5 Years of Wedded Bliss

"Do we have any anniversaries in the congregation?" a pastor asked one morning.

An elderly gentleman stood up.

"And how long have you been married, sir?"

"Twelve glorious years" he said.

His wife then stood next to him and said,
"And which twelve were they?"

Our waiter told us this story about his dad as we celebrated our 5th anniversary at Carrabba's last night. It was strange to go out without "Little Bit" - but Eden was having her own milestone: her first Spend-The-Night at Mary & Joanna's.

Joe and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and are glad that we made the 'leap of faith' five years ago. We have a different philosophy on marriage than is popular today: We believe that God places a husband over his wife for her benefit. Joe works hard to 'husband' me and I've grown in a lot of ways over the past five years. I still have a long, long way to go, but it's a journey we're making together - and I definitely would never have gotten this far without Joe's tender care and concern. Sorry, guys, but I can't imagine having married anybody else!! :)

I hope that everyone can say the same at 5, 10, 15 years and every day in between!

There's No Place Like Home After The Holidays

Eden was a doll during our whirlwind Christmas Tour. First stop was my parents' home in Panama City Beach. There we celebrated Christmas on the morning of the 24th so she could play with her presents all day long before driving to Huntsville on the 25th. (She didn't know!) I was so excited to see her open her presents, that I couldn't sleep the night before and ended up waking both Eden and my parents up that morning! She especially loved her Alligator Walker that allows her to walk all over the house with three alligators chomping all the way.

Of course, we ate our traditional German Christmas Eve dinner complete with She-Crab Soup, Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Mom did a great job getting it all together (as usual). Eden accommodated us for the 2nd year in a row by completely sleeping through the event. (But we did give her sauerkraut later - I'll post the snapshot of what she thought of it when I get it.)

We drove to Huntsville on Christmas Day and Eden did surprisingly well during the trip. There we visited Joseph's family, ate dinner, and exchanged gifts. Eden was the belle of the ball, taking to just about everyone and exploring everything. She loved the Eden-sized rocking chair and chased their dog, Nanimau. At one point, Eden was pointing her finger towards Nani's face when Nani snapped and had Eden's finger in her mouth. But she didn't bite down and Eden was just surprised. 6 months ago Eden laughed when Nani barked, but this time it scared her and she decided to leave Nani alone. We had a lazy 26th where we stayed indoors avoiding the bitter cold.

Phillips Phamily Record

A new personal record was set on the 27th by leaving Huntsville before 8 am! Hats off to Joe who dutifully woke up at 4 am to pack the car and get us moving. Joe's devotion to family is normally expressed by delaying our departure until after noon or even until 4 pm! We get to Huntsville so rarely that he is to loathe to leave! But as I was going to work after arriving home, Joe made a special effort to get off as early as possible. Thanks, dear!

One last picture of Eden: