Celebrating and remembering...

12 years ago this weekend Shep and I said our vows.

We laughed that some days we feel as if we have just always been together and other days we feel like we were just married a short while ago. I guess that is a good thing. We have talked all weekend about what we were probably doing at that exact time 12 years earlier.

-the rehearsal dinner
-the morning of the wedding
-the jitters right before the wedding
-the reception
-the honeymoon :>)

I am happy to say that marriage done God's way just gets better. I am so thankful for the strong man God gave me. He is the easiest person in the world to get along with and God knew I would need that....remember I am moody. He steadies my faith and builds me up.

We get to share our anniversary with Memorial Day. We got to ride on the motorcycle for a little while and we made a stop at the Georgia National cemetery.

Every single grave had an American flag in front of it. The sight was truly powerful. I felt like I was on sacred ground....it was like big bass drums should have been sounding off in the distance. I watched as parents and siblings of fallen loved ones placed flowers on graves and wiped tears of sorrow and sacrifice. I almost felt like I was intruding on their private moments. There were people talking, babies crying, and the hum of car engines. I wondered if these families wanted to scream out...."Do you know what they gave for you? Do you know what we lost for you?"

I felt such a fresh and renewed sense of gratitude, patriotism, and sacrifice.

These people lived and died so that I could enjoy this day of freedom riding around on a motorcycle with my husband.

I praise my God for creating such people that would lay down their own lives for those of us they will never meet. Help us to rise to the occasion and live out such courage in our daily lives. This was such an excellent reminder that "freedom isn't free."