the SECRET to …

It’s LOVE DAY
 at our house tomorrow
16 YEARS!!! with Cowboy Dan as my leading man
(gosh I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it! hehehe)

my, my
where have the years gone?
most days
it seems like yesterday
that I said YES
to the skinny, quiet Cowboy that rode away with my heart
(sorry if that’s too mushy–
remember it’s LOVE DAY EVE and I can’t help it!)

October 5, 1996

our wedding day:
He was 21 
I was 19
I cried the WHOLE DAY-
really.
from the moment my daddy entered the Sunday school room where I was waiting and he said “it’s time babe..”
>insert< WATERWORKS!
all. the. way. down. the. aisle.
and was crying SO hard 
by half way through the ceremony 
our precious pastor (who was a cryer too)
ended up giving me his handkerchief 

I cried on the way to our honeymoon
AND cried when we got there
and when Cowboy Dan 
said with a grin “Well, I’ve married a cry-baby..”
I squalled out “WELL!!? you’ve done it now!”

and so tonight we were discussing 
some of the cheesy things we’ve done 
for and with each other 
like him allowing me to call him ridiculously, cheesy pet names
(of which I have been instructed not to share)
or when we would take turns-reading verse by verse..

the LOVE chapter (I Corinthians 13) at night before bed 

in the early days (pre-rascals)

as well as discussing some of our MOST MEMORABLE:

 most THOUGHTFUL GIFT I ever received from him
was a mason jar full of tiger lilies he picked for me on my birthday

my FAVORITE TRIP (before the rascals) was our trip out west for a week
rented a car
packed a picnic
and headed out
into the sunset

WORST fight ever 
I set in for us to start laying hardwood flooring in our house one night at 9PM!

THINGS we’ve LEARNED
it’s NOT ALL ABOUT ME or HIM

we’ve learned to COMMUNICATE more effectively-
particularly I have learned when and WHEN NOT to discuss “heavy topics”
NOTE: Cowboy Dan is in SHUT DOWN MODE by 8PM any projects or dialogue more involved than that of Woodrow and Gus in Lonesome Dove
WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING

things we are STILL working on:
our tone of voice

we use with each other and our children
we speak too harsh
too often

the SECRET to our success!
well-it’s not a secret…….
our marriage is made up of 3

Our Savior
Cowboy Dan and
me.
HE is the ONE that makes US work
we are COMMITTED to HIM
AND by HIS GRACE 
to EACH OTHER
until

the end.