Thirteen

Last night, Sam and I celebrated our 13th anniversary at the the Delaware State Fair attending the Lady Antebellum concert. It was a wonderful and relaxing night, but the week leading up to it was anything but. In fact, I don't know if we've ever had a busier week in our lives. It seemed to be the collision of every church and extracurricular involvement and responsibility we have.  Between boy scout camp, cub scout camp, first week of football, last week of swim, MMA, babysitting, volunteering and various appointments we were hanging on by our fingernails by the time Saturday's all day divisional  swim meet wrapped up. Riding on the tails of such an intense week, I was extra stressed as we prepared to leave and worried I wouldn't be able to enjoy the evening out. Thankfully, I was wrong.

The drive up to the fair was a little over two hours, so Sam and I had plenty of time to talk and plan our lives. It felt like such a luxury to have time and space to develop thoughts that I hope will drive our family forward in the directions we think are important. It was just what I needed. By the time we arrived at the fair I was a new woman.

One thing I was looking forward to at the fair was being able to take lots of pictures without holding a baby or  worrying about keeping the kids in my peripheral. Unfortunately, I brought the camera but without the battery. Uggg. So much for my plans to document ever moment of our fantastic night together in all of it's chili-cheese fries and corn dog glory. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I guess I have a lot of writing to do to make up for it.

 I did have my phone so the evening didn't go completely undocumented.

Joe Nichols opened for Lady Antebellum and was actually really great. Coincidentally, we saw Joe Nichols on our 2nd anniversary too...equally accidentally that time as well.

 Our up close encounter with Joe Nichols. I'm not gonna lie--it was pretty exciting.

 Lady Antebellum was Uh-mazing! Sam and I were both blown away with how great they sounded live.

 Another close, but not as up close, celebrity encounter. Still totally exciting...

On the way home, Sam and I talked about our lives 13 years ago and how we were so young when made such an important and eternal decision. I don't feel that much older (at least I refuse to accept the fact that I am that much older), but 13 years is a significant amount of time. I know in that time I have increased in wisdom, maturity, and perspective (yet still have miles to go). Despite the tremendous amount of growth that has occurred in that time, 13 years ago I felt completely capable and ready to make the decision I did. In fact, it was a decision that I really never doubted and felt much too sure of much too early to have been uninspired. The past 13 years have been full of growth because they have been full of trials, difficulties, mistakes and disappointments right along side victories, blessings and miracles too numerous to count. I am so grateful that 13 years ago I was blessed with wisdom beyond my own to know that marrying Sam was the right choice for me. It is the most important and best decision I have ever made, and 13 years later I absolutely love him more than ever.