Happy Birthday, Katie!

As many of you know already, Tuesday is Katie's birthday, and to celebrate such a momentous occasion, I am taking a moment to recognize her amazing presence in my life.

I have always, from the moment I met her, loved my wife. And throughout our 5+ years together as husband and wife, I have found so many more reasons to love her. But one of the biggest reasons (and it makes the most sense for my particular blog) is that Katie supports me and often times participates along side of me, on this journey of health and fitness.

Katie and I share many similarities. (Don't hate me, Honey) Katie and I were both overweight kids, and at times we have struggled with our weight as adults. Both of us were at our lightest when we met, and as our relationship grew more comfortable and joyous, we gained weight together. Katie and I share a love of food and some of the same "food issues". And I can tell you for sure, that I would not want to go through this journey with anybody else.

When I started on this idea of working out and eating right, Katie was right there with me. We chose a diet that we thought would work well for both of us. We started running on the treadmill in the mornings together (not at the same time, but you get the point), and when I decided to start running out of doors, Katie was the first one to follow me. We have both worked very hard to continue our weight loss and fitness goals. Katie was so proud of me when I said I would be running in a 5k, and when I announced that she would be running it with me (without her having any prior knowledge), she did not even bat an eye.

This is a picture of her on the last leg of her first 5K. You'll notice her left hand. The kids and I had been cheering her on and as she passed she is flashing us the sign for "I love you." (Or is that the middle finger; sometimes it is difficult to tell)

Katie has continued to be my rock during my workouts and struggles. She is always the first one out of the bed at 4:45am, and she almost never misses a workout. I cannot tell you how much easier it makes it on me to have a companion like this. She will claim to not be a runner, but every other day she is out there doing it. Not only is she up early, she watches our kids everyday. I do not care what you do for a living, there is no harder job in the world than being a stay at home mom. And she does it with gusto every single day. Man, I love her.

Katie,

Thank you for being on this journey with me. Thank you for being my support and my companion. I love you with all of my heart. I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

All my love,

Brian