Happy Anniversary to us!

Today we are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary! Wow! I can't believe it's already been 11 years. When I look back at our wedding pictures, I can't help but think, "My goodness, we were young! What were we thinking?"

We were in love! Or so we thought... We have been through some rough times over the years, but God has brought us through and has helped us to grow stronger and closer together. When we were dating and even first married, I never could have imagined that our relationship would be as incredible as it is today. We are truly best friends and thrive on spending as much time together as possible. When we are apart during the day, we call each other at every chance we can.

I thank the Lord for my amazing husband! He is my perfect match. I couldn't have asked for a better mate for myself or father for my children. He proves his love to us in many ways...by his diligence in supporting us financially, his willingness to help with numerous chores around the house, his culinary expertise (I love the help in the kitchen!), his sensitivity to us females in areas such as attending a ballet or pretending to be "The Lady of Shalott" =), and most importantly his faithfulness to the Lord in being a godly leader in our home.

Thank you, Jason, for loving me and for being my soul mate for the last 11 years. I look forward to spending many more with you in the future! I love you! Happy Anniversary!

First Birthdays

Last month, some good friends of ours invited us to celebrate their first child's first birthday. While I watched him play with the balloons and rip at the streamers that were intended for decoration, attempt to open his presents, and then in ultimate exhaustion cry while trying to figure out what to do with his cake, I was reminded of my own experiences with my girls' first birthdays.

When you're first-time parents, everything that happens to your child is a big ordeal, and you want everything to be just perfect. I remember planning for months and picturing in my mind exactly how that special day would play out. Unfortunately, I forgot to give the itinerary to my kids, and they always had "plans" of their own. =)

One of the biggest things I've had to learn over the years is to relax...go with the flow....it's okay if everything doesn't go just like I imagined. While I look through all of my old pictures and videos, I remember times that I was frustrated because the kids wouldn't hold still for the picture or they wouldn't "say their verses" or "sing their songs" correctly when I knew they could. The little "glitches" that I was annoyed with back then are the cutest things to me now and the things that I laugh at the most.

The picture in this post is of Sydney's first birthday. She was perfectly happy until we put her cake in front of her. She did not want to get messy, so we had to feed her and eventually gave her a spoon to feed herself. My friend pointed out at her son's party that as parents we try and try to keep them from grabbing at their food with their hands and try to teach them good table manners, but then expect them to dig into their cake like it's perfectly normal and acceptable. C'est la vie!

Click here to see some more pictures of Sydney's first birthday.

Reminiscing...

This past week I was "forced" to take a walk down "Memory Lane." =) Since Jason gave me a new computer for Christmas, I had not even turned on my old computer (which, incidentally, is where most of my photos are stored). Some friends and family were asking for some pictures, so I asked Jason to pick up an external hard drive so I could transfer everything over to my new computer.

Okay, first of all, I have to say "thank you, thank you, thank you" to my wonderful husband for getting this new computer. I can not believe how ssssssllloooooooowwwwwwwwww my old computer runs compared to my new one. A thousand thanks to you, honey!

Second, I can not believe how fast my kiddos have grown up. As I looked through pictures and video clips dating back to 2003, I was shocked to find that they actually had the nerve to age without asking for my permission. =)

You'll have to indulge me for a little while. I'm going to be posting some old pictures of the kids in the coming weeks, so if you don't like it, too bad. =) Just kidding! I just figured that most of you would be interested in seeing some of them, and you might even see a picture of one of your kids, too. Then you'll have to reprimand them as well for growing up too fast. =)

The picture in this entry was taken near the end of 2003. Alyx was almost 4 years, Larissa was 2 1/2 years and Sydney was 11 months old. Just in case you don't feel like doing the math, I'll give you their current ages. Alyx turned 8 in January, Larissa will be 7 in June, and Sydney turned 5 in December.