Eight years...

As I look back over eight years and think of each day that has passed (that's 2922 of them), it is interesting to consider what the cumulative effect of each day's decisions, action or inaction, has been. The most obvious and worthwhile of these are our 4 daughters. They've taken more time and energy and resources than we could ever have imagined. Several of those 8 years went toward earning two Bachelors degrees and a JD. We've accumulated lots of things, some useful, many not. There have been 8 years' worth of laundry, dishes, reading, laughing, diapers, FHE, playing, crying, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, arguing (the kids, of course), and service in the Church. There have been lots of learning moments, moments of despair (3 am and the baby won't sleep), moments of contentedness, moments of frustration, moments of enlightenment, moments of sheer exhaustion. It all adds up to more than we could recount, more than we know. It adds up to a full life together as a family. I am so grateful for all that these 8 years have brought to us. We have lived, and continued to live a blessed life. I hope we are becoming what we need to become - I hope I am more patient, more understanding, more kind, than I was 8 years ago. Some days I don't know that I am. If nothing else, I am more experienced than I used to be.

I do have a better understanding of who my husband is, what his ideals and principles are, than 8 years ago. Some of Joe's more outstanding characteristics that I didn't fully understand or appreciate in the beginning is that he is a doer and a finisher. He spends very little time on things of little consequence. If a job needs to be done, he'll do it and he'll finish it. He pushes himself and expects others around him to do the same. He highly values relationships and has a gift for seeking out those who need friendship - at work, at church, wherever he is. He takes interest in individuals and their needs. He is something like Alma and Ammon, who, when they were converted, dedicated their lives to bringing others to Christ. He has a gift for teaching gospel principles to his daughters and others. There is nothing our girls like more than their dates with dad - even if it only means a walk or a quick trip to the store. I think that when many marry, they don't know what the whole package contains. I didn't, but over these past 8 years, I have begun to realize what Joe brings to our marriage and I feel incredibly lucky and blessed in the man I married.