eight years ago today............

i was doing this.....



it doesn't seem like it's been eight years.
it doesn't seem like it's been longer,
but it doesn't feel like it's been significantly shorter.
a lot has happened in eight years.
we have accomplished a lot in that time.
we have two beautiful boys!
that, by far, has been the best thing out of
those eight years.
we are a complete family!
sometimes it's hard to believe that we have our
family completed. this is it.
life has been mostly good to us for the past eight years.
we've had our moments here and there, but - who hasn't?
there has been good along with the bad.
that's life. things happen.
but you deal with it the best that you can
and you continue on to see what tomorrow brings.
life isn't always sunshine and roses.
life is what you make it. obviously, unexpected things can turn up in life
and you have no choice but to deal with it how it comes to you, but as far as
what we make our life.....
we have chosen to make our life the best we can!
it might not look like it to other people.
we enjoy life. we know what is important in life.
putting God first in everything that we do and spending time with family.
life is too short to get caught up in little, everyday things.
life is not about work, money, and buying the biggest and greatest.
it's about not worrying about taking a day off of work
here and there so you can take a vacation with your family.
it's about making sure your family is happy and healthy
and striving to go to heaven one day.
i have been so blessed as a wife and mother over the past eight years.
i have been able to stay home with my children to watch them grow
and to teach them and to nurture them and to train them the way they should go.
i'm not perfect. neither one of us are.
but we try the very best we can, and i think we've done okay so far.
i have a wonderful husband who goes to work every day so that i can stay home.
i have never had to go to work since we've had our boys.
we hit a rough spot about five years ago and chris went to work a second job.
he didn't send me. he was tired, worn out, and stressed out,
but he did what he was supposed to do.
we have never gone hungry. always had a roof over our heads.
our children want for nothing.
with one income we are able to pay our bills - not relying on overtime -
and we have a little left over to do fun things.
yes, we are blessed. how many 28 year olds today can say that?
this economy is scary right now and a lot of people
don't know what their future holds for them.
as far as chris's job, no, we don't know what that holds for us.
we take it one day at a time just like everyone else.
but the one thing that i know will not change and will be solid and consistent
for the rest of our lives is our love we have for eachother and our family.

i asked chris one time if he still loved me just as much as he did the day we were married,
and you know what he said?
"i love you even more because i know you even better now and because we've built a life together
and because you are the mother of my children."
(okay, just so you know, i am crying right now - how could i not?)

i wouldn't change the past eight years for anything! i would even take the ups and downs
all over again because they've made me and chris who we are today.
we've been able to overcome each and every obstacle we've come across and we
are stronger as individuals and as a couple because of it.

yes, i am one blessed woman!
here's to eight wonderful years of marriage!!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Chris.
I love you more than I did eight years ago today, and that's a lot
since I loved you so much then!