5 years and counting...

Five years ago, yesterday...we were all dressed up...black suits and white dresses...anxious feelings and restless internal butterflies...finally...we were getting married. With 9 bridesmaids, 9 groomsmen, 4 candle lighters, 4 flower girls, 1 ring bearer, and 600 people, we said I do...and we did.

Reflecting back on the last five years, a couple memories come to mind.

1. Our first home, a 600 sq. ft. mother-in-law cottage on the outskirst of Redding that had no hallway in it, but it did have a fireplace. And it didn't matter. It was ours.

2. Baptizing my wife in 2004. No greater joy. Don't worry, I let her come up for air.

3. Putting our dog, "Gracie" (the cross-eyed canine), to sleep after she bit a neighbor dog. I don't ever want to have to do that again. After a couple months of mourning, God blessed us with a chocolate lab from an uncle/aunt. We named her "Ally".

5. Buying our first home on Cirrus St. (though we wish now that it wasn't so, but nonetheless, a good experience and great memories in that place.)

4. Helping our dog, Ally, through 2 separate litters of puppies. Imagine me, wearing yellow dish gloves, kneeling behind our dog ready for whatever life form was going to pop out and say hi.

5. My wife starting contractions at 4am in the morning on Sunday, July 22. Coming home the following Wednesday with a brand spanking new baby boy. Giving him the tour around the house and realizing that we're growing up and doing grown up things.

6. Knowing that God was calling us to move to Salem, OR. Packing a Budget Truck and driving 6 hours north to start our new journey.

God has been good. A lot of people told us that "the first year of marriage is the hardest, so beware." We're still waiting for that "hard" year. God has been faithful and it hasn't always been easy, but I am blessed with a wife that loves the Lord, a son that loves to smile and bounce up and down during worship music, and a new baby on the way. He is good. And I love being married.

P.S. My wife and I signed a five-year extension on our marriage contract. See you in 2013.