Our Five Ring Circus: Thirteen Blessed Years

Monday, September 9, 2013

Thirteen Blessed Years

Fourteen years ago we met in the Garden of Eden.  

For those unfamiliar with our story, we met when we were cast as Adam and Eve in a musical called "The Apple Tree."

Two months later we began dating.

Two months after our first date we got engaged.

Everybody was shocked at our whirlwind romance and the fact that we were so young (18 and 19). 

One year later, on September 9, 2000, we were married.

In 2002 we moved into our first house and got our first dog together.

In 2004 we got the biggest surprise when I became pregnant with Dylan.  We didn't plan on having children until we were 30, so at 23 and 24, our plans changed!  He ended up being the biggest blessing.  We bought our first house and moved in one month before he was born.  Bringing our preterm (but healthy!) baby home was the best thing that had ever happened to us.

In 2007 Lexie joined our family.  We were absolutely thrilled to have a baby girl!  As I mentioned, our plans for having children had changed!

In 2011, Lily came into our lives.  The previous year had been horrible for us.  We thought we were done having kids, but decided on trying one more time.  After such a rough year, she brought so much joy back into our world!

2012 was another rough year for us.  Grant's best friend passed away unexpectedly,  Grant was laid off from his job after nearly a decade of working there, and Grant's father passed away.  Our three children kept us going and brought happiness into our lives. As a family of 5, we felt complete.

But life has a way of constantly changing. 

At the very beginning of 2013 we got a huge surprise when we found out Liam was on his way.  Everything miraculously fell into place, and we waited eagerly for our 4th child's arrival.  We were in for an even bigger surprise when our beautiful son was handed to us with the unexpected Down Syndrome diagnosis. 

Fast forward 3 weeks 1 day.  Today we are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary.  The past 3 weeks have changed us in so many good ways.  The surprise that rocked our world ended up being the biggest blessing.  We are so in love with our son and so in love with the beautiful family that we have created. Liam is the one who completes us. Over the past 3 weeks, I have fallen in love with my husband all over again. 

We have come such a long way since we met "under the apple tree."   We have had many ups and downs, but we stuck together, and made it through all the detours.  I am so thankful to be on this crazy adventure called life with my amazing husband!

 096


16 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary! You guys are all such a beautiful family! Hoping you have a wonderful day!

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  2. hope you all have a beautiful DAY celebrating :)

    13 years is worth a trip to the Bahamas, right??! LOL

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  3. Incredible story! After reading your blog for so many years, I'm surprised that some aspects of the story were unknown to me :). Thank goodness, God is in charge!

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  4. What a beautiful family. Happy anniversary!

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  5. Happy Anniversary!! Loved your story! It's amazing how life's unexpected twists can be the biggest blessings!! You are very blessed and I am so happy to have "met" you through blogging!

    Kate @ Raising the Rogers

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  6. Beautiful Story!!! I love the timeline hahaha Happy Anniversary

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  7. Hi Stefanie,
    I have read your blog for some time now but have never commented (I rarely do). Congratulations on your anniversary & the birth of your son Liam. I am not sure if you follow Kelly Hampton's blog but it may be of interest to you.

    I know that although your son was born with a "surprise you were not expecting" you are handling it with such grace ..a true testament to what an incredible Mommy he was given.

    Florence

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  8. Happy Anniversary! And good grief, you look FABULOUS for just having a baby!!!

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  9. Happy Anniversary!

    I remember your wedding and even when you two started dating. Being young and married can be difficult but you two have proven to be the couple that handles it all well. We love you guys, here is to many many more years of awesome!

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  10. Happy Anniversary! Yall are truly role models!

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  11. Happy Anniversary!! What a beautiful love story :)
    I wish you a lifetime of happiness, you all are such a sweet family Stefanie xo

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