9 years

yesterday marked 9 years since we first wed! can you even believe we’re about to round out an entire decade… married?!! crazy! i have had to really consider if it’s the correct number. like, are we doing the math right on this? because. that’s a lot for someone who does not feel very adult quite yet! but, hey… #childbrideproblems for real. 😉

so, last night, i tell you, i was not even decent enough looking for photo documentation. waaa! no photos?! it’s as if it didn’t even happen! no, but really. no. i looked somewhat like a drowned rat, coming right off of the babers’ first swim lessons… still recovering from being ill over last weekend and not sleeping much to boot… but we did have a last-minute casual dinner date!! and that was fun!

we chatted a lot about life, which these days is more a conversation about just how messy life is, what we love about all that we have [lots about how flipping amazing the babies are! how did we get so lucky!], and what kind of balance [or juggle… i kind of think word juggle is more fitting!] we’d like to work on to finish off our first 10 years. we’ve had so many ups and downs… i suppose that’s just the nature of it all! we’ve come a long way in so many ways… and in so many ways there are things that we can work on that are much clearer now than they were when we were 21 and 22, trying to prove that we knew what we were doing. [umm, we didn’t. we never will!]

it’s also so great to look back on what we agreed upon from the very start… that keeping things together isn’t an emotionally driven deal, it’s a commitment, plain and simple! and that’s why you keep going. because there will be ups and downs. our pastor that married us gave us the best talk on that before we wed, and hey! we’re here! for better or worse, life keeps moving! and heck, the sooner you can stop taking things so seriously and just laugh it off, laugh at yourself, laugh at each other, and enjoy all the good… the better off you are!!

9 years in. we love each other. we love our sweet babies. we love our insane animals. and in the midst of being completely worn out, we hope for more of all of it someday. and let me tell you, i am SO THANKFUL that we chose a summer wedding because summer anniversaries forever and ever!!!

thanks to my amazing parents for running the kiddos around the farm while we went out last night, too. 🙂 breaking away is nearly impossible for me and the little ones [mainly the one littlest one], but it was so helpful!! and there’s really no childhood activity better than farm chores, let me tell you. hallelujah! so, when can we build our own little white farmhouse, babe? can we just clear a spot in the pasture? 😉

OH!!! and speaking of a white house… with blue shutters… and a room overlookin’ the river so i can paint! wouldn’t you just know that as i sat down last night, at the very end of the day, finally getting a chance to look through some of our wedding photos, i flipped on the tv and there was the notebook. as if i needed to find myself in a puddle of my own demolished heart, but my goodness, i love that movie. crushing my soul since age 17 in the very best way. or maybe the worst. i don’t know! but it will sure remind you of how short life is. gotta soak up the love while you’re living it! <3

i love you so much, babe!! chin up! shoulders back! heels down! and onward to 10!

[also, here’s my little pile of previously posted wedding photos! can you believe it was all pre-pinterest! simply relying on emails and catalogs and age-old traditions. what a life, back then! ;)]

[oh, and it’s always entertaining to relive the jamaican honeymoon, haha!]

[and!! my notebook reminiscing from way back when!]