Do You Take Kevin?

Remember the words the minister said..."Do you take Kevin?"....to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward....blah, blah, blah

It's been 31 years 4 months and 4 days and one hour ago. I didn't know way back then, what a wonderful, wonderful man God had blessed me with. I thought I knew. There was no way I could have known or foreseen what the years ahead would bring and how Kevin and I would meld together and become one.

This man, this wonderful, precious and sweet man is my husband. Sometimes I am still overwhelmed with the wonder of it.

We have gone through many seasons in our life together. After marrying we had all of about two months before I got pregnant with our first child. He was born about a month and a half before our first wedding anniversary. We really never knew time just the two of us as our first pregnancy was one where I threw up every single day, several times a day, and fainted at the most inoportune times.

Israel was born in July, I miscarried shortly thereafter and then was pregnant again in January, birthed second child in October, miscarried shortly thereafter and then pregnant again in March and delivered third baby in December. Had my tubes tied and found out I was pregnant at my six weeks check up. OOPS. We miscarried that baby and had another tubaligation.

When our third child was a year old, we put in an application to become foster parents. We've had 17 foster children over the years. Ten years after our first child, we adopted two children, twins--a boy and a girl, newborn.

Total children: 5.

Days were taken up in the intensity of having three babies in three years and grieving the death of three other infants. The intensity sometimes was overwhelming, but it also was full of laughter, joy at watching the ever learning and growing children, celebrating EVERY holiday, finding reasons to have another party and in all of that, Kevin and I were growing up, too.

Kevin and I shared parenthood. When the older kids were preschool, Kevin would come home from work and while I cleaned up after dinner, Kevin would run the kids through their baths, dress them for bed and then tell them a story and pray with them.

This ritual was repeated with differing details even as the children grew older. They loved their daddys stories and just the other day, Jonathan (now 20 years old) referenced a story that Kevin had told when Jon was about four years old. ha.

The kids continued to get older.....the intensity of having babies changed to the intensity of elementary school, then junior high and then high school. We had teenagers for thirteen years! We went through changing diapers to changing hairstyles, gobs of hairspray, rolled hem jeans, Israel wearing only black or grey, puffed bangs, t-ball, regular ball, basketball, Little Miss Texas, football, learning to play various instruments, having valedictorians, historians and barely graduating by the skin of their teeth.

College came and went, some graduated, some did not....and then, Daddy Kevin got his degree....with his grown kids cheering him on. Go Kevin.

We moved 47 times, created many houses into homes, realized home was the people (us), lived in many different states, met many wonderful people, grew and changed and journeyed together spiritually, studying the Bible and making many decisions.

We have been empty nesters and then welcomed children back home. Discovered grandchildren are awesome! We now have nine.

We are still becoming one and Kevin still says, "I do".

We have entered the last half of our lives. We contemplate 'going home' and the joy that will follow for us. Our lives now are pretty much lives of service for others. Kevin is getting his Masters in Counselling. He NEEDS to learn more about that so our service will be more profitable for others. It stretches us and grows us for him to pursue this. It is good.

Our lives continue to change, to become more one, to have great joys and deep sorrows and dissappointments. Our parents are getting quite old. I have one grandparent left alive on the earth. Our parents have aging issues. We live a long way from them. That is hard. We understand each others feelings about this because we share it.

Our children are across the country in Virginia and Chicago...and two are here. Likewise, grandchildren.

When we were first married Kevin held me and said, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be" and clearly, he spoke the truth. Every new day is the best. Do I take Kevin? Yes, still do...more than ever.....