34 Years....Who Would of Thought!!

Today is Tom and I anniversary! This and Mothers Day are my two favorite days of the year! Without Tom, I would not celebrate them and these days would not matter as much to me! I am so thankful for Tom... My sweet companion!!As usual Tom made dinner reservations at Don and Charlie's and as usual the liver pate was fantastic and everything else was just as impressive! This is our favorite special place! We love going there sitting on the same side of the booth and just looking out at all the people! It is funny to watch different people celebrating different things and wondering just who is who and what is what! Tom and I try and guess are they married or dating or if they are celebrating an anniversary how many years ect... Usually you hear but this night I could only hear a couple down a few booths who were sitting on the same side as we were and they were older than us but they had not been married for anywhere near as long as Tom and I had been married!

Tom and I just celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary! I still remember my dad asking me "Why do you want to marry a dumb cowboy"? I remember how much I loved him then! I never would of thought that I could of loved him more at that time! I was so wrong!

Tom and I have grown over the last actually 38 years so much! We dated for four years before we married! I never thought that my life would be what it is today! I did not go to church and knew very little about the church and Tom was not a member of our church at this time! Who would of thought after 16 years of marriage, we would be sealed for Eternity in the Mesa Arizona Temple! Who would of thought that when we went on our two week long honeymoon in Hawaii in 1977, when we were married, that would would celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary by picking our son Joe, who served a mission in Hawaii 25 years later! Who would of thought that we would have our youngest child Rhett serving a mission in Italy on our 34 and 35th wedding anniversary! Who would of thought we would have five kids and ten grand children!!! Who would of thought all of this!!! NOT ME!!!! I am so thankful for my Eternal companion! No one else could put up with me for this long! I think he would say the same for him that, no one could put up with him for this long either! I have heard that there is no such thing as a soul mates and I think I believe this because.... When you get married you are head over hills in love and you have to nurture that relationship so it will grow! Raising kids is rewarding but also can be hard! If you do not have a loving nurturing spouse these years can be hard and you can lose the love and companionship in your marriage! There is always ups and downs in finances, work schedules, illnesses and just plain stresses in life! So you have to really be in love to endure these things and some how find joy! I have had many people ask me why do you think your marriage has lasted this long??? It is easy for me to explain but not all get it!! Tom and I have endured because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Without this we would be no where! This ever lasting gospel has taught us to forgive and love one another!! We have family members and friends that think being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a odd or difficult religion to live. I will say there have been times in my life where my faith has been shaken but... I am so thankful to know that my Heavenly Father knows me and LOVES me and that HE sent his Son to show me and my family the way! With out this knowledge I would not be where I am today! I could not be more thankful for my ups and downs, for the stumbling stones on my path, that I have learned from and still learning to pick up and make building blocks out of them! I could not be more thankful for the Priesthood that Tom holds and the way he honors it with such grace! Tom has been such a great example of hard work to his children! I am thankful for Toms years of trials prior to him becoming of member of our church.... He is who he is today because of those years! Tom is a wonderful companion and dad and who would of thought!!! Not my dad!! This has been a fun anniversary and who would of thought that I would get a little "Snowy" that shaves ice better than Bahama Bucks and Tom would get a brand new SADDLE!!! Who would of thought.... NOT US!!!!!! Tom you will always be precious to me!!! I am so eternally thankful for you and I love you more now than I did the day we got married!!! WHO WOULD OF THOUGHT!!!