My Beloved is Mine

Tomorrow is a big day in our house: the anniversary.

It's the day we celebrate not only that we are married

but that we still love each other after another year has been added to the stack.

And this year has been a big 'un;

the surprise pregnancy brought

the surprise baby brought

 the surprise major readjusting and new daily juggling.

And with new surprises comes new responsibility.

And we all know responsibilities are not always the most fun of all.

However, responsibilities are better when shared with my one and only.

If you've listened carefully, you've heard me say this before:

I respect this man like no other.

I think that's how I knew he was THE one and not just the NEXT one.

 He's smart like no one I've ever known.

He loves God and reminds me on a regular basis to do the right thing.

He holds me accountable

and knows how to tell me I'm wrong in just the right way

so that instead of getting mad, I get inspired to do better.

But bigger and better than all that, he GETS me.

He doesn't try to change me or mold me or shape me.

 He's ok with

the fact that I'm not always the neatest kid on the block,

the idea that I sometimes get so engulfed with a project of sorts that I forget what time it is,

the notion that every so often I'm just downright grumpy and need a minute (or many),

the concept that I've been known to talk on the phone for hours at a time,

the thought that I need girl time on occasion,

and the theory that I like my music louder than most.

He accepts the idea that we don't and won't always see eye-to-eye.

But, we've gotten pretty good at the whole communicaton thing,

and I like to think we're a nice balance:

I'm more of a talker, and he's more of a listener.

He's also one heck of a good daddy to our little girls.

There is just something magical about the way my girls love their daddy.

It's like their little hearts were designed with a "my daddy is the most special person on this planet" button that he somehow managed to push at birth when I wasn't looking.

To say they adore him is such the understatement.

I guess I can't blame them; I happen to adore him as well.

 

He comforts me in a way I've never knew existed.

He's like the world's best paci, blankie, binky, and lovie all rolled into one-

and he belongs to me.

I think he deserves a trophy some days for putting up with me....well, us.

To be honest and lay it all out there, Libby is me in little person form.

And some days, she's a handful.

Yeah, that would be me.

So, in theory, he's getting a double dose of me....with a scoop of Hollyn to serve as the cherry on top.

For while Libby is me made over, Hollyn is Lee.

Lib and I ride a roller coaster through life-

we know every emotion there is-- sometimes all in one day.

Yet H and Lee know two: fine and furious.

And even though Lee is so different from me and Libby

that it's sometimes hard to fathom the notion that we're of the same species,

he's learning to see life from our perspective...

or at least learning to fake excitement when he knows we need it most.

He never ceases to surprise me.

And I am so in love with the fact that even after all this time,

 I'm still learning new things about him.

We are NOT old hat-- In fact, I believe we're just getting warmed up, folks.

From the outside looking in, many will say and some have already said

that we seem like we don't add up all that well, 

 but I disagree.

For you see, whoever it was that said opposites attract.....well, he was talking about us.

This fella is so my kind of funny.

And his little kid grin makes my heart go pitter patter.

So 'baby cakes', here's to you and me.

We're another year older,

another year stronger,

another year closer,

and another year US.

And I meant it when I told you that YOU are truly one of my greatest gifts.

Thanks for being my better half and for loving me so much it hurts.

You are my beloved, and my beloved is mine.