To my husband, on our Tenth Anniversary

Dear Eric,

Today we have been married for ten years.  A decade!  That's big stuff.  I know we can't take the time right now for a big, fancy, proper celebration. But I do want to tell you (and everyone else who is reading this) some of the many things I love about you. You deserve someone bragging about you a little.

When we were married ten years ago, we were only twenty one.  Twenty one?! Would we let our girls get hitched that young? (No, the answer is definitely no). We were kids, truly.  Yet there we were, standing in front of our friends and family, promising to love and cherish each other for the rest of our lives.  Honestly, I'm not sure I knew what a huge commitment we were making. Heck, I have a feeling I still don't truly grasp how big it is. Maybe when we hit our 50^th anniversary I'll finally get it, I don't know.

What I do know is that each and every day we make that same choice again; we choose each other. We try and put each other first. To love selflessly, and put each other's needs above our own. Or at the very least on an even level with our own desires. And you do this for me. I see you doing this for me, even if I don't tell you. You selflessly love me in a million different ways.

And I love you too.

I love that you make me laugh (even when I'm mad. No, especially when I'm mad).

I love that you take care of me.

I love that you know how I'm feeling just by looking at me.

I love that you add spice to life, never wanting things to get boring.

I love how possessive you are about your nail clippers.

I love that you always sneeze in multiples.

I love that when we see people DOING THIS, we both understand they are yelling.

I love that you can't stay mad at me.

I love what a wonderful, caring, doting father you are to our girls, even in this busy season.

I love that you think dessert without chocolate is not truly dessert at all.

I love that you try to keep up with my ever changing favorite yogurt flavors (peach is back at the top, by the way).

I love that making you cookies (or heck, even a sandwich) is all it takes to get back in your good graces.

I love that you are a man who knows how to say “I'm sorry” and isn't afraid to do so.

I love that you always have a bit of a sparkle in your eye when you get excited.

I love the way you talk about the adventures we'll have when we're sixty.

I love the way you root for the Steelers!

I love the way you can (and do!) find an analogy for anything.

I love that you tell me I'm beautiful, smart, and caring (but you don't need to be so surprised when you remark that I'm funny).

I love how patient you are, and how utterly unflappable you are, even in a crises.

I love that you continue to be baffled why more companies don't make a size 12.5 shoe.

I love that you try to love me as Christ loves the church; unconditionally.

We've had challenges over the past ten years for sure, and I don't doubt we'll have more. But I wake up every morning so very thankful that God brought us together. I see the wonderful ways that you support me, ways that you're there for me, ways that you make me better. I will always choose you, choose us. I'll always be proud to be your wife.

Love,

Sarah

1/10/13

After enjoying a few unseasonably warm and sunny days, today was cold and dreary.  Perfect for snuggling on the couch and watching the Berenstein Bears DVD that the girls got for Christmas.

1/9/13

Today Sophie wanted to pick out her own attire, and might I say, she did pretty fabulously.  Here she is doing her impression of a toddler model.

1/8/13

I'm not sure there is a more girly girl picture in existance.  My daughter (the elder one) added a few stickers to this dazzling unicorn picture.  Then she asked me to help her color it in an effort to procrastinate having rest time today.

1/7/13

Exactly one week ago, our girls became cousins for the first time.  They now love saying hi to her on faceTime any chance they get.  Tonight Sophie hugged the iPad as she said "hi baby juwia" (or baby Jesus, but I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt this time). 

1/6/13

I have been completely captivated by this book today.  It's over 400 pages, I started it yesterday, and I'll finish before I go to bed tonight.  I absolutely love the "can't put it down" novel, and this definitely qualifies!

1/5/13

This morning the girls and I got up and readied ourselves for swimming lessons at the YMCA.  But when we got there, they told us that lessons don't start until the following week, and we couldn't even use the pool.  As Emily repeatedly said, "what a bummer"!  So instead, Eric took the girls to the mall to play for a bit, where they met new friends, including "baby Jesus" (which is what Sophie has taken to calling every new baby she meets, including her new cousin), and snapped this picture.