1. Picture it…all 5 of our crew were squished up in a queen sized bed. Proof positive that there WAS room for Jack on the door, Rose. 🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
2. Being all squished up together is one of my favorite things. I know that time is coming that it won’t happen again so I’m trying to burn those memories deep into my brain – the giggles, the smells, how my hand is holding two sometimes three little hands simultaneously, how we all just fit together. Family.
3. Our daughter, ever the romantic, asks what special thing are we doing to celebrate our anniversary today. I used to feel super depressed if we didn’t have something grand planned for that particular day, but I looked in her bright eyes and said, “Sweetheart, today is so special! That’s true! However, what your dad & I have learned is that there are 365 days a year to celebrate our love. We celebrate by loving Jesus, by laughing, by making memories with y’all.” She giggled. I continued, “Yes, we have set aside special time to celebrate because that’s important, but it may not be fancy or grand and we’re content in that. How big or small we celebrate does not equal how much we love each other.” She nodded thoughtfully. “What’s made our marriage great is that it’s foundation is Jesus and then laughter.” I thought about that statement and how the order of those two tenets is extremely vital to a marriage that thrives and lasts. One that’s rooted in Jesus will inevitably be filled with laughter because of the joy of the Lord’s salvation, without it there’s no hope.
4. When I say Jesus is our foundation I mean it in the deepest way. We pray together and for each other. We point each other back to God through God’s word. We stumble and fall individually & sometimes together, but there is grace and forgiveness because what’s been shown to us on the cross has radically changed our hearts & how we live.
5. Luke said, “Happy Dozen Years of Marriage, Babe!” 🥰 “One whole dozen,” I thought, “like a carton of eggs. 🤔hmmm, each egg is unique. None exactly like before. Some have had a few cracks, but by God’s grace He’s held us in his hands similar to the styrofoam carton. We’ve felt the cracks but He’s always there holding us and protecting us and even if there is ever a crack that’s big enough to break the egg…it’s not going anywhere, the carton has it & will get us home. *disclaimer: This is an imperfect analogy regarding a perfect God so take it with a grain of salt and go with it. ☺️
6. If you are squished into a queen-sized bed with your spouse and 3 children, then you obviously want to play – “there were 5 in the bed and the little one said”. It’s fun and there’s lots of laughter when one-by-one everyone rolls out of the bed, until the littlest is alone in the bed crying because he doesn’t want to be alone. 😭 So we ALLLLL happily piled back into the bed and cuddled. And everything was right once again. 🥰
7. Lastly, I shared my above analogy with my darling husband of 12 years and he chuckles replying, “Of all the things that come in a dozen you chose eggs. Like there’s donuts, cupcakes, etc. haha”. I referred him to the disclaimer. 🤪😂 Laughter, y’all. It’s an important ingredient in our marriage. 😍
Luke Robinson, I love you more than I ever thought possible. I’m so honored to be your bride, your ride or die, adventure partner & lover.
With all that I am, I’m yours. Always. 💜
The Broken Smile 