Vacation Day 2 - Happy Anniversary

I didn’t get to sleep until 3 AM ”last night.”  The hot tub jets felt so nice.  John even enjoyed himself and he isn’t a hot tub person.  We talked for a long time.  Finally, we got out and went to bed.  He rubbed my feet and I fell asleep.  My eyes popped open at 6:15 and I woke him up to wish him a Happy Anniversary.  Landon got up a few minutes later.  Now, they are outside walking the dog.  The goal is to be out of the cabin by 8:30.  When they come in I am going to grab a quick shower before I wake everyone else up for breakfast.  Landon’s first words this morning were “Mommy, you said we needed to leave by 8 for Disney (aka Dolly Wood).  LOL 

Today,  John  and I have been married for 8 years, but together 10.  That is no small feat.  Most people don’t stay together that long.  It has been rough at times, but we still held on.  There were times when I wanted to walk away, and I am sure he did too, but God told us we weren’t supposed to do that.  God intended marriage to be for life, not just when it feels good or when things are easy. 

How do you sum up 10 years worth of love?  This man has stood by me through so much.  Mama’s health was slowly declining when we met.  We had only been together for 7 months when we moved to Georgia.  She had a heart attack, open heart surgery, an amputation and another “minor” (in comparison) surgery within 4 months.  Those days were rough.  We also said goodbye to Madison during all of this.  After 6 months we decided the best thing for Mama was to come back to Tennessee, so we did.  John proposed to me right before we left Georgia.  In between all of the trips to the doctor with Mama we managed to plan a wedding.  Shortly before the wedding, Mama had her second amputation.  We decided in GA that John would stay home with Mama because he could physically care for her better than I could.  After we got married John started working nights so he could be there if we needed him while she was awake.  We endured 2 years of night shift.   I hated it.  Here I was a newlywed, and only shared my bed with my husband 2 nights a week.  It was rough, but I thank God that we survived.  In 2006, John started working at US Cellular.  It was a great job with wonderful insurance. 

In 2007, we had already had 4 miscarriages so we sought help from a fertility specialist.  We spent the next year and a half year going through 2 doctors and many fertility treatments.  We had another miscarriage (Michael) and were obviously crushed.  I told John I wanted to look into adoption when we were ready.  In the mean time we continued fertility treatments.  In November we started foster parent classes. 

March 2008, our beautiful boys came home.  We had it rough with them too.  Foster Care isn’t for whimps!  It was well worth it though.  We went for the ride of our lives.  In June we decided to stop fertility treatments and prayed that God would allow us to keep our boys.  Mom passed away nine months after the boys arrived.  Again, the roller coaster that is my life took a turn. 

The next couple years were rough as I navigated all of the firsts of loss.  The one “first” I never thought I’d have to experience, though was a new baby.  God showed off and has given us 3 new babies since then. 

We’ve been through so much together.  Stuff that almost broke us, and would’ve broken most people, but we survived.  I am so thankful that God has always reminded us why He put us together.  I look into the eyes of my husband and I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t love him.  I look at my kids and know this is where I want to be.  I am so blessed.  We are far from perfect, but we are improving.  I am excited to spend the rest of my life with this man.  I love you Honey.   Happy Anniversary. 

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. - Song of Solomon 6:3a

Blessings,

Weight Loss Mama