone whenever we are walking out and about in nature. It's like he is in awe of the touch of God's hand within nature; and I love that we share this same enjoyment being among God's creations.

2) His creativity and artistic ability. I'm sure Niklas would argue with me on this one, since he doesn't see his artistic abilities as that fantastic compared to others. But he definitely has artistic talent! He can draw, paint, and sculpt really well--at least in my opinion. :) I appreciate being able to get his help in coming up with a Halloween costume or color pallettes for my sewing projects. He is far superior to me in the artistic realm, and I really admire his abilities. (His current project? Making lightsabers out of PC pipe. I'll post a pic as soon as I have one.)

3) His love of children. Seriously, which wife/girl doesn't love this about any man? Niklas has always wanted children---lots of children. In fact, probably more children than I'll ever be able to give birth to---9 or 10!! Of course, it was kind of a joke...or semi-serious joke. Not only does he want his own biological children, but he would love to be able to adopt other children in the future. He loves to play and interact with the kids in our combined families and I know he is going to be a very involved father with our own children (though he'll love to tease them endlessly, I'm sure). And funny enough, he finds pigtails on little girls completely adorable.

4) His pouty face. I think I already mentioned this before on here, but I cannot get enough of Niklas' pouty face. I unfortunately don't have a picture of it, but it cracks me up every time. Of course, his pouty face is probably supposed to make me feel sorry for him; but instead it makes me laugh. I find it totally endearing.

5) His physical sense of humor. Yes, Niklas has his little twisted sense of humor; but he also is completely unself-conscious about animatedly acting ridiculous. I refuse to play the game "Curses!" because you have to look like a complete idiot in front of others; but Niklas eats it up. The first time I met him in Colorado, he was telling me and my mom about how ridiculous popped collars on men's polo shirts looked---and then he proceeded to pop his own collar and walk around exactly like a chicken. My mom and I DIED laughing. He can always make me laugh, since he has a bit of an entertainer in him that I find amusing. He has the unabashed physical humor that amuses others, especially when he starts busting a funky groove.

(Niklas and his sister Jacqueline, dressed up 50's style for some kind of event. This picture always makes me smile.)

6) His love of books and learning. Although Niklas hasn't enjoyed the grades part of college, he is passionate about being a life-long learner. He loves learning about history, sword fighting, literature, etc. And he absolutely loves books. He would love to have his own library someday so he can stock up on all the books he wants and read them all at his leisure (sort of like the libraries from Jane Austen times). He is all about literature and is also a great writer. It's nice being able to discuss books with him (although we haven't read a lot of the same material), and I look forward to maybe reading Crime and Punishment together. (I've read it once--Niklas, never.) In fact, he's always trying to get me to read all kinds of stuff he's read (classic literature), but I have no desire right now. I know, how bad of me...but thus it is.

7) His cooking skills! Niklas is a great cook. While I have to follow any given recipe line by line (NO deviations) in the rare times I do cook, Niklas can simply throw ingredients together and have the dish turn out really delicious. He instinctively can tell what spices work well together and create a masterpiece. His favorite type of cooking, however, would be grilling. Someday we'll get one and then he can do all the grilled meats he wants. :)

8) His gift for teaching. Niklas has a natural desire to have an impact on the people around him---and when he has taught classes (in church mostly, though he did teach a college class once this last semester for his T.A. job), he knows how to hold the classes' attention by making the subject interesting and throwing in some humor (whether by props or likening life, etc. to Star Wars). He loves to teach and has a knack for it, which is why he hopes to be able to become a university professor someday. (And I would be extremely proud of him being a teacher!)

9) His love of the Gospel. Niklas has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and has a deep respect for the prophets and apostles throughout history. He loves to learn more about the gospel through studying church literature and isn't afraid to talk to others about the gospel. He seeks and strives to be the best patriarch he can be for our family, and he loves God and Jesus Christ with all of his heart.

10) His soul. Okay, so this is kind of a cop-out---I was having issues thinking of #10. ;) But really, it's a true statement. Though Niklas and I are so different in so many ways, and we drive each other crazy too often than I care to elaborate....I have a deep connection with this man that I didn't have with any other. We have our struggles like any other couple, but when it comes down to it, Niklas is a safe place for me to come to amidst the highs and lows of life. I'm grateful that we are both committed to each other no matter what happens.

(Taken the day I was to receive my endowment, a week before Niklas and I were married.)

So there you go. Niklas has been wrestling with his laptop all day (yay for viruses), so hopefully this post will bring some sunshine to his most-likely gloomy state of mind. ;)