12 Years . . . and counting . . .

July 19th, tomorrow, is our 12th wedding anniversary! We've had a very interesting and wonderful 12 years.

We spent the first 6 years buying a house and fixing the house up. Getting and training our first child, a german shorthair pointer, Katie.

Working. . . Rich pastoring a church, me a High School Choral Director. . .yep, that's me, directing a high school choral ensemble back in the day. . .

And having our "real" first child:

The next six years: selling our house and half of everything we owned . . . and moving to NC, so that Rich could work on his PhD, having 3 more children. . .

And. . . finally. . . 5 1/2 years after moving to NC, getting the PhD!!!

That's our 12 years in a nutshell. . . there have been twists and turns along the way. . .there have been the expected and the unexpected along the way. . . there have been good times and bad times along the way. . .there have been great disappointments and great accomplishments along the way. . .BUT. . . mostly there has been evidence of God's grace, mercy, love, provision, and faithfulness along the way. My life is better because I am spending it with Rich. My life is better because God blessed us with 4 beautiful children. My life is better because Rich and I are serving God together! Each year of marriage is better than the one before. I look forward to many more years, a lifetime, spent with my husband. God has blessed me beyond measure and I could never be thankful enough for what He has given me.