Those are lyrics from a song that is from our wedding day. July 22nd was our 10th anniversary! 10 years! Gone in the blink of an eye and yet sometimes it feels longer. I think that's because when we finally came into each other's lives we felt like we had just always known each other. As if "we" had just always been. When I look back at photos and see the joy in our faces and the love in our eyes I remember the "firsts" and the sweetness of it all.
10 years and I am still in awe of the man God gave to me. Or perhaps I should say that I am in awe of how God answered my every hope and dream and yet even more abundantly. I was recently asked what makes our marriage so strong and I will admit that at first I had no idea what to say. What did come to mind though were two words. Grace and respect. I am thankful to say, and I pray it is always so, that our marriage has never really hit a rough patch. We have been through a lot in the 10 years but rather than our marriage taking a hit I think it has made it stronger. We have needed each other and supported each other through some emotionally and physically hard times and we are blessed to be a team. I think so much of that is because of the grace we extend each other and the respect we have for each other as partners and people. Neither one of us is perfect and we drive each other crazy at times. There are things we could each point out about the other person that we don't like or that irritates us or that we think needs to change but rather than dwelling on and harping on those things we have chosen to accept each other as we are, to extend grace rather than nitpick, to love rather than tear down. To recognize that neither one of us is perfect and that we both make mistakes. When we do make those mistakes they are talked about and discussed and we share our hearts but we don't dwell, we don't drag up past infractions. I respect my husband so much for the man of integrity that he is. I trust his judgment. I rely on his common sense and wisdom. I turn to him when I need council. He in turn does the same with me. We are best friends, a team. We most certainly don't have it all figured out and we never will but I so love the feeling of security that comes with knowing that we have each other's backs and that we won't uncover each other's faults or imperfections around others. That the relationship we have built means something and that we are faithful to each other.
I haven't loved every moment of the 10 years we have been married but I am thankful for each one. Thankful for the memories made and the lessons learned and the love shared and the strength we have been to each other. I am truly blessed to call Chad my husband, to be his wife. I will cherish the last 10 years and look forward to so very many more!
Adoption Update:
I don't have much of an update on the adoption front. Chad told me recently about a news story where adoption was being talked about and how adoption rates are down and the average wait is now 3 years. The director from our agency was actually interviewed and she said there has been a huge downturn in adoptions. The hope of course is that more birth moms are choosing to keep their baby but it also means that more lives are likely being terminated. The news of the downturn is reflected in our waiting as when I last checked in there really hadn't been movement on the waiting list and our spot hadn't changed at all and our profile hadn't been out since February. We are almost at our 3 year wait. Some days, the ones where Emma talks about "the baby" as if the baby is coming tomorrow, are tough. There is nothing we can do though except to keep waiting. I will be checking in with the agency this coming week for another update as I do the first week of every month. I will post again once I heard from them.
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