"Wood" you believe it's been 5 years?

Yesterday (9/9), Doug and I celebrated 5 years of marriage.  I look back at how much our lives have changed over the years since our beautiful wedding day and it's amazing!  I do wish that I could go back and do it all again, it was such a beautiful day all around, and our honeymoon was like a dream, in beautiful Tahiti.  We laugh when we think back to our lives before kids, we had SO much free time and we didn't think so at the time.  I'm not sure what we even did with all of that free time.  One thing is for sure, we went out to dinner A LOT more.  :)  To celebrate, we're going out to PassionFish in Reston for dinner tonight, Amy will be here with the boys.  We're going to Vegas in October (Doug's first time!!) for our real anniversary celebration.  I know it will be hard, especially for me, to be away for the kids for 3 nights, but I know that they'll be in great hands and we deserve a break and a full night's sleep!  The traditional gift for a 5 year anniversary is wood.  Maybe we should have gotten a new bedroom set?!  Nah, Vegas will be WAAAY more fun!

Kids definitely change things; a marriage has to be strong, having kids certainly won't improve a relationship, that's for sure...The statistics are alarming.  The divorce rate is 50% for parents of typical kids.  The rate for parents of children with special needs has been quoted as high as 75-80%.  That is a scary statistic.  Doug and I have had our share of ups and downs, especially early-on when we were in the process of getting a diagnosis for Carter.  Men and women are SO different in the way they deal with things, but we've worked hard to find a common ground, a happy medium.  Doug wants to see the big picture and fix things immediately, and I like to think through the process and take small steps in the right direction.  At the end of the day we work well together.  I tend to get wrapped up in the motions of everyday life, I know what's working for us and why it's working but at times I can't think outside the box when I should be.  Doug will swoop in and make an observation that will get us all back on track.  Sometimes I don't LIKE his suggestions but I have to respect his opinion and give "his way" a try. I can be hard-headed and I feel like I am the one that does my job the best but that's not always the case...

I look forward to continuing to raise our 3 wonderful boys together.  There are many more speed bumps ahead but we'll continue to cruise along and do the best we can to help our boys learn right from wrong and raise them to be respectful, honest and caring individuals.  For now, we just need to focus on getting baby Crosby to sleep through the night so that we have the energy and patience to get through tomorrow.  :)