Five Years

Well, it was brought to my attention today by a lovely faithful blog follower that I have not posted anything in a month.  Oopsie.  What have I been doing?  Well, the past two weeks I was back at the beach, so I'll get to that eventually.  But other than that, I can't think of any legitimate excuse besides watching far too much TV on Netflix and Hulu.  Sorry.  Mama loves her stories.  But here's a post that's been sitting and waiting for many weeks now.  I'll try to.... once again... get caught up.  

So, Robert and I celebrated our fifth anniversary in June.  It was pretty low key, but we had a great weekend getaway with just the two of us to Beech Mountain.  We stopped and ate delicious tapas and drank excellent wine on our way up the mountain, we slept late, we hiked and watched movies and hung out and it was wonderfully refreshing and renewing.  Whenever we have the opportunity to be together like this I'm reminded of what a joy it is to be together with this man I love so dearly.  He's a good one and I'm deeply thankful that he's my friend and my cheerleader, my confidant and my challenger.   He makes me think and laugh and love and he does an incredible job of affirming me.  I couldn't have found a better person to share this life with and the past five years have certainly confirmed that.  We've been together for a decade now, and married for half of that, and in many ways it feels like so much longer.  I know that the trials we've faced in this time have made it feel like we've lived into life and marriage in a way that is deeply significant. But we've also shared some remarkable experiences of love and joy, travel and laughter, family and friendships.  As we hiked on Saturday, we thought back and reflected on some of the highlights of the past five years.  In no particular order:

Travel:

St. Lucia

Outer Banks

NC Mountains

Hawaii

Chicago

Atlanta

Seattle

Utah

Ireland

Bahamas

We've had lots of fun with sweet Rufus who was a great practice child.

We bought a new house.

We welcomed three nieces: Caroline, Eleanor and Audrey.

We said goodbye to both of Robert's grandfathers and await the day we will stand and rejoice with them again.  They were two of the finest folks I've ever known and I still miss them both deeply.

We had our prayers answered in the gift of a precious baby girl of our own.

We stood by her while she fought for her life and were changed by the experience of community and prayer as she overcame obstacles no one anticipated that she would.

And we brought her home.

And have the daily joy of raising her.  Together.

Add to that a couple of career changes for each of us, a surge of new friendships, a deepened sense of connection with our church family, some new cars, and gardening projects and home repairs along the way.....

That's a lot to celebrate in five years' time.  So celebrate we did.  And as we ate and hiked and ate and drank and laid around we did some dreaming about what the next five years might hold.  Stay tuned to see if by God's grace any of it comes true....

Date night!

Waterfall hike

 This man is drawn to whitewater like a moth to flame...

We tried so hard to get a shot of both of us with the camera timer, but it was too far to run.  This is the closest we came.

I first got into photography about five years ago too.  I started with shots of wildflowers, like these.  Much easier to learn on something a little bit.... stiller.... than a toddler.  So as we hiked (Robert's long pastime) and I took photos (mine), it felt a bit like getting back to our roots and reconnecting both with each other, but also the things we loved to do before our lives were filled with the busy joy of parenting. 

And he picked these for me.  Just like he used to.

A second date night followed by a gorgeous sunset.

As much as I love and adore Clara (and it's a lot y'all, in case you haven't noticed), I hope I'll always be able to remember to put our marriage first.  Thankful doesn't come close to covering it.  There's not another soul on this earth I'd rather trod through life with.  Here's to another 50 or so, sweet Robert.  

Thanks be to God.

Homecoming Anniversary

Clara's birthday, like the birthday of any child, will always be special.  But right up there with March 23 will always be June 9.  It feels, I think, a bit like the "gotcha day" for an adopted child.  It was the day of her homecoming two years ago and the day that she felt like she really truly became all ours.  It was a day that we thought might never come and then even once it seemed likely that it would eventually arrive, felt like an eternity getting here.  It's been two years now.  Two years of giving Clara baths in her own tub, two years of listening and watching for her on our video monitor (but without all those other awful monitors), two years of meals in our home, two years of adventures in our backyard,  two years of snuggles in our bed with her, two years of rocking her to sleep and then putting her down in her crib, two years of peeking in at her while she sleeps before we go to bed, two years of going to get her out of her bed in the morning by walking five steps.  No more calling a nurse to check in on my child while I pumped alone.  No more driving down I-40 and searching for a parking space and then waiting for an elevator and then getting buzzed in to the unit in order to go over to her bassinet beside half a dozen other babies.  Two years now of knowing what every little cry means, of anticipating her thoughts and moves, of knowing how to make her smile and watching her learn and grow.  Today is her homecoming day and today we celebrate God's mercies to her and to us and just say thanks.

Coming home from Brenner, 2011  --  Coming home from church, 2013

In 2011, too excited and wide eyed to stop taking everything in -- In 2013, too exhausted from church to keep those eyes open.

 Remember then?

And now...

If you want to relive that homecoming day (like I just did) the original post is here.  I re-read all those comments left by dozens and dozens of friends and strangers and felt again a deep gratefulness for the ways that Clara has changed my life and also touched so many others with her beautiful spirit.  We are blessed to have been in the middle of such a powerful demonstration of God's love and to have shared it with so many. Thanks for still being along for the ride and for loving us and praying with us.  You are a blessing.

Thanks be to God.