Thursday, July 23, 2009

8 years and counting...


Joel and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Tuesday, July 21st. The weekend in Kauai was truly how we celebrated. It was a good thing since I was too sick this week to even acknowledge the day. It honestly completely slipped my mind until Joel came home with flowers and a beautiful card. Joel celebrated by keeping his sick family afloat. I saw the doctor who diagnosed me with bronchitis and am now on antibiotics and am slowly seeing daylight again. Despite the illnesses, it has been the best 8 years. Just a drop in the bucket on our way to the 80 years together that we are dreaming of. Even though we have only been married for 8 years, our friendship started 12 years ago. Joel is truly my best friend and soul mate and has enriched my life in every way possible. This journey has been full of tears and joy, and blessings keep coming...the top 3 being Asher, Anna, and Jesse. We are getting ready to face our 4 to 5 months apart. Joel leaves for the desert on August 1st. We are trying to enjoy every minute together and be strong, knowing that God's grace is sufficient for us to get through. God has given 8 beautiful years of growth to stand on. Happy Anniversary Joel! You are still and will always be my hero.

4 comments:

  1. The love and commitment you both have to each other is encouraging to our family. We will be praying for all of you during this time, that the time apart goes quickly, and this will only make your relationship stronger!

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  2. Congratulations. We will continue to pray that the time apart goes quickly and that you grow closer together and stronger as a couple through it.

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  3. Mary! I'm so glad I found your blog! And congratulations on your anniversary, belatedly. I remember your wedding so well! It's hard to believe that 8 years have gone by and you have three kids. I suddenly feel old... Things seem to be going well for you overall. I know Joel's deployment won't be easy but you will get through it; I hated Zach's and I didn't have kids to worry about. Hopefully the time passes quickly.

    Also, I wish that I would have known that you were stationed in Hawaii; Zach and I were there last August and we would have loved to see you guys. That's what I get for not keeping in touch with people!

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  4. I've completely lost track of you guys, so I took a few minutes and caught up...well, I'm out of breath after all the thrill-seeking you guys have done! Wow. I can't believe how big your kids are, how crazy you two are doing these adventures, and I didn't realize Joel was getting deployed. But now I do! I missed your b'days! ugh. Love you guys, and happy birthday, happy anniversary and enjoy your time together as a family! Maybe one of these days we can catch up. Love you!

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