Celebrating 12 beautiful years

 

Snapped right before we headed out for the night.

 

The delicious Lemon Sole that is still calling my name.

 

The divine Upside down pineapple cake.

 

When my mom was taking our picture, sissy was tugging on daddy's leg to also be in the picture. So of course, she needed one too with this amazing man. I love the look of adoration in her face.

He is....
* my soul mate (sounds so cliche but true) He knows how to make me smile, anticipates my needs and treats me like a princess.
* the father to our children that exceeds my hopes. He is sweet, involved, loving, a role model, spends quality time with them and the list goes on. They adore him and that makes me adore him even more.
* my inspiration. He has many traits I wish I was more of...such as, patient, forgiving, stress-free and relaxed.
* still giving me butterflies. After all these years (19 together) there is still no one that can catch my eye, except for him.
* my cheerleader. He gives me confidence, he roots me on, he is my biggest fan.
* my partner. A true partner in every sense of the word. We parent together, cook and clean together, play together, go on adventures together, I try his things, he tries mine. I credit this as one of the major factors to our happy and successful marriage.
* the yin to my yang. We fit together perfectly. My weaknesses are his strengths, and vice-versa... We have learned to accept our "roles" in our marriage, play to them, and it has made us so strong as a couple. I lack in mathematical skills, he is a math wiz. So, I don't question and fully trust in his financial guidance for our family. I'm the "sensitive" one. So, when it comes to parenting choices concerning our children's feelings, he listens and trusts in my way of dealing with the situation. It works....we truly respect what each of us brings to the family.
* a listener to my rambles...I go on and on....my stories take forever to tell but he patiently listens to them.
* my handy man. I need something fixed, hung, or moved...he does it, without complaint. I appreciate all that he does just because I ask him to do it. There have been many a night that he is outside in the dark fixing something that I insist needs to be done before the morning. He takes really good care of us and our things.
* my everything.

Yesterday (1-2-11) was our 12th wedding anniversary. I will be honest in saying that with it coming at the tail end of a very busy holiday season, it is difficult to gear up for our special day together in a huge way. We did not have firm plans until about 5pm. Mimi so graciously came into town to stay with the littles so that we could enjoy a few hours together. We celebrated on Saturday night, New Year's Day, so we were not sure what would even be open. I was in the mood for fish so we tried Wild Fish. LOVED IT! MSW ordered Lemon Sole....it was amazing! The sweet guy that he is, he traded plates with me half way through so that I could finish up the sole. Not that my plate lacked in any way. It was delicious crab-stuffed shrimp, but oh the sole was divine! We finished up with the pineapple upside down cake that the waiter insisted we try. Something neither of us would ever think about ordering...thank goodness the waiter had us order. It was simply put....the best dessert ever!!!!

We were not ready to head home so we decided to do something a little out of character and go watch a movie together. MSW checked the movie times on his phone and found that Little Fockers was about to start right down the street. We both enjoy a comedy so we decided to go for it. Not exactly a romantic movie, but something fun to do, together. We laughed and laughed at the silliness! We then headed home for a cozy sleep.

Mimi woke up with the littles and offered to stay at home with them so Michael and I could enjoy an "easy" morning at church. It was nice to just get myself dressed and leisurely walk into church without worrying about room drop-offs, little tears (sissy is still not a fan of baby church), etc... The sermon was great and MSW and I had a chance to reflect on it as we drove back home. We spent the rest of the day with a mixture of togetherness and a little time to ourselves. I got to go get a pedicure and sweet man went for a run and workout at the gym. Sweet little gifts and cards were exchanged...it was a perfect way to celebrate our 12 years of marriage. I love my husband in ways that I can't even describe.