16 Years And Counting...

On Friday, we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary! We've had a pretty laid-back weekend, but it's been great. The boys went to Texarkana with my niece, so we had time to go on two dates in one weekend! WOW! I don't think that's happened since we've had children! :) But it has been very quiet & a little strange not having them around! I'm ready to see them tonight!

On Friday night, we went to Nacogdoches and enjoyed a meal at Clear Springs.



Then, on Saturday afternoon, we drove to Shreveport to meet our dear friends, Kim & Eric, who not only share our names but also our anniversary! We ate at the Boardwalk with them at Saltgrass Steakhouse! Yum!!! We had a wonderful time visiting with our friends, too!

Eric,

How time passes so quickly! I can’t believe it’s been 16 years ago today that we walked down the aisles of Rose Hill Baptist Church to get married!

What a wonderfully perfect day it was…

…Until you had to cut through that web of yarn & pulled me down those stairs on the way to the car and...

I fell! I’ll never forget that HUGE bruise on my leg!

And I’m still upset that we didn’t get it on video so we could enter it into AFV! :)

I guess you can say I’ve been “falling for you ever since.” (That sounds like a pun you would say—I’m proud of that one!)

So in honor of our 16 years together, I came up with 16 reasons I'm thankful for you, my sweet husband...

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

1. I love it when you sing songs to me! You have such a beautiful voice, and I’m thankful you are using your talents for the Lord!
2. I love how you spoil me and the boys!
3. I love your sense of humor! You make me laugh all the time!!
4. I love it when you give me your undivided attention! With a life in the ministry and two boys, it doesn’t happen too often, so it’s a very special treasure!
5. I’m thankful that you don’t complain when the house gets messy and the dishes get piled a little too high. (Well, sometimes you do complain a little about the dishes, but I am doing a lot better about keeping them in check.)
6. I love it when you wrestle and act silly with our boys! They absolutely adore you and I do too!
7. I’m so thankful that early in our marriage we decided it was your duty and privilege to handle all the bills. Thank you for taking care of our finances. It’s so nice that I don’t have to worry with them!
8. I’m thankful that you are as frugal as I am! (Isn’t that a nice way of saying we’re both pretty tight?)
9. Thank you for always taking care of the “gross” jobs like cleaning toilets, taking out the trash, mopping, killing bugs, etc.
10. Thank you for being a peacemaker.
11. I’m thankful that you love to travel as much as I do! And that you like to drive when we do because there’s nothing like sleeping while traveling! 
12. I’m thankful that you are a servant-leader and that you are teaching our boys to serve as well!
13. I’m thankful that you like my cooking…and I love it when you cook for us—especially when you grill! You are a good cook!
14. I’m thankful that you have such a love for learning. Sometimes I don’t really enjoy the History Channel or “How Things are Made” or “Modern Marvels” or “Mythbusters,” but now that we are homeschooling, I can see the value in them. I love how Evan (and sometimes Ethan if he stops long enough from playing) enjoys learning right along with you.
15. I love how kind-hearted you are and how you are always thinking of others before yourself.
16. I’m thankful that you let us take that giant leap of faith as a family just last year at this time for me to quit my (paying) teaching job to stay at home and teach Evan (and Ethan a little bit). This year at home has been hard work and a learning experience, but it has been the absolute biggest blessing for our family.

You are truly a fine Christian man, and I am honored to be your wife!