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11 Years

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howsweetthesound-90

Hubs and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on Saturday.

His mom called in the morning and asked if we wanted her to watch the boys so we could go on a lunch date.

Of course we said, “Naaahhhhh, we’d much rather stay home and watch the boys destroy everything in sight and break up their wrestling matches occurring every 5 minutes.”

Who am I kidding.  I was in the shower before the hubs hung up the phone.

Once the boys were situated at Grammie and Pop-Pop’s, the hubby couldn’t even speak for most of the drive to the restaurant because he was coming down from the stress of the circus act of simply leaving our house.

Ha!

But once we got within a few minutes of food, I saw his shoulders relax and we were able to genuinely smile at the hostess who commented, “Now, there’s a fine-looking couple.”

Over lunch we wrote down our list of highs and lows from the year – a tradition I talked about HERE.  Just a numbered sheet of memories on paper, but a wonderful treasure and keepsake of our story.

2013 was kind of a rough one for our marriage, so we spent most of 2014 healing and learning to love each other well again.

If someone were to ask me how we stay together in the midst of marital difficulty, I would say simply to SHOW EACH OTHER GRACE.  Be willing to forgive anything and everything, openly communicate needs, see them as God sees them, and continually remind one another that you love them and are NOT going anywhere.

Some of the highlights from the year was our trip to the Bahamas (see HERE), we got to attend a Miami Heat game together in February, the hubs taught Happy Buddy how to swim, I was quoted in the March issue of Parents Magazine, that time our kitchen was overtaken by mold, I started working full-time and so far our house hasn’t imploded and I haven’t lost my mind, hubs got to go on some epic scuba diving adventures, and we survived Happy Baby’s pneumonia hospitalization.

At least there weren’t any rectal prolapses this year.  PHEW.  Dodged a bullet on that one.

It’s always fun, but sometimes a bit bittersweet to look back over what the Lord has done in our family.  We make no pretenses to have it all together.  We have learned, however, to praise God in the good AND the bad.  We are able to see His hand of faithfulness in every single thing.  And we remember that He loves us – no matter what – He loves us.

One thing I realized as we talked about our kids is that Happy Baby will be 3 in a few months and I am fairly certain that I shouldn’t be calling him Happy Baby on this blog anymore.

So after our list I suggested that we make a few goals for the new year.

Mine were simple – 1. Nose ring (lol, I STILL want one, but have to wait until summer), and 2. Get pregnant.

The hubs had 1 goal.  It read like this –

VASECTOMY.

Hahahahahahhaa.

I showed him grace by not slugging him in the face.

– Julie 🙂

“Be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Try always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit and so be at peace with one another.” Ephesians 4:2-3

*Amazing photo above taken by my heroes at 13:13 Photography.  Go HERE if you want to see the rest of the hubs’ and my photo shoot.  And if you have photography needs and live in South Florida, then you better give these 2 super talented people a call.*

Fairy Thoughts, Marriage
Christian Marriage, Encouragement, Faith, Marriage
8 Comments

About Happy Home Fairy

Julie Brasington is a Preschool Director, wife of a South Florida Worship Pastor and mom of 3 boys. She writes at Happy Home Fairy where you can find easy craft ideas, FREE printables, simple recipes, holiday fun, thoughts on raising kids, and encouragement for moms.

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Reader Interactions

8 Comments

  1. Connie Simpson

    December 29, 2014 at 6:40 am

    Precious Julie…you are always so encouraging, even in the “hard” things God allows in your lives! Grace….the only way to face a day! Happy anniversary to you both…11 years! Seems like yesterday! Always in prayer for you, Ryan and the Happy Guys!

    reply to this comment
  2. Ruth

    December 29, 2014 at 6:52 am

    Julie, you crack me up! I am still laughing from reading this post. I am reminded of my husband’s best man. They had 3 boys and he wanted to try for that Daddy’s little girl. They tried. The wife, Penny, became pregnant with twin boys!

    reply to this comment
  3. Christine

    December 29, 2014 at 10:01 am

    I love receiving your emails! This entry especially touched me. It was the way you worded “you spent 2014 learning to love each other again.” Marriage is hard work. Someone told me this at my wedding. I did not get it then. As time went on- I did. I wish your family a fantastic 2015!

    reply to this comment
  4. Heather

    December 29, 2014 at 10:45 am

    I appreciate your blog, your honesty, and your faith. I look forward to each post and thank you for the free printables throughout the year. I just wanted you to know that you are a blessing and a help to many moms:)

    reply to this comment
    • Happy Home Fairy

      January 26, 2015 at 2:04 pm

      Thank you, sweet Heather! Your words really lifted me up today! xoxo

      reply to this comment
  5. Jeannie

    December 29, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    What a gorgeous picture!!!!!

    reply to this comment
  6. Dena

    January 5, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    Beautiful pictures………and so many, how to choose! What were you singing/playing?

    reply to this comment
    • Happy Home Fairy

      January 5, 2015 at 10:22 pm

      Hey there, Dena! We were singing Oceans from Hillsong. 🙂 A favorite!

      reply to this comment

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Hey there! My name is Julie, the Happy Home Fairy. I am married to a Worship Pastor, we have 3 boys, and I am a Preschool Director. I love sharing easy, fun ideas to help moms build a happy home! Here you will find simple crafts, FREE Printables, yummy recipes, stories about my journey to trust Jesus with my family, and encouragement for your mama's heart. You can read more about me HERE!

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