Carter's Painted Pumpkins

6 years later

Mitch and I celebrated our 6th anniversary a little early this year.  We took Micah a long with us and went up to the Blue Ridge mountains for a long weekend. It was such a sweet, quiet time with the most heaven-like fall weather.  Micah still takes a few naps a day so we had some time to rest together.  When he was awake we could enjoy being with him one on one, something we don't get to do very often.  We spent lots of time out on the porch of Mitch's parents cabin. There was almost always a breeze blowing the wind chimes and the leaves were just starting to change.  It was beautiful.  Micah liked to listen to the wind chimes and fell asleep several times while we were sitting out there.

Its hard to believe that we have been married 6 years.  In some ways it seems like a long time, in other ways it has flown by.  When I think of the person that Mitch purposed to at that cabin 7 years ago, it seems like a long time coming.  I have grown so much since then... learned so much more about what love looks like in the day to day and what it requires of you.  It requires a lot.  I have realized how selfish I used to be, and God continues to mold and shape us both towards a Christlike love that seeks to serve one another instead of ourselves.  It is not easy.  We have had to learn to communicate better with one another and be intentional with how we use our time... yet we are still embarking on the years when our kids are little and I am sure we have much, much more to learn and many storms to weather in this stressful, busy, sleep deprived season of life.

But there is SO much joy.  Indescribable joy.  Many times last weekend we would look at one another and say with a smile, "6 years and two boys later... here we are." God has been so good to us. We are deeply blessed beyond anything we deserve.  My husband is a gift.  Our marriage is a gift.  I pray I never forget that.  When I am tired, frustrated, stressed, I need to remember how truly blessed I am.  Like a gardener tends to his garden, I pray we take time to weed, water, and take care of our marriage.  There is so much ripple effect from our relationship... so much at stake.  From these little faces that we now call our sons, who are watching and learning from us, to our witness to the world outside our home.  I pray we will be Christ to one another and that those around us will be able to see His light in us. He is really the only reason we have hope.  We love because he first loved us.  This weekend we talked about future anniversaries and what those might hold.  I can't wait to see where the next 6 years takes us.  There may be ups, there may be downs... but Christ in us remains our hope and stay.