Happy 5-years, Us

It's been a crazy ride.

Skywalker and I were talking last night and realized that this last 5 years have been perhaps the most stressful of either of our lives, and also the most amazing and wonderful and accomplished. In 5 years we have:

1) become a family.

2) overcome some emotional trauma in a satisfactory way, including the aftermath of large life-traumas and adjustment to instant parenthood.


3) had 4 different Jobs (including my night shifts at the center for change) and finished grad school with no debt.

4) given birth to 3 babies.

5) adopted two more from Ethiopia.

6) bought a car.

7) lived in 3 different places.

8) saved a total of about 25,000 (and spent it. On important stuff.)

9) written four novels, attended two web-development conferences and learned a new coding language, and started and maintained two blogs for personal development.

10) learned to sing classically (still learning) and made about a dozen major repairs on our vehicles using junkyard parts.

11) had 4 gardens, each more prodcutive than the last.

12) blessed 3 babies and baptized one 8 year old.

And much more.

The white roses are blooming on the vine here at my mother's house. They have the most beautiful fragrance and they carpet the ground with their tiny, frilly-white blossoms. Their blooming each year was always a reminder to us kids that Mom and Dad's anniversary was just around the corner. And now that my anniversary is at the end of April, it's a symbol to me of mine, as well--and everything in life that I treasure.