Truth...

Aaron's cousin got married yesterday so tonight we headed to the reception at The Country Gentlemen with just our girls, the boys stayed at Grandma Nanas. The girls loved the decorations and the food, cake, and of course her amazing dress. They were mesmerized by it all. It got me thinking of my wedding and how long ago it seems. Aaron and I were standing in the line with three of our five kids waiting to congratulate the bride and groom, the presents were all gathered on this table and they were spilling over onto the ground, when I said something to Aaron about our wedding, we had a good laugh, and then we remembered tomorrow is 10/10/10 we are celebrating our 12th anniversary. We had remembered earlier in the month but days had just fallen together and we had forgot. The girls thought it was so cool, and we both had a good laugh. Aaron grabbed my hand and put his other hand in the small of my back, sometimes that's all it takes.
Boy if I could pull his cousin aside I'd tell her to hold on it's a bumpy ride. Marriage looks so picture perfect but no one tells you that it's hard, that it constantly needs to be taken care of. It reminds me of a baby. At times you hold it, cradle it, nurture it, and other times you put the baby down they walk, crawl, and want to be independent and try things with you by their side rather than having you carry them. I'm constantly learning and loving deeper in our marriage.
So tomorrow when we wake up, we wake up to twelve years that we're proud of, that we've learned the most from, we've taken care of, loved the deepest, had the best of times and the worst of times with, thought I couldn't go on at times, thought I would never quit, treasured every event, moment, trial, bump, laugh, memory, truth, lie, sacred, amazing, sensual moment.  I'm madly in love with someone who doesn't complete me, but allows me just to be me.  We have a better understanding of who we are, instead of changing that, we have embraced it with respect, and a deep sense of compassion and love.
We are lucky.  We are lucky for so many reasons.  Not just for the children, or for the sacredness of it all, just the simple simplicity of having been through so much, we are stronger and better because of it.  I'm so thankful to my sweet Heavenly Father who knows me, who knows us, and knows what we can handle, what we will learn, and how it can help us.  I'm so thankful to him.  I may not understand at the time of the trial but in the end, I look back, and still with heartache at times, still with sadness, but a sense of being in that moment, that I don't want to take it away, for that is what got me HERE today, that is what made me better, that is what made US better, and to me that is priceless.