We've Only Just Begun . . .

Thursday Danny & I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by spending the night in Indianapolis. We found amazing bargains on clothes for the kids, spent time in the Apple store drooling over iphones, ate dinner at Maggiano's and stayed up late watching Ocean's 13. It was the first time ever we've left the kids overnight with a sitter - and they did great. We both agreed that the years before July 12, 1997 seem like another lifetime. How quickly 10 years have flown by, and yet I can hardly remember what it was like not to be married to Danny.

I do remember . . .

. . . the night I sat bolt upright in bed, because for the first time it occured to me that I couldn't imagine my life without my best friend.
. . . the evening, one month later, when I actually told him!
. . . the night we drove into the sunset (at about 90 mph) to begin our journey of wedded bliss.
. . . our 2 years in beautiful Richmond, VA, where we brought home our sweet little rabbit, Larry (Bubba).
. . . the first 3 cars we bought.
. . . the first 3 cars that died.
. . . good friends and a wonderful church in Columbus, to whom we will always be deeply indebted.
. . . our trip to Sedona, Arizona, when we found out we were expecting our first baby.
. . . moving to our current location and purchasing our first (and only!) house.
. . . bringing home a baby daughter, a baby son, and another baby daughter.

And looking back on all of this, I remember one woman , not particularly blessed with the gift of tact, who discovered my newlywed status and sneered, "Ha! Just give it 10 years, honey."

I want to go back and say so many things to her:

You don't know the man I married. When I'm chubby and losing hair after having a baby, he makes me feel beautiful. He puts up with my mood swings and my mulishness and my crazy issues day after day. He works hard and provides for our family, freeing me up to stay home with the kids. We talk about everything - theology, history, child-raising, church stuff, current events, religious trends, how we can improve our marriage, our dreams for the future, priorities, books we're reading and have read. He tackles issues with an unparalleled passion for biblical truth and encourages me to be thoughtful and discerning as well.







He loves our children and appreciates each of them for who they are. He gets down on the floor and plays with them. He snuggles them. He reads to them. He makes them howl with laughter. He demonstrates his love with hugs and kisses, and also with discipline, which he doesn't shy away from. He sometimes takes them for the morning on his day off so I can get work done around the house and have some time to myself.

He's taught me the importance of hugs and shown me how to laugh at myself. He's made me realize that there is no substitute for spending quality time together, and that we can accomplish so much more together than we ever could by ourselves. He's gotten me addicted to Christian talk radio and downloaded sermons while we're on road trips. Even though we can both be hot-headed and argumentative and subborn, we usually end up agreeing that our disagreements were silly to begin with. Between the arguing and the making up, life is never boring!

When I got the flu the day before my 30th birthday, he never made me feel guilty for missing my surprise party, which he went to with Rachel and videotaped so I could watch it later and see everyone who came. He'd spent weeks planning everything, yet he never acted upset or disappointed when it didn't go the way he expected - because he was thinking more of me than of himself.

In short, we're soulmates - soulmates who often approach life differently and yet value each other's perspective. It's been 10 years of hard work, but also 10 years of greater joy than we ever could have imagined. So yes - we've given it 10 years, and I'm looking forward to giving it 50 more!