::8 Years and Counting:: A Marriage Reflection

For many of you who know us, you should know that Ricardo and I have grown-up together. We were teens when we met. 15 years later and after 8 years of marriage, 2 toddlers, and a lots of good and bad we are still here. Together. In love. In our own way. My Hubby is not your typical romantic who remembers the small things the way I do. For a long time, I really disliked him for it. But, then I slowly began to realize who he is...

He is above all a thoughtful and determined provider for his family, organized and mindful of what we can and cannot afford.

He is a happy father who LOVES his children unconditionally.

He loves me and cares for me.

He tries every day to be better person.

He brings me flowers when I am mad. It counts. A lot.

He accepts me and my crazy ideas but he doesn't always agree with me.

He is my Husband, a Father, a Brother, a Son, a Brother-in-Law and a Son-in-Law as well as a friend to many.

He is an intelligent man with his own plan, trying to focus on his goals.

His laugh is contagious.

He is the love of my life. My one and only. My always and forever. NO matter how much we argue and say things...we are still together. Making it through the struggles of everyday.

Marriage is not easy. Living with another person for years and years is not easy. It's work. Everyday a new day. Everyday a new challenge. We work at our marriage, some days are good, some are bad and others are great. On the worse days we give each other space, we hear each other out but we never run away.

Marriage has been a blessing, a life changing experience and a life time commitment. I don't plan on giving up and I am sure and blessed that he will not give up either.

People will see us and judge us, as individuals for what we are not or what we don't do, or what we lack or what they think we are. But, in the end Him and I know each other, what we have been through and where we are going. Nothing else matters. Ever.

The goal is to make it and make it good. Our vision are two children. They will see us, they will follow us, they will know what and who we are, they are watching us and for them, we will do our best to be great. For them, for us and for each other as individuals.

I say it all the time. Our lives are not perfect, nor do we claim it or pretend to be that way. Our lives are together and together we make it work. Some days we are happy, others we are sad and some days we are very, very mad but always together.

We try every day to make the best of what we have. We don’t have it all. We might not have the best but we have love…every day.

Ricardo, I love you. I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you and admire you, for your strength, your courage and your determination. I love you…..until death do us part. Happy 8th year wedding anniversary, and happy 15 year anniversary of being together.

::August:: #morethanamonth

::August::

It's  not only the month I met my Husband in 1999, even then he wasn't just some guy who wanted to date me and called me every other day from a payphone, he was different. Could I tell you that he would now be the same man who I married and had dos children with? No. Probably not. At 18 life for me was uncertain. My immediate family wasn't as stable as a family would want, to think that one day my dad could walk me down the aisle and that he would later be around to see me give birth to his grandchildren. It was complicated.

It's also the month that 6 years later in 2005, my Hubby would  propose to me on the same day we met August 13th...only after I was being nosy, as usual and found my engagement ring in the glove compartment of his 2000-something Jetta. It was still a special moment 6 years in the making. 

A year later in 2006, on a rainy Houston day we got married. August 19th.

3 years after that, in August of 2009, we were a month a away from having our first child. A son born September 16th. We thought then we were complete... 

Imagine our surprise when almost a year later, once more in August, while we were away on an Internship trip with my Hubby I would find  out I was pregnant again, this time  with my daughter, Camila. She was born in March of 2011. Now we feel complete but we have no idea what more the universe has in store for us. 

And, we are waiting and ready for whatever that may be.....

Oh yeah, did I mention that it is also my Hubby's Birthday month, this year the big 3-5!! 

 

Without even thinking about it, August has so much significance in our lives. It continues to bring blessings and positive outcomes for our little family of 4.  

What  month, is more than just a month for you? 

::OVERWHELMED::

Last year I attended a Women's conference, the name "Overwhelmed" the message, well yes...Overwhelming. In a good way. 

Ever since then I carry a blue pen in my purse and the word on it speaks out to me every time I use it.

Overwhelmed.

I used the pen this past weekend at yet another faith-filled mini-seminar, this time for couples. It was a message of Intimacy, yes in a physical way but more importantly in a Spiritual and Emotional manner.

And, it's something that I have taken with me all week. 

Why do I become overwhelmed? Well, because I am now a Momma and doing is well what I do! Then there are passions that I have like Volunteering and this here Blog. And, 8 hours of crazy work days, plus a house to maintain and children's birthday parties and family parties and all kind of other meet-ups and fun life activities to do!

How do I recognize that I can become overwhelmed? I remind myself that while it would be fun to meet Sid the Science kid at 9 am on a Saturday morning at the Children's museum, my 4 year old and almost 3 year old wouldn't mind sleeping in and eating pancakes instead. They have no matter what we do. I remind myself that while I can get free tickets to the Children's festival by blogging about it, I can also go to the park that same day and enjoy my family in a less crowded space.

How do I make peace with not being overwhelmed? I allow my heart and soul to take over my life rather than the world.

Yes, all of these activities are great and I do participate in a lot of things during the week; Rodeo work, work Work, Bible Study, mentoring and preparing for new Blogging experiences..but my children and my Husband are not me.

They enjoy down time and relaxing and I should respect them. Stressing them out with daily and weekend schedules is well overwhelming. Allowing our family to just be, gives us more peace and more rest to enjoy not only each others company but also the smaller things in life that we tend to ignore when we try to fill our calendars with so much of everything else.

While my calendar quickly fills-up with my responsibilities and passions...my families calendar sits still and remains in peace, and that works for us.... 

What about you? How do you remain in control and not allow yourself to become overwhelmed?