My husband needs a man blog...

I don't know about any of you other blog writers out there but my husband reads mine faithfully. He asks me every night if I have written a new one for him to read. He even read the one about mascara top to bottom. He says that it gives him even more insight into what is going on in my head. Sweet, isn't it? The other night, however, he started giving me topic ideas that he would like to see in my blog. I'm pretty sure one of them was about Michael Phelps. Still not getting where he was going with that one. I told him that none of what he was mentioning would be anything I would write about and that he should just start his own blog. Eventually one of the topics he threw out there was that I could write about him. As nonchalantly as he said it I knew he acutally meant it so I probed deeper. "Well, people can read all about you, Hayden and your friends but you don't ever mention me," He said. My initial reaction was "Hello! Your picture is right there on the side! And it is MY blog so it is kinda the thing that I have that is all about ME!" I'm not sure if I actually said any of that outloud which is good because it's really stinkin' selfish. I have come to the conclusion that he is right. He is, afterall, my husband, the father of my child, and my best friend. So babe, this post is for you.

Let me show you a current pic of my man:

I know, ladies, I know. But he's mine :) Now let me show you a picture of what Ryan looked like when we met:

Yes, my friends. He is wearing a dog collar. Ok, so here's the story...

My friend Jamie (now my sister-in-law) asked me one day what I wanted in a man. Eyeing her suspiciously, I rattled off a few key things on my man list. Her reply was, "That sounds just like Nathan's brother, Ryan". (Jamie married Nathan eventually, hence the sis-in-law title). Now I know what you are thinking, "Your requirements were that he'd have dyed blonde hair and a nice selection of fishnet shirts???". The funny thing about that picture is that it is nothing like Ryan AT ALL. His brother had asked him to play electric guitar for a show "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". His character was supposed to look like this - hair and all. This is how Jamie came to know him and how she came to decide that we were perfect for each other. His personality, not the hair. We arranged to meet after one of the shows. He swears that, even though we hadn't met yet, he instantly knew which one I was sitting out in the audience - that he was drawn to me. I was, at that moment, drawn to the fact that he looked totally hot rocking out on the guitar. We talked after the show and arranged to meet again. We decided with Nathan and Jamie that we would paint her kitchen that weekend. This was a good way to talk while staying busy and not having to sit and stare at one another. He still did some staring, however. He told me much later on in the relationship that my rear looked really nice in the stretch pants I was wearing. The funny thing is...I was kinda counting on that when I put them on. ;) From that evening on we were just...together. We were an instant couple and even though we were still learning each other, we both knew we were supposed to be together. Well, I knew. It took him a while longer to get there but that's beside the point. Within only six months we were engaged. I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend only a year and a week from the day we met. Six years later I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. God has blessed my life by bringing you into it, Ryan. With every year that passes I learn more and more about you, about us and about what an awesome team we are. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with - no one else I would rather raise Hayden with, share my heart with, share my hopes and fears with, share Mexican food and American Idol with...the list goes on and on. You are my man, and no matter your hair color... I love you immensly.