Tada!

What am I the most proud of in my life? I'm not sure, but I adore my husband and what a great man he is. I remember considering marrying him and wondering what kind of person he would really be. What choices would he make? Could I even cook food he'd enjoy? It's not like you can just click forward, watch a few days of life with him as a dad, as a husband, see his future job and then say, "I'll take it." That's the beauty of life and the faith of marriage. I still believe marriage is what you make of it.

John graduated with both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in April, we relocated to Texas for John's first full-time job a couple days later, not to mention we are expecting another boy, and then drum-roll . . . the week after we moved we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. I can't help feeling like this is a five-year summation, a this-is-it, this is the completion of your five-year plan. This is our marriage. This is what we have made. Tada!

I didn't realize how relieved I would feel after John's graduation. After the ceremony I stood on the lawn with John. It was a lovely day, family surrounded us. Everything felt so much more decided, final, concrete then my own graduation. I felt like I had finally graduated myself. (I'm a born-again graduate!) What has transpired these past four years to change everything? Or anything? Most obvious is that almost three children later we have a mini-van.

I might have shed a tear . . .

I think I'm finally starting to feel like a grown-up. I've discovered so many dimensions of myself, how I like to cook, what is worth cleaning in life, who I am as a mother, what my hobbies are. Sure, I'm proud of how long I made it before becoming an adult, but now that I'm here I love myself. I have true friends. I'm proud of this guy:

Can you just see the joy?

I love the ways that John is still the same man I met eight years ago. It seems, somehow that he has become more dimensional. He has greater depth and intrigue to me as he has begun to develop new parts of his mind and deepen his character. He is an affectionate father who is a good example to his sons.



What my grandmother said years ago still stands, "He's one of those smart guys who understands computers but actually has a personality." He's a keeper. There is so much I could say about John, about Brigham Young University, the graduation ceremony, the people, the successes, that one speech I liked, the family that came hundreds of miles to surprise! him . . . the food, how I forgot the kid's shoes when we left the house that morning . . .

Bare feet are easily cropped

I know this was just the first five years and I'm not sure what lawn I'll be standing on in another five but so far so good. Hat's off to you John!