16 Years Ago

So...I have at least three posts that I WILL write...awards, choir, and more awards.  Such a fun time of year!  Not only have I been busy with the school stuff, but also with organizing Cub Scout Twilight Camp for 24 boys (turns out only 19 will actually be attending).  Organizing - as in collecting all the paperwork for each boy and chaperone and planning chaperone days, etc.. I am not planning the camp.  -Phew-  Still, it is a hefty amount of work and has been for the last six weeks.  Between the Council requiring more things and changing their mind on things and some of the parents not getting me the stuff I have requested, it is literally a nightmare.  Oh, and I am teaching Relief Society this week, so I am preparing my lesson as well.

Since it is Friday List-less Day, I have also been touching up the paint around our home.  I hate it when it gets dirty and we still have builder's flat paint in most of our home.  I love the cleanness of freshly re-painted walls!

But, all that said, I am taking a break to post about something near and dear to my heart.

16 years ago today, I married XDH in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.  It was then that I changed my name and joined a wonderful family.  I had no idea the heartaches that would lie ahead and it is better that way.  I married a good man.  He is still a good man.  We have three great kids together.  He is a great dad.  I am so grateful that he takes care of our children so well. 

I think, looking back, I would not change a thing.  Even though my heart ended up broken, I came to know my Savior in a way I never could have without it.  Even though we ended up divorced, I have in-laws that will forever be mine and I cherish them.  Even though divorce stinks for kids and it isn't easy to go back and forth, my kids now have three parents that love them and CK and XDH bring different strengths to their lives and I am grateful for both dads. 

And, while the heartache has been brutal, look at where I ended up!  I am so happy!  I have CK and V, both of whom I would not have without the divorce.  I have a life that is better than I ever could have imagined.  My blessings far, far, far outweigh the heartaches.  My tears of sorrow have truly been replaced a thousand-fold with tears of joy.  Heavenly Father keeps His promises and He does not leave you alone.  His timing is hard to wait for, but so worth it.  He knows what He is doing and I am truly in awe of how blessed I am.

I will always remember this day with a little sorrow, for I did not have a clue that 12 1/2 years down the road, we would be divorced and life would be very different than the way I planned.  Yet, I am grateful for XDH and the years of joy we had together.  He is a hard-worker, dedicated, and compassionate.  He is smart, funny, and a great chiropractor.  He is a good man.  I continue to be grateful for the way he takes care of our kids and for the way we have such an amiable divorce.  I am so blessed.  So very blessed.  Life is good.