Happy Anniversary!!!

Okay, so this is a couple days late. Our anniversary was on Saturday, June 21st, but we were having such a great weekend, I didn't have time to stop and write about it!! Friday night, all three boys spent the night with a friend from church and Tony and I went out to dinner and got to come home and NOT have to put boys to bed or worry about anyone waking up, etc. Saturday we had time to sit on the porch and drink coffee together WITHOUT hearing, "Mom!", "Dad!" every other minute. We went to the gym, had a great workout, came home and got ready for Saturday evening activities-- again, without being interrupted or rushed. Then went to pick the boys up around 2pm-- good thing we didn't have any more time alone... I was beginning to feel pretty comfortable :D!! We had dinner plans with a doc whom Tony worked with back at Walter Reed and his family, so we went straight to their HUGE home in Pinehurst, had a lovely dinner, swam in their beautiful pool-- in the rain-- and had three exhausted boys by the time it was all over!!

Just a side-note... have you ever been in a home that is over 8,000 sq. ft. and NOT on display or open to the public for touring??? Now, I can say I have and it was a bit overwhelming to say the least. I can't decide what overwhelmed me the most-- the size, the video camera/alarm/radio/intercom system, the elevator, number of rooms and hidden rooms, landscaping and perfectly manicured lawn, pool/hot-tub, gated playground for the children, automatic EVERYTHING.... Honestly, my favorite part of the entire house was the mud room and laundry room. Now is that a mom of boys talking or what?!!

Anyway, back to our weekend... we had a great game of baseball in the backyard on Sunday-- interrupted only once by the neighbors who came to see if Tony could look at their son's sliced open finger. Of course that was the hot topic for the rest of the evening for my boys-- blood always gets a lot of attention here. It was determined that stitches would not help, and Tony bandaged it up and is doing a "follow up" appointment today :)

And that is it! I sure am enjoying my summer break this year. I feel much more settled this summer. My running routine is more regular, I LOVE my garden and my home is feeling more like home every day. I so very much appreciate where God has placed us in this season of life-- new blessings and new challenges. Sometimes I still get lonely for old friends or familiar spaces. I recognize that for how "hard" it was to live in D.C., by the time we left, He had provided such an abundance of dear relationships for us-- all close by. He has already bound our hearts to so many people here-- and He is allowing us to experience some difficult relationships as well. It is all teaching me that my strength is in Him, my life is bound to His and that IN CHRIST I find peace, joy and contentment-- not in people, stuff, achievement or any other thing. I also understand more deeply what it means to live a life of MERCY-- it is not mine to keep the mercy God has shown to me. Mercy is mine to pour out towards others, despite their actions toward me.

I cannot believe that I have been married to my high-school love for 11 years now. What a journey we are taking!!!! And I cannot imagine this journey with anyone else-- I know in the depths of my soul that God chose to put us together for a purpose and for HIS GLORY! May we continue to grow in love, honor and "oneness" in Him who has joined us together, for all eternity-- bound together by a power which can never be torn apart :).

Grace and Peace,
Shari

PS. The picture is of our ski trip in Nevada this last Feb. Sadly, I could not figure out how to work my scanner with my computer so I could post a wedding picture-- as to give you all a good laugh. :D The ski picture was the ONLY pic. I could find in all my albums that was of JUST the two of us-- is that sad or what??!!