Happy Birthday Marcos!

Stupid Murphy's Law never fails. Today was Marcos' birthday and Marcos had a pretty chill, fun day planned. He was going to play tennis with his brother in the morning, have a lunch birthday celebration at my mom's and then I was going to take him out tonight. Well, it rained last night so he had to postpone tennis. He went over to his brother's house anyway and while he was gone I walked downstairs to get something. It felt really hot so I went upstairs thinking one of the boys had been messing with the thermostat and turned on the heater. Nope, not that. We've had a pipe break in the basement before and leak through the wall and onto the carpet so I immediately started feeling around to see what was leaking. It was not only hot, it was humid. I could hear water running and it took me a minute to realize what was going on - the water heater had rusted through on the bottom and water was leaking out pretty fast. Crap! Now what? I called my brother-in-law to figure out what to do and got the water shut off. Then I had to turn it back on just long enough for all of us to get ready for the day. I turned it off again and we went up to my mom's for the party. Marcos played tennis this afternoon with his brother and I picked out a new water heater. Pretty exciting stuff. Luckily Justin had time tonight to help us get the new one installed. It took longer than expected, but I think we're good to go if we don't end up with any leaks. So poor Marcos spent most of his birthday running around helping my BIL install a water heater. Hopefully we can go out next week and celebrate together.

Marcos really is an incredible man and I'm lucky to have found him. He's the yin to my yang and the best teammate I could ever have asked for. Here are just a few of the reasons I love Marcos.

1. He has a kind heart. He was just born that way - it's who he is. He genuinely cares for other people.
2. He has a crazy memory for events. He can remember things he did when he was like three years old. And he can remember so many details of stories he has heard from other people. If you have ever told him a story about your life, he'll remember. He remembers jobs people had, things they did, where they lived, etc. The only thing he might forget is the name. He'll tell me every detail imaginable trying to get me to remember the name of the person he's talking about. It's insane, but an incredible skill that I wish I had. He truly listens when others speak to him (unless the TV's on ;)) and pays attention to everything. He is really good at remembering sports stuff and other completely random facts too.
3. He's a good Papi. I can honestly say Marcos is one of the best dads I've ever met. He loves spending time with our boys - teaching them, playing with them and just taking care of them. I could not ask for a better father for my children.
4. He's sporty and athletic. Marcos is great at a lot of things, but is pretty good at sports in general. He is awesome at soccer and tennis and can hold his own in church softball and turkey bowl games. :) He can hike up a mountain like there's no tomorrow and can run pushing two kids in the jogging stroller faster than I can run on my own. His endurance is incredible and he loves to be my athletic motivation.
5. He is content with life. Marcos pretty much enjoys everything he does. He's never had a job he didn't like (and trust me, they weren't all great jobs). He is just okay with wherever he's at and he's good at finding the positive in most situations.
6. He is passionate about life. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. He reacts strongly to situations at times, but puts his heart into everything he does.
7. He's a big tease. He drives me CRAZY sometimes, but it's something I love about him. He wouldn't be Marcos if he didn't poke and prod and try to get a reaction out of me. And he wouldn't be my Marcos if he didn't repeat everything over and over. He is infamous for repeating the same thing over and over (a story, a question, a joke, etc.). Again one of those things I love to be annoyed about. :)
8. He is very generous. Even at times when he has very little to spare, he is the type of person to give his last dollars away. He would do anything for anyone without ever thinking twice about it.
9. He is thoughtful. This one is an art that he is gradually perfecting. Marcos is an early riser by nature and me...well, not so much. Our kids, particularly Dylan, take after him. When he is home and doesn't have to leave for work, he'll get up with the kids and let me sleep a little later so my day gets off to a better start.
10. He is really helpful. Part of this is training so those of you who haven't been married long may want some pointers from me. ;) I try to keep up most of the things around the house because I feel so privileged to be able to stay home with the kids (hard as it is) and I want to be able to enjoy the time we have together when he gets home. But he is awesome at helping me out whenever I can't keep up with my list of things to do. Sometimes I have to ask and other times he just notices, but he is always willing to help.
11. He is forgiving. Marcos can get over most things with very little effort. If I ask for forgiveness, he gives it to me. It's actually something I've learned from him during our time as a married couple. He's good at saying sorry and good at forgiving. I wasn't very good at either...but I'm getting better.
12. He loves me. I know it sounds lame, but I love him even more than I would because I know how much he loves me. I never thought someone would care for me so much. I don't think I deserve it, but I'm sure glad I found him!

Happy birthday, kid! I love you more and more every day. Thanks for being my everything! From here to Argentina and back.....till I die and forever more!