39 and Counting

Isn't 39 and counting for age?  People stop counting when they turn 39?  I may not like counting my age but I do love counting the number of years we've been linked for eternity through marriage.  

Tom was supposed to have oral surgery today and I asked my sweetheart to come along.  I knew he had basketball games to officiate tonight so this was the only way I could spend any time with him today.  I don't think he remembered it was our anniversary until later in the day.

When Erin came home from work she brought these beautiful flowers in the house for me.  My dear husband, texted her and asked her to stop on her way home to get them.  She is the flower expert in this family and she brought two bouquets and we put them together and it is gorgeous.  Great job my daughter!

When I think about all the years we have been together, it warms my heart!  We have had the opportunity to have some wonderful adventures together.  Mostly, this adventure called life.  We created an amazing family together.  There were sometimes very lean years where we didn't have much.  We always had enough but not enough for anything extra.  Some of those years were so tight because we were putting so much into our retirement account.  Am I ever grateful for that now!

Parenting together didn't always click the way I thought it should.  So many times I had to be the bad guy as he was gone serving the Lord.  I do not, for one moment, begrudge that. At times I did have to be both parents.  When we did parent together, we didn't always see eye to eye.  That was frustrating for me as I'm sure it was for him too.

Family vacations including doing the City of Joseph pageant were always a lot of work for me but still I loved it.  It was nice to be away from the phone and TV and just be able to play together with our friends.  

Serving the Lord together has been spectacular!  Being able to be the support that he needed while he served in the stake presidency and as the bishop was an honor.  I never felt that we were better than anyone else because of those stewardships, I just knew that the Lord expected me to support my sweetheart even when I didn't know what his struggles were which was often.   When we served as Area Temple and Family History consultants, it gave me a feeling of what was to come.  We traveled together, finally.  We spoke together and taught and trained together.  It was so much fun.  Two years ago when we received our call to serve full time as missionaries was such a joy.  Those 21 months went by so quickly and are forever etched in my mind.  We didn't work side by side for the most part, but we did serve together in specific assignments which were sometimes difficult but always rewarding.  

Being grandparents together is grand!  Maybe that's why we are called GRANDparents.  Those nine children that called us Nana and Papa are such dears.  I love watching them grow and learn and see their personalities in full bloom!  The tender hugs and excitement to see us makes my heart smile.  Even those that don't like touching so much make us so proud to call them ours.  (Cami)  Whether it is school and book learning or watching them develop as athletes or musicians or actors or anything else, we are so blessed to have them.

Being sweethearts and living and loving together is the best!  I bless the day he finally noticed that I was someone who could be more than just a friend.  He's been so patient with me when I was a snotty, immature newlywed.  I'm glad he stuck around to watch me grow up.  I'm glad we can grow older together.  I love him more and more each day.  Sometimes I warn him that he's acting like an a$$, but he always checks himself and pulls his act together.  We laugh, we spar, we enjoy life with one another and that's what makes life so wonderful.  I love you forever and always Patrick!