HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY STERLING! 

Today’s blog post is a personal one because my husband, Sterling, has officially left his twenties and joined me in the 30s!  THIRTY feels like such a HUGE milestone so I was shocked when I went to the store to grab him a birthday card and couldn’t find any that were specifically for 30.  There were lots of cards for 40, 50, 60, even 80 and of course your teen milestones and young milestones like 5, but none for 30.  When I turned 30 it honestly felt like the new 21!  My friends and I went to Austin Texas and had a merry ole time.  For Sterling’s birthday, we’ve planned quite the treat.  His best friend Bobby and I have been planning a surprise birthday party for him for this Saturday.  Now you may be thinking ALEX!  YOU JUST RUINED IT!  Well, spoiler alert the surprise is busted, BUT, we’re still going along with the party and he doesn’t know anything about who is coming or what is in store so it’s still kind of surprise.  I’ll share more details later – don’t worry.

Now if you know Sterling and me, you know that we spend a lot of our time as husband and wife, joking on each other.  We playfully tease and call each other out on each of our own ridiculousness because we are both pretty silly and stubborn at times.  You may also know that I’m not one who can easily gush.  The first time Sterling told me he liked me we were at my college house and he looked at me and said “Can we talk?” to which I frankly (and maybe a little curtly) said, “Is this about feelings?”.   So while I’m not one to readily gush and would rather revert back to a silly joke, Birthdays are days to celebrate people and the unique qualities they bring to the world that make it a better place.  Of all the people in my life, Sterling is the one that makes the room shine brighter every time he’s in it.

SO without further ado, here are my THIRTY (yes 30!) things that I LOVE about Sterling.  These are things about Sterling that make me smile and bring joy to my life all the time.  Congrats to any of you who get to the end of the list – it’s a long one!

1. He CANNOT wake up for his alarm.  This may seem silly but I kind of love it because when I roll over to tell him to turn it off he starts talking through his dream and saying things that make NO sense but are hilarious!  We inevitably start having this piece-mealed conversation as I try to figure out what he’s talking about and he tries to avoid waking up and realizing he’s not making sense.
2. He cares about people. This is a great quality for someone who is a therapist but also as a partner!  Sterling is the most caring person who really tries to understand people’s feelings first before every passing judgment.
3. He LOVES our dogs hard! And they love him equally so.
4. He challenges me to push myself beyond my comfort zone. 
5. He is SMART but would never make you feel dumb.  
6. He can relate to ANYONE.  Whether he’s chatting with the grocery store lady, a researcher from Hopkins, a homeless man, or an old friend, Sterling can relate to and make anyone feel valuable and heard.
7.  He loves to play the guitar.
8. He buys homeless people coffee.  Sterling never judges people for their place in the world.  He is the person that when we see someone digging in the trash for food and most of us would just pass right by, will stop and ask them if they’d like a cup of coffee and a snack.   This happens all the time. 
9. He’s handy. Even though I joke on him about his “fixes” he actually does do a good job.
10. He drives a truck. His truck was the reason we started hanging out way back in the day.  I needed someone with a truck to go to home depot with me to pick up these large insulation boards for greek sing.  Who had a truck and was up for the challenge?  Sterling Travis.  It was those trips to Home Depot stealing paint sticks and eating McDonald’s on the way back that made me fall for him.
11. He’s a good ole southern boy.  He is a true Virginia gentleman who looks out for people, holds doors, and welcomes anyone into his home.
12. He puts on Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald when we cook.
13. He loves the mountains just as much as me. 
14. He’s tall.  This may not seem that important to some but for a girl who is 5’1″ it is very helpful!  He can reach things that I can’t, stand in deep water when I can’t and help clean the top of the fridge (because he can see up there!).
15. He loves his faith. He’s taught me so much about what it means to walk with God and put trust in something that science doesn’t explain.  He’s taught me that God’s greatest gift is forgiveness and leads the example for me on how to forgive and accept things in my life.
16. He will binge watch TV shows with me.  Except for the fact that the only shows he’s successfully finished and then continued to watch on repeat over and over and over are The Office, Friends and Downton Abbey.
17. He doesn’t need fancy things.  When we first started dating this drove me crazy (and sometimes still does) but now I really appreciate it.  He loves to cut costs where he can, would buy his clothes at Goodwill and never upgraded something just for the sake of it being “newer” – especially if the old “thing” worked.  What I can see now is that our life shouldn’t be filled with “stuff” that we might not need.  This also means that he is easily impressed with gifts for him (BONUS!)
18. He puts up with my picture taking craze.  He will change his outfit, comb his hair and let me drag him outside in the snow with a tripod while running back and forth just to get the perfect shot.
19. He loves to host people.  I love having people at our house and cooking and hosting parties.  It’s great having a partner who loves this too and is even willing to start the all-day cleaning spree before our friends or family come over.
20. He wants to be a Camp Dad! For my camp friends – you know – this is a BIG deal.  People outside of our camp world tend to think of camp as like a cult because we are all so obsessed with it.  Some of our friends even jokingly call it “The Cult”.  So having Sterling know the impact its had on my life and want to send our kids one day is HUGE.  He even tolerates me singing camp songs and cheers around the house.
21. He brings me Diet Coke.  I joke about this sometimes but I’m actually pretty serious when I say that the first time I knew I LOVED Sterling was when he brought me a HUGE Diet Coke from Sheetz.  I called him and told him I couldn’t meet up with him because I was super stressed about a project.  Then a few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Sterling is there with the biggest diet coke and hug.  He still does this for me – especially when we get to a standstill in an argument or if I’m especially cranky.
22. He makes great drinks!  My friends call him “Barboy Sterling” because he loves making drinks as is actually really good at it!
23. He LOVES his family.  He is a family guy to the core and takes the time to care for them and be there for them always.
24. He has a super deep voice. To be honest I really don’t notice it at all anymore but I think it’s fun when people stop us to tell him he should be on the radio.
25. He’s silly.  I have never laughed as much as I do living with Sterling.  Even when we argue we end up laughing.  Neither of us takes ourselves too seriously and I love that.
26. He makes this silly “whoopsie daisy surprised” face when he farts.  As if he’s surprised.  I like to roll my eyes at first but honestly, it makes me laugh every time.
27. He loves to clean. As someone who doesn’t love to clean I’ve found the perfect match.  He loves to clean so much that he actually prefers if I leave the house so he can do it his way from top to bottom.  I seriously hit the JACKPOT!
28. He wears bowties. 🙂
29. He loves being outdoors.  He loves exploring, going a hike, a bike ride, or a walk with me.  While I haven’t convinced him to rent the RV and drive out West with me yet, I’ll take the day to day adventures in the meantime.  🙂
30. He’s SELFLESS. Anyone who knows Sterling knows that he thinks of others before himself ALWAYS.  He never asks for anything and is constantly giving to others.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STERLING!! I hope you feel as appreciated and loved as you make everyone in your life feel every day!

Huge thank you to Lauren Myers Photography for the gorgeous images she took for our wedding, including the one above.