15 years

It's quiet in my house at the moment. Gabe is sleeping. Grant and Todd are at Cub Scout Camp.

Before they left, we went to Joe's Italian for a celebratory anniversary lunch. So, now that I have a minute, I'm letting my food settle and thinking about the last 15 years. In the card Todd gave me this morning he had written, "It seems like just yesterday and forever ago at the same time." So true. It's been filled with so much....

One big move from our home states of Michigan and Massachusetts. Beginning our lives together miles away from family and friends-- in Alabama of all places. That time helped us grow strong roots as a couple. It was a little scary, but exciting.

Our first home- a one bedroom apartment. I still remember decorating it and being so proud. It was tiny, but it was all we needed.

Many, many trips to the laundromat since our apartment did not have a washer/dryer hook-up.

Thousands of laughs- literally.

Two church families- ISFBC and TCASC. One church was instrumental in showing us how to put all of our knowledge into action. David was our first pastor. He is a man who looks for the truth and then lives it out to the best of his ability. God brought him into our lives and we still talk about some of the things we learned from him that helped us so much. The other church family has allowed us to put our faith into action. Both places brought us friendships that made our lives better. Community. A way to live out our God given purposes.

A mission trip to the Ukraine. We left part of our hearts there.

At least 700 trips to the grocery store.

Several jobs and career changes. Teaching became a great love for me. Todd started out in graphic design and moved to Internet software development. I left teaching and became a stay at home mom. Staying at home was a decision we came to after many long talks. I was reluctant to give up a career I loved so much, but we both knew it was what was best for our family. It has been the best career move I've ever made.

God's provision- we have seen Him open and close doors. Sometimes we understood, sometimes we didn't. But, He has always been present.

Five cars- a very old Cutlass, a Mazda truck, a brand new Saturn, a Mazda Miata and my beloved Honda accord.

The purchase of our house.

The purchase of our first washer and dryer that eliminated the aforementioned trips to the laundromat.

Two dogs- Dakota and Gordon and one stray cat, Amos, that lived with us for a few months.

We became parents to a sweet, smart, sensitive, funny miracle boy after five years of marriage. Grant added more joy than we knew possible. He still does.

Some heartaches. Seven years of infertility, two miscarriages, a year long battle for me of figuring out what trusting God really meant and other things along the way. We talked those things out. We cried lots of tears. We asked God a lot of questions. Through those difficult moments our love grew.

Lots of moments spent trying to figure each other out. Listening, scratching our heads, laughing, compromising, yielding.

A second miracle baby. We had come to the place of true acceptance of our family of three. It took me a while, but I was there. We were content and grateful for what we had. Then God gave us Gabriel. A brother for Grant. What a gift!

Thousands of conversations over at least that many cups of coffee.

Some disagreements.

Beach trips with friends.

The marriages of all of our siblings.

The births of six nieces and five nephews.

The loss of four grandparents.

So many great friends.

So many moments that seemed ordinary at the time, but when we look back on them we see beautiful memories.

I love you, Todd. Happy Anniversary!