What?!
I feel old.
Not that that is bad, but, really, 15 years! Wow! So many marriages don't even make it past 10 now-a-days. Sad, isn't it?
Marriage is hard, but is one of those hard things that are so worth it at the end of the day.
You have to work at it. It doesn't just come easy. In fact, it is never "easy." But isn't anything that you've worked hard on mean the most to you?
Between the hard times there is laughter, miracles, inspiration, growth, love, compassion, dedication, and trust.
On our 12 year anniversary I blogged major happenings for each year. I thought since many of you are new to my blog I would repost it (while fixing all the typos) and then add on the last 3 years. So if you already read the first 12 years you can skip down to 13 - 15... Although it is kind of fun to get a refresher.
A lot happens in 15 years:
and these are just the highlights and lowlights...
Year 2- Still in same place. Hiking on the mountain behind our home. Snowshoeing and camping in the nearby canyons. Yellowstone trips. Family Reunion in Oregon. CA 3 times. Wanting a baby but no luck. Young Men and Young Women's counselors and advisors. Love our ward, making lots of friends. Our landlords are wonderful-we become like part of their extended family.
Year 3- Go snow-shoeing, hiking, camping, Glacier National Park for a week. Get pregnant. Buy a house in another town for $98,900. Get a dog. Enjoy callings in Primary. Make friends. Landscape Yard. Camping, exploring, fixing up our 1938, 12oo square foot home. Buy a truck.
Year 4- I go to Young Women's camp in Koholowo when I am 5 months pregnant. We have a baby boy 4 weeks early and still 6 pounds 14 ounces! Bless our baby. Go to California the first time with our new little one--interesting trip, but he was good. It is the first time for Marc's family to lay eyes on our new little one.
Year 5- Y2K scare! Anyone remember that? Start working as graphic designer from home full time. Brother gets RSV at first of year and is in hospital for 5 nights. Brother has his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. We find out he is delayed and he starts early intervention (Kids Who Count) at 13 months.
Year 6- This year is a blur of Brother's Doctor Visits, hospital research, ER visits, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Play group, and teaching Brother how to walk, talk, sit up, play, respond, roll over, make eye contact. Oh, and by this time Brother has had his 2nd set of tubes in his ears. With money I got from a big design job I buy a Palamino Quarter horse for Marc as a surprise for Christmas--he was VERY surprised.
Year 7- We go horse riding, Marc more often than I, but we went a lot. Graphic Design at home is going very well. I end up getting design jobs for a local LDS movie filmmaker. I designed a book cover and movie poster that year (this started a long relationship with movies in this area). Our Tercel was too small and only a 2-door, so we sell our truck and get a Honda CRV. So nice to have 4 doors! Thank goodness we got a bigger car because our nephew, Bryan, came to live with us in middle of summer, then his sister, Kelsey, came at the end of summer. We all go to Oregon in our CRV for a family Reunion that Marc and I planned. Now I have one kid in Junior High and one kid in elementary school. Then Brother goes for his first time ever on a big, yellow school bus to his EI preschool at age 3!
Year 8- We give our dog away because he is just too big-sad day. 3 kids and 2 adults in a 1200 square foot home begins to get a little squishy, especially with the 2 older being 12 and 10 at the time. We decide to sell the house. It sells to someone in our neighborhood within 2 days before we even get the sign up. It sold for $107,000! (Those were the days, huh.) We lived with friends for 3 months while our new home was built (we can never thank you enough-'wink'). We have .5 acres and are able to have our horse there in a fenced corral in our back yard. Our house is 2500 square feet and we are spoiled--we bought it for $149,000! We are so excited because Brother is now talking. We love our neighbors and area church members--we want to be here forever. Brother breaks his shoulder when he falls off our horse, Golden. We buy another horse from a friend for $100. She was a 2-year old paint and she needed to be trained, we named her Puzzled Look, Puzzle for short. Marc trained her himself. He broke his hand when she kicked him. But, he still kept going and she is now the best behaved horse we own.
Year 9- We trade golden for her 2-year old foal Sparks-R-Flyin'. We call him Sparks. He was trained when we got him. J.R. comes to live with us in the fall after a stay for the summer. We go to Glacier National Park for a Reunion and for fun. We now have 4 kids.
Year 10- We finally get pregnant with our next child. Sister is born 5 weeks early and weighs 5 pounds 4 ounces. We now have 5 children. Her time to come home was delayed because of jaundice. She comes home on the billy lights for a week. Then she ends up in the hospital again for going blue in my arms. We are there for a week as we try to figure out what is wrong. She comes home on oxygen and a heart monitor for a couple of months. We find out Brother has ADHD. Marc's mom and dad move a block away from us.
Year 11- Brother and Sister are diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. Bryan leaves to go live with Marc's parents. We now have 4 children. We go to Sacramento for research to be done on me, my dad, Sister and Brother. We learn a lot and it is confirmed that I am the carrier and that my dad is also the carrier. Tough year but very informative. Marc and I go to St. Goerge for a work water conference. Marc's parents have the kids all this time.
Year 12- We buy a camp trailer. We go camping almost every weekend--or at least 2 times a month from April to October. We love it. Brother gets baptized--an amazingly spiritual experience for all who attended. I start working at Kids Who Count and became the Utah County Representative for the Fragile X Association of Utah. I go to Missouri for my first experience flying and attending the National Fragile X Conference. Kelsey turns 16 and starts getting ready to date! Aah! J.R. turns 12 and becomes a deacon and gets to pass the sacrament.
Year 13- I go on my second ever plane trip to Washington D.C. for Fragile X Advocacy day to lobby for FXS funds on Capitol Hill. Bryan graduates high school. J.R., Kelsey, Brother and I join a local singing and dancing group. Our horse Spark's dies of colic. We buy a new horse, Blue ID Baretender, we call her Blue. Our horse, Puzzle dies of colic. We go camping a lot in the summer. Bryan gets called on an LDS mission to Chile. Bryan leaves for 2 years on his mission.
Year 14- Kelsey makes the elite choir at school and gets to go on tour in California and Disneyland. We are surprised and find out we are pregnant with our 3rd child, Baby. Amy and Frank (Marc's sister) move to Utah. Baby is born 6 weeks early 5 lbs 7 oz., 19 inches long. She is in the NICU for a few days and I stay there with her. We get the test results back and learn that Baby also has Fragile X Syndrome. We now have 5 kids again. Kelsey turns 18! My brother and his wife move to Florida (the first of any of us to move out of state). Marc and I make the tough decision and decide to send Kelsey and J.R. to live with their birth parents. We now have 3 kids.
Year 15- We go on our first REAL vacation ever to visit my brother in Florida. It is the first time for all of our kids to fly and they did great. First time for Sister and Baby to see the ocean. First time for me and Marc to go snorkeling. Kelsey graduates high school. Camping. Brother is in fifth grade and Sister starts all day kindergarten! Baby turns one! The first time in 8 years to have spent a Christmas with only our biological children. Bryan returns from his mission having served a full 2 years. Marc goes to Washington D.C. with my dad for Fragile X Advocacy Day to lobby for funds on Capitol Hill.
Whoa! that was quite a bit of reading huh?
But, it was really fun for me to relive all the memories.
Even the hard ones.
Without the trials we wouldn't be the family we are today. Marc and I certainly wouldn't be the people we are today without each other. He completes me. (I know, isn't that some cheesy line from a movie or something?)
Check out the pictures along the side bar --------------------->
if you want to see how we have changed over the past years. Kinda fun.
3 remarks:
Jerry Mcguire (is the movie) while reading it, I kept thinking that was that long ago??? Time flies when you are having fun. I need to do that, maybe when I hit 15 years:) You have no longer been married more than twice as long as me. I am gaining on you!!
I remember you telling me that you were getting married and I about fell over. We were in the back of my house (I can't remember what for) and Marc came out. I eyed him suspiciously little did I know how much we would later come to completely adore him even to the point of naming one of my children with a C at the end of his name. I am sure it has been a wild ride for you two but you both are so stinking awesome! I hope it is another happy and fulfilling 15 years!
wow. 15 years is amazing.
way to go.
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