Never too late

I've really spent a lot of time reflecting and praying the last couple of months. I have struggled with failures and not measuring up for so long though much of it is not justified. I have really been feeling so down because of so many marriages I've seen falling apart, especially among people I know. I begin wondering how Satan wants to attack my marriage. I've decided I will not let that happen.

I have really rededicated myself to my marriage. I love my husband with all that I am. I know I haven't been the wife he needs and I am working actively to change that. It is so easy to get caught up in day to day routines and being a mom, working full time, volunteering, etc. However, my first responsibility is to my husband.

Even after we've been married for over 13 years I find I am able to start some things new and lay down the weights that have been holding me down. I have truly enjoyed more time and conversations with my husband. We feel we've reconnected, something we've long needed.

We're in this marriage for the long haul! Till death do we part. I realize I am fighting a battle for my marriage. A battle against Satan and the world. We have 3 beautiful daughters that remind us what's important too.

How I met Sean

This is per Hannah's request! Well, as most of you know I attended Emmaus Bridal...I mean Bible College. Yeah, fellow EBC students know every joke..."ring by spring or money back", Mr. Glock's "look to your right then left, you're probably sitting by your future spouse". Actually Sean never attended EBC! I had already attended Emmaus for 2 years and hit a point where I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. My friend Ann and I decided to get an apartment in Dubuque together and I got a job in a nanny type position. It was October of 1996 when I came home after work and found my roomie at our apt. with quite a crowd of Emmaus students over. This was nothing unusual, but there was someone there I didn't know. It turned out to be Sean. Sean had come to Dubuque to meet up with his friends from camp (Hidden Acres) because someone they had worked with, Heather Higgens, had died of cancer. It just happened that the friends he was meeting up with were mutual friends of mine that I hung out with at Emmaus. =) We all watched a movie together in our little apartment before heading back to the Emmaus campus. When we got to Emmaus we all went down to the student center to hang out. I spoke with Sean a little bit. He was telling me about him and he was working on school work. He was a 5th grade teacher at a Christian school. Then a couple of girls came over and invited him to the gym to play some games, but he declined because he was going to work on his papers. A little bit later he asked me if I wanted to play ping pong. (There were 2 ping pong tables in the student center.) I said sure. Now Sean remembers winning the first game. Okay...we'll say he did...That's okay because the next couple of games I won! Looking back he says it's not fair because I didn't tell him I had played tennis. In my defense, the 2 really aren't related! Sean left that night to return to his home (which was the same city we live in now). He asked if I wanted to come down sometime to visit so I did and soon after that we began dating!

Pretty simple little story. What's interesting though is how God uses things. If Heather Higgens had not died, we would have never met. That is how we named our oldest daughter. Heather Higgens attended the church where Sean and I attend now. Also, after I completed my education degree at Emmaus I eventually took the 5th grade position at the same Christian school where he taught when we first met. Strange world, huh?!