Sewing machines are for boys too

When you start dating at 17, you don't usually think "I'm going to marry this boy someday. He's going to be the father of my children and change the oil in my van and set up the wifi because I have no idea how a router works." If you're like I was, you think "Wow, he's cute. He's got a great smile. And he's just a tad bit of a smart butt and I like it."

It's weird. We're almost 30 and when I look back at who we both were when we started dating, I realize that we were babies. SO young. But we certainly didn't FEEL young. We felt mature. Wise. And maybe we were. But we were also babies.
We dated for nearly three years before we got married. We knew it was the next right step, and yet, it was a bit of a shock once the honeymoon was over and we realized that sharing a life with someone is a learning experience to say the least. I was a horrible cook. I wanted babies. He usually smelled like car parts. He didn't want babies. We were opposites. And a little confused as to how to mesh our personalities and interests and goals (it had seemed so easy when we were dating and all we did was go to the movies and hang out a lot). But, a lot of things worked themselves out over time. We both realized that we can't do this without God as the center of our relationship. I've learned to cook and meal plan and do his laundry correctly. We have the two most beautiful kiddos I've ever known (not that I'm at all biased). He's the BEST daddy. Gentle and kind and protective and fun. He brings so much joy to our home.

Yesterday, our four year old decided he needed a hammock for his stuffed animals (he has at least 20, and he just can't bear to give one away). I was going to research doll hammocks online to see if we could afford one right now. But Ben one-upped me. 20 minutes later, he had sewn a camouflage doll hammock for Logan's room, and Logan was to the moon excited. I watched my husband sew this hammock for our boy, and it got me thinking about how funny time is. 12 years ago I would've never thought that that super cool guy I was dating, the one with the extensive Beastie Boys cd collection and the fancy red car would someday be sewing a doll hammock in the kitchen. Just because our kid wanted something for his bears to sleep in. It made me grateful. Grateful for the heart of this guy I've spent more than a third of my life with. And it made me laugh at how many silly disagreements we've had over the years and how really, it all comes down to one thing: our hearts. Our hearts for the Lord and for each other and for our family and for the people God's placed in our life together. I've seen this guy's heart, and it's really big. And I am grateful.