16 and counting

As of this day, November 25, 2011, my wonderful, beautiful wife and I have been married for 16 years!  I planned it on the 25th so that I do not forget it, since the 24th of November is my birthday.  Every few years either my birthday or our anniversary falls on Thanksgiving.  This year it was my birthday fell on turkey day, so that means our 16th wedding anniversary is on Black Friday of all days!  This would not be of any concern for me, as I usually look to avoid doing things that involve standing in long lines for long periods of time or fighting my way through crowds of sleep deprived shoppers being kept awake with large quantities of caffeine and the joy of fighting over the last of the big sale items left in a store.  So black Friday shopping is not something I have tried or will ever even think about trying!  However, my awesome wife does enjoy these type of activities, and has several friends that enjoy it as well.  So I am writing this Thursday the 24th, to publish it tomorrow on our anniversary, after the kids have gone to bed and the crazy shopping women have all left the house.  It is now the quietest it has been in the house since getting out of bed this morning.  So our anniversary celebration will be quite laid back tomorrow, as Brooke will have had no sleep and we are not even sure at what time of day she will return tomorrow to collapse into the bed.  Over the last few years I have tried to by an anniversary gift for her following the lists of traditional and/or contemporary things to buy on certain anniversaries.  For instance last year the traditional gift for the 15th anniversary was Crystal and the modern was watches.  That is pretty easy.  But this year it is Tourmaline for traditional gifts and Silver Holloware for modern gift.  I was not even sure what either of those were.  Thankfully I have Mr. Google to help me out and after lots of careful research I was able to come up with a gift for her that I know she will love.  For our 16th wedding anniversary I am getting Brooke a.....................  I can't tell you here now, she might read this before I give it to her!  Just know that she will love it and use it often. 

Anyway, now that this blog has gone off in a completely different direction than originally planned, back to the topic at hand.

This day we celebrate 16 years of marriage and are looking forward to many more years to come.  It has not always been easy, I don't think any marriage is, and no one is perfect, especially me, but I know that I feel I have been blessed to have Brooke at my side as my wife for the last 16 years.  I thank God every day for bringing her into my life and guiding us along every step of the way.  This time of year we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what we are thankful for and my wife is always one of the first things that comes to mind.   

So I am writing this to tell my wife,

Happy 16th anniversary!! 

I Love You!!