Married 25 Years!

My Facebook past for the morning of our 25th Anniversary:

25 years! Love you more than life itself J. The first 25 have been crazy, full of people (especially the ones we made), and always busy. I hope that we can sleep a little more in the next 25 years. Thank you for being a man of God who is an incredible husband and father. I am blessed beyond words and would do it all over again. Thank you also to each of our kiddos. You all have made life fun!

The other day J was asked what I would do when the now 3 year olds were older.  "Will she finally go back to work, to earn her keep?"  My husband was greatly offended by this question.  He answered, "Oh she works pretty hard already!"  My hubby has respect for what I do. He sees our children growing into good adults and he knows that their mom has been a big part of that.  For our family the value has always been on the care and education of our children not the potential income.  It took us years to understand that but our goal for the family is clear.  "Heaven is the goal, everything else is gravy!"

One thing that we have always done over the years seams so contrary to what others do, and at times it has been a difficult habit to maintain.  I mention it because after a very early morning of doing this activity I now sit down with Twin Beautiful climbing on my chair asking me to buy her more goldfish while Twin Adorable is grabbing my face to force me to look at her as she asks a question about going to a pretend hotel.  I smell that one has a poopy diaper and they both have "stolen" my secret stash of Coke's and are trying to find sippy cups so that I can share.  An older one walks in and asks, "Can I grab a shower now?" and another informs me of the weather, and still another is telling me of her current ailments.  At times I so wish that I was the one that was dropped off at the airport at 5:30 am before anyone else woke up and started the questions, arguing and needs.

"What is this great activity that has helped your marriage?" you ask. It is simple,  I always drive J to the airport and pick him up.  Way back in our marriage I drove him to and from work.  "Why in the world would you do that?" I have been asked many times.  "He wants me to" is the real reason and it used to drive me crazy.  I have learned to appreciate this request and how it has shaped us over the years.

While other dads might want to get out of the house and into work mode as soon as possible J has always wanted to hang on to family as long as possible.  He knows that I ramble on and on about any given topic especially when I attired.  I think he likes this.  He knows that I am getting the day to day diaper changes, doctor visits, and education taken care of.  He stays connected to each of the kids and their progress by having me drive him.  I will ramble and he is "caught up".  So many people in our world try to tells that it is "Quality time" together and not "quantity" that matters but I disagree.  It is often in those nothing moments that we share who we truly are.

I am sure that we are not any different that any one else but life has not been easy for us at all.  We have had our share of bad news and hard times.  It might take us a day or two to find our balance but we always do.  Our marriage is not perfect at all, but it is real.  We are an example of a couple that are  good together.  We will make it work no matter how hard that is.  I have been so blessed to enjoy the last 25 years with this man as my husband.  I can't wait to see what the future holds.

We had plans to go out of town together but crazy stuff happened (it always does on our anniversary) and we were forced to stick it out at home. We will celebrate this momentous event but it won't be on any specific day. .  . So hopefully this is just filler post with the celebration pictures to come later.
I love you J!