Our wedding anniversary...

is today...12 years on the 12th! {Warning...lots of run-on sentences may dot this blogpost.} =) I am so happy. And maybe even a twinge bit proud. Truthfully, because there have been a lot of times {I especially!} have been ready to call it quits and walk away and just 'split our problems in half'. But I can see now, how Chip and I are stronger and better and that we have learned and grown in so many ways that it is almost foolish to me now, looking and reflecting back, to think I would have missed out on the goodness and happiness and love we share now. That whole 'for better, for worse' part in the vows wasn't the part I was thinking in truth about on our wedding day in 1995. I was so focused on the love you forever part and get to spend a lifetime together...all the flowers and smiles and laughter and fun and family and especially that Coconut-frosted Carrot Cake on our wedding day...not to mention my handsome hubby and my beautiful handmade gown, sort of blurred the real picture of our future.
Today, as we celebrate and mark 12 years together, I thank God for our blurred vision. Because it has allowed or love for one another to blossom into something I never could have dreamed. Not without struggles and hurts at time, but amazing and strong nonethless.
I just wanted to share this with you...and encourage you in your own relationships too. Life is short, love is so important...to be shared with everyone around you...everyday. Even when it's tough. Especially when it's tough. But I can truly say there is much beauty in the blessing!
I love you, Chip. On the good days; on the bad days; and all the very ordinary ones strung in between. I thank God for holding us together for 12 years now. I can't imagine my life had you not been in it all these years. I am blessed to have you at my side, walking this journey with me and our family. I would never have expected that as I stood outside in your parents' backyard, surrounded by beauty and family and friends, that we would have this much blessing in our lives. I couldn't have imagined that the love I felt for you, as my dad pronounced us married, would grow in height and depth and breadth. It isn't perfect...but it is still beyond words at times.
I love you more now, than I ever have before. And I fully expect for that love to only continue to increase with each passing day. Happy Annivesary, my love. We are one lucky couple.
{Note: I took soooooooo many photos at Chip's brother's wedding yesterday. Wyndham was stunning. As were the others in the wedding party. =) You know I will be sharing lots of close-ups soon!}