DH

I am part of what I like to call my "mom group." The ladies in the group of mothers that I know and love are amazing. We all come from very different backgrounds, but we have our kids in common. We have known each other for three years and have been through a lot together. These ladies have helped me through some hard times for certain. The best part about this group of moms is watching each others children grow up. We have kids the same age, some of us have older kids as well, or younger. We are able to compare experiences, seek advice, and bitch about things in our lives, without judgement. It is a beautiful thing, and I feel deeply blessed to have found these ladies.

Because a lot of our communication in the group is online we have several acronyms to make life easier. One of these is DH, which, depending on the mood, can stand for Dear Husband or Darn Husband. This post is about my Dear Husband.

He is often, in my mind, darn husband. Certainly not perfect, but then again no one is. I am not the kind of girl who raves about her husband to other people all the time (you know those people on facebook who wont shut up about how great they have it-I am so not that). But I am now inspired to rave about him a little bit on my blog.

This song, by Hootie, or Darius Rucker took my breath away the first time I heard it. It is perfect for my husband and I. There have been several songs that have come along that just speak to us as a couple (like our wedding song, Faithfully by Journey...that is for another post).

"We are one heartbeat in the darkness
We are one lasting answered prayer
We are one unbroken promise
And we are two true believers"

When Stephen and I met, we were both in bad places as far as teenagers go. We both needed something big to happen in our lives to get us on track and realize our potential. Neither of us was into drugs or anything, but we were not in good places in our hearts, and we will both remember that we didn't think we had anyone who cared. Then we found each other. I know he wasn't much of a person to pray, but I certainly was, and I prayed that I would find someone every single day, someone to love and who would love me back. He is my lasing answered prayer. Together we vowed to love each other, till death do us part. Let me tell you, the first two years of this was NOT easy. He was immediately shipped off to Japan and we saw each other about six times in those first two years. When he returned to the states we didn't know each other at all. He was thrilled to be home and I was thinking "what the hell did I do?" A few months of getting to know each other as if we were strangers, and a lot of reminding ourselves of the vows we took on our wedding day (in good times and bad, till death. . .) and we were so happy and in love again. 

"It wasn't easy getting here today
Sometimes you stumbled or I lost my way
But every roadblock was a chance to say;
Take my hand I'm here beside you."

Like I said, it wasn't easy, but here we are. This has been an incredible year for my husband and I. Really, the past two years were difficult, with me being in school and he working to become a police officer. We have struggled in many ways and had a lot of instability, but this year all the fruits of our labor were seen. I graduated from college and he became a police officer. We worked our butts off for this, and I can say, without a doubt, that I would not have been able to graduate without his support. Not only did he take over well more than his fair share of work around the house, he always told me I could do it, never let me doubt myself, and did so many extra things for and with our son to give me time to study and write papers.

This year has been an emotional roller coaster for sure. With both of us reaching really big goals that we worked on for several years, and with the loss of people who were once staples in our lives. We have learned who really loves us and who will be there no matter what. We have lost and gained people in our lives. Some of the losses have been devastating, but  my dear husband has always taken everything one step at a time and has never let anything happening outside of our intimate family have a great affect on him. He is so strong. When I am losing my mind and heart over something he is tough and gets us through. I don't know how he does it, but he does.

"We worked and made it through the toughest parts
Now every days another chance to start,
To look around and see that where we are
Is where we were trying to get to"

When he was in Japan for two years, and I was left behind we always said we were getting the toughest part of our lives over with early and there would be nothing but happy times afterwards. Maybe that is true, but the last two years gave us a run for our money as well. With all the bad, there has been good too. Like I mentioned we have reached goals that seemed impossible at times. We are adding to our family with our daughter (if she EVER decides to come), and we are watching our baby boy turn into a little boy. Nothing could produce more joy than seeing Danny grow up. Hearing him talk, say new words each day, play, imagine. . . everything. It is funny, even when things aren't perfect, they never will be, but we always thought that one day they would, right now I am looking around the world and my life and realize that where we are is right where we were trying to get to. 

We are two true believers. . .