Silver Anniversary

At 10.30 we will cross that 'threshold' metaphorically to our silver anniversary.

The years fly. I can barely remember this time 25 yrs ago.

The future was before us, a blank slate, waiting to be filled with shared dreams and adventures.A future that was filled with all the hope and promise two young twenty-somethings with the world at their feet could ever imagine.

When I think of all we have been through together, the brilliant and not so. Life has sometimes thrown us what we least expected but we survived by the grace of God..

Hard times can rock the boat , sink the love.We have certainly had our share of hard times...so the kayaks were a great gift - staying afloat through whatever came our way. We've endured many obstacles and and been through storms of infertility, loss of our daughter and both had cancer.

It's hard to believe that 25 years have gone by since we stood together and our marriage vows were first spoken...how did we get this old ?

I had the crop the ugly concrete out. The wedding album is somewhere.

 
We have survived owner building a home , living in a caravan (x 3), renovations and running our own business and working together for 19 years.We also suffered the loss of our daughter born still.

The strength to stay together in the face of these trials has truly been a gift from God; our faith has held us up tremendously.I give thanks to God.

There are no secrets I can share, no recipes for love , no magic formula for why our relationship has out lasted many others. I don’t think my hubby and I are any better at this spouse/husband/wife gig than others around us.

I can't begin to know or understand what other peoples reasons were, but I’ve no doubt they were good enough reasons. Sometimes there isn't even 'reason' enough. Not for a minute do I consider or judge couples that divorce; that didn’t try hard enough to make it work, or love each other enough, or any other 'enoughs'.

For many people divorce is not the first line of defense. It can happen sometimes when one person is least expecting it. I know that even when a marriage is suffering or plain bad , deciding to end it is painful.

Love is an act of the will, and can be expressed in various degrees. It isn't always truly, madly deeply.
I hope that we have a respite from the struggles and can pause a moment , to just reflect and recognize all that we do have and enjoy it simply for what it is, without thinking about what it is not.

I feel blessed to have found someone I can live with in relative happiness and who can say the same about me or perhaps we just put up with each other faults & all.

Really I wonder if we’ve just been lucky... meeting as we did on a blind date via the radio (pre internet).

I shouldn’t ever take for granted what I have and to always put an effort into showing my long suffering dear husband that I appreciate him. Like many others I can be difficult to live with sometimes...

9125 days

219,000 hours

hundreds of second chances !

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Wordless Wednesday ~ Something Blue

The beauty of the day wasn’t measured by the layers on the cake or the fabric of her dress, but by the way he looked at her when she walked down the aisle.

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Thankful for laughter, love and life.

I am thankful for my twin sons' laughter…they remind me how simple happiness can be, even when bad things happen. 

I am so thankful Joel's accident wasn't worse , teeth can be fixed for the most part. I am letting go of my misery.

I’m thankful for having met such a sweet guy on a blind date 23yrs ago [Oct 15th] and we started our relationship a month later on 15th November . Here we are today, it fills my heart with thanks.

I am thankful for my amazing twin boys…miracles conceived by IVF ; transfered as day 5 Hatched blastocysts (if you know what that means) on 14th November 2005  ... here is what I wrote on a forum back then

I now have 2 hatched blastocysts on board - no frozen embryos though - this one is going to work so won't need any !

I have 2 weeks to my beta though - or maybe I will POAS* if I feel the time is right....

No wonder they teach me patience every day !  ... I waited 14yrs to get pregnant with them.


*Pee on a stick :) and I did early 23rd November !

 

What are you thankful for ?

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Thankful for Unicorns, that moment and secret ink !

The other day while camping at Quagi Beach

a father of triplets, mentioned about venomous snakes and why his 5 yr olds wore gumboots !

Then we saw

I'd really wish they were left behind instead of Unicorns !

I am thankful  we only met this unknown 'reptile' as we were leaving the campground . The 'close up' photo was most definitely taken from the safety of the vehicle (4WD) by DH - I did get 'out' for this second one {well it was first photo - way away on far side of the car}

I am thankful that moment ~ when you stroll into the ablution block and think - 'Gee this looks a bit different to before ' {everything was reversed about}, then you spot the urinal - and you dash out quickly before being sprung seen ~ yeah THAT moment !

Credit

I am thankful for the wonderful spectacular extraordinary Telstra Bigpond lady {Of course they exist - just rarely witnessed like Unicorns } who sorted my Internet credit {mobile broadband wifi } woes and now I have 10G to use again ...

It should be enough to get me home and then some. I'd be lost without it and my URL friends. ( Google maps has been very handy actually)

I am sure, I am, my husband is thankful for Daisy's challenge - so far 4/8 but 10/10 for exhaustion effort enjoyment - it is really making us thankful for enticing me to bed earlier and away from my computer our relationship.

 

what are you thankful for ?

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10 ways to add spice to your relationship

10 ways to add spice (sans hot chilli ) to your relationship

1. Start with the little things: a goodbye ~ have  a great day hug and a kiss ! and / or welcome home one !
2. Hand picked flower or small choc on their pillow (or whatever ticks their boxes !)
3. Slip a small card or a note or print a funny / cheeky joke to leave in their lunchbox (if you make it) or sneak something into the car...or under the windscreen wipers or tied to antenna...be creative or a random text message if they don't do home made lunches.
4. Leave a small treat/gift in their lunchbox or a homemade voucher for something - back massage , promise to wash the car together, neck rub...(or #2 whatever ticks their boxes !)
5. Set aside time for each other, every day, even 5 -10  mins 'face time'
6. Check out free at home or  $30 date night activities (even stay at home ones can be fun) - schedule them regularly so you both know (ok not so you dread it like the dentist) - plan for a babysitter every so often. (hundreds of ideas here that will get you on the naughty list)
7. Be alert to each other's moods and feelings ...make a conscious effort to honour and comfort them when they are experiencing tough days or times. (Even if it kills you to be extra sweet !)
8. Switch off i things and technology & TV one night a week for an early night or #5 & #6 ! *
9. Ask and remember the bigger things:  their hopes, their dreams, their goals - (write them down) - and support endeavours to change habits or make lifestyle changes (lose weight, stop smoking).
10. Keep your relationship hawt, young and fresh by doing things differently and surprising them when they least expect it. At least once a week !!!

Ps * If all else fails hide the remote !

It takes a little hard work sometimes, but you know ... I wouldn't have it any other way.

'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.' Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

IBOT with Jess

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Power of your love

Just a quick one tonight , we sang this song at our local church this morning.

We have missed a few weeks due to being away, illness and farm visits.

I ♥the Power of your love



A powerful song of faith for me. It moves me to tears often.
Actually the artist/musician/pastor who wrote this song 'married'  my husband and I. The female artist singing sang at our wedding in a humble warehouse...many 21.5yrs moons ago. I must dig out our video.


We attend a different church than the one in the video now but it still holds a place in our hearts.

Unrelated perhaps to Christian faith but totally to the power of love we saw the movie RED DOG tonight, a 'tale' of love and faithfulness, and grief and more grief. It was funny and I highly recommend it to everyone.
It confirms our decision that Red kelpies or a cross will the next family dogs we own.
I have a very cute story about when we gave teen a new puppy for Christmas when he was three... later ...
Linking in with Thea's Sunday session.

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Grateful for Weddings , RAKs & Babies

A Wedding  ~  it reminds me of how grateful I am for my husband of 21 yrs. We were married in a warehouse with a Christian ceremony, the building stands but it is no longer a church - just a warehouse. 

 

Image via flickr

I don't remember our exact vows though I trust we mostly hold true to them and cherish them highly. Our future was before us (like William & Kate's today) a blank slate, waiting to be filled with shared dreams and adventures.A future that was filled with all the hope and promise two young twenty-somethings with the world at their feet could ever imagine...

Incredibly two weeks ago we saw G, a Pastor at the time, who 'talked' us through our wedding vows. G was at DH's niece's enagagement party. Plus our lovely photographer, V who is now his bride. 

(Though this Pastor wasn't the Pastor to sign our official marriage certificate...and a year had me all worried we weren't married - he was stirring us up at our friend's wedding)

 

Every day , I am thankful for my husband's strength and tenacity.  I am grateful today I can pause for a moment to just reflect and recognize all that we do have and enjoy it simply for what it is, without thinking about what it is not.

"What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility." - George Levinger

We've been apart the last 3 days and I've missed him terribly ...and his cups of tea :).

Steve -  a 'VIP' truck driver & random stranger ~ who helped back up the car & caravan today after I found myself down a narrow, bendy street blocked by construction ...DEAD END -  Steve's RAK {random acts of kindness} rescued me.

It wasn't supposed to be a one way street , with cars parked either side . I'd still be there otherwise waiting for hubby to come rescue me after he got home from Dubbo 6hrs later.

Babies ~ the International acclaimed movie preview screening of BABIES is on Sunday May 1, 1pm at Event Cinemas Macquarie see this post. If you are in Sydney Sunday and would like to attend I have 5 free family tickets , you can meet me there.

Today is the last day to enter the Lego City SPACE comp - click the Lego Logo 'brick' on the right.

 

 So, what's making you smile today?
... Please add a link back to Maxibella in your post. Blog hop to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine.  

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21 years ... Good, bad and beautiful

21 years ago today I walked down the aisle and promised to love honor and cherish my best friend.It is a decision I have never regretted (well 99% of time ) !! I love him beyond measure and I am so proud to be his wife.

I don't want to give any illusion that we have a perfect marriage ...some days far from it. We have had struggles & strife in our relationship.

Still , I'm grateful in a way words cannot define that my husband has stood by with me through good, bad and beautiful , in sunshine and in rain and through all mannner of storms.

I often think of all we have been through together, the brilliant and not so. Life having thrown us what we least expected but we survived by the grace of God. The last year especially.

There is so much assvice on the dress, the flowers, the ceremony, the pictures, the cake and chosing a honeymoon destination . There's not to so much on how to get back on your feet when the metephorical rug has been pulled from underneath you.

Or how your marriage can struggle to survive infertility, stillbirth , unwanted advice from 'outsiders', parenting teenagers and serious illness ... cancer for example. Sometimes you walk through blindly and hope none of the hurdles trip and overwhelm you completely .When paddling up $#!+ creek you just pray you don't fall in and/or drown ...it's hard to keep breathing sometimes too.


I still don't have the answers.


This gem was found at the bottom of the a page under a 'recipe'. I think it is worth sharing! Enjoy









...but he is very fond of Chocolate .
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How to preserve a husband ...

As I sit stand at the brink of our 20th Wedding Anniversary I can't believe we made it.

Tomorrow at 10.30 we will cross that 'threshold' metaphorically. I am still dizzy at the thought. I am grateful in a way words cannot define that my husband has stood by with me. I love him beyond measure.

The years fly.I can barely remember this time 20 yrs ago.

When I think of all we have been through together, the brilliant and not so. Life has sometimes thrown us what we least expected but we survived by the grace of God.

I am not sure it has been all I dreamed it would be , all those years ago, but honestly it's been amazing ... one long rollercoaster ride and he still leaves me breathless.

This gem was found at the bottom of the a page under a 'recipe'. I think it is worth sharing! Enjoy

I ♥ Post it Tuesday's

Anniversary Tickers


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