A Marriage blessed by God through the church is such a gift to the world and a gift to us. J and I didn't follow the rules and we were married very young. So many things that we were up against. No money, still in school, baby on the way, no real plans for the future except each other. What were we thinking? I still can't answer that except to say that from the very start we asked God to forgive us for all the wrong things we did and to help us find a way to make it. At a siblings wedding years later I was told by an older family friend that certain family members were betting how long we would last. She didn't think anyone thought we would make it to 15 years much less 20.
So this morning that thought called to mind the words of Shania Twain's song " You're still the one!"Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday
They said,
"I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together
still going strong
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're the one I want for life
It ends with the words:
I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
The past 20 years have been wonderful, painful, joyful, scary and at times boring. Life has it's ups and downs. In truth I am so glad that I found the partner God created for me to enjoy the journey with. We spent the day looking back over the years and found such peace in the life that we are blessed to live.
The day started with roses and day lilies (they are the official flower of the 20Th). 
This was brought to me with breakfast and coffee that J had to go out to get before I woke up. That was a wonderful way to wake up. I was given a new book with the promise of the next 2 in the series based on a show I love. 
After running out with the kiddos for a homeschool park event I can home to receive another gift. This one made me cry. I have had insomnia in some form or another since my pregnancy with Bagel. It has been bad at points and not so bad at others. This summer has been very hard with me getting very little sleep. After some research that I knew nothing about J found the Saint that I need to talk to about my sleep issues. The medal and the relic are just perfect. I know that this beautiful Saint Dymphna will be an intercessor for me. She was a beautiful Irish girl that has prayed for many others and I will begin asking her to pray for me as well. To me it was the most thoughtful and loving gift.
After the final gift of earrings we gathered the kiddos together to pray with us before heading to dinner. 
We were given a family "Blessing Cup" that we use on special occasions. 
We said the prayers, and prayed together. Then just J and I headed to dinner.
At dinner J and talked about how blessed we really are. We have 9 wonderful children enjoying life with us. We have two souls in heaven. We have each other. We have so many friends and great family. We spent the night enjoying our blessings. As dinner was ending we both decided we wanted to return home to celebrate with ice cream for the kiddos. We arrived home to a surprise of a memory lane created through out our home.
The kids had many of the actual facts wrong but they tried. J and I felt so loved. We laughed so hard as the kids tried to recreate our first date, they thought was a concert. Pickle was our rock star and everything after that was a blur. We laughed and we cried.
We felt so loved. 
As their memory lane ended for us we were in the dinning room where the kids had chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider waiting to toast our long marriage.
(J's bow tie and my veil were to remind us of our wedding. The hats were to remind of us the move to Texas!) The kids were so cleaver and creative. I hope that the next 20 years are filled with as much joy was we felt tonight!
Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another's weaknesses and grow from each other's strengths. Help us to forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self. May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection. Amen!
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