Packing and Unpacking......15 Years!

Almost impossible to believe that we've been married for 15 years. And what have we packed in during this time?? Well let's see: Missions trips to Africa 3x, Ecuador 3x, Venezuela, Peru, and Guatemala. Celebrations in Mexico....twice. Worked at 6 wonderful churches, birthed 3 children, parented 4 different dogs, bought and sold 4 houses, no broken bones, 1 car accident, 16 speeding tickets, and a few other adventures. We sure do have some incredible stories: jumping off 40 foot cliffs into the river, rock climbing in Arkansas, sailing in the swimmers side with the McGinnis family, stealing the 300lb Shanahan stone pig, and moving across the country 2x in one year!
So how do I feel after 15 years of being married to the same person? Well, I'm certainly not bored, not disappointed and most of all I'm not 'just surviving it.' We promised one another that we wouldn't be THAT couple that merely SURVIVES their marriage just to say that they are 'still married' after one thousand years. We want to LIVE in our marriage. Because we are both 1st borns who do not settle for 2nd and do not give in easily.......life has presented some very fun and noisy battles. But in the midst of it all, we have enjoyed being on the 'same team' and coming along side one another, especially in difficult times.

We are adding one more adventure to our list this year. We head off to Hawaii in November to celebrate the big 15!! We cannot wait!!