Thursday, October 7, 2010

Five years in the making...

According to Alex's and my plans when we first got married, we should just now be starting to talk about having kids.

Funny.

This Friday Alex and I will celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary.  I can still remember that day as if it were just yesterday.  Cliche.  But true.  What a beautiful fall day it was to marry the man of my dreams!

Although I didn't see it then, I would definitely agree that the first year of marriage is the hardest.  For me, it was extremely difficult to let go of the expectations I thought marriage would fulfill.  It was saddening to learn that marriage wasn't all "little house on the prairie" kind of stuff.  Marriage was, and is, hard.  But oh so worth it!  It's only gotten better since that first year, and thanks to the kind of man I married, I can't wait for the next fifty! :)


I knew I was marrying a great man when I said "I do" but I had no idea just how great of a man he would turn out to be.  He loves me with all his soul and devotes his life to the Lord and to our kids.  He's an amazing father, the kind that gets on the floor to play with them rather than watching them from his seat on the couch.  He's committed to his family and you can see that in nearly every aspect of his daily life.  Every action is for his family.  He's forgiving, selfless, loyal, loving, hard-working, and those are just a FEW of his very best qualities.  He truly is a one-of-a-kind gem and I'm so glad I was the one to find him.

So what do we have to show for the five years we've been married?  Lots of arguments and make-ups, many tears but more laughs, two "holy crap there's two pink lines" moments, a small apartment with no air-conditioning, two wonderful houses, and 1,825 mornings of waking up to the best man in the world.  It's gone by incredibly fast and even though we're not where in the place we had planned for when we first got married, it's the only place I want to be.

We are able to celebrate, thanks to my mom and sister who are driving from Billings to watch Cale and Riley, by taking off for a couple of nights to Quinn's Hot Springs.  Neither of us have been there and don't really know anybody that has, which means Alex is totally jumping out of his comfort zone and being spontaneous.  I have no idea what we're going to do but I'm so excited, for two reasons.  One, two nights away from the kids is like a mini-vacation and two, the kids have been driving me insane the past couple of days which means this break could not have come at a better time.  We can sleep in without being woke by a little girl demanding chocolate milk and Curious George.  We can go to bed without making sure a little boy has his two little ropes, his monkey, and his favorite blanket.  And we can lie down to go to sleep without listening to Riley cry about not having both of her nee-nees (favorite blankets), her big pig, her little pig, her elephant, her hammer, her microphone, her big blanket, her princess night-light, and her two other night-lights placed strategically across the room.  Yes, she really does need all of that to go to sleep.  Alex and I have indeed created a monster.  Good luck to my mom and sister. :)

And yet, even though I'm so looking forward to getting away with my husband, I will no doubt be itching to return to our chaotic and stressful life.  Five years and we've already created something wonderful and magical - OUR LIFE.

I love you, Alex.  Thank for you for the five years you've given me with you.  You're one amazing man and I'm so lucky to be married to you!  

1 comment:

Tom & Carrie Johnson said...

Happy Anniversary you two! Enjoy your weekend away, sounds romantic!