Happy 12 year Anniversary to my hubby!!--Updated

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have blogged.  We always say, in our family, once Halloween hits, it's CRAZY TIME!!!!  In November alone, we have our anniversary, my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary, Jacob's birthday, my grandmother's birthday, my sister's birthday, and my brother Kirk's birthday.  And then December comes, and there is LITERALLY not a free moment.  So I am finally getting to our anniversary post.
We spent our anniversary in the Woodlands, one of our favorite places.  When we got married in 1997, the Christmas season truly didn't begin until after Thanksgiving.  But is seems like each year, it begins right after Halloween.  There is something so wrong about that.  But at the same time, I love it...because I love Christmas...everything about it...the shopping, decorating, baking, crafts with the kids, music, lights, movies, extra family time...  And Matt loves it just as much as I do.  So now on our anniversary, there are always lights and decorations up, and some years, there is even Christmas music already on the radio.  So...back to the Woodlands.  It was very festive there.  We ate at Jasper's, a fabulous restaurant that we have wanted to try for years.  We ate outside right by the fireplace with a terrific view of the huge Christmas tree in the courtyard.  We had planned on seeing a movie since we average maybe one grown-up movie a year. But we thought, instead of spending our anniversary sitting in the dark not talking to each other, we would rather just walk around Market Street and hang out and shop!!!  We had a great time and reminisced and just enjoyed being alone!!!!!  I am so blessed to have the most amazing husband in the world!  To you, my dear hubby, here are 12 things I love about you!:
1. Jacob
2. Alexa
3.  Natalia
4.  You are the hardest working guy I know.  You tell me all the time, "I do it all for you guys."  And I know that's true.  Thank you for all the LONG hours, fighting through traffic, and late nights on the computer.
5.  You are a wonderful father.  You are so helpful to me and have been since day one.  You even did Jacob's first diaper change in the hospital.   You are not just a father, you are a daddy.  You recognize the importance of knowing each of your children's hearts, and try hard to carve out a special relationship with each one of them. They will benefit from this big time as adults, and so will you!
6.  You are not a complainer.  If I need to run out and get a pedicure or get my hair done, you don't whine about it.  If I need some alone time, you let me have it.  You tell me I work harder than you do, and that I deserve time to myself. 
7.  You cook things for me that you don't even like.  You always make my special salsa and grill vegetables for me in the spring and summer. 
8.  You enjoy shopping! 
9.  You indulge my need for incessant decorating, and you even help me.  Sometimes you come up with better ideas than me..ie the leopard Christmas tree stand that you built.
10.  You love to laugh.  And make me laugh.  And you laugh at my goofiness.  We have so much fun together.  We could even have fun in an insurance seminar.  There is no one on earth I would rather be with than you! 
11.  I love your beautiful eyes and cool spiky hair!!  :)
12.  The way your faith has grown since finding our church is awesome to see!  I love that you have a relationship with God and it continues to strengthen and mature.

So here is a trip down memory lane starting with a wedding photo and then some pictures from 1993-1997, our dating years.  There are some great clothing and hairstyle choices.  I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!