Don't be fooled

*Because we have ALL been sick for the past few days, here is a post I had written a couple of weeks ago but didn't post. Sorry, no pictures this week. We all look AWFUL!*

I do NOT have it all together. This post was the result of a conversation Meredith and I had recently. She was at the grocery store trying to decide if she needed shrimp or not or if she already had some at home. I told her just to get it since that's what I always do. Then I said that that philosophy has caused a lot of little fights between me and Theo. He is always frustrated when I bring home something from the store that we already have. And I always tell him that I don't have time to inventory the pantry and fridge before I go shopping and I'm doing good just to get us all out the door! And Meredith said she was so happy to hear that because I always look like I have it together.

What? Me? No way! So I have felt God putting it on my heart to write about this. No, this is not a post in which I am going to air all my dirty laundry. Yes, I mostly blog about my precious kids because I am by nature a glass half full person (most of the time). Yes, I will continue to mostly blog about the good things because who wants to read Debbie Downer's blog? Not me :)

With that said, I do feel called to write from my heart. I know most of the people who read my blog are young wives and moms. We are all doing the best we can. But no one is perfect. No one has it all together. If so, they are heavily medicated in my opinion! :)

I never want this blog to come across as though we have this seeming impossible perfect life. Because we don't. Don't get me wrong, we have a good life. And I am grateful for all of the heartache and struggles along the way because God had a purpose through it all. But I don't want anyone to every think everything is always roses and daffodils.

My marriage has had it's share of ups and downs, none of which you will find me discussing here. What I will talk about is the everyday things we struggle with as a couple. It's hard living with someone on a daily basis! And no one ever tells you before you get married how difficult it truly is. We had premarital counseling...from a Catholic priest! No offense to Father P but really, what can he say about being married? :)

Our marriage has grown quite a bit over the past year and I'm grateful for that. But again, it hasn't all been roses. I like to think of myself as Theo's conscience, which is never a good thing and leads to a lot of nagging on my part. I have a HARD time submitting to my husband even though the Bible clearly states that is what a wife is to do. I feel like he often puts work ahead of us and that he doesn't appreciate how hard it is to be a stay at home mom. We have had fights over our families, our money, how we spend our free time, etc etc. Probably the same things you all fight with your spouses about.

But we always work through them and those disagreements bring us closer together in the long run. We are really working on trying to respect and appreciate each other. Probably the best book I've ever read about marriage is called Love and Respect. I have said it over and over that if we could daily live out the principles in that book, our marriage would be almost perfect!

I don't have it all together and probably never will. So I'm relying on God to help fill in the gaps, both in my own life and my marriage. I know we could never have a solid marriage if God is not at the heart of it. After all, every good and perfect gift is from above. And my marriage is a gift. My husband is a gift (no gift receipt needed, he's a keeper!) But sustaining our marriage is work, and work we have to keep up with on a daily basis. Fortunately, we have Christ to help us through it!