Six Years

Last Saturday was our six year anniversary.  It was interesting, as that is the first time the days have fallen exactly as they did the week we were married.  On Saturday I kept thinking of things like, Oh this is when I got up to go and get my hair done or right about now we were holding hands and saying our vows. 

Our wedding day was beautiful, perfect and everything I hoped it would be.  Fun, family, love, just a day full of celebrating the fact that God had brought us together and we were going to be together.  Celebrating the love of our families and friends and having those people in one place for that celebration was a truly wonderful thing.  I remember, though, thinking even on that beautiful, glorious day that the wedding wasn't what it was truly all about, it was what came after...reminiscing is a beautiful thing, but living in the present is even better. Our present is a blessing and I am so thankful to be living life with this great man that God sent me all the way to China to find.

I can't say that it has always been roses, but most of the time it has been a showering cascade of beautiful lilies.  Lilies are my favorite flower.  They are so beautiful and gentle, they remind me of peace and love and just all that is good in this world.  I told Kevin that, once, and every bouquet that he has ever purchased for me has had a lily or two in it, sometimes many more.  Our marriage has been full of lilies...those beautiful moments in life.  Even some of the hard times have turned out to be lilies, because they have brought us closer together as a couple. 


Some of the greatest lilies have occurred in just the last few years.  Finding out that we were finally actually going to have a baby, meeting that wonderful baby that is now our rambunctious, funny, joy-filled son, buying our first home together...and just hours of laughter.  I love that this man can still make me laugh, can still kiss me to the point where I shiver and get dizzy and dreamy-eyed, can still tell me stories that maybe I haven't heard about his childhood, yet the old familiars make me just as happy.  I love that I know every freckle on his face, every swirl of his whisker hair, every expression that crosses his face.  I love being able to speak to him with a single glance and to be able to tell by the way he answers his phone what kind of a day he is having. 

I love seeing his interaction and love for our son.  I learned how to love my husband in an entirely new way when I saw him become a father.  He was made for that job, he is amazing and his son is so incredibly blessed to have him. 

I love that even when we are grouchy with each other, as soon as we can we almost stumble over one anothers' words to be the first to apologize.  I love that the times that we actually are grouchy with one another are so few and far between that when we are we are amazed at it.  I love that we don't yell at each other...in fact I can't even remember one time where Kevin raised his voice with me.  I love that even when we disagree about something, it is in a peaceful way and we talk it through to work it out. 

I know that there are still things about us that sometimes drive each other crazy.  He probably loathes the way I let my laundry sit in the basket and get all wrinkled and pull it out and use it as I need it rather than taking it straight to the dryer and his tendency to be late to everything sometimes causes me stress that I would rather not have, but those things, they just make it even sweeter.  They give us more depth and more joy and more things to laugh about. 

Six years have been not enough...I want more.  I want more hugs, kisses, laughter and tears.  I want more memories made.  I want more road trips and plane trips and special surprises.  I want more of those aha this is what life is all about moments...the ones like the moment Rusty was born and we looked at him and just realized that God is so good and we had a miracle in our hands.  I want more snuggles on the couch and prayers before bed.  I want more of those times that we get through the tough things together and come out on the other side stronger and closer than we were before.  Six years, it's been good...I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

A few more wrinkles, a few more gray hairs, but lots of love and memories!