"I say we have it all"

Garrett is not usually a very wordy-mushy-sentimental kind of a person.

He is best at showing his love in non-verbal ways: helping me fold laundry late at night, giving me a massage and an adjustment after a long day of work, or sending me to take a nap when I have a cranky Sunday afternoon meltdown.

(He is so wonderful and obviously loves me a lot.)

But every once in awhile I'm especially lucky to get a sweet letter for my birthday or on our anniversary where he verbally expresses his love for me, 

and I cherish those letters.

  This year for our anniversary Garrett wrote me a tender letter outlining the crazy and unconventional year we've had.  He concluded with these wise words:

"Some people would say we have it hard; some would say we have it easy. 

I say we have it all." 

Garrett and I got married 8 short months after I graduated from college.  I had a great job and he was on a great path to his dream career.  I worked for the next four years as he finished up his schooling.  We lived a humble but happy little life in small apartments furnished by our finds from the dumpster (seriously). We scrimped and saved and were immensely blessed to always have what we needed: a roof over our heads, food, clothing, health, and vehicles that (usually) would get us from A to B.  

We welcomed our first child into the world and discovered the exhaustion and bliss of parenthood.  

We moved to Alaska where I continued to work full-time after the birth of our second little munchkin.  After a few years I traded full-time nurse for full-time mom and we prepared to give birth to Garrett's very own chiropractic practice.  In order to do so, we scrimped, saved, and cut costs where we could in order to make it happen.  We sold many of our possessions, one of our cars, and rented a few bedrooms in a friend's house.....all while I was expecting our third child.    We truly adopted Dave Ramsey's motto: Live like no one now so you can live like no one later. 

Our determination to start this business endeavor in such an unconventional manner has even spurred some speculation that perhaps we have been having a hard time feeding our children and keeping a roof over our heads. 

(While completely untrue, I hope it would make Dave Ramsey proud to know we've gone to such an extreme!)
Though we lost many of our remaining possessions and keepsakes in a fire this last spring, I am so grateful to still have the binder full of letters Garrett has written me over the years,    

letters full of love and that now contain Garrett's wise words, "I say we have it all!"

He is so right.

We do have it all.  

We could always have more, I suppose. 

We could own a home.

We could have more reliable vehicles.

We could own nicer clothes.

Have some fun toys. 

Buy the nice brand of toilet paper.

But it's all just stuff that could go up in flames in an instant, so it really isn't anything of true value.

Even if every worldly item I possess were to disappear tomorrow, l would still have my eternal companion, our children, our experiences, our faith, and our choice to be happy.

We really have everything that is important to have. 

Some people might look back at the past 7 years of our lives and think, "They're a little crazy." 

Most people in this world would look in at our lives and think, "Wow!  Running water, health, food, shelter, a job.  They have it sooooo good!" (And they'd be right).

But regardless of how our circumstances appear to others, 

I hope that I always remember that we really do have "it all";

and for such a great fortune, I can only thank my Heavenly Father and try a little harder to serve and love others.