Today is a good day.

Today is our 7th anniversary. Yep, we've been married SEVEN years. It's such a good day. Here at our house we don't really get into birthdays or Valentine's Day or Mother's Day or Father's Day and all of the other days that the world says are special. Those are the days that the world tells you that, if you really love your _____, then you'll show them you care by spending money on their product and make your _____ feel special. But we dig our anniversary. It's a big deal to us. It really is a day that we celebrate. It's a day that we spend thinking about this wonderful safe place that we have in our marriage. We think about how much fun we've had together...from the time we met to now. We think about the goodness of the Lord and how He has sustained us through the hard seasons that He ordained for us. We look forward to seeing what the next 7 years...or 20 or 50 years holds for us. It's such a good day.

For us it's not about buying expensive gifts for each other or going to an exotic place (although I did get a really fun gift!). It's just a day to spend thinking about each other, reflecting and looking ahead. There's nothing especially romantic about today. Chad still had to go to work at 5:30 this morning and won't get home until late. Anna Kate woke up super early this morning throwing up. She's thrown up 3 times this morning, covering 2 of our 3 beds. The world keeps revolving. As a matter of fact, on the other side of the world, Chad's sister, Brigitte, is in labor as we speak and will be giving birth to Baby Grace in the next few hours. We long to be there with them. We may or may not get to go out tonight for a formal celebration...but that doesn't matter. It's a good day and I'll spend it thinking about my husband and how much I love him. And how much he loves me. About how well I know him and how well I am known. About how he can make me laugh more than anyone on the planet. About the gift that he gives me everyday by going to work so that I can stay home with our kids. About how he takes care of us and loves us well, everyday. It is such a good day.

As I mentioned earlier, I got a really fun gift. Chad sent me on a scavenger hunt yesterday. There were seven clues. One for each year of marriage. At the end I found a certificate for an hour long pregnancy massage. Oh, can I even tell you how excited I am? They have a special table where I can lay on my TUMMY!!!!!! For a whole HOUR!!!!! I'm thrilled. I get to go-by myself-on Friday. Can't even wait. But the scavenger hunt was so fun and well thought out. Chad made a clue that talked about something that happened each year in our marriage. You realize that we've had quite a bit packed into our 7 short years.
Chad's clue: "Year one was challenging, fun and full of surprises..."
This was the infamous first year of marriage. We lived in a teeny-tiny box house and learned so much about each other that year.
"Year two was hard work for you while you studied Hebrew..."
Our second year was spent with me in my senior year of college and Chad working as a substitute teacher. Good times.
"Year three , we saw God provide in the form of a job..."
In year three we moved to Crane, Texas, where Chad took a job as a Youth Minister. We loved our kids and enjoyed watching them grow in the Lord. What great memories we made with them.
"Year four was the most difficult, but we also learned that God is sovereign in
every situation..."
This is the year that we had our girls. Sweet Anna Kate and Riley May. The Lord graciously sustained us as we dealt with Riley's death and adjusted to life with a sweet little girl. This was also the year that we began to understand the depth of God's sovereignty.
"Year five, God blessed us with Max...and who knows what He has for us with
Chick-Fil-A..."
During our fifth year of marriage we made a trip to Ukraine to pick up Max and bring him home. We also made a career change and moved to Arlington. Holy cow, what a year!
"Year six we had less income and greater expenses, but we love our church and
God is always good..."
Year six we spent adjusting to all of the changes made in year five. New son, new home, new town, new church, new job, new friends. The Lord is faithful.
"Year seven has been fun. I can't wait to see what year eight has in store..."
Year seven has brought on more changes. Baby Jake is on his way. We're awaiting word about a job change. And we eagerly await year eight to see what it brings our way.