Guess who??!!

Who are these people with such ignorant, I mean happy faces? They look ready to take on the world, don't they! They are sitting at a table in a Jamaican resort, livin' it up! Little do they know what awaits them... They don't know how hard the road is... nor how thrilling the ride will be. At this point, they are living in a little apartment, enjoying get togethers w/friends, Don working as a pharmaceutical rep, and Anna as a teacher.

Above is the fairy tale, the "everything is going to be perfect" (at least from my perspective).
Below is the real, the "we have gone through some of life's trials, but we're still here, trucking along with God's help".
Interestingly, I wouldn't go back to the fairy tale now. I can't help but wonder if I will be typing the same thing about us in another ten years...
This is what we look like ten years after the above honeymoon pic (our ten year anniversary is on June the 10th): after three kids, three moves (including a total of six houses after we left our apartment...), and a major career change for Don. I have had moments of feeling like my faith is soaring to new heights, and moments of wondering if my faith would survive.
On a more brutal note, we have had moments of loving each other like we never thought we would, and moments of wondering who in the world we had married!!

We wanted to celebrate a little more dramatically than dinner and a movie, but with Caleb still nursing, and because of where we are financially, we decided to put such a celebration off until another year. Truthfully, being with Don by myself is a celebration in and of itself. I love it. He is my best friend. God gave me someone who challenges me to be better everyday, someone who leads our family spiritually--not just in cross country moves, but in keeping God the center of our household.

Don is leaving for his big trip to Israel in six days... I am sad and nervous about being away from him for so long... but I am thrilled that he is getting to do this, and can't wait to hear all about it when he returns. I am very thankful that the actual day of our anniversary is June 10th--three days before his departure. I think it would have been tough to be away from him on our actual anniversary date, this year especially.

I love you, Don! I can't wait to see what the next decade holds...