3 Years... and 3 days

On Wednesday (December 17th) Andy and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. I'm amazed that 3 years has passed already, and yet at the same time it amazes me all that we've crammed into these 3 years! 7 jobs, 3 apartments, 2 kids, 2 cars, and the list goes on and on.
I feel so wonderfully blessed to be married to such an awesome man. Here is a quick list of what makes him amazing:
* No matter how little sleep he gets if he is home in the mornings (which is rare) he gets up with the kids and lets me sleep in as late as I want.
* He is a chef for goodness sake... what more could a girl want?! I never have to worry about what we're going to eat
* He always knows how to make me laugh, even when I'm furious at him he can make a single joke and the fight is magically over
* He is 10000 times more patient than I am
* He is a fantastic father. He isn't one of those Dads who sits on the sidelines waiting for the wife to tell them what to do. If a diaper needs to be changed, he changes it.
* He is very good looking!
* He always makes me feel pretty... even when I know I don't look that great (like after a hard day chasing Talan around)

That is just a short list... I could go on and on. I'm so glad that I get to spend eternity with my best friend! I love you babe!

Been thinking... I'm blessed

Right before we found out I was expecting Talan I got a huge promotion with big pay check attached. We decided we should go ahead and buy a house. We found a place that we loved and even put in an offer but after sitting down and really crunching the numbers we realized I would have to keep working full time in order to afford the house and I knew I wouldn't be able to do that after having the baby, so at the last second we pulled out.
Ever since that time I have been extremely jealous of everyone that has a house. I watch HGTV all day long and imagine I'm the one house hunting with the endless budget, I search the web for houses in my area and go to Open houses, it's almost been an obsession with me. I want a house so so so so so badly and I've been pretty bitter about it at times when I look around my small apartment with no yard to play in with the kids.
Then right after Thanksgiving I was looking at a friend's Facebook account of the pictures she posted of Thanksgiving. She had hosted it in her beautiful brand new house with a formal dining room and stainless steel appliances. The pictures of her home were bringing all my jealously and bitter feelings to the surface, but then something struck me with great power... there were no children in the pictures. My friend has a great big house and lots of luxeries, but she has also been married several years more than me and still doesn't have children, which I know she really wants but they just don't feel they can afford them now since she has the better job of the two. Would I really trade my children for the pretty house?? Never!
Then I began thinking about other friends and the other young families in our ward. Many of them have both parents working while the children are in daycare or with grandma. While thinking about this I looked at my two little boys that I am blessed enough to be with 100% of the time. I do still have to work remember, but I was able to find a job that I can do from home while my children sleep or play at my feet. I can't stand my job, but at the same time I love it because it keeps me with my children, which is the most important thing to me.
So I've decided that I can stay in this tiny apartment, as long as it is filled with the three boys that mean the world to me. It's ok that we don't have the big house with the big yard because I'm in the best place for me and my family.