12 Years: An Anniversary Post

12 years.  Wow.

I remember my wedding day like it was yesterday.  We were so young, so starry eyed and so ready to start our life together.  I had a calendar on my wall and I marked off each day for a year until June 24, 2000. I know, old school.  It was before the iPhone....

Our wedding day was so hot and humid you could cut the air with a knife.  Family and friends flooded into to Ashland, Kentucky from all over the United States.  We were thrilled!  Our wedding party was ginormous 9 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen and four ushers.  My philosophy was I'm only going to do this once and I want to include everyone.  I don't regret it.  It was such a special day. 

Some memories I will never forget from that day:  Getting up at the crack of dawn and asking God to be with me, being at the hairdresser with all my girls when the best man showed up with flowers and the sweetest note ever from Ben, Grammy Raine catching my bouquet, my father in law doing the duck dance, singing "Say My Name" with my baby sister Sarah, lots of tears..tears of joy but tears because life was going to be different, how beautiful I felt in my dress, seeing my mother, my Aunt Mary and my Grammy Jean after putting my dress on and losing all composure, our wedding photographer...he was one of a kind..needless to say he tended to sweat alot, riding in a horse drawn carriage, doing the electric slide, my father crying before he walked me down the aisle, not being able to eat despite all the food choices, tying ribbons on hundreds of bubbles with my dad, our wedding vows, taking communion, slow dancing with my Uncle Steve and Papa Bob and finally all the special people that showed up to support us as we embarked on the journey of marriage.

And people as awesome as marriage is, it is a journey.

Our wedding day was extra special.  I had no idea how important our vows would be over the years to come.  For better or for worse, I vow to cherish your hopes and dreams as my own, I vow to honor and respect you. I vow to keep God at the center of our marriage.  Those vows have gotten us to where we are now.  They have gotten us through 4 moves in 12 years, infertility, adoption, sickness, financially meager times, almost losing a child, tough decisions, harsh words, 4 kids in five years, I could go on but as I look around at my life now I am thankful that we are here.

We have had some fabulous times together and I can honestly say that Ben and I love each other more today than we did when we got married however, it hasn't always been easy.  We have chosen to love and accept unconditionally even when we didn't feel like it or when the other person didn't deserve it.  Love is a choice, happiness is an ability and God is the source of both.

 I pray for my marriage and my husband everyday and I hope Ben does the same. 
So cheers to 12 years.  Here is to 50 more.

Though one may be overpowered two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.   Ecclesiastes 4:12