One Year

That is how long Raymond and I have been married on 7/28/13! I can't believe a year has already flown by. When Raymond and I discussed getting married before our actual engagement I didn't think it was a big deal. I mean, we love eachother, we are happy, we already have started a family, we bought a home together - what could possibly change by getting married? As lame as this sounds, the biggest reason I wanted to get married was because I wanted to have the same last name as my kids. It was that simple. To my surprise our marriage did change our relationship much more than just my last name. I feel whole, I feel more in love with Raymond which I didn't think was possible, and I feel like he completes me as a person. I always took our relationship seriously, but now I do on a whole new level. I know how corny that all sounds, but it's true...........it really is. As most of you know, Raymond and I have been on quite a journey together the past almost 5 years. Throughout our journey, especially during the very difficult times, people have lovingly asked me, "Are you guys doing okay? This is a lot to handle.....This can be hard on relationships....." I can honestly say during our very difficult times Raymond and I became closer and more in love with eachother. He is my BIGGEST supporter. He truly cares about my feelings and my opinions. He cares about my mental state. He really tries to understand me. He makes me think about other prospectives when I am being one-sided and stubborn. I, in return, strive to be that person for him. When Raymond came into my life it was random and unexpected. Truthfully, we hadn't been dating long when I got pregnant, but I knew this guy was special so I took it and ran with it. Even if it didn't work out I was going to be a mother and I was determined to be a great mother. Then it was triplets..........then it was preemies..........then it was unbareable loss.......then it was sick children.....and so on and so on and so on. During the entire experience with the babies I kept waiting, almost expecting my whirlwind romance with him to fall apart from the stress, but it didn't. It just got stronger and better and stronger and better. I realized in all this sadness, that was so hard to understand, the Lord brought me this incredible gift. My soulmate. Never did I expect my soulmate to be some redneck from Arkansas who loves country music and guns. The Lord knew and he had plan for us, he brought us together on this journey for a reason. Raymond and I have had many conversations about almost feeling guilty about how happy and in love we felt with eachother during that terrible sadness. That's the truth though. Now our relationship isn't all unicorns and rainbows and I don't mean to make it sound that way. We bicker, we fight, we yell, and we give eachother the silent treatment sometimes. I even go completely psycho on the poor guy occasionally. But that is okay because deep down inside our bond is real and sealed. I guess the saying, "The Lord works in mysteriesous ways" is true. Happy Anniversary to my redneck Husband and the amazing Father to my babies! *****I am posting this now because I get sidetracked on the weekend and might forget*****