Anniversary

Yes, I know... it has been several days since a post. The week leading up to Halloween is just as crazy as the week before Christmas at our house... so many things to do to prepare for our favorite candy holiday.

Anyway, Tuesday, October 28th, Rick and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We have been unseperable for 15 years actually, but married for 13. We arranged for a sitter for the kids for just two hours; we slipped out of the house practically unnoticed and drove a short 20 minutes away from town to dine at a new restaurant and share some much sacred adult conversation.

Over dinner we found ourselves talking about... you guessed it... the kids! Of course! Work, kids, and our ever favorite topic of discussion... planning the next family vacation! Our food was not "over the top" but the company was much treasured and made up for any short comings on the plate in front of us. We each enjoyed a glass of wine or two and then commented that we might as well go straight home because the night was full of household chores that the "fairy godmother" did not get done during the day! :-)

Our children were delighted to see our faces when we arrived back home from dinner and Taryn was very well behaved with her babysitter for the first time. Gee, it went so well, we may have to do this again, I'm thinking to myself!

That night, as I lay in bed, the house quiet and dark, I tried to think of all the things Rick and I have been through during the past 15 years: somewhat amazed at the length of the list and yet dreaming of what else we will accomplish during our life together in the future. We met each other the summer we turned 21; 1992. We dated, married and built our first house together in 1995, started working together in the family business in 1997; lost Rick's mom to cancer in 1998, had our first child in 1998; built another new house in 2000; had another child in 2001; built another new house in 2002; lost Rick's father also in 2002; had another child in 2005; and adopted a fourth child in 2008. Amongst those dates are so many good happy times, way to many to scrapbook, to post online, or even to get in photo albums.

It was funny, though, to think about technology when I went to watch our wedding videos the other day... our videos are on VHS tape and we no longer have a VHS player in our house! LOL! For real! Only DVD players, TIVO, ipods, computers, flat screen tvs, etc... So, hopefully before our 20th anniversary, I will be able to get those wedding VHS videos converted to DVD or Blue Ray, or whatever the new wave of technology will be.

The trip to Russia for 6 days to pick up Taryn was the longest I have ever been away from Rick. It was an exciting time and yet I missed him so terribly much. During a typical day, we talk on the phone several times; even if it is just one of the kids calling "DADA" on the phone to say HI and interrupting him from a meeting. He is my very best friend and even though it is cliche to say > the most wonderful husband I could ever imagine<.

Ah, yes. The comfort of routine. The smell of my best friend, the gentle kiss as we rush about our busy days... that's what 15 years of being with the most wonderful man is to me. Here's me trying not to take a single day for granted and appreciating each day... as trivial as they may be sometimes.