just us... still

I wore these then...

and couldn't help but recall the moments as I spritzed lily of the valley and fastened the tiny gold clasp last night. The dress was black instead of white... because black is slimming. But beyond the need for slimming, there is so much more to me now than there was then, and the layers, while tattered and scuffed and mended, are beautiful... motherhood, bravery, faith, knowledge and capability. I have grown in a thousand ways... stepping forward, seeking love and life, and finding it in his eyes. Always.

I could never have imagined this journey... and in that, I offer thanks. If I had even a small inkling, I might not have felt I was enough to travel it, might not have believed our relationship could stretch to fit all of the joy and the sorrow... and the dreams, broken and new. But never have I doubted the road... the faith that God made us to share it together has brought us through it all. Sweet babies and sleepless nights, scary diagnosis and surgeries, laughter and tears, swing-sets and graduations, Africa and home.

Today begins a new year of the life we love and share... one where I have been married to him longer than I haven't been...