Our Anniversary Gift

Our anniversary was almost 5 months ago, but I had just not had the opportunity to use this awesome gift.  No, it wasn't anything fancy, but I would agree that it meant a lot to another woman.

We  celebrated our 5th anniversary on New Year's Eve and decided instead of buying each other gifts, we would go shopping together for blessings bags.    (Julie over at Joy's Hope posted about these a while ago.)

For us, our anniversary is almost an afterthought at times.  It is exactly one week after Christmas and exactly one week before my husbands birthday.  Between family festivities, cleaning up the Christmas decor and eating all that Christmas candy indulging in the season, we usually don't go all out for our anniversary anyway, but we will get each other something and usually go out to eat.  This year, we stayed in our own town and ate dinner together and made our shopping list...

I will be the first to admit that these seemed great in theory to me, but I was a little intimidated by the actual application.  Some one please tell me I am not the only momma that may reach for the auto lock if a stranger approaches our vehicle and the kiddo is with me.  

With my husband being in law enforcement and my background in social work, we do often see the worst of people and are protective, but I really don't want to withhold good from some one who needs it just because I am tainted.

So these blessings bags were going to stretch myself and hopefully bless some one who needs it at the same time.  

Let's flashback to just before Christmas.  Ethan and I were headed to the local superstore to get some groceries.  It was frigid out.  There was a man with a long beard sitting on the curb with a cardboard sign.  Ethan asked what he was doing.  I tried to explain  the man had no home, no place to sleep.  "We should do something."  He said.  We did our shopping and I had full intentions of purchasing the man a giftcard to the restaurant next door, but as things often go, I forgot by the time I checked out.  I felt my stomach knot up as we were driving away and I saw the man still sitting there.  Ethan saw him too.  He said again, "We should DO something!"  I did a u-turn and headed to the restaurant.  I thought I could at least get the man a hot cup of coffee.  As we arrived to the parking lot, another man got out of a little car with a bag of groceries and a hot cup of coffee.  He leaned down and handed it to the man and talked with him.  Ethan saw this too.  He said, "OK mom, that nice man brought him something.  We can go home.  But we need to pray for him.  How about this, I pray for all the sick people and you pray for all the lonely people."  Tears. OK, kiddo.  So we prayed.

I didn't want to miss this opportunity to show my child God's love.  Well, now that I think about it, God used my child to show me His love.  

I just gave one of these out and I can't tell you what a blessing it was...for me.

The Vows

5 years ago tonight, this great guy I now call my hubby and I were preparing for our wedding vows.  We had such a fun rehearsal.  Our silly groomsmen found the closet full of costumes for church plays and sported all kinds of wigs....even a blue one!  We made had home made soups for dinner in the foyer of the church and played games while we waited on everyone to get there who had to travel. 

Then, 5 years ago tomorrow, we made our vows.  The mood was just as joyful then.  We laughed at my hubby when about 2 hours before the wedding realized he didn't bring his shoes and had to run to the store and buy some.  We giggled as we talked on our cell phones in the church making sure we wouldn't dodge around a corner and (gasp!) see each other!  I mean, who wouldn't be excited?  We were about to get married!  But, even while we felt the joy and excitement of this time, we also knew the seriousness of the vows were preparing to make.  We studied them together and did our pre-marital counseling lessons.  But.  There is no way we could really imagine what our marriage would withstand in just the first five years.

How could we know the depth of the vows ..."in sickness and in health....in good times and in bad....in joy as well as sorrow...until death does us part?"

The deaths we have experienced have not been our own, but the deaths of two of our children.  If any pain can separate a couple, it could be this.  Men and women grieve so differently.  We have had to guard our marriage, protect it as something precious.  Because that is what it is.  Precious.  While we grieve differently (which is very, very hard at times...I'm not going to lie) we both know we love each other and we love our babies.  Period.  Bottom line. 

If I haven't said it before, (prepare to get mushy) I love him so much.  He is my rock.  The amazing things he does is a whole post in itself!  But for now, I will just say...

In

Sickness

Health

Good

Bad

Joy

Sorrow

Death.

I love this man.