Jeffrey Raich--super hero

Last month my wonderful husband said some very nice things about me in a blog about mother's day. Well, now, in honor of father's day last week, I would like to take a minute to talk about him. The truth is that Jeff is the reason that this family survives and thrives. We sometimes joke that if Jeff wasn't around we would eat nothing but cereal for dinner and the house would be knee deep toys and clothes. We joke about this, but it really isn't far from the truth! My amazing husband manages to hold two jobs, grow fresh vegetables, do all the yard work, remodel our house, and do AT LEAST half of the parenting and housework. I'm not kidding. Last entry I gave you an overview of a day in my life at home, now let me give you an overview of a day in the life of Jeff.

5:45 am--wakes up (without complaint--even though he probably only got 5-6 hours of sleep) to get ready for work

6:00am--walks Dixie, packs his lunch, tidies up the house

6:30--gets Mia out of bed since she usually wakes up around this time. Jeff does an amazing job of entertaining Mia in the morning so that I can get a few extra minutes of sleep.

7:00--I usually get up around this time after feeding Jonah in bed. Jeff takes Jonah, changes his diaper and get's him dressed while I shower

7:20--Leaves for work

4:45--Jeff arrives home. He always asks me first thing what I need (do I need a break from the kids, a walk, help with anything in the house). If I don't need any help he usually heads straight to the garden with Mia to do yardwork.

5:30-7:30--Helps with dinner, childcare, dishes and anything else that needs to be done. Jeff often will do all this with Jonah attached to his hip so that I can get a break.

7:30--puts Mia to bed while I feed Jonah

8:00--Either works outside more, cleans up the house, or collapses on the couch in a heap!!

The amazing thing about all this is that he really doesn't get a break on the weekends. He usually works one weekend day and spends the rest of the weekend working tirelessly on our house and garden, spending time with the kids, grocery shopping...you name it. I think Jeff's dedication was best demonstrated several months ago right after the baby was born. I was supposed to be providing the food for a friend's baby shower, but I was unable to attend because the baby had just been born days earlier and I was very weak. Jeff just stepped in and took over. He prepared all the food and went to the baby shower in my absence to help set up and serve. At the baby shower he nearly chopped the tip of his finger off, but didn't complain or leave to go to the doctor. Instead, he finished up, came home to check on me and help with the baby--and only then did he mention to me that he needed to go to urgent care. Seriously folks--this man is a total renaissance man and I am never letting him go!e! Below are some photos of a few recent garden accomplishments as well as some photos of him in super dad/husband action.

To you Jeff, I want to say THANK YOU for choosing me to spend the rest of your life with. You amaze me every day with your tireless love and dedication to me and our kids. You make my life a million times better than it would ever be without you. I truly believe that I am the luckiest woman on the face of the earth to have you in my corner. I couldn't do any of this without you. I love you!

One of the things I love most about Jeff is that he doesn't try to be some show-off macho man. Jeff is the first one to throw on the baby sling, carry Mia's Dora purse if it gets too heavy for her, let Mia put nail polish on his toes, etc. His family always comes first and it doesn't matter how silly he looks or if he has to wear a Hello Kitty sticker on his shirt all day--he does it with a smile.

Jeff always jumps at the chance to feed or change Jonah or give Mia a bath. He loves being a dad more than anything and truly is an equal partner in parenting. Starting mid-july Jeff will be off work for two months so that he can spend the summer with Jonah and Mia at home as a full time dad.

Jeff and I recently re-committed ourselves to our marriage in a ceremony orchestrated by Mia. She also did our hair if you can't tell!

Jeff and our neighbor, Neal, built two back yard fences by hand last summer in 90 degree heat--including digging all the holes! It is gorgeous, and his hard work saved us thousands and thousands of dollars.
One of Jeff's beautiful flower gardens
Jeff just hand laid this patio for our backyard. Best of all, he got all of the stone free off of Craig's List.
Another one of our beautiful flower gardens.