Happy Anniversary to US! 12 Wonderful Years!

Today is our 12th wedding anniversary!

The following is from a post from 2010 - the first year of keeping an online diary known as Linda's Life Journal.

"I joined eHarmony on January 1st, 2005. My mother helped me do the 4 hour profile procedure which was pretty in depth! eHarmony matches you with someone compatible in LIKES and DISLIKES as well as character, interests, education, spiritual qualities and a host of others. I married at such a young age that I had never 'dated' before and was not at all sure what I was getting into. After recently ending a 41 year old marriage I had no real intention of getting serious about anyone but I did think it would be nice to go to dinner and movies and have a bit of a social life. I was matched with a banker, a minister, several truck drivers, a couple of postal workers, several business men.....and then on April 16, 2005 a retired school teacher! He, too, had been married 41 years .......happy years! Sadly, he had lost his wife in 2000. When we matched Louis Dean had clicked on 'Fast Track'....meaning skip right to the chase and exchange emails. I was talking to my mother on the phone when I received his message through eHarmony. My mother said, "Click YES!" So I did....and the rest is history!

Our first date was at the Fort Worth Zoo.....he was the tall, dark and handsome man standing on his 6'1" tip toes looking out over the parking lot for ME! He had prepared a picnic lunch for us which we ate on the tailgate of his truck......2 kinds of chicken, potato salad, baked beans and homemade rolls. We walked and talked and spent the entire day and into the evening together. I was so comfortable with him from the very beginning! I had become very wary of men in general and barely even allowed myself to  be hugged by my own brother and dear brother in law. You know how when you first meet someone there is a bit of hesitancy and self conscientiousness? I felt none of this......I was as comfortable with him as if I had known him my entire life! He held my hand and we had a word of prayer in his truck before he left for his home in Brownwood. (169 miles from my front door to his!) I believe our match was a God-thing. We are perfect for each other. After a very short time I was as surprised as anyone to find myself married to the nicest man I have ever met in my life! I thank God for Louis Dean every day!

We have been through a lot in these few years but never have we had harsh words with each other or stress between us. The stress has come from outside pressures....supporting a granddaughter which required him to go back to work for awhile, me losing my job, surgery for me, a heart attack for him, sadness over some of his family deciding not to share our life as well as the usual ups and downs of life in general. Through it all we have supported and comforted each other as well as laughed and had more fun than we thought possible. We are truly better together than we would be apart! Life is always an adventure! Life itself is a blessing! To spend the rest of our lives together as soul mates.....well, that is PRICELESS!"

I did another post about our eHarmony experience in 2012 if you would like to read it http://lindaslifejournal-artlady1948.blogspot.com/2012/06/seven-amazing-years-thank-you-e-harmony.html

For the first several years we were married we would go to Galveston and celebrate and most years we have dinner at a Saltgrass Steakhouse as that was where we went on our wedding night.

We are as happy today as we were when we married....... even more so.

God has richly blessed us and we are grateful for every day we have together and look forward to as many anniversaries as God sees fit to give us.

Now for Country News......

Grandson Robert went home this afternoon. 

We will miss him. He was such a big help to his granddad!

The next time he visits, the new room will be a done deal and he can bring an air mattress and sleep more comfortably out there than cramped up in the top boy bunk.

Sherry and Dean brought dinner down tonight.

Dean is a real foodie and loves to cook.

It was delicious!

After dinner they left to go into Mart and on their way back they stopped to pick a flower for me!

This is the biggest, heaviest sunflower I have ever seen!!

I just LOVE it!!!

Even the back is beautiful!

Instead of setting it out on the table in the new room.......

I put it right smack dab in front of the kitchen sink!

I smile every time I glance over there!