Anniversary

This was the card I gave to Adam this morning. It may not be the most romantic of notions, on this our 4th anniversary, but some things are worth acknowledging, rather than glossing over.

Namely, we're still in the game.

Last night I stayed up until the wee hours of the night putting together a slideshow of pictures and music of our first four years together. I saw something wonderful. While the years have been filled with challenges, another thing has been happening in the background: we have been building a life, and a new family together. And that ain't easy, especially when the odds are stacked against us.

Sometimes it's easy to think that it's all been hard, but what I saw before my eyes were birthdays, and Christmases, Halloweens, and Easters. First days of school, graduations, soccer seasons, baseball seasons, Tae Kwon Do tournaments, and dance recitals. Family dinners and company dinners, game nights, and karaoke jams. A baby blessing, baptisms, ordinations, advancements in scouting, and pinewood derby trophies (lots of them!). Temple trips, beach trips, road trips, and zoo trips.

And kids growing up right before my eyes. Teens emerging out of thin air, and more on their heels. A baby born right here at home. Firsts of everything, then a toddler, now almost a preschooler. Girls camp, Scout camp, day camp. Homeschooling, public schooling.

A whirlwind of activity in the background of a new life being forged from two broken ones. No, make that seven broken ones. And one new little addition to bind us all together. So, with all of those blessings and triumphs, smiles, and memories, how could I put more focus on the trials and opposition than on all the goodness that has been developing right under my nose?

And the truth is, that while I've baked a lot of cakes and cooked a lot of dinners, created holidays, and scrubbed a lot of floorsfacestoiletstableshandssinkswallsbottomsnosescounterscarpets, I haven't done it just for me, and I haven't done it all by myself. I do have a husband who is trying to love me and serve me too, and who, when it's all said and done is still here too. Fighting. And I gotta say, that I love him for that.

We really are building a life. And so, we've had some setbacks. The important thing is that we're still trying and it was heartwarming to see what has happened in four years worth of pictures, set to Rascal Flatts singing "God bless the broken road that led me straight to you."

Four years. I believe in miracles.