8 Years Strong

I went to the store yesterday to get an anniversary card for my sweet hubby.

They were all CRAP!

So stupid and overpriced.

So I told him I would write a super amazing fantastic blog post for him.

Well, here is what he gets instead:

Dear Thompson,

Today is a very special day.

Today is the day, eight years ago, that You and I were married.

Weren't we just so cute?!

And thin?!?

Gosh.  I can't believe another year has gone by.  We've done a lot since last year.

We celebrated birthdays and some holidays.

We camped and went to zoos.

Our baby started (and finished) preschool.

We got some wisdom teeth removed.

We watched our boys grow up.

We made some friends and had some parties.

We did some baby makin'.

We spent way too much money.

We did a lot of traveling.

We're now just weeks away from meeting our baby girl.

And I can't help but look back and smile.

It's been hard, it's been trying.

It has not been all good.

But it's been you and me doing the best we can.

And that's what I love about us.

We always manage to pull through and make it work.

We're seriously awesome like that.

So I had a lot of things to say, and then I pulled up last years anniversary post.

And everything I said then I mean now.

So here is a little reminder.

 I am so very grateful I have this man beside me.

The guy everyone thought was no good for me

.

The guy who had piercings and tattoos.

The guy who took care of me from the time I graduated from college to now and continues to do so.

The guy who supported me through beauty school, even though we weren’t even engaged, let alone married. 

The guy who was patient with me while I figured things out and got things straight.

The guy who’s literally been with me through thick (mostly me) and thin (mostly him).

The guy who has sat idly by and endured my ever changing hair colors and styles.

The guy who held me while I cried, waited when I was impatient, got tests done when we had no answers, and gave up so so much to be a daddy.

The guy who lets me torture him.

The guy who has endured heartbreak countless times.

The guy who goes on many splendid adventures with me and my incessant whining and need for potty breaks.

The guy who does the best he possibly can.

The guy who is pretty dang adorable.

The guy who puts up with so so much and takes it all in stride.

The guy who’s little sons are trying to be just like.

The guy who doesn’t know it, but has the most amazing spirit about him.

 

The guy who has prayed for me when I couldn’t do it myself.  

The guy who doesn’t give himself enough credit.

 

The guy I was terrified of when we first met, but who turned out to be practically the biggest dork on the planet.

The guy who’s made me feel stronger, more self confidant, and beautiful than I ever did before.
    

The guy who collects many amounts of seemingly useless junk and is an amazing, daring cook.

The guy who would, and does anything for his family.

They guy who lets me be me.

The guy who never gives up, never backs down, and doesn’t throw in the towel, even when others would have quit long ago.

The guy who makes me madder than I’ve ever been in my entire life.

The guy I can’t out argue.

    

The guy I had my last first kiss with. 

  

The guy that seemed so very wrong for me for a lot of reasons.

The guy who I married EIGHT years ago today.  The guy I will spend eternity with.  The guy I love. 

We’ve had good days, we’ve had bad days, we’ve fought like it was over, we’ve laughed at absolutely nothing.  It’s such an amazing ride and I’m so glad I’m on it with him.  He’s my best buddy, the one who gets annoyed when I tell him what celebrities I think are hot, the one who honestly loves me no matter what I look like.  He’s forgiving and sweet, awkward and hilarious.  There’s absolutely no one I’d rather be with.

There were quite a few people who really thought I was making a huge mistake marrying this guy.  What they didn’t know was how great a man he would turn out to be.  How great a daddy he’d be, how great a husband.  They didn’t see what I saw, they didn’t know what I knew, and they didn’t feel what I felt.  Many prayers were sent heavenward while we were dating and engaged.  I knew from the beginning that it was the start of something good. 

My mom asked me before we got married why him, why this person who seemed so out of character for me.  I knew then that our life would be hard.  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.  I knew we had an uphill journey ahead of us.  I knew that I loved him and that life was going to be hard, but I knew that it would be 1000 times better than life with out him.

So Thor, thanks for it all.  Being married to you is a day by day adventure.  Thanks for not bailing the first time you had second thoughts and wondered what you'd gotten yourself into?  You know the time...Yellowstone...outhouse...yeah...I wouldn't have blamed you for high tailing it right then.  But thanks for not giving up on me then and now.  

See, I kinda screwed myself there because there's honestly no way I could top that.  Not right now with my preggo brain and CRS* disease.  I think it bears repeating though.  

I love you.  

I love you so much more and so much deeper than I did eight years ago, which seems pretty impossible since back then I was so super head over heels in love with you it hurt. It's way more so now, my nerdy friend.  I may not always show it but you make my knees weak.  You give me butterflies.  You are the one thing in this world that keeps me going, especially when the everything else is falling down around me.  Thanks for giving me 2 7/8 of the worlds most beautiful, charming, adorable children

We've come a long way from sleeping on air mattresses and living on French bread and ranch dressing, baby.

Here's to the next year of tomorrows.  I can't wait to see where we're going.  As long as we're You and Me, it's going to be amazing.

I love you.

* can't remember shiz