marco fun with the verwys family

we celebrated christmas in marco island with the verwys' - what a treat to spend time with family for a mostly warm week. :) we enjoyed the boat and watching dolphins circle and play around us. we celebrated jesus birthday with cake and reflection on his gift to the world in coming to live among us. we dug in the sand and built amazing sand creations. we found beautiful shells along the water. we splashed in the pool and froze our buns off when we got out of the water. we played with cousins and we played with cousins some more (the girls even introduced barbie to the boys)!! had great game time and conversations with brothers and sisters. we loved having grandpa and grandma around to play, read, explore and give hugs to each day. what a great way to end 2010 with family and rest.

11 years

"Friendship is a unity of souls that gives nobility and sincerity to love."
H. Nouwen

celebrated 11 years of marriage with dinner in santa ana and a walk through the art district's gallery tour. i am amazed at how the "unity of our souls" has grown over the last 11 years through our friendship and love. its amazing to share life with someone you respect and share deep convictions with about life. that i believe is what makes the work of marriage (the times when you have to dig deep to be gracious and not let your tongue spew something that stabs the heart) so fruitful and rewarding. so we work, we make choices each day to deepen our friendship, to love well, to forgive, to serve, to celebrate, to apologize, to laugh, to cry, to rest, to learn, to live, to be married for life. we are blessed by this gift we have in one another.