A Subtle Change

*UPDATE* We were able to get a sitter and get out for date night last night. Nathan took some pictures for us as evidence. We had a fantastic evening and the kids did great for the sitter. Totally worth the work!

Today I made a little adjustment to the "About Us" paragraph on the right. It started out reading "we have moved 6 times in the last 7 years" and now, well, read it for yourself.

Today is our 9th anniversary. What is it we're supposed to say? Feels like fifty? Seems like yesterday? Depends on the day or moment asked I suppose. Someone asked me recently if I can believe we are beginning our 3rd summer in Belgium. I replied that there are moments I feel every minute. It feels like endurance at times. Other times it takes my breath away at how quickly this time has passed...how much we've seen...how much we've learned...how much these kids have changed.

Marriage. Is. Work. There is no EASY button. We are hard workers and the good news is, it doesn't always feel like work. It was work planning our first night away from the kids ever back in March. It remains work finding a sitter this week so that we can celebrate these 9 years. We'd like to see a movie, grab a dinner...something. Date night. We've been working at incorporating date nights into our lives. Notice that is also work.

Perhaps calling it work takes away a bit of the romance. Perhaps work is in the eyes of the beholder. But we like to keep it real here.

So, besides working, we are enjoying each other and this stage of our lives. This is a new stage for us. Kids are getting more independent and sleeping in their own beds. They are also getting old enough to understand that Mommy and Daddy would like time to talk when Daddy gets home from work without interruption from kids. We haven't always been able to put each other first. It seemed impossible with babies and toddlers at times, but we're getting it. Like I said, we're hard workers.

As we begin another year of marriage, we naturally reflect on the past years and look forward to the next. We've been talking about taking a "honeymoon" trip we never really took at 10 years for, well, 9 years. As we are now one year away from that, we do have thoughts and ideas about what we'd like to do and where we might like to go. But another thing we're working on, is just enjoying now. Jobs change, locations change, plans change. We can't really be sure where we'll be or what will be going on 1 year from now. I assure you that 9 years ago we had no idea we'd spend our 7th, 8th and 9th anniversaries in Belgium. But here we are and though I seem to be painting a bleak picture as of late, life is good. We are here for a reason and being here has taught us to have faith and trust in God in all aspects of our lives. My mom began praying for our marriage before any of us even knew who I'd be married to and though we haven't been as faithful in prayer as we'd like, we are continuing those prayers. Living away from people, places and things that have always brought us comfort has caused us to turn to God for comfort more than ever before. There is a greater purpose for our being here than experiencing new places and trying new things. Living outside of the comfort zone we didn't even know we were in has been a blessing. Though it might not always be evident by my posts, for that we are thankful and we are absolutely thankful for 9 years of marriage.


Happy Anniversary To Us!