A love letter

To the love of my life, my other half, my match made in heaven, my best friend, my earthly rock, my tall shoulder, my lover, my gift, my husband ...

I love you.

It is that simple. Three words. I. Love. You.
With all of my heart, all of my being, I love you.
With every single truth I spoke seven years ago in front of our family and friends, and most importantly in front of God, I love you.

To have and to hold from that day forward
For better for worse
For richer for poorer
In sickness & in health
to love and to cherish
till death do us part

And God knows marriage is not about the fairy tale ending, but the story, the fairy tale we create, or rather the one He is taking us on. I look our children and think about how innocent they are to the world, its challenges, its realities & how amazing it is that God has entrusted us to be their parents; to teach them, care for them, lead them and then one day, let them go. Right now the fairy tales are simply a beginning middle and end and I wonder how will we teach them to keep their dreams, their hopes & yet still, their footing.

And then I am reminded. A marriage takes three : me. you. God.  He is the center of our marriage. He is the one that brought our hearts together, entwind us in each other's soul and now takes us down this complicated path of parenthood. Here we are today. Husband and Wife. Mom & Dad.  Its hard to remain focused when our lives are non-stop shifts of one thing or the next. It is hard to remain giddy and flirtatious when their are screaming children and dirty diapers. And it is even harder to make time for us. For each other when the world & our family require so much of our time and energy.

Yet God gave me you {just like the song, I know} but it's true. He gave me you. And I am grateful & blessed.

With you I find the laughter in life. With you I find my peace in the chaos. With you I find my calm and focus. With you I am strong and steady, capable and willing. With you I am more. More than just me.  And I know 'just me' is perfectly wonderful in God's eyes, but God knows that with you, we can be great. We can take on the world, the adventure He is laying before you. God knows that with you is where I am supposed to be.

For 12 years we have been 'David & Christine', for 7 years we have been 'Mr. & Mrs.' I meant every word I vowed to you then, now and always.

Happy Anniversary David.