Celebrating 4 Years

It is now officially our 4th wedding anniversary. Over the past few days, the various photo memories from 4 years ago have popped up in the Facebook Memories feed and they have made me smile.

Sam and I were married in Florida. Ours is a wonderful love story. I know that I have added many new followers since I first told how our friendship turned into a relationship and eventually a life as husband and wife. For you newcomers, I blogged all about it for our first wedding anniversary. It was a series of three blogs. Here they are so you can catch up:

The Beginnings of a Beautiful Friendship

Part II – The Proposal

Part III – To the Aisle

As I reread those blogs, all the emotions come running back to me. They made me laugh, smile, cry, and smile all over again. What a wonderful journey we have been on.

Of course, our family has grown since those blogs were written. We’ve been blessed with our beautiful daughter, Ella and our handsome son, Andrew. The kids keep us VERY busy and we are always lacking sleep, and we wouldn’t change that for the world. They bring us both so much joy and I’m sure they will continue to do that for years to come.

I can’t imagine life without Sam. I disappoint her and annoy her often. I forget to do things all the time. I make messes. I make mistakes. I’m far from perfect. She continues to love me. She forgives me. She puts up with me. She reasons with me. When I am confused, angry, or emotional, she is the voice of reason. She is the “glue” that holds everything together. That is why I wanted to write something specifically for her.

My dearest Samantha,

I could spend hours and hours standing in a Hallmark store looking through thousands of cards, and none of them would ever be able to express how grateful I am for you. None of them would be able to convey how very much I love you. To be perfectly honest, I am not sure that I can even find the words to do that, but I’m going to try..

I had no idea when we met that we would fall in love. When we did and talked about getting married and having children together, I had no idea that when we did it would be this amazing. I had no idea that along with the happiness, there would also be struggles. In four years, we have been through a lot, and always come out on top. God has always made sure things fall into place. I have no doubt that He will continue to be ever present in the years we have ahead.

Thank you for being so good to me and for being so loving, patient, and kind. You’re as thoughtful today as you were when we first met. I’m thankful that you’re so willing to listen to me and to share with me your feelings and dreams, even your concerns and your worries. I always heard how important open communication was in marriage, and I wholeheartedly believe it.

I honestly can’t think of how my life would be without you in it. I imagine it would be empty, sad, cold, and meaningless. As the coming years pass, I know that the love that we share will continue to grow. I look forward to growing old together, (even though many would consider me old already). The thought of all the upcoming years spent by your side brings me such deep joy and an inner peace that I can hardly comprehend. I know that, no matter what, we’ll stay together, through thick and thin. That’s what real love and commitment is all about, and that’s what I have for you.

Thank you for the many memories that we have made over the past four years. They will forever make me smile. Thank you for being such a wonderful wife to me. I am so very lucky to have you as my soulmate. Thank you for being such a loving mother to our children. They are as lucky as I am to have you in their life. Finally, thank you for loving me. Your love means everything to me. I look forward to the future and cannot wait to make new memories with you and our family.

I love you with everything that I am today, tomorrow and forever.

Keith.