Happy Anniversary!

My hubby and I have been married for 11 years today!  So, I thought it seemed like a fitting time to blog another answer to a question I didn't get to at my talk with the Jonesboro MOPS:

"How do you convince your husband to go along with all this?"

This question made me laugh.  I  love it! 

Let me start with this.  John often reminds me that "we grow and change."  The idea, of course, is that life doesn't remain the same.  As individuals we aren't static.  We are constantly learning and doing and living and, in the process, we change.  So many couples lose it when they grow and change individually and wake up one day and realize that they hardly recognize the person on the other side of the bed.  One thing John and I have always been pretty good about is conversing.  One of our favorite ways to spend an evening after the kids are in bed is just talking.  I think that when you maintain that closeness in a relationship you are pretty much assured that when you "grow and change," you'll be doing it together -- growing and changing in the same ways, headed in the same direction.  I'd have to say that's how we've approached some of the changes in our lifestyle.  We are largely on the same page with the philosophical concepts behind why we do what we do.

That said, we each have our favorite projects.  The chickens (though they love me because I bring them treats) are largely John's project, and he loves caring for them.  The garden, is largely my domain.  John is always a part of the execution, but I do the planning and researching.  John takes charge of all things related to prepping the house for the goats we'll bring home next month while keeping me informed all along the way.  I am the one who cares for Cocoa Puff, for no other reason than that she has really grown on me.  So I talk to her, feed her, and take her to the backyard for some exercise.  John feeds the worms in the worm bin.  He gets quite excited when he happens upon a big one when working in the yard and gets to add it to his bin.    I am the one who's most excited about the products I'm making in the house, like soap, for example.  But, it's John who's standing there reading me the directions as I stir the pot.

So far, I can only think of a couple areas in which we disagree when it comes to developing our little homestead. First, I refuse to care for a bee hive.  I love honey, and I don't mind if John eventually adds a hive, but I personally will not be working it.  Though I appreciate the great work they do pollinating my flowers and helping produce the food we eat, they just freak me out.  Also, we've disagreed about what to do with our unfenced field behind the house.  John would like to fence it, but I'm not sure it's necessary to what we're doing.  The topic comes up a lot.  But, the key is, we talk about it.  Eventually, we'll figure it out.

So, today on our anniversary, I'm so thankful for my true companion on this journey.  We may not always know what's around the bend, but there's great joy in discovering it together.