.....just short of a decade......

 ....there are many times throughout the year that I settle in to relive our wedding pictures; although I must admit that the time I have to browse through them has declined as our life has grown fuller......but just as this favorite picture from our reception suggests; time, events, and moments in our life have blurred past us over our nine years of marriage, but we have stayed fixed and focused on one another....tonight I am grateful and blessed by our ability to put blinders on to so many distractions that can burden a couple who enthusiastically say, "I do" on their wedding day.....

.....not to say that our marriage is perfect, as there have been thoughtless words said and inconsiderate gestures we wish we could take back.....but overall, I married a man who cherishes me fully and I adore and love everything he does for me and our family......

.....this last year of marriage has been the most serious one we have endured.....there have been heavy conversations, stresses we have faced that have been new to both of us, and unified decisions that took a long time to become banded......but that isn't to say that there hasn't been joy this year, either.....

......there has been a treasure that has been opened to us......a gift that is received when the blur in life is so foggy and disorienting that instead of being distracted by its discomfort and aggravation; you cleave to one another a bit tighter to make your way through until there is even the slightest visibility.......and when the murkiness begins to lift, instead of letting go, your grasp is welded in a new place that it wasn't before.....and that steadfastness and permanence and solidity and strength provides for a place where love endures......

.....yours always and forever......

...143....

....seven year itch.....

.....upon waking up this morning, I kissed my husband, wished him a Happy Anniversary and then proceeded to scratch myself all over....I told him I had the 7 year itch and I laughed at my silliness......

                         September 18, 2004.....one of the happiest days of my life.....

......our life has evolved and changed so much since we were newly weds.....sometimes I can envision a slideshow of our life that has emerged from our wedding day and I well up with emotion.....I'm starting to understand something my Aunt Christy told me when we first married.....it doesn't really get really good until after 10 years.....you won't believe how much better it gets.....

.....as a bride starry eyed and enchanted on her wedding day, I remember looking at my groom and wondering how I could love him any more than I did at that moment?.....or how could it get any better than it was right then in the present moment of our wedding day?.....

.....and although we haven't hit a decade yet, I have a feeling my Aunt was right....it has gotten better, I do love him more and the history we've made has already scorched deep into my core....I am branded by this man and I wouldn't want it any other way....he was made for me and I was made for him....

.....and it was two and a half years after we said I DO that we we were pregnant.....and we have been making babies, having babies, and caring for babies ever since.....

 .......did I mention we have been baking with our babies too?.....Mommy and Daddy's celebration cake......

... to say that it hasn't been challenging to preserve time to focus on our marriage since our three blessings have joined our family is an understatement.....but we make the time to do it, no matter how tired we are.....we both value the need for alone time......we demand it from our children after their bedtime routine is over,  we show them we enjoy the moments that are just Mommy and Daddy and shortly after most of our date nights begin, we come back to the place we were when it was just the two of us.....

.....because when it's all said and done, we still both like each other a lot.....

                         .....iphone pic from date night at the US Open.....9/10/11......

.....Stefan, thank you for cherishing me and always making me feel appreciated.....

.....after 7 years, I am itching for more.....

....Happy Anniversary, babe.....