Tim McGraw Pens Sweet Tribute to Faith Hill on Her Birthday

Faith Hill celebrated her 51st birthday on Sept. 21, and husband Tim McGraw made sure to mark the occasion with a sweet tribute on social media.

The star shared a series of photos of Hill, making sure to complete them with a moving caption reflecting on their years together.

“From the first time we met, I knew (she didn’t!) that she was the love of my life forever…. no matter the ups and downs, the happy and sad or the good and bad,” he wrote. “She’s so special and so loved by us. Happy birthday my love. When I wake up next to you in our 80’s… I’ll smile at the life we’ve built.”

The first snap McGraw shared sees Hill as a child, with the young star sitting in an armchair and holding a guitar, her hair in pigtails as she smiles.

Another photo was a major throwback moment of McGraw and Hill, with McGraw rocking a black cowboy hat and a mustache while Hill wore her hair in curls along with the trademark lipstick-and-thin eyebrow look of the 1990s.

McGraw also included a black-and-white shot of Hill with two of her children when they were young.

McGraw and Hill met at an event in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1994. They married in 1996 and share three daughters, Gracie, Maggie and Audrey. Gracie and Maggie are currently in college, while Audrey is in high school.

The couple recently hit the road on their Soul2Soul tour, which was Hill’s first time on the road in ten years. During her last tour, she was joined by her daughters, though they were a bit busy to attend this time around.

“I remembered seeing Faith in a lawn chair helping her kids paint, and I’m like, ‘Oh she’s a housewife just like I am,’” songwriter Lori McKenna told PEOPLE. “And she really is. It’s just that she looks and can sing like Faith Hill!”

When the couple’s daughters initially began attending school, Hill took a break from music to stay home with them, a decision she doesn’t regret.

“We made a choice to do it that way, and we don’t regret it for a second,” she said “They come first no matter what.”

Now, the two have just wrapped their Soul2Soul tour, telling PEOPLE that spending that time together is always special for them.

“It’s such a rare thing to be able to experience what we do for a living, and to do it together, really feels like all the moments are special,” McGraw said, with Hill adding, “I watch him perform and still to this day I’m awed by it.”

Photo Credit: Getty / John Shearer