Brian and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss at the end of July. Everything about that statement is true except for the "bliss" part. 

There is nothing blissful about marriage. Marriage is work. It's good and honorable and wonderful work, but it's work. 

In ten years, we have had our share of highs and lows. I don't think any strong marriage can claim that it hasn't had highs and lows. 

Tonight after a full day of family and fun, I sent Brian a text from across the house asking if he wanted to escape for a walk. Both of our moms are here (which we love) and Brian's baby brother (Brad), and we had a dining room full of men drafting their perfect fantasy football leagues for most of the afternoon. My introvert self needed a little escape from the crazy. 

So we set out. To do nothing but walk. Quality time and conversation are what I need for our relationship to feel healthy. Respect and physical touch are what he needs for our relationship to feel healthy. And that is true for most couples, but those are the easiest things to let go of when life gets busy. 

Brian and I recently each read a book called For Women Only and For Men Only. Not only did it completely change our relationship, but it opened each of our eyes to the way the other sex thinks and functions. 

I just thought you might like to know. I believe that every person should read these books....married or not. It is enlightening to understand how a man thinks and how incredibly different it is from the way that a woman thinks. 

Our relationship is not perfect. Perfect relationships don't exist because perfect people don't exist, but I really believe these books can help your relationships with the opposite sex be much healthier and fulfilling. 

Happy reading! 

A Book Deal?! Are you kidding me?!

I'll be short and sweet tonight...since it is our anniversary....even though we do still have a baby awake....he's all messed up after our vacation. Anyways.....
Well my husband is officially unbelievable......in the best kind of way. 
So it's our 9 year anniversary, and as a gift, he got my year of writing published. 

Seriously. 
So it's sort of a long story and I'm still a little in shock, but it's so exciting! 
He started calling publishers at the beginning of the year to see if he could find someone who would be willing to publish it just as a gift. He talked to a lot of companies who just weren't interested. 
But then he talked to a company out of Dallas that was willing to do it. Brian made it clear that he wasn't looking for a book deal, he just wanted my year of writing published as a keepsake for us and our family and friends. 
They agreed on a price, and the process was started. 
Not too long after the original agreement had been made, the guy working on our project called Brian and asked if he thought I would be willing to do a book deal. He had been reading through my blog and formatting it into a manuscript, and told Brian that there was a big market for my writing style. 
But a book deal would mean giving up the rights to my content and a lot of other things, and Brian wasn't prepared to make that decision without my involvement. He figured if the guy was interested then, he would be interested later. 
So they continued on the process to formatting all 365 days into a manuscript. My mother-in-law edited every single day of writing (thank you Kay!), and Brian and the guy at the publishing company discussed everything from pictures, to paper quality, to the book cover. 
How cool is that? 
It's not done yet. Turns out 365 days of writing was a lot of content to format. The 1st copy will be done in mid to late August. From there, I'll be able to make any final edits or changes, and then it will go to print. We're only printing copies for our friends and family at this point, but who knows? Maybe one day I'll take that guy up on the book deal.  
I'm so excited, shocked, thrilled, in awe and thinking pretty highly of my hubby right about now. 
Anyways, we can chat more about it later, but I just had to share my exciting news! I can't wait for you to see it! 

9 years ago tonight

I don't remember what I was thinking about. Maybe I have a few thoughts scribbled in a journal somewhere. I'm sure I was nervous and excited. 

I'm pretty sure that I wasn't thinking about what I would be doing tonight. Nine years ago tonight was the eve of my wedding day. 

I was only 20 years old. I'm sure there were many people who said I was too young. That we were too young. And that we were both too stubborn for it ever to work out. And I say, thank God we're both so headstrong and stubborn. It has shaped us and everything we stand for. 

But I was sure. I had no doubts. No questions. No anxieties about marrying this man. 

Tonight, that man is driving our now family of 5 from Colorado to Oklahoma all night long so everyone can sleep. 

We just spent a week in the mountains slowing down and enjoying our babies. 

Before you get married, you dream of the family you'll create and all the adventures you'll have together with this man of your dreams. 

I was no different. 

But I never could have written the screenplay for what the past 9 years have looked like for us. 

There have been highs and lows and everything in between. There was even a time that I would say I wasn't happy and neither was he but it was a short lived time in our marriage. 

We have been through so much together. From debt to the blessing of babies in our home, we have experienced it all. 

But I couldn't even have imagined that it would be this good, this fulfilling, this challenging, and this beautiful. 

As I turn to check on my sleeping babies behind us in this cram packed expedition, I can't help but be so grateful to the man I married 9 years ago for everything he has given to and for our family. 

He has given his time freely. He has given his resources without thinking twice. He has given us his whole heart. And as cliche as it sounds, I am more in love with him now than I was 9 years ago on the night before we said I do. 

I don't know a better man. He is strong and faith filled. Plus he's mega sexy and can cook better than any woman I know. And he believes in me and stands behind me and challenges me, and he has made be a better person. 

So I don't know what I was thinking about 9 years ago tonight, but I bet I never imagined that this is how I would feel about him all these years later. 

So babe, I know you got me some amazing anniversary gift, and so far, I still have nothing, because how do you say thank you for the past 9 years? How do I show you how grateful I am for you with a gift? I know you need some new boots, and since the nine year gift is leather, I'm seriously considering it, but leather boots will never be able to express to you how crazy I am about you still. 

Still crazy about you. 

Still madly in love. 

Still loving you to the beach and back every single day. 

On the eve of our anniversary, I still love you, more now than I ever did. 

Today I'm as Happy as a Bird with a French Fry

I had to leave my babies today. 

And that is hard. It's always hard. 

But today I am happier than a bird with a french fry. I mean really, it doesn't get better than this. 

Brian and I drove in the car for 12 hours today. And I have to say that I am one blessed woman. After 11 years of knowing and loving this man, I love him more now than I ever have. I consider it a huge blessing. 

We spent the entire day in the car (granted, I spent a good 4 hours sleeping with my mouth wide open, because that's how I sleep), but we spent the day in the car, and I enjoyed it. 

When we arrived in Indy, we checked into our penthouse suite at the Embassy Suites (it's a penthouse only because we are hosting our team here tomorrow). But somewhere in the past 5 years of our Scentsy experience, we have definitely become travel snobs. I don't know how it happened. I seriously think that Scentsy has spoiled us with so many free and luxurious trips, that we have somehow turned into travel snobs.....I'll tell you that story later. 

But today I am so grateful for a man who I love and love spending time with even after all these years. We are together at a Family Reunion of a company that has changed our lives. 

In all honesty, it's a company that has brought us joy, pain, fear, and peace. We have been brought to our knees and have found our marriage struggling and later thriving because of our involvement with a successful company that we now see as a family. 

This week we celebrate all of that. Who we were; who we are now; and who we will become as the Lord continues to mold and change us. 

So today, I am happier than a bird with a french fry, for many, many reasons, but mostly because of the man who stands by my side through all of it. 

Scentsy Family Reunion.....here we come! 

If you want all the details and pictures, make sure you follow us on our journey this week. 

Writing again. Every single day

So I don't know if you noticed or not, but I've decided to write everyday for a year again. Because I'm crazy, and because I feel like it's something I'm called to do.

I don't claim to be an incredible writer or anything of the sort, but I do believe that I have a way of being brutally honest that somehow connects with people from time to time. For some reason you want to know about how hard it is to work from home, or how challenging it is to be a foster parent.

Or you just like to know for certain that I'm nuts, and if I can run a successful business than anyone can (that's probably mostly it.)

When I tried to write "whenever I got around to it" it rarely happened, and as I looked back over the 365 days I wrote last year, I realized that the times when I thought I had nothing to say were the times when the Lord really used my words to reach other people.

So for lack of a better explanation, I'm writing everyday for a year again because I don't do things half way. It's all or nothing with me. So here's the all of it.

This is something I've been thinking about for a while now, and when I asked Brian what he thought about me writing everyday again he said something to the effect of, "sure, do it if you want to."

Brian and I have a very unique relationship. We "work" together from home every single day. And there are days that I think we both need our space. And there are definitely days that we don't communicate well if at all. And there are even days when we don't like each other all that much.

But my husband is an incredible man of God who has sacrificed so much for our family. Because he is here, I am able to lead well. I have the ability to have more relationships and serve more people than I could if he weren't here.

Because he is here, everyone gets where they need to be when they need to be there, and we are all very well fed. He is our resident chef, and an amazing chef he is. We eat fewer chicken nuggets and more shrimp because he's here. Praise the Lord!

And because he's here, we have to work harder on our marriage than we ever have. And I think we've done really, really well this time.

Because he is here with us, he has sacrificed so much. I believe that the Lord is using this time to prepare him to do something great. I consider what he does now to be amazing. A selfless sacrifice to make sure everyone else has what they need, but I know that there is even more that the Lord has in store for him.

So when he gave his nod of approval for me to write every single day, he was sacrificing even a little bit more. Because when I write, it's usually at the end of the day when everyone is finally in bed. When I'm not writing, that's our time together.

But I see how proud of me he is. He makes it clear that he thinks I'm wonderful in every way, and he believes that this whole writing thing is more than just a blog. For the record: I really don't know how to "blog." I only know how to throw up on a screen, and that's usually what happens.

I just wanted you to know how great my husband is. I want to acknowledge how much he gives up to allow me to put words on this page everyday, and how much he sacrifices to be the greatest dad I know.

So thank you all for loving my family. And babe, thank you for being the incredible man you are. I love you to the beach and back.