Sunday was our 12 year wedding anniversary.  My friend Nancy offered to watch the kids, but we decided it would be fun to get spiffed up as a family and head out to a fancy restaurant together.  Just the four of us.

It was a decent plan, but when the big day rolled around no one wanted to leave the house.  So we scratched baseball practice, home projects, most chores, and even the dinner reservations.

I know we should get a babysitter once in a while… but is it really such a bad thing that even on special occasions there is no place we would rather be than home, together as a family?

Of course life isn’t perfect, but it sorta felt like it as I was chopping up veggies for dinner.  I was enjoying the Maroon 5 Pandora channel, but some pretty special sounds were creeping in through the open windows as well.  My husband was in the driveway, scrubbing six months of grime from my car, and the kids were giggling as they chased neighbors through the yard.

Our wedding pictures were taken by my cousin, Jeff Bundy, who is now the Director of Photography for the Omaha World Herald.  He shot the entire wedding with film and assures us the negatives are locked up in a safe deposit box somewhere.  He captured some priceless moments for us:

Our grandmothers read marital advice that the wedding guests submitted.  Clark escorted his mom down the aisle just before my dad walked me.  My mom stood by my side as matron of honor.  The entire day was about honoring not only our marriage, but also the family we love so much.

The 12 years since the wedding have been a blur, but there are a few moments that are still in sharp focus for me.  Most are too personal to share here, but one thing is for certain:  The wedding was great, but this marriage is the real ride.