Our Golden Ticket

Disclaimer: I know this picture is super blurry- but I tried re-taking it a bunch of times and it never came out any better- so here it is.

We spent this last weekend going through all of our stuff and making a big pile of stuff to take to the DI pod drop at our church on Saturday. Brad finally decided to donate his hand tailored suit that he got on his mission in Brazil. As he was going through the pockets before throwing it into the pile, he pulled out this little slip of paper. Apparently he wore that suit on the day we were married in the Salt Lake City Temple. The little slip of paper was pinned to us on our wedding day and included our names, the date, and the time of our ceremony. Brad showed me the little paper and then asked if I wanted it or if he should throw it away. I replied with, " Of course I want it. That is our golden ticket." He looked at me kind of funny and then nicely placed it on the dresser instead of in the trash can. Now when I say our golden ticket, by no means do I mean that the little paper has made our life perfect or easy. But I do firmly believe that the decision we made to be married where we were married has given us a leg up in our marriage. We are almost ten years in to this adventure together and I am grateful everyday for the perspective that our temple marriage gives me. There are difficult days, hard nights, and stressful moments, but when I remember the commitment we made to eachother in the temple I am able to push through those hard times and see the big picture. I am so happy that I married the right person in the right place at the right time. Ten years ago I don't think I was thinking much beyond our wedding day- definitely not ten years into the future. I love to now look back on all that we have accomplished together- most importantly our family together and realize that the 9th day of August in 2002 was where it all began and it just keeps getting better! So this golden ticket won't be giving me access into a magic chocolate factory any time soon, but it has given me a forever family and that is better than anything I can think of.