feeling a little sentimental tonight...

My girls are all tucked in and fast asleep. Matt is sleeping soundly next to me. As I lie here tonight thinking about tomorrow, the week ahead, and the days to come, I am feeling a bit sentimental. Maybe for a bunch of reasons...

The first of which is because tomorrow I will be taking my sweet Bella to the first day of her second grade year. When approaching big milestone days like this, I always have this feeling of disbelief wash over me. How can it be? Where has the time gone? Most of all I get this warm fuzzy feeling of love and thankfulness when I think about Bella. She is such a wonderful, sweet, warm, little girl. She is truly one of my most favorite people on earth, and when I think of her in this warm light, the disbelief fades into pure joy that she is mine. I have had the pleasure of enjoying two and a half months at home with her by my side, enjoying days filled with simple, good, pleasures. In these moments of gratefulness, I see God's love, his hand, and his delight casting down on our lives.

The second of which is because on Friday, I will be taking my baby, my little Meritt Rose to her very first day of Preschool. Wow. The baby days at our house are officially over. Any final pieces that I may have been holding onto are now fading away into the next chapter of her story. While my arms are emptier without any babies to feed or rock, my heart is full. Possibly more full than it has ever been.

Last, but most definitely not least, I have been thinking alot about what my marriage means to me lately. The sixteenth of this month marks Matt and my 10th wedding anniversary. Wow. Again. We were two young kids, who knew nothing. NOTHING... except for the fact that we were madly in love with the other, and that we had to be together, forever. Despite all the warnings of people much older than we were, despite the lack of money, the lack of insurance, the lack of material things or even direction. We just knew that when we were together anything was possible. We knew that we wanted to be right in the world, and the only way to do that was to be joined forever, as a family, the two of us, in front of God, our families, and everyone we loved. So we did. That was the beginning of our amazing adventure of life, side by side, and hand in hand. The last ten years haven't been perfect. I don't think I would have wanted them to be. There have been highs and lows, and days in between. But, still after all these years, when I quiet myself, and all the things around myself, I know without a doubt that he's the one for me. Perfectly designed just for me. Yep, we're imperfectly perfect matches for each other! God is good that way isn't he?!

So with all of these things twirling around me inside, and out, I just can't help but feel a little sentimental, thinking about all that has been, and all that is yet to come! It's gonna be a great week, heck let's go for a great month! :+)