On the 11th Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me...

A year ago yesterday, we were packing up our tiny one bedroom apartment in Springfield, Missouri...

Sorting things into piles of "I won't need for 3 months," and "I will need this in the next 3 months."

We loaded all of our belongings into the farm's trailer and 15 passenger van.

We made one last sweep through, reminiscing about the memories made in the few short months we lived there.

We climbed into our vehicles and made the 80 mile journey to Lamar, where we would unload the trailer and van and put our "home" in storage until the end of March.

My heart aches as I remember back.

Sometimes I wonder if that ache will ever go away of if it will always be there.

Springfield holds so many good memories for Tyler and I.

But with that said, I wouldn't trade our past year for anything.

I don't want to do it all over again, but I wouldn't trade it.

The experience has made me realize the need for my husband that I might not have realized in any other circumstance.

Today, I want to share why I love you, Tyler and what you mean to me.

1.  You are a very hard worker.  You have worked so hard at your job this past year and have received many compliments from your superiors as well as your co-workers.  I'm so proud of you.

2.  You are just as stubborn as me.  When you make up your mind to do something, you will see it through.

3.  You love me at my ugliest days...and I don't just mean my appearance.

4.  I can trust you with my whole heart.  I know that I can tell you anything and you will still love me, no matter what I have to say.

5.  You keep me laughing.

6.  You do your best to console me when I need to cry...especially when I get homesick.  And then remind me that God has a plan...

7.  You support me and my crazy ideas...even when you might not want to.

8.   You see how much family and traditions mean to me and are wanting to start our own family traditions. :)

9.  You have grown so much in your relationship with Christ.  I love being able to see what you're learning and how God is changing your heart.

10.  You see us as a family...even when we don't have kids or pets.  I absolutely love that, because it is exactly what we are! 

11.  You're my very best friend and I would not have survived this past year without you.  I'm so blessed that I get to be the one who does life right beside you, that I get to be the one you come home to every day, and that I get to be the one you confide in.

So while I may not have the same plan that God has for us, I will pray that God will lessen the ache in my heart.  I will be content in my circumstances.  I will always thank Him for the best friend that he gave me 4 years ago...and I pray that I will always be the wife that Tyler  needs me to be.  This has been a learning experience for me, and I pray that God will always give me the chance to learn.