My personal superhero

I am about to embarrass my husband terribly. Sorry, Babe. But I can't hide it anymore!

My husband has super-powers.

First, let me say he is a wizard with computers and all things "techie." It's like living with my very own help desk! He can almost always figure out what I've done wrong and solve any problem I encounter. For Christmas, he built me a new computer, and it's stinkin' awesome. Yes, you heard me. He built it. Wow.

Second, he is a master of all things financial. Brandon has super powers when it comes to rebates, in particular. He's very diligent and even keeps reminders in Outlook so he can track his rebates and make sure he gets the check in the mail. He reads all the fine print and jumps through the hoops and ALWAYS gets the cash. The man is serious about rebates. We affectionately refer to him as the Rebate King.

Aside from rebates, though, he is just plain good with money. It's another blessing for me, because I'm not nearly as good with money as he is. I have learned so much from him. In fact, one of my personal goals this year is to become smarter about our family spending. He's so supportive of me and always gets excited when I tell him how much I saved in coupons at Biggs. He encourages me to be a smart consumer and I am getting better because of it.

Brandon is also amazingly patient. He rarely, if ever, raises his voice. He's calm and collected, even under pressure. I just feel safe with him - I always have.

Now, I would be utterly remiss if I did not mention Brandon's super-human handyman skills. I am not kidding - there is nothing this man can't do. He plumbs. He wires. He installs. He repairs. And he actually wants to do all these things.

This past summer, Brandon built a fence in our backyard to contain the kiddos. He designed it, ordered the pieces, and installed it in our backyard, with a little help from his brother and our dads.

Here are all the fence parts in our garage:


Here's Brandon with the giant post-hole digger he rented to dig all the holes:


He measured, he put up stakes, he dug holes and filled them with rock.


He worked like a crazy man on this fence for almost two months, on nights and weekends.


And occasionally in inclement weather.


The day he and his dad installed the gate locks, my heart jumped for joy!


His current project is finishing our basement. It's taking a while, since he can only work on nights and weekends, but things are starting to shape up down there. He converted the rough-in to a full bath and installed a bathtub. He's framed in most of the basement and is working on the wiring. He built shelves in the storage room. He re-routed plumbing to get it out of the way. He installed can lights in the media area, with switches and everything! There's still much to be done, but things are really coming along. Here he is, mixing concrete:



And if all of that weren't enough, he also makes sweet paper airplanes, plays Axel-F on the piano, and cooks the best oatmeal in town. He's a wonderful father and truly my best friend. Here's to you, babe. My personal superhero.