Happy 10th Anniversary, I love you

I cannot believe ten years have gone forward, not passed, because there has been so much living in each of the years, past anniversaries, every month, in all the days. For the days I am grateful, for the evenings, I am happy for the rests we have had, and for the living I give God thanks for His grace of perseverance, love, constant hope and joy, and when we see the Cross, we know that there can be no hope, no joy without the crosses of daily life. As our wedding song says,
As we weather while the time passes us by, it begins to appear that in the end our hurt outweighs the years.
And so I desire to spend my years together with you, my eternal love, together with my family, together with my friends...
I am worth nothing, I have nothing, if I don't have the best: your love and companionship in my heart.
Better a year late than a decade without you. It's worth it to finally have my heart replete.
Hence I always want to be conscious of your steadfast love, be we near or far from the end.I am worth nothing, I have nothing, if I don't have the best: your love and companionship in my heart.
Come, my love...
I feel weak when I am without you, and I become strong when you are here. Without you I don't know what it's like to live. My life is a tunnel without light. I want to spend more time with you, take back the moments I have lost, and conquer the immense fear of death so as to experience eternity with you.I am worth nothing, I have nothing, if I don't have the best: your love and companionship in my heart.Hence I always want to be conscious of your steadfast love, be we near or far from the end.I am worth nothing, I have nothing, if I don't have the best: your love and companionship in my heart. (Our Wedding Song: Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor by JuanesTranslated in English: I Am Nothing Without Your Love)

 And, Our Nuptial Blessing that Fr. Stanger laid upon us on our wedding day on July 2, 2005, is present in the lived days of daily life:
May God bless you, hold and keep you. May God's mercy shine on you. Guide your work and guard your resting. Make your love forever new.
May God join your hopeful spirits. Fill your hearts with truth and courage. Trust to share both joy and tears. Teach love to your children's children. Make your household learn to witness living faith through all your years.May God bless you, hold and keep you. May God's mercy shine on you. Guide your work and guard your resting. Make your love forever new.
May God make your home a refuge where you warmly welcome strangers, and the lowly find a place. Make your caring kind and patient, help you meet the needs of neighbors. Finding Christ in every face.May God bless you, hold and keep you. May God's mercy shine on you. Guide your work and guard your resting. Make your love forever new. 
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We have  shared so much in marriage, and I am thankful for that, as Jesus calls us to leave and cling. These are calls of abandonment in trust and faith, not abandonment as humans see it, but a real clinging to Jesus and His call in the new life of married love.
"Your daily encounter with Christ takes place right where you work, where your aspirations and your affections are.  There we must seek sanctity, in the midst of the most material things of the earth, serving God and all humankind.  Heaven and earth seem to merge, my daughters and sons, on the horizon.  But where they really meet is in your heart, when you strive for holiness in your everyday lives." - St Josemaria Escriva
 
____________________________Our Treasures______________________________________
Fruits of our married love, living examples of joy, faith, sacrifice, God's constant gifts. Lord, thank you for these sweet gifts: Marta, Caleb, Pita, Penny, Poppy, and Maddy. When people question, "One more?" Yes, amazing, one more gift of love, and we cannot believe it. Life is a total gift. "Are you having more?" As long as their is marriage, there is gift, and if that gift comes to life in a human life, yes, then, there will be more gifts of God's love.

Little Poppy, with Our Lady over Mom's shoulder, as she is always leading this little life toward her Son.

After moves across the Pacific from Hawaii to China, the United States, local moves, and more international moves to a new continent and 2 new countries, we have weathered it all together, and with varied weather, usually comes greenery, blossoms, a bit of rain, some clouds, and then the breaking of a new day. These are our days, made new. I am grateful for our moments of prayer in the morning. I felt joy this morning as we were able to enjoy a morning date, fresh omelettes, orange juice, coffee, conversation, and the Magnificat. 

Our date this morning. A "joy" as we could begin our celebration together.

Over the years, I continue to appreciate the hidden gifts of marriage, sort of like the transforming gifts of the Holy Spirit. We do not always see the work that is going on in another soul. We do not always see the great pains one endures. We do not know the ins and outs of another marriage, let alone the great work that is constantly going on in our own marriage. But, in all of these "hiddens" there is life, like a seed growing beneath the ground--much work is being done in a mustard seed that will one day be the largest plant, and yet, the work is hidden. Thank you, Lord, for these gifts and for the calls you lay upon our hearts in the marital covenant: forgiveness, when the rest of the world desires to condemn; fidelity, when the world says that true love is "boring," non make-up is homely, morning duties are daunting and relentless, FIDELITY- is calling us out of ourselves and inviting us to renew; hope when others would prefer the clouds of darkness to corner and overwhelm you. Lord, we give our love to you, please let this day be a day to "renovar" our marrige, our life, our home. Every day is a call to a new love, because YOU, Lord, are the center of this sacrament, and forever we will sing your praises and comfort you, though we will fail many times, in defending Your Goodness, marriage, and the family: true signs of Your Trinity.