The way to this bibliophile's heart

So...my husband is great!  For many reasons but one of the ways that he is great is his handy-ness.  Not only did he basically remodel our kitchen by himself but over the past few years he has demonstrated his love for me through the building of shelves...lots & lots of shelves!   

I am a book fanatic.  And an avid organizer.  Shelves are my good friends.  My husband is a fantastic maker of shelves.  He knows that the way to my heart is through the act of providing a way for me to organize my books and other items!  He'll try to tell you that his shelves aren't right or that they were pretty basic but don't let his perfectionistic comments deter you from acknowledging the blatant truth--his shelves are fantastic and they make my heart so happy it could burst.   Please let me show you all the shelves he's provided me since we moved here nearly four years ago....

This is the wall that started it all.  When we moved here from Colorado I had totes & totes & totes & totes full of books...my husband, my father, & my father-in-law all were a bit sorer from carrying heavy tote after heavy tote down to the basement of our new home.  After a few months I was itching to get them out of their plastic prisons & out in the air where they belong so, while I was out-of-town on Saturday shopping with my parents, Russ built a wall of shelves.  I was so thrilled!

Then when I redecorated Eden & Jasmine's room two years ago I asked him to hang some shelves on their wall.  I painted them white...he did the rest. (The brown shelving unit is a cheap Target unit that we bought before we moved here and has since fallen apart.)

I, also, decided that it would be more efficient to remove the closet doors & have Russ build shelves in there to hold totes of toys.  I was VERY happy with the results.

And because I was so happy with Eden & Jasmine's closet...as time wore on I determined that I must utilize this same system in our closet and then Acacia's closet.  And Russ lovingly accommodated me by fulfilling my requests.

During our remodel I got a hankering for some more book shelf space (specifically for the girl's books) so Russ took a break from working on our kitchen to build me a custom, movable, stand-alone bookcase.  It started out in the girls' room but when it became clear that they aren't old enough to take good care of their books it was moved into our room.  I love it!

I recently requested shelves in the coat closet and in our makeshift pantry.  As always...he came through and blessed my heart!  (The white shelf in the pantry was a pre-made thing we took off the wall of our old kitchen & screwed to the wall in our "pantry".  He built the other shelves.)

I've already put in my request for the next shelving project...more bookshelves in the basement.  (I have A LOT of books and will get a lot more over the course of the next several years as I begin homeschooling in the fall.  Plus I can't go to a Goodwill without bringing home at least one book!)

Anyway...don't I have a great husband?  He's certainly captured my heart and blesses me in so many ways...building shelves for me is just one of the things he does that makes me admire him all the more and I just wanted to brag him up!

Love you so much, honey!  I appreciate all your hard work.  *smooch*