I Hope You Dance

In 2 days, we'll turn the pages of our story & start a brand new chapter ... chapter 21.

We'll begin our 21st year of wedded bliss!

We are no longer in the honeymoon phase, sadly.
In fact, we are nearing mid-life!
That feels so weird to say ... & weird to experience too, I must admit.

It's been a year of transition, the biggest being that our twin sons graduated!
A huge part of my daily life {homeschooling 3} has changed.
The twins are working full-time jobs & both are in courtships.
Even Riley has worked some this summer, leaving the house empty & oh so quiet.
My babies aren't babies anymore ... & momma is trying to adjust to these BIG changes
as best as she can & as gracefully as possible.

James job has been more demanding than ever, bringing along with it the usual stress.

Add in the other usual day-to-day busyness, & you've got yourself a roller coaster ride.

That's about the best analogy I can think of.

We have determined, however, not to let our marriage {or our family} take a back seat.

Often in the hustle & bustle of life, we take for granted the things that are constants,

the things that are familiar, the things we think will just be there, regardless ...

& sometimes that ends up being our marriage & our spouse.

We've had our ups & downs, tears, sorrow, & sadness ... no marriage is void of those,

but we've also made some deliberate choices to celebrate, have fun, laugh, 

& make memories.

Last August, I blogged {a whole month late} about being married for 20 years.

We were sad that we couldn't do something huge to celebrate ...

you know, like go to Hawaii {like we said we do by our 10th}.

Nah, that just didn't happen.

In fact, July is one of our busiest months & we've never really celebrated too big.

Our schedules just haven't allowed it.

So, we decided to celebrate being married for 20 years all.year.long.

And that is exactly what we've done.

In my blog last August, I compared marriage to a dance ...

& I think this song fits us just right.

We've kept our dance card full throughout this 20th year.
 
James planned a trip to the Benjamin Harrison House & a nice dinner to start it off.
{July 2011}

In October {2011}, we headed to our favorite place on earth ...South Carolina.
It was hard to reduce our wonderful week down to just a handful of pics, 
but here are a few of my favorites.

In February, James came home & announced that he was planning a cruise.
After going back & forth, we decided that we couldn't leave the country without
taking our children along for the experience.
We told them it was a 'senior trip' of sorts.

We started our adventure in New Orleans ... what an experience that was!

We had a wonderful time in Cozumel & Progresso ... so many new memories to treasure.

As we begin our 21st year, who even knows what it will bring.
I'm sure there will be an adventure or two along the way.
All in all, we will turn through this chapter with a grateful heart,
thanking God for His many blessings, & asking for His love to guide & keep us. 


Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder
Where those years have gone
I hope you dance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance~