Nine Short Years!

I used to laugh at my mom when she would remark how fast the time was going, but now I see the wisdom because time really does fly. It seems the older you get, the faster it goes. I love this picture it is so descriptive of where we were in life...only opening the door. I'm not sure we're even inside yet, but I look forward to exploring the rest of the house with the man of my dreams. The only thing that has truly changed since this picture was taken (aside from our weight and my perfectly manicured nails...he still bites his) is the love we feel for each other. And even though we were married on FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, it has been a lucky day for us.
So, like all my great ideas (which come from someone else), here is a list of things accomplished and merely a shadow of things to come.

1 wedding @ 6:20 a.m.
1 trip to New York
1 Winter Olympic adventure here at home
2 bachelor degrees
2 dogs
3 kids...also three trips to the emergency room
4 apartments
5 pregnancies and
5 sets of stiches
5 sick days
5 gardens started, zero produce yielded
6 couches (4 sofa's 2 couches...okay dad!)
6 moves
8 teeth lost
9 anniversaries
10 pieces of furniture assembled (2 built from scratch)
12 jobs
13 fish
14 baby sitters
15 bouquets of flowers
21 prenatal appointments
27 callings
30 special birthday cakes made
50 accidents while potty training
100 lbs gained (for both of us...but in his defense, the composer came home way too skinny from his mission)
104 lawns mowed
147 dates
177 hair cuts given
240 pounds of skin shed (gross, but true)
300 inches of hair grown (not counting nose hair)
468 Family Home Evenings
558 days of morning sickness (all-day sickness)
2,998 fights (1,000,000 make-up kisses) Yes Mom of course I'm exaggerating, we don't fight every day.
3,285 days married
4,592 breast feeding sessions (don't ask how many hours!)
11,000 diapers changed (approximately)
19,667 meals eaten (by adults only)
200,000 miles driven
Well, that's all I really have the patience to calculate...hopefully you got a laugh and now you know we don't take ourselves very seriously, and honestly, that is what I have loved most about our marriage. We laugh every day...maybe a little too loud...but we still love each other more than ever. So to my love:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
You're still the love of my life
and the man of my dreams
thanks for the laughs
and all your morning kisses
I'm really excited to see where the next 9 years will take us
and the countless years after that
(no that wasn't a poem...if you were wondering)