"That's Chris Massie."
"Oh as in Paul's brother and Wyatt's brother?!" [I had met them previously.]
"Yep."
"Gotcha. Okay."
End of conversation. End of thoughts-about-Chris. [For then. ;)]
Needless to say, I wasn't overwhelmingly smittened by him or immediately head over heels. Not that I can figure out why I wasn't as he is definitely worth butterflies in the stomach.
Now I won't give y'all the whole run down as to how "Paul & Wyatt's brother" became the love of my life over the past 6 years, but it happened.
Looking back over that time, it was quite evident that I was marrying a great man. He's a hardworker, compassionate, loyal, intelligent, and has a servant's heart. In many ways, we when said "I do." I was thinking about how I wanted to do life with him forever, and the kind of husband I was marrying. And then 9 months and 25 days ago, that changed.
No Chris didn't become a jerkish monster, yet rather instead of seeing him as a wonderful man and husband, I now saw him through the lense of Ainsley's amazing Papa! I've continued to be amazed by his compassion and love for her and the way his heart comes alive when playing with her or even just talking about her.
Mister can make Ainsley laugh like no other.
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| Giggling as she blocked kisses |
He loves to teach her all about life. I'm constantly asking, "what?!" only to get the response that he was explaining ______ to her. He wants to give of himself to Ainsley.
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| Sharing a peach |
Chris wants to give her experiences. When I was still in school, it wasn't uncommon for me to get a run down of the new experiences she shared that day with him while I was gone.
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| Playing in the Slip 'n' Slide. |
From touching grass for the first time to "learning" about gardening, Chris wants to "do life" all together.
Just this past week, we had a tiny--in hindsight--scare that Ainsley was seriously hurt. While I was preparing supper, Chris and Ainsley were playing and giggling in the kitchen as well. Chris decided to "fly" with Ainsley and so he bent down with a flat back and laid her on his back loosely gripping her spread arms. He soared and she giggled through the kitchen.
I'm not 100% sure what happened next as I was getting butter out of the fridge, but as I went to shut the fridge door, Ainsley was turning and Chris was quickly turning to catch her, I reach my arms in the tangled mess to catch her from falling just as we heard a loud "POP" and Ainsley began screaming! Cradling her close to my chest, I tried to calm her but couldn't dismiss the fact that her arm hung against her little chest, not moving. I continued to hold her arm near her chest, fearing that if I let go, it was going to dangle out-of-socket and focused on calming her.
In the meantime, Chris paced in the kitchen confident he heard a pop and with a look on his face that I had never seen before nor desire to ever witness again.
The thought that he had caused such pain to Ainsley was more than he could bear. I attempted to mask my worry and reassure him it'd be alright as he repeatedly apologized to Ains.
Ainsley's tears soon dried up and I slowly let go of her little arm, preparing for the worst. It hung still for just a moment and then she was moving it around as if she didn't know what the fuss was all about!! It's amazing how durable lil' ones are and how they can bounce back so quickly! I locked eyes with Chris' fearful eyes and reassured, "Everything is okay! I was scared too."
I could tell his heart wasn't at ease, but then, Ainsley looked at her favorite person in the world and it was as if she knew exactly how to give him a bit of peace about it all. She looked at her Papa and with out hestiation, she reached both her little arms towards him snuggling around his neck.
Despite the worry/fear in the moments thinking Ainsley arm was dislocated or broken, I was reminded again of the compassionate, loving man that I walked down the aisle to 3 years ago.
I married a great man. I married a great papa.
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| My view |
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| Chris' view |
-Rachel
As a funny side note that makes me love this man so much, this is a text from Mister this morning:
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| I can't make this stuff up!! |
My response? "You're the sweetest man I know!"
Awww I loved this. Actually, it made me cry! I hope to find a man, as awesome as you did, some day. :)
ReplyDeleteAwww I loved this. Actually, it made me cry! I hope to find a man, as awesome as you did, some day. :)
ReplyDeleteYou two are soooo great; as individuals and as a couple. Love you guys!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet. One of my favorite things is seeing dads with their kids.
ReplyDelete