‘Always Loving’: Jenny Edwards is a selfless wife and mother who elevates everyone around her.

The biggest compliment Rob Edwards can pay his wife Jenny is that their 12 years of marriage feel like they’ve flashed before his eyes.

That probably speaks to the common ground they share and the fact they both wear their opinions on their sleeve. More than anything, though, Rob knows he and their sons Noah (10) and Zach (7) are just lucky to be loved by the most nurturing woman they know.

“I guess I’m trying to absorb that it’s been that long,” Rob said. “To think about people who are married 30-40 years, it’s like, ‘Jeez we’re not even close to that.’ We have that much more to come. It seems like it’s only been a minute.

“We have shared common values about what we want from life, what we want from our relationship with God and our relationship with our kids. Those shared common values override everything.”

Rob and Jenny aren’t the kind of couple that brags about a lack of friction because it’s that very friction that keeps their romantic fire going.

“There are rarely disagreements on what we do as parents,” Rob said. “We can disagree on our roles in the marriage, but those struggles, I think, add strength. Through the struggle, you kind of see the value of what the relationship can be and see what the other side should be like.”

Rob and Jenny put up a unified front in the way they guide their children, but make no mistake, Jenny’s influence is all over Noah and Zach’s development. A gifted teacher with nearly a decade and a half of experience, Jenny is that kind of patient nurturer at home, too.

Her desire to nurture and her natural inclination to care for others are some of Jenny’s best qualities, and they have a direct, positive impact on everyone she meets. Noah and Zach likely don’t yet know how good they have it, but they also might come to learn that their mother’s example is more exception than rule.

“She is constantly serving them,” Rob said. “Her whole world revolves around them. She puts so much effort and desire in all their various activities that sometimes they think that is how the world works. It’s not.”

But that’s the whole point when it comes to Jenny’s role in her family. She is amazingly uncommon in the way she desires to serve her family before ever considering herself.

Rob has a unique perspective on everything Jenny brings to the table because they were friends and confidants long before they became anything more. They laid such a strong foundation that they moved quickly when they did start dating. They set the tone early that they could be open and honest no matter what.

That has helped their relationship dynamic immensely, but when someone is as caring and kind as Jenny, 12 years of happiness can feel like a breeze. Not a day goes by where he isn’t grateful or inspired by her, especially this one as they celebrate 12 amazing years together.

“She is more outwardly concerned and in touch with the needs of others than I am,” Rob said. “I have to lean on her consistently for that. What I take from her is her intuitive nature of how other people are, what they’re doing, how they are, who’s happy or unhappy and why.

“She’s always caring and always loving. That’s really who she is. Within our relationship, you can never be too much of that. That’s not my strong suit, so it buoys us to have her be overwhelmingly strong with that.”