9 years and counting

pete & i have been married 9 years today.

we have always said that we haven't changed at all since we have been married.

i've spent time today thinking about how we were way back then.

what a silly thought to think that we haven't changed a bit!

in fact, i found it difficult to find things that were still the same.

i think a more accurate way to say it is that we have changed together.

we have been fortunate to have grown closer as we've changed instead of apart.

he & i both have found the space & given the freedom to grow, develop, & change.

and that has been one of the best things about our marriage...

the freedom to be who we have needed to be as an individual and yet having it work so perfectly as a couple.

just for kicks i have made a list of some of the things that have changed over the last 9 years and some of the things that are still the same.

we actually worked on this list together,

and it made us laugh.

different

*our weight: pete has gained 30 lbs. (even though you would never tell), and i have gained 10 (but if you subtract the 7 lbs. of baby weight left to lose it's only 3; not bad for 9 years.)

*our hair: pete no longer has the short, post mission cut; it's a long curl do now (which i love). mine is no longer a textured blond weave; it's solid brown and blunt.

*our cars are different; pete no longer is rolling in his pimped out toyota tacoma, and i no longer have my honda accord coupe. instead we've moved on to bigger and better... now instead of 1 honda we now are the proud owners of a honda odyssey and a honda cr-v.

*i don't say 'delightful' all the time anymore. yes, this was a problem in the beginning of our marriage.

*our bank account went from having no money in it to having a little money in it.

*we are no longer in college. hey, so what that just ended 8 months ago.

*we now have 3 college degrees between the 2 of us.

*pete has had a career change from a construction professional to a teacher, and i have worked in 3 salons since the beginning and am now at home.

*we aren't the trendy couple that we used to be. ok, trendy may be pushing it a little, but hey we don't even have that going for us anymore! we look like uncool 30 somethings now!

*pete now has an artificial device implanted in him to protect him from another near death experience.

*the best difference has been that we are now the proud parents of 3 amazing children, and our lives revolve more around them than almost anything else.

*oh, and we no longer need a tripod to snap photos of ourselves; we now have a 4-year-old to do it. :)

same

*our kitchen knife set hasn't changed. or our upstairs tv.

*i still make eggplant & goat cheese sandwiches.

*some of our clothes are still the same, and that is not a plus.

*we still argue over who is the funniest out of the 2 of us. we still haven't been able to decide who should be the president of our funny club.

*our location is still the same. we haven't even moved far enough away for our ward to change. we're still a little unsettled about this one.

*we still overanalyze every decision we make to the point that it is hard to make decisions about anything.

*we're still tightwads.

*my sisters still worry if pete likes them. (well, maybe not so much, but pete wanted to add that to the list. i guess some things never change. :)

*we still choose experiences over things. hence, our crazy vacations and dumpy house.

i almost put our love on the list.

we have always loved each other so much that i thought this would be something i could put on the 'same' list.

however, i realize that even that belongs on the list of things that are different.

the depth of our love for each other has changed.

we are even better friends than we were before,

and we understand each more, too.

even though we were great together 9 years ago,

i'm happy to say that 9 years together have made us even better.