A 6th Anniversary Letter

As I sit here thinking about today, our 6th wedding anniversary, I am in awe...

• in awe at how quickly six years of marriage have flown by; 
• in awe of how we've known one another and been together for a decade; 
• in awe at how many amazing memories we have traveling together and spending time together; in awe at how much we've both changed since meeting as college students; 
• in awe how we've continued to challenge one another and grow one another in different areas; 
• in awe of how much I love you and how much more I fell in love with you when I saw a tender-heartedness in you that wasn't visible until you held our daughter for the first time; 
• and in awe at God's amazing grace for us and how He's put the right people in our lives at the right time for us to still call each other husband and wife.

Marriage is hard. Second only to learning how to be a mother, learning to be a wife, a Godly and Biblical wife, is one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. And I'm so far from being finished! As our seasons of life change, my learnings and challenges have changed. As we grow together Spiritually, my eyes have been opened to my many flaws and weaknesses - my selfishness apparent in my reactions and attitudes.

Yet you still love me. In spite of all of that. You make a conscious decision daily to love me and cherish me. You demonstrate God's love for us through the way you treat others, myself included. Your patience is enviable and I doubt I will ever be on the same scale to even compare us. Your honesty and trustworthiness are infallible. You are Godly, hard-working, and self-less.

You also have flaws. And I choose to love you. I strive to be a good helpmeet to you as you lead our family. (And you are an amazing leader!) I am still learning. I probably will still be learning when we are old and gray.

But that's the beauty of marriage. Two people, man and woman, choosing to love one another day after day, despite the other's flaws. Choosing to stay together beyond what life throws their way. Accepting the challenges and painful refining to grow into better people who can bring glory to the Lord.

We've been blessed to have a wonderful marriage these past six years. I thank the Lord that He put you in my life. Happy 6th anniversary Jason! I love you!

Here's our 3rd,  4th, and 5th anniversary celebrations. I've decided to keep adding a yearly picture collage that I started doing last year. Apparently now that we have a kiddo we no longer have any pictures of just us - ha! Guess we need to teach Madi to start taking them soon (or watch herself so we can take them ;-) ).

2014

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Weekly Wrap-up: Busy, but Fun!

It was another l-o-n-g and busy week! I'm still single-parenting and just spent the last three hours trying to harvest our garden's massive amount of currants, gooseberries, and especially plums (more to come about all of those with pictures and recipe links!) But until then, here's the wrap-up!

Jason came home from offshore Monday night...and then left again early Friday morning! :-( He soaked up as much Madi time as he could those short days in between.

I promise we do not talk on the phone hardly ever (98% of our phone calls are wrong numbers and we usually text and FaceTime) - so I have no idea why this little duck is obsessed with using anything and everything like a phone...

Friday we had a fun coffee date with Ms Anna and her cutie pie Toby! Aren't these two precious?!

Later that afternoon my friend Kara and her two boys came over for a sleepover. Her husband is out of town as well so we figured it would be fun to hang out after the kiddos bedtime - and it was! :-)

This was also Madi's first sleepover...and it was with boys, hehe! Caleb and Ty are 2 and 3 and they are seriously some of the most adorable and well-behaved boys. They are so sweet and not rough at all with Madi so it's perfect getting the three of them together! We were so busy having fun we didn't take hardly any pictures! Here's a couple of the kiddos mesmerized with Frozen (of course!) -

Saturday we attended Adeline's 1st birthday party!! It was such a fun celebration! I made a collage card of pictures of Madi and Adeline to go with her gift. These two sure have had a lot of fun together in the past few months (and so have their mommas ;-) )

Sunday morning we went to church, but before Madi got her morning exercises done. I'm glad she's already learning the importance of stretching. ;-)

Church is serious business!

It was a good week, but we are ready (still - ha!) for Daddy to come home! Hope you had a wonderful week and are ready for Monday!

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Weekly Wrap-up: Sleepovers, Socializing, Sip and See

After Jason left last Sunday to go offshore, we found this cute note at bedtime in Goodnight Teddy. So sweet!

We've survived a week without Daddy, but we sure miss him! We stayed pretty busy though which helped the time fly by!

I've gone outside an picked plums a couple times and I have a feeling that's going to be an almost daily activity soon! We have a tree in our backyard and there are so many plums that the branches are drooping down from the weight of them! Most aren't ready quite yet, but there have been a couple good hauls thus far! And man are they delicious! Any plum recipes out there you can share?!

Tuesday night we had a sleepover. You read that right - a sleepover. Me, Madi, and three friends from work all about the same age drinking wine (don't worry, Madi only had one glass ;-) ), watching a movie (except not really because we were chatting), and sleeping. It was very refreshing to have a girls gabfest and everyone loved the short commute to work the next day. :-)

Thursday we snagged an invite over to Adeline's house (aka Madi's BFF). It had been way too long since these two had gotten together thanks to crazy summer schedules and it was so fun watching them toddle around together since Adeline has started walking now!

Friday we headed downtown to meet up with our friend Emily. It has been way too long since we'd seen each other so it was fabulous to catch up with her and walk around downtown. We tried a new place, Kanelsnurren Bakeri, and it was fabulous! Probably my favorite coffee, pastry, and sandwiches I've had in Stavanger to-date.

We had a lazy Saturday morning of playing with stuffed animals. The kittens were just plain lazy.

On Saturday I helped co-host a Sip and See shower with Courtney and Liz for our friend, Hilary. They moved to Norway towards the end of her pregnancy and baby Xander was born June 21, the day after Madi! We've loved getting to know their family and this was a fun way to welcome their baby boy after his arrival.

Courtney gets all the kudos for decorations and planning and she did a fabulous job! She's definitely got a talent for it and her cupcakes were amazing! Liz made a fruit skewers and a delicious dip and I tried my hand at Oreo pops. Everything went beautifully, but seeing this handsome guy was definitely the highlight!

I was able to sneak away from Madi for the shower thanks to Kemi and her family watching Madi! Kemi is a dear friend who adores Madi. She watched her every Tuesday when I was on maternity so I could go running and I think she was anxious to get some Madi time again!

Our busy Saturday didn't end there! I jumped at an invitation to Thad and Erica's because (a) I didn't want to cook, (b) she makes a fabulous grilled salmon, and (c) fabulous company. Heather brought her dog Sader and let's just say Madi has given and received a fair amount of doggie slobber via kisses she was so in love.

A couple of nights I needed some extra sleep so I strategically placed a pacifier in the crib after Madi had fallen asleep... I posted the picture on Facebook and was pleasantly reassured that my actions were acceptable after hearing from friends who place 4-5 pacis, books, toys, and anything else they can for a few extra minutes!

We've gotten a few chances to talk to Daddy, but we are sure ready to have him back. He's definitely missed around here!!!! Getting dressed is a bit strategic...sometimes you just let your kid play with your eyeliner. Or a box of teething sachets. Or milk cartons.

Madi and Mommy alive after one week of single parenting? Check. Hopefully just a couple more days...

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