A SPECIAL DAY

Today is a special day for me. While it is not my wedding anniversary it is somewhat of an anniversary to my husband and I. On this date in 1992 we had our first date. It is very hard for me to believe 18 years have gone by and we have been together all this time.

While I will never profess to have a perfect relationship with my husband we do have a very good relationship. Like any couple we have had some really great times in our lives and some really hard times as well. I would say the biggest strain on our marriage is the remodeling of our house and kids. However I think kids can put a strain on any marriage and lucky for us we had a great head start in our relationship long before we ever had children.

I will also admit there have been times I wanted to quit on our relationship because we are not always the best communicators.

I think the lowest point in our relationship is when I found out I was pregnant with Luke. We never planned to have children and he was not happy about having one. I did not get that wonderful bonding time as a pregnant mother but instead a lot of worry and stress over how it was all going to turn out. In the end we had Luke and I think my husband now has some regrets on how he acted and he wouldn't trade his boys for anything.

When I had Thomas I was open about wanting a second child and he didn't want another child but we said if it happened it happened. He was a much better husband when I was pregnant with Thomas even though it wasn't what he wanted he did accept it.

While neither of us want a third child, if it were to happen I think the third time would go even better than the second. Clearly the love he has for his kids has really softened him over the years. I think he knows he is a great father.

A little side note is Luke came out of a trip to Chicago in 2002 to celebrate this said anniversary.

Just the other day I found a couple tickets to a show we went to on that trip. We got to laugh and smile about Luke being the result from that trip. So while it was a hard time, it is all good today.

As for wanting to quit on us, I never have and I think a big part of that comes from the Christian in me. I am thankful that several years ago I found God and made him a priority in my life. It helps me put things in perspective and to try harder, especially when things are not going the way I would like them to go.

Just recently we had a Sunday school class and were discussing how men and women are programmed differently. I have always known this but it gave me that much more perspective. To often I expect things I shouldn't because it is how I handle things but we are not the same and need to not think in these terms.

We have no special date scheduled for tonight even though we should. We have a hard time squeezing in a date night every now and then. I just remind myself this is now and in 10 years the boys will be older and date night will be often and easy. For now Friday's are our family date night. We either make or order a pizza and we watch a movie with the kids. Often something from our own collection but it is time for all of us and I know the kids look forward to it.

Finally I will say this, my husband is not the flower giving, affectionate man that I sometimes would like him to be. However he is the man who will hold my hair back if I am sick and hugging a toilet. He is always there when I need him the most and anytime he hasn't been their he comes around. Plus he has also never quit on our relationship even when things didn't go according to his plan. At the end of the day I think that counts for a lot. And most important is this is the man I love and I pray that 50 years from now he is still the man I love.

On a totally different note, next week is Spring break here and I am taking the week off from work and spending it with my wonderful boys. Hopefully we have nice weather but right now mother nature is not starting off very well since it snowed last night.

Funny Things

My kids can provide so much humor into my life. This always makes life so great because when you least expect it they will say or do something that just brings huge smiles and laughter into our home.

Luke & Me
Luke comes into our bathroom to potty while I am getting ready for church yesterday morning. He sits down and I instantly thank him for smelling up my bathroom as I am trying to get ready.
Luke: "Well I am not as bad as daddy. Daddy is a "P-U" and I am just a "P". "
Me: I just laugh at his logic and tell him he is such a silly kid.

Dinner Time
We all sit down to eat dinner.
Thomas (my 2 year old) holds out his hand and say's "give me five mommy".
Me: Hold out my hand and give him five.
Thomas: Holds up a fist and says "give me nickles" (knuckles).
Me: Hold out my hand and he gives me knuckles.
Thomas: Holds up his finger and says "touch my finger"
Me: Touch his finger and he says "SSSSS".

No clue who tought him this but it had us all laughing.

I have so many of these moments all the time and I am always forgetting them because I don't write them down. Since both of these happened yesterday they are fresh in my mind. What have you kids done lately that brought about a good laugh?