Five Years of Wedded Bliss

I wish I had more pictures on the computer, but since we lost our hard drive, all our pictures are either gone or on CDs in the closet, so this one will have to suffice.

Last Friday, Braden and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. It's supposed to be a big one, so we tried to come up with something great to do that wouldn't cost much. We decided to do sealings at the temple, go out to dinner, spend the weekend at his parent's house with the girls while his parents were out of town, and go to a pumpkin festival near their home. Originally, we wanted to go to my aunt's cabin and have my MIL watch the girls. But the cabin was in use that weekend, and my MIL was out of town, so we had to settle with a family celebration. You can read more about how the weekend really turned out below, but here are some highlights: Taryn, Keara, and Braden all got swine flu (or at least just influenza) so we didn't go to the temple. Avery threw up all over me while we were out to eat. And the pumpkin festival I had chosen ended up costing way too much for not much fun so we didn't do it, only to find out that just around the corner was another festival for WAY cheaper with much more to do. Bummer!

Besides all that, we had a great time and it was so good to be there in all our glory and reflect on the last 5 years. Here's some of what we've done/been through/experienced in 5 years:

*three beautiful daughters
*I have had 2 jobs and Braden has had 7 or 8
*lived in 5 different homes in two different states
*started, opened, ran, and closed a business
*held dozens of callings
*had 3 cars (two of which we still have)
*had 5 pets (all fish, three of which lasted 12 hours total)
*grown 2 gardens, producing very little
*traveled to 6 states
*made incredible friends we hate to part with

The list will grow every year, I know. But truly, when I reflect on the last 5 years, they have flown by and yet SO much has happened in our lives. Yes, we had our 3 girls with us on our anniversary celebration, but I thought, really, that is what we are celebrating. Our marriage, our lives, our family. Five years ago, we became a family and we've grown and added on, and that is worth celebrating. Too bad no one felt very good to really celebrate, but I celebrated it in my heart.

I also reflected on how much Braden's and my relationship has changed over the last 6 years since we met. It moved from the flirtatious and totally exciting, to the "in love" euphoric state, to the newly wed state, to the challenging state, to this wonderful state we are now in that I can hardly describe. It's not the same as it was when we got married, but it is so much more meaningful, fulfilling, enriching, and powerful than it ever was.

And I'm grateful for that. I'm so grateful to have a best friend to miss every single day and to look forward to seeing every single day. I know I've written about Braden before (and at about this time last year), but here it is again. Things you may not know about Braden:

*He is SO patient. Whether or not he feels it inside, he rarely loses his patience on the outside. Taryn certainly pushes the limit more than anyone, but he still shows such patience with her. He is patient with my personality--when I take on way too much and then get lost in it all, neglecting so many other more important things.
*He is so supportive. I have a gagillion ideas and things I want to do and he supports me in all of them. He believes in my abilities and encourages me when I want to be encouraged.
*He is pleasant all the time. This man has never lost his temper. He never gets upset with me. He has never been in a truly bad mood, no matter how lousy he feels or how little sleep he has gotten.
*He shares my passion for good food and creating in the kitchen! I love that because he is all for improving our kitchen supply and would more readily spend money on that than on other things (not that we do, but when we have, that's what we've done). He has come up with some of the greatest recipes we use. Like his pineapple mango julius. It is to die for!!!
*He is an incredibly dedicated worker in his job. He is a wonderful employee and masters anything he needs to do quickly and better than his coworkers. He has always loved and appreciated by his managers because of how well he works.
*He accepts critiques with relative humility. No one likes being told their faults and weaknesses, but Braden does very well at hearing them and changing them. He is goal oriented and can accomplish pretty much anything he really sets his mind to.
*He always says sorry first...which says little for me since that means I don't say it fast enough. Not like he often has anything to be sorry for, but when we've had those moments, I am always humbled by his humility.
*He helps! A lot! He has his "chores" that are all his, like the lawn, garden, cars, weeds, and bugs (thank goodness!) but he also unloads the dishes when he notices they are clean, folds the laundry when I have other things to do, makes breakfast on the weekends for the girls so I can sleep, loves to do the grocery shopping, organizes the pantry and closets, does our budgeting and keeps track of all our finances (though I pay all the bills), takes care of the girls whenever I am not here (and even when I am), and tidies up the house.
*He's just fun to be with. Even when we don't do anything at all besides sit down on the couch and watch TV, it is SO good to just be with him!

I love you, Braden!!