Sweet 16: Grit & Grace

 This girl!  She makes us laugh with her silliness, she makes us proud with her diligence, she turns 16 today.  Our funny, rock solid, determined, hilarious, sarcastic, refuse to back down, loving Jesus, amazing daughter, loyal friend Valentine.  She came into this world with a zest for life.  Always making everyone laugh while she entertained everyone around her with her crazy hair and "crazy eyes" as she called them. When she was just a wee 18 months old, she could light up a room with conversation that most adults couldn't take on!

She has seen us walk through fire and always been steady with her love and so ready to forgive our broken parenting.  Her desire to learn about life and love and Jesus astounds me daily.  She has met the challenges of growing up thus far with a grace that we couldn't have ever imagined. She can walk into her high school government class proudly being the only conservative in a largely democratic area and proudly debate her side.  She can stand up for the issues of her heart with her friends with out backing down and be proud of what she stands for.  She is ready to face life with grit and grace.  We are so proud of you KK, and are so very excited about what this next year holds for you!

Happy 16th Kathryn! 

My Valentine

Yesterday marked the beginning of Valentines Day weekend.  We had the absolute best gift a couple could ever receive on Valentines Day, a beautiful little baby girl; so we will celebrated last night by an amazing dinner out with some friends. It was an amazing night out; fun, relaxing...lots of laughs!  Just what we needed! Through all the challenges that life has thrown at us, my husband has been a constant source of strength.  He powers through the obstacles and made a life for us when there was nothing there, rebuilding a business from scratch; keeping together our family when we were all looking around not knowing where in the world we were going to land.  He has become our hero,  slowly and surely making sure we are all safe and cared for.
They say when you get married, that very minute the one you marry begins to change.  So, by now, almost 20 years in we have probably been married to many different people! Yet somehow, by God's ever present grace, we are still together and learning to fall in love over and over.  He has loved me unconditionally and it has only brought me closer to my Savior.  I am so incredibly grateful for him and thankful that God has given me a gift in him.  It takes commitment and courage to remain faithful to that covenant and I can't wait to see what this next stage in life will bring us.  So one thing about me when we first got married was I was a hopeless romantic, but  I married a hard Irishman! Imagine that for a moment!!  Well I haven't really let myself be true to that over the years, trying to be more what I thought he needed.  That's never a good idea.  That only brings hardship.  My husband has seen me for who I am over the years, and after all this time and me trying to be who I thought he needed me to be has loved me and has changed to be the man who I need. And I can only pray that God is doing the same in my heart towards him.  He has softened, and I am learning to soften again. He really is the romantic sort, deep down! Now I have outed you, honey....let's see what you can do!  Marriage is a story of redemption.  One God meant to mirror that of Christ and His church and we can see that more clearly the longer we are married.  Of course we could probably write a book after almost 20 years, and this example is a small one in comparison to all that God has done, and still needs to do in our sinful broken lives. In 20 years, a lot can happen!  I am thankful to our Savior who holds our lives in His hands and gives us His love when we deserve none. One thing he did for me recently is check off one of my bucket list items! Something I have wanted to do since I was about 15 years old... see Garth Brooks!  Of course he sang one of my most favorite love songs ever and one when I hear of course I think of my Valentine!  I had to share for Valentines Day!